Anti-Vege...

Yes... if there is ever such a thing, then I am one of it... I'm not ashamed to admit - I don't eat veggie.. Ok, maybe over the last 3-4 years or so, I have started eating bits and pieces of it (only when forced to or when MIL is around my vicinity)

I can only remember when I was like 5 years old, my favourite veggie was the long beans. My mum would cut it off to smaller pieces, each about an inch long and fried it with prawns or something.

Until one day when I happily bite into one and it tastes so bitter that I spewed it back out. Since then no more veggie. That memories of bitterness is so deeply ingrained into my brain that I have not touched any veggie since then until about 3-4 years back.

No matter how I closed my eyes, pinched my nose, numbed my brain, think of happy thoughts before I put those veggie into my mouth, I'd still gagged and showed off my disgust when chewing it. And worse is, no matter how I chew, it just STAYS in my mouth. No kidding. Its like my mouth has this ability to retain veggie in it while shoving everything else to the throat.

Now, how do I avoid veggie then since its practically around every food we have? Hahah... have a look at my sneaky clever tactics which I applied to some of these situations I have listed down...

#1 - McDonalds
I used to stay clear of the burgers and just ordered the Nugget meal. No veggie = A happy me. Then I started venturing into burgers by ordering Fillet o' Fish and McChicken. Now how do I get rid of the pickles / veggies? I just used a stick of french fries and shoved the pickles/veggies away. Back at high school, I'd normally take out the top bun of the burger (where the pickles/veggie are) and exchanged it with my best friend (she'd give me the bottom bun which has no veggie/pickles)

#2 - Chinese restaurant / kopitiam
I loved eating YongChow fried rice. But always.. I repeat, it always comes with the carrots, green peas and corns. All the ingredients that put me off fried rice. So, one day, I started ordering "YongChow fried rice DON'T WANT veggie". And my order came as what I've ordered. Woohoo!!

Since then, I have maintained this 'customised' order. Of course, there are few times the waiter slips and gave me one with veggie in it (normally happened with new waiter or busy kitchen) then you'd see me busily (and grumpily) removing the pieces of veggies in the rice to one side.

Btw, I do the same for Char Kuey Teow which I'd order without the tauge (beansprouts) :D

#3 - Instant noodle
If I'm lucky, the manufacturers of the instant noodle would have made separate packaging for the veggie instead of mixing it with the MSG packet. If not, well, cook it together and sieve it out later. You can practically see a nicely decorated chunk of veggie pieces at one side of the bowl/plate after I was done with the instant noodle. Hahahah!!

Of course there are many more other foods and dishes with veggie but the above 3 are like my top favourite foods. Hahahah... close friends and ex-colleagues who knew about my weird 'sickness' would act as normal but new friends and strangers will look at me up and down one kind as if I'm some sort of alien from outer space.

I know, I know, now that I have a baby I have to eat veggie (and MIL would say "Else how to teach your son to eat veggie?!!!") so which is why I have made extra effort to take in veggie before I conceived Ben until now. I can safely say I now can take carrots (chopped into thin pieces or blended), brocolli (steamed until soft soft), potato leaves (as in those in the pan mee noodle type which is super soft). Other that that, its still disgust-chew-munch-swallow-try not to puke kinda reaction for the rest of the veggies...

I hope that Ben knows how much effort his mummy puts in for this...