Wednesday, August 6, 2008

What Would You Do If ...?

On Wednesdays, I throw out a question that asks, "What Would You Do If ...?" and I would love to hear - what you would do.


I will not give my answer to the What Would You Do If - Wednesday question until late in the day - after everyone has had the opportunity to offer their ideas first.


*****************************************

What would you do if ...



You were invited to a friend's house for dinner and ...


The food they served was unedible or ... something you absolutely hated?


Would you still eat the food?


Would you refuse to eat the food?


What would you do?


I'm anxious to hear your answer - to see if you would do what I would do or are ... On The Flipside.

Give me your most honest answer and please go over to the sidebar and participate in the poll on this subject.


This is what I would do:

I have seldom been in this situation - but, it has happened.

I've never been offered dog food - and if I was - I would not eat it. But ... there has been times when something was being served that I am not fond of - like spaghetti.

Most people love spaghetti. Not me! I don't like spaghetti! I can't even spell spaghetti without using spellcheck - I hate it that much.

But ... I ALWAYS eat the spaghetti - ALWAYS!

I would never tell my friend that I did not like what she has prepared and I would eat most anything to keep from hurting my friend's feelings.

Usually, I just pick the food I am okay eating - like salad and bread and just say that I am not all that hungry or ask for a small portion of the food I do not like.

I have been in the situation where I have made a meal - had family/friends over and cooked a big meal - only to have a member at the table refuse to eat or pick at the food as if it was inedible.

This situation was awkward and hurtful and not something I would EVER do to a family member or friend.

That's just me.

I'll eat most anything to keep from hurting your feelings.

Poll results: In Your Friend Made Something For Dinner That Was a Good That You Hated - Would You Eat It Anyway? 22 Participated in poll. 9 (40%) YES. 13 (59%) NO.

39 comments:

Unknown said...

This is tough.

Cat food? Nope, sorry. I don't care if you're my very best friend or my mother- Not Eating It!!

If it were a good friend, I'd probably be gentle and kind and inquire as to whether they had something else to eat.

If it was someone I kind of knew, I'd probably be polite and eat some and push the rest around.

Really, though, most people upon inviting us to dinner inquire as to what we might or might not eat. Or maybe that's just me! :)

Leah said...

I think within reason, I would do my very best to eat at least a little of it. I figure the family went to the trouble of inviting us and preparing the meal, the least I can do is try to eat it! Then I'd probably say something along the lines of, "I'm so sorry, but this meal is more filling than it looks and I just can't take another bite!"

dawn klinge said...

It all depends on how good that friend is. If I didn't know the person very well, I would eat a little-as long as I knew I could keep it down. ;)

dani said...

i would eat it so long as the host was eating it:b if the host were to stop... all bets would be off, LOL!!!
fortunately, i've never been in a predicament such as this.
l,
d

Denise said...

I think I would try to eat a little. I would make up some excuse to not finish it. I would certainly try to remain polite and PC about it. I avoid confrontation every chance I get and I certainly would never want to hurt someone's feelings.

Andrea said...

I am what you would call a picky eater. So I am often worried when we go over to someone's house for dinner that I won't be able to eat what they serve.

Thankfully though -- there is always at least something I can eat, even if it is just bread or a vegetable or something. As for the part of the meal that I would dub as inedible...I would cut it up and push it around on my plate to make it look like I ate some, and then make a comment like, "I just haven't been that hungry today, I don't know why" or "I'm not feelig quite myself today".

I try and look at it from the host's point of view. At least for me...if I had company over and they didn't like what I had made -- part of me would be disappointed, but really, I'd rather then pass on it than have to force it down and try to keep it down!!

Forgetfulone said...

It's unlikely there would be something that I wouldn't eat, so I would just avoid the foods I didn't like. If it was cat food or something equally disturbing, I would not be able to eat it, yet I would stay positive and well-mannered.

kim-d said...

This one is hard, because if I like someone enough to go to dinner at their house, they probably know if I dislike a particualr food. And if they served it, I would assume they were trying to irritate me...BWAHAHA!

If it was a good friend, I would say, "you know I hate this crap, so why is it on my plate" but if it was, like, the husband's boss's house or something like that, I'd take a few bites and push the rest around to make it look like I ate it.

This isn't a situation I'm likely to encounter, though, because I'm a garbage gut and eat everything. Really!

Ellyn said...

That is a hard one for me. I am not picky so there is usually something on the table I will eat. But if there were nothing I liked I guess I would try to eat a little and keep my mouth shut.
That is unless they were serving cat food and dog treats. I would have speak up then. Do you know how they make that stuff. Ewwwww.

Brittany said...

become the queen of moving food around on the plate, so that it looks like I actually ate some of it! It works; I've had to do it before.

Angela S said...

Cat food no. But my husband hates vinegar and it actually does hurt his stomach but on his two year mission for our church there was a family that would actually prepare 7 course meals with everything being totally doused in vinegar. Missionaries are taught to be polite and eat the food they are given so he did.

BUT while we each have dislikes, we'd politely eat what was given to us. Maybe not seconds, maybe not all, but we'd eat it.

Courtney said...

I purposely never mention that I am starving or anything when I go to someone's house for dinner just in case I don't like the food. If I don't, I try to eat some and then say something like, "I didn't realize what a big lunch I ate." or something to that affect. I try to be discreet about it, but if it was totally in(un)edible, I'd have to be rude.

laurwilk said...

As a horribly picky eater, I've been in this situation many times. I typically take a bit of whatever it is, give it a go, realize there is no way that I can swallow another bite of it, and pawn it off on my sister, boyfriend or the family's dog. I also make a point to eat a LOT of whatever it is that I do like and compliment the heck out of it.

And then I drive through Burger King on the way home.

rthling said...

Okay, first of all, why do people think you actually meant cat food??? Clearly your picture was an exaggeration.
This happened to me recently, though. I went to a friend's house and she said she was making one thing, but when I got there, it was spinach manicotti. I do NOT like spinach, but I was a big girl and tried it anyway. And do you know what? It was fantastic! I actually had seconds.

Lindsey said...

This IS tough....as long as it wasn't fish, I would at least try it, and if I couldn't stand it, I would be honest but tell them I'm so picky and not to worry about me, go ahead and enjoy their dinner and I'll enjoy their company. I would really try to down play me not liking something. What a tough situation. GOod thing most of my friends don't eat crazy stuff!!

Anonymous said...

This may sound, I don't know what the word is . . . but, my friends would know what I don't like and wouldn't make it (I eat pretty much anything, though). And quite frankly, no matter who's making the meal, be it someone you know or not, there will ALWAYS be at least something you like or at least can stomach. So yes, you eat some of every part of the meal, making sure to save at least one bit of what you really like for the end to clear the pallet :-)

A good bottle of wine never hurts, either.

Nancy said...

If everyone was eating it ... I'd eat a little of it. I may have a tickle in my throat and "cough into the napkin" a few times or look around for the family pet dog, lol.

Sally said...

Of course, like everyone else, it would depend on how good the "friend" was/is. Fortunately, most everytime I've been to a friend's house for dinner, there has been enough different things to choose from. I'm not a picky eater, but I dang sure am not going to plunge into something that I don't know what it is. I might ask (if it's a good friend).

If the servings all looked suspicious, I'd probably push the food around (feed the dog under the table or something). hahahaha

Very good question today, Kellan!!

Anonymous said...

I would move the food around and maybe eat a bite or two then make up an excuse not to finish, Like mmmm I ate too much already... LOL

If it's a buffet type, just avoid the foods I don't like all together

And if it's a very close friend I probably tell her and ask for something else.

AdriansCrazyLife said...

This has happened to me and it's my worst nightmare. I'm a very picky eater and very sensitive to spicy food. My husband did some work for a friend of ours who is a gourmet cook and she invited us over for dinner. I know for some people that would be a huge treat, but I was just dreading it!

Sure enough, she made all sorts of strange stuff and I didn't like hardly any of it. In fact, the salad dressing literally sent my taste buds into spasm. I had to stop eating and press my tongue against the roof of my mouth to get it to unkink.

I managed to eat enough of it to seem reasonably polite but I was sure glad to get out of there.

Worst of all was that all the dinner conversation was about food and wine too and I was SO bored.

I think anyone with an obsession like that is really boring. I like stamping, but I wouldn't expect my guests to spend the entire evening discussing nothing but my hobby. I think that would be self-centered and rude.

Kamis Khlopchyk said...

Tough question! I have no idea what I would do, it's very rare that I meet food that I don't like :-)

I would probably give it a go and then if it was that awful claim I had a huge lunch and was still full. Come to think of it people do that when I invite them over....

;-)

Jaina said...

Well, it would depend on the friend. I read some etiquette rule somewhere along the line that it's polite to at least eat three bites of everything. I'd attempt to do that. I could always pawn it off on the "late lunch" I ate. But generally when I eat at a friend's house, we either jointly decide ahead of time what to have, they know me well enough to know what I like to eat, or they let me know ahead of time what the meal will be. But no matter what I'd try to be polite.

tammy said...

Hmm...probably depends on what it was and how well I knew the person. If it was just something I didn't like, I'd probably try to eat some of it, then say how I had a really big lunch that day. If it was totally unedible, hopefully they had a dog or were using paper napkins instead of cloth.

I'm anxious to hear your answer, and if it really happened!

GypsiAdventure said...

HA...like the picture, but, um, no pet food is out of the picture for me. In that instance I would politely excuse myself from the dinner eating and just enjoy the beverage. However, in most cases I would try to find something I could/would eat during the dinner and if they questioned me about it then I would politely explain "I do not eat ..."

That is just me though.
~K

Maggie - Mom of Six said...

Okay, so I can usually handle a few bites of almost anything, or if not, I have an allergy! LOL!

The whole family was at a close friend's house for dinner. Now, I know that being in East Texas means that I am SUPPOSED to like sweet tea... Well, I don't. Matter of fact I can't stand it. My friend, who knew my tastes on this fixed me a drink. I took a big swig as it was hot and I was thirsty, as it hit my tongue, my entire brain screamed GROSS!! And, much to my embarrassment, I gagged and made a horrendous face and some equally unintelligible noise. As I did my friend looked at me, we both began laughing as she realized she had poured from the sweet tea pitcher by mistake!

Sandra Carvalho said...

Well, my parents taught me to be polite so I'd probably had a lil' bit of it and then I'd say that due to some stomach issues I'm having I can't have more then that small amount of food! ;)
xoxoxo

Denise said...

I would eat the food. I will usually do just about anything to keep from hurting someone's feelings. I might not finish all of it, but I'd make myself eat enough that my host wouldn't know I didn't like it.

Denise

Debbie said...

I would probably spend most of my time talking and keeping their mind occupied so they wouldn't realize I hadn't eaten much of my food. I would attempt to each some and move it around so it looked like I was so engaged in the tantalizing conversation that I forgot to eat....

Betsy Hart said...

I would try a bit, but then just eat more of the side dishes! I'm bad.

Mama Smurf said...

It would depend on how bad it was. If was something that I just kinda didn't like then I would probably try to eat a little. But if they were serving...say...liver and onions...NOT on your life! I would politely tell them that I don't care for liver and starve.

Belle (from Life of a...) said...

Thank goodness my friends are pretty good cooks but I did find myself in a similar situation back in college. I was in the college choir and we'd travel one week each spring, staying with different families that the host church in each town would set up for us. Four of us were in a home one night and our host served spaghetti. I looked and smelled like dog food. Our tickle boxes got all turned over and we pushed the food around on our plates and did the best we could. Luckly the couple only had sons and I think they chalked the whole thing up to us just being silly girls!

Rosemary said...

If it was something edible, just not something I liked I would definitely eat it. I'm an adult. I can make myself eat something. A friend's feelings are more important than my satisfying my palate. I guess if I had a sensitive gag reflex I might not be able to feel so generous, but I don't. But if I were pregnant then all bets would be off!! Smells can make me throw up when I'm pregnant.

Sally said...

Well, Kellan, I just have to tell you - guess what I had for dinner tonight? hahahaha

Amanda said...

I would TRY and eat the meal in front of me. I like your idea and ask for a small portion.

bren j. said...

I would at least try it - they might be able to prepare it in just the right way to make it edible.

This happened once at a friends house. Oh some horrible, horrible salad but she's from Ethiopia so I was eating it telling myself it was a cultural experience. Mid-way through, my husband says (loud enough for everybody to hear) "I thought you HATED avocados?!"

Our hostess felt terrible, I felt like an idiot and my husband's foot had a big bruise on it. :) Everybody's okay now though.

bichonpawz said...

I would push it around on my plate and eat it to the best of my ability!

Sheri said...

Ran into this situation in Argentina, and mom told me, "no matter what, you eat what they put in front of you". I was dreading dinner, but she put together a delicious looking pizza . . . til I saw the roaches running across it! Well, heat kills germs . . . and it was well cooked, so . . . I ate it, and loved every bite! I'm pretty good at being able to politely choke down anything, so I'd rather suffer and keep a friendship than risk offending someone!

Anonymous said...

On the flipside, as a host, I'd prefer for a guest to be more honest than to scarf something down that didn't agree with their tastes. I would rather my guests admit to not being particularly fond of a particular dish or spice or something about the dish, than to have to test the strength of their gag reflex. My ILs are from a different culture and the cuisine is COMPLETELY different s it is difficult for me to entertain them. I think I did hear MIL in the bathroom afterwards not keeping it down. She did the same thing at a restaurant...the food was fine for everyone else but she is only fine with HER type of food. I would rather her not have to suffer to be polite...

As a guest, I have eaten things that didn't agree with me entirely either. Each time, I manage to keep it down. Unfortunately in those cases, there were no other dishes to choose from so I would have to eat the main dish served.

Anonymous said...

Being the worlds pickiest eater, I encounter this a lot. Most people know how picky I am and don't take offence if I politely turn down a dish. If we are going somewhere and I'm not sure what's being served I will eat before I get there so that I'm not hungry. There have also been times when someone has misunderstood what I like and fixed something for me that they are under the impression I will eat....in these cases, I usually sneak it on one of my daughters plates and that way it looks like I ate it. If I can't do that, I will put a little on my plate and push it around so it looks like I've eaten it.

I wish I wasn't so finicky, imagine all of the good food that I'm missing out on because I won't eat it?? If you know of a cure for this, please let do tell. :)