Food habits

I eat fast. I have table manners that manage to escape being disgusting.

I am a vegetarian. When I was a kid, I ate meat. Then I was told what meat really is. So, I stopped. Now, I still don't eat meat because it is a habit I got used to; and by no means a bad one. An inconvenient one, maybe. Actually, once in a while I have a taste just to know that I'm not missing out on what I'm missing.

Also, meat is quite difficult to eat, what with the bones and everything. It is not worth that much effort.

I have a strict notion of what I like and dislike. This used to be a problem when I was a kid. I was adamant then - "I will take in only that which I like." I've grown over this. I still have a strict notion of what I like and dislike complete with order of preference, but I no longer make a fuss about what I'm served and eat without complaint.

I always had a problem with sour things - curds. Something about that particular sourness which divides people into curd-lovers and curd-haters. Most sour things are supposed to be things that have gone bad. There are also unripe mangoes that are so sour, that the only thing that lasts post that experience of eating it, is a twang which clouds all memory of the sourness one endured with wincing eyes. I don't mind these mangoes.

I also used to like hot and spicy foods - ones that lash out at you. I still like them although not with the same aggression with which I used to. Also, I have started to appreciate subtle tastes as well but still detest bland things with a feeling so strong as to require the usage of the word 'detest'.

I have a sweet tooth. In fact, I think I must revise the phrase to say I have sweet teeth. In fact, I love sweets so much that my grandmother has lavished me them, and my mother has been keen on restricting my consumption of them for the sake of fear. Nevertheless, my liking for them has not declined, though my consumption has. Also, I no longer go seeking them too much.

I used to be a food fanatic. Somewhere, I seem to have lost the zest for food. It doesn't unease me. It just so happened. Doesn't mean I don't eat. Doesn't even mean I no longer enjoy it. Just means, that I no longer complain. Just means, that I only give it the value of something you can as casually refer to, as food.