Tomato Trauma....

I know you were expecting some more "sneak peek" photos today (and I will provide those later), but I thought I would share a short story since I received a couple of emails regarding my dislike of tomatoes...because you all want to know why, right? ;-)


In my previous post on age, I alluded to some childhood trauma involving tomatoes.  Well, here's the 411 on that...oh, and a warning...it's gross!

I am a very picky eater.  I always have been.  I didn't eat any meat besides hamburger until I was 20  years old.

I love my mother dearly, but when I was growing up, she was not the best cook.  Most things were a little charred when they were placed on the table and there was even a kitchen fire one time...but that story is for a different day. :-)

When I was about 5, my mother decided to try her hand at fried green tomatoes.  I did not/do not like fried green anything...especially tomatoes.  But, being a mother, she encouraged her stubborn child to eat the tomatoes.  I knew I didn't want to eat them because the smell of those horrid things was making me sick.  I thought I would be clever by putting the bite of tomato into my mouth and then immediately spit it out into my napkin.  Unfortunately, I got caught.  The next bite had to be chewed and swallowed.  Needless to say, that bite was the undoing of everyone's dinner...I was sick all over the table.  I was never made to eat anything ever again!

And I'm sure that I have now ruined the love of tomatoes for everyone...sorry!  But look on the bright side, if you have GERD, I've just eliminated one of the foods you shouldn't eat!

So, there's the tomato tale.  Here, look at the pretty flowers...they will erase all of those ugly images from your mind! :-)



36 comments

  1. Good for the barfing all over the table!!!

    Mothers should not force children, to eat anything they do not want to.

    Says she, whose youngest child, to this day, says I forced a hot dog on him.

    Pesky kids!!!! Making up such salacious stories about their "dear old mom"!

    Heh... Heh... Hehhh...

    Huggles,
    Tessa

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    1. LOL..it was awful...I remember it vividly! Even after this entire episode, I remember trying to make my kids take a "polite bite"...LOL. Forcing a hot dog??!! Shame on you..you should have given it to me! I love hot dogs...LOL And yes, aren't kids awful for telling these tales on their parents??!! :-) Much love and hugs!

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  2. Haha! I had the exact same reaction when my mother forced me to eat octopus! It was not a pretty sight! :)

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    1. Ewwww, octopus!! I would have done the EXACT same things…times 100….ewwww LOL

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  3. LOLOL!
    i know your pain.
    i once had to sit at the table until bedtime. because i REFUSED to eat a piece of LIVER.
    to this day... the sight the smell the thought of eating a piece of ANY kind of liver gives me cold chills.
    xo

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    1. Ewwwww on liver! That is one thing that has never crossed my lips...I gag when I see it in the store! I don't blame you one single bit...I would still be sitting at that table...LOL...yuck!! Love and hugs!!

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  4. Hi Benita I had to eat Spaghetti O's once and I told my mom I could not even stand the smell and she made me try it and the Spaghetti O's were all over the table too. My brothers never let me live that down. From that day on I could never stand that smell of any of those canned foods like that again. Love the pretty flowers. Gorgeous. Have a great day.
    Kris

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    1. LOL @ Spaghetti O’s! I do not blame you one single bit. I’m sure I ate them as a child and my kids loved them….but I cannot tolerate the smell of those things! They really gross me out…a lot! Oh, and what about Chef Boyardee ravioli, lasagna and spaghetti….those are horrible also! Glad the flowers were a nice distraction and thank you so much! Hope you have a wonderful evening! Hugs!!

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  5. Oh, I feel for ya!! I hope parents have learned by now that kids will eventually eat when they are hungry---throw in some vitamins and call it a day. I had a similar experience, well somewhat. Apparently I was coming down with a stomach bug and my mother had fresh baked peanut butter cookies for us. I ate a few and they came back up awhile later. I think I was about 6 years old. To this day I can't have anything with peanut butter in it---just plain old peanut butter is fine, but not candy, cookies or pies. Gross!!!

    Love the flowers!

    Jane x

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    1. Bless your heart! Peanut butter cookies are the best, but I totally know how you feel! So no Reese's cups for you??!!! I will eat your share then...LOL And you are right...if I had small kids now, they could eat whatever. No forcing them because when I see someone get sick, I'm right there joining them...sort of like the "I'm in jail with you" kinda thing...LOL Thank you so much! Glad the flowers helped with the vomit story....LOL

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  6. I feel your pain! For the longest time, I wouldn't even eat a salad if it had tomatoes in it. My mom would always say you can pick them out, but can you pick the seeds out that have contaminated the salad. As I got older, I could eat them only if they were in a sand which or a burger. And I have never had Fried Green tomatoes either. I'm getting to the point that I will try them once, since I've come to the conclusion tomatoes from the vine taste so much better than the tomatoes at the store. I think it may be because I'm getting older I'm losing my sense of taste! LOL! Before I get to how gorgeous the flowers are, one thing I made for my family that they will never let me forget about, was the Tuna Ramen Noodle Casserole I made, that was absolutely the worst thing I've ever made, aside from the time I burnt the Chorizo Hash. Ha, looking forward to more new home pictures! Have a great day Benita! hugs, Christine

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    1. Honey, you are so right!!! Those seeds and the flavor of the tomato sink into everything it touches! The hubster hates pickles and always wants to give me his off of his burger. I tell him nope…they’ve touched the tomatoes. He tries to convince me I would never taste them and then I remind him of the time I threw up all over the table and ask does he really want to go there in public…LOL. Tuna Ramen Noodle Casserole…see, the hubster would be all over that…LOL..throwback from his college days and also, he loves Tuna Casserole. Chorizo Hash??!! So how does that smell??!! LOL.

      Thank you so much! I had to add the flowers to soften up this horrible story…LOL. Hope you have a great evening! Hugs!!

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  7. Lots of empathy stories here :) I like tomatoes but haven't eaten tomato soup since I was 7, because that was the last think I ate before coming down with a stomach virus. I still have no desire to eat it! Thanks for the flower image...it helps, haha.

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    1. LOL..everyone is so sweet! For some silly reason, I thought I was the only person with a horror story like this and I have loved reading everyone else's stories...they are great!! No tomato soup crosses these lips either. I've always thought it was odd how our sense of smell triggers so many memories and causes us to love or hate something immediately...it is an interesting correlation. LOL...I was hoping the flowers would help get over the story! Thanks so much Julie! Hugs!!

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  8. Ok , I can empathize but in a differenent food way. Grew up on a farm and everytime we ate any meat product, my sister who was older would say, we're eTing Benji tonight !! I would sit at that dinner table till bedtime, I wasn't allowed to det up till my plate was clean. Yuck!!!!!!I'd go to bed hungry.My mom
    MADE me try a bite of liver and onion's ONCE and I barfed !!! The thought or smell of certain food's, yes I have Gerd !!!! The flower's are beauuuuutiful but I think I'll skip dinner tonight. LMHO Give us some more sneak peek's you tease !!!!! I think we'll have toast for dinner. Thank's for the memorie's silly girl:)) love & hug's , TT

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    1. I'm so sorry, I did not mean to ruin your dinner...of course, I'm thinking of a boiled egg and toast myself...something bland...LOL. So see, you don't need to be eating tomatoes anyway with that GERD problem...LOL. Eating Benji??!!! That was so mean, I would not have been able to eat either. And I'm with you on liver and onions..YUCK! That is one gross meal...LOL. Thanks for the compliment on the flowers...but they are nothing compared to those beautiful arrangements you can whip up in a minute! Hope you have a great evening!! Love and hugs to you!!!

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    2. Btw, Benji was NOT A DOG !! Lol I named every single pig, cow, goat and sheep we owned , I guess I was running out of name's !!! Benji was a cow that I raised from a calf. That's the circle of life. Mean sister ,lol.

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    3. That is hilarious!!! Benji the cow!! And yes, mean sister…LOL!!

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  9. I wish I thought of that as a kid! My mother was the type to make you sit there long after dinner to finish your plate. A little throwing up early on and dinner would have been over!

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    1. LOL…see, you should have hung around with me…..I could have given you tips…LOL And you are so right…throwing up on the table ends it all…the fight and the dinner! You are so funny!! Hugs!!

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  10. Grits - grits was the food I absolutely despised. My mother was one of those stay at the table until the plate is clean mothers. So I waited until the grits were cold and hard, cut them into tiny pieces and washed them down with my water. I was not allowed to eat school lunches because I was on a very strict diet. In 4th grade the teacher had a contest for an "A" in Health if you ate everything on your tray. My mother reluctantly let me take part. I was okay Monday through Thursday. Then came Friday - it was turnip greens day. I do NOT eat any cooked greens. I told the teacher I would throw up if I ate them. As a kind teacher, she said if I did not, I would not get the "A". So I ate them and up they came all over the lunchroom table. It caused a seismic event where just about all students threw up.

    I got my "A"!

    This was a fun post to read everyone's traumatic food events!

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    1. LMAO....that is too funny!! I know it's not funny, but it is! Cold, hard grits are the absolute worst...I hope the water helped them go down easier!! Turnip greens are delicious, but I won't cook them because of the smell. When I was little, I used to sneak through the bushes to my neighbor's house to eat them...she cooked them about 3 times a week.

      I'm glad you earned your "A" and entertained the other school children in the process...I can only imagine...LOL. And yes, it has been fun and interesting to read everyone's food events! I love it!!

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  11. Benita, your fried green tomatoes story reminded me of the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs & Ham book--I do NOT like green eggs and ham, I do NOT like them Sam I am! (Insert fried green tomatoes!) I did not like tomatoes as a child, but they are actually one of my favorites now ;) I can't recall a traumatic food tale except that my mother was like AnnMarie's and I had to drink milk at every meal despite my dislike for it. Guess what? All these years later and I still hate milk--so I feel your pain, B!

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    1. HA HA HA...that is so true!! Those fried green tomatoes were the worst and imagine my horror when the movie came out...LOL I've still not seen the movie...it was just that horrible of an event for me...scarred for life I guess! :-) I can't drink milk either...I bake with it but try to measure and get it into whatever I'm baking as quickly as I can...it just gags me. I think I'm lactose intolerant...LOL

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  12. Ha! My mom did the same to me with beets. I hate beets to this day!

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    1. Ewwww…beets…I hate those things! My mother used to cook those also….thankfully the tomato incident happened early enough that she never tried to get me to eat them…ewww…..I can still smell them…bless your heart! I think those are worse than the tomatoes!

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  13. Boy this reminded me of my dinners as a child. My mother was a great cook, but my sister was a picky eater. So it seemed my mother was always trying to make her try different things. She hates tomatoes, beans and just about every thing. So I am seeing your story from the side lines as I saw my sister. I felt bad for her but also like here we go again.....can't leave the table until everyone is done. Its like take a bite and let's get this thing done......LOL Love your story. I hope your having a great day!

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    1. LOL....I think every household had someone like me...the finicky eater! My problem was that if it smelled bad or looked "creamy", I couldn't eat it. It wasn't until about 10 years ago that I would even eat macaroni and cheese...LOL I'm still pretty picky...there are not a lot of veggies I will eat. That "polite bite" business is for the birds...LOL. Thanks so much girl and thank you for sharing! I have loved all of these childhood stories!! Hope your day is going well!!

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  14. Hi Benita! :)
    ...gross...ok, where are those flowers? ;)
    I have a tomato trauma too, except mine is tomato soup...my aunt made me eat a whole can of tomato soup when I was visiting (I think I was about 5)...she was one of those 'mean aunts'...even though I told her I hated tomato soup...same thing happened to me...so sick! As I read some of the others traumas I guess I got off easy with tomato soup...liver...bleck! And your own named and played with farm animals...sniff, sniff! :(
    I have never tried fried green tomatoes...they do look and smell gross to me! ;)
    Tomato anything for lunch today? I think not! ;)
    Have a wonderful rest of your week friend!
    Kimberley

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    1. Yes, we need more flowers...LOL!! I had one or two of those aunts also....I didn't visit very often because I wasn't eating peas, corn, tomatoes or anything else. I'm with you on the tomato soup...I did try it once....once only...and that was it. It was gross...no tomato soup, no milk, no liver, no any of it...LOL Hope you are having a great day!! Hugs!!

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  15. lol, too funny. my mum is an ok cook I guess, but she doesn't like tomatoes for whatever reason. so I was never forced to eat them. needless to say they are one of my favourite vegetables. or fruit. or whatever. but I've been forced to eat plenty of things as a child too. traumatizing, I know...

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    1. I wish my mother had not liked tomatoes and maybe then I would be enjoying them today! LOL. They qualify as a fruit and a vegetable. I've seen people eat them like an apple! :-)

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  16. I love tomatoes, but I feel the same way about asparagus and my parent made me eat it when I was a kid too and it was overcooked and stringy and I threw up too! Hate it to this day!

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    1. Ewww. Asparagus…I so cannot blame you there. I don’t even like to smell that stuff….LOL

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  17. My comment didn't show up from my iPad, so here goes another chance for me to tell you very much I love tomatoes! LOL Homegrown, right out of the yard. My urp story involved the very nasty lima bean. I despise them! I got caught stuffing them under my chair in kindergarten...then was made to eat what was left. Mean old woman! Thanks for the laugh!

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    1. I think they are so beautiful and wish I could stomach them, but I just can’t…LOL…I have tried though. I’m with you on lima beans…YUCK! LOL @ stuffing them under your chair…that is hilarious!!! Thank you for the laugh too!

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