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Blog Entry 11 of 79 BroFax Cosmonaut
Denver rocks.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~TruthOrConsequences

This has never happened before

Contributed by: Eric J. Lubbers   on 9/5/2006

You may wonder why the photo at right is so monumentally important in my life.

It appears to be a sight common around the country, an early-20s shlub in a polo eating Easy Mac at the office because he can't cook anything to save his life.

But what you don't know is that I haven't eaten cheese in any form in 16 years, or since I was only 6 years old.

Let me start out by answering the question that has immediately followed every past public admission of this fact: No, I am not lactose intolerant. I simply made a rational, conscious decision (as rational and conscious as a 6-year-old can be) to not eat cheese.
I steadfastly avoided cheese for the next decade and a half or so, becoming the bane of fast-food, Italian and Mexican restaurants (98 percent of any given menu is cheese) and turning pizza-eating into a complex culinary surgery or, as we call it in the biz, a mozzarectomy.One-third of all Lunchables were useless to me. Quesadillas were a mystery. Needless to say, I was given quizzical looks at pizza parties and potlucks throughout my childhood.

Then I moved to Denver. I've been here for more than a year now, and I've been trying every spice and weird dish I can find in our diverse culinary culture. Then a few weeks ago, I began to doubt myself. I don't have a problem devouring Indian or Ethiopian food, so what do I really have against cheese?

For years, I gave a standard spiel that listed taste and texture as the prime culprits. The latter is still true (I don't like gooey/overly smooth things on the whole), but the former was a problem. I didn't even remember what cheese tasted like, yet I still railed against it.

I started on my re-cheeseucation much like a child. I'm starting with the simple, artificial cheeses (except for Easy Cheese. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing will ever get that schlock into my gullet), like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and string cheese (which I have cloudy, but fond, memories of from my early childhood). Unfortunately, my reintroduction to Mac & Cheese has had debilitating effects. I'm hopelessly addicted to the stuff.

I think Mac & Cheese addiction might be like chicken pox. If you get it when you're a kid, it's less intense and easier to get over. But I missed out when I was young, so my cheesemunity is dangerously low. I should be careful.

Pizza is also on my list. I had my first non-dissected piece of pizza from Domino's the other day, and I had to say it was good, and it was much less messy than the way I had been eating it. I got a little sick afterwards, but I can't tell if it was the cheese or something else entirely. I'm not sure exactly what the next step is, but I'll let you know when I find out.

Do you have a childhood fear/aversion that you've recently discovered is unfounded? Leave me a comment below or post your own story or blog.


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Showing 1-10 of 13 comments
Submitted By: Erin Williams
posted on 9/14/2006 @ 3:17:55 PM
Rated Blog Entry
My friend Jill's four food groups: Hamburger, Bacon (yes, she considers this a separate meat categoy), Potatoes and most importantly, Cheese. As she says, "I incorporate all of these foods into atleast one meal a day." If you need help with your introdution to cheese, she'll be happy to chat.
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Submitted By: Eric Lubbers
posted on 9/14/2006 @ 2:52:23 PM
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I should have mentioned that the condition was hereditary. And I'm still stuck at the Mac & Cheese stage. It will be a while, maybe never, before I can make it to lasagna or enchilada. Nice to see you on the boards, Dad!
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Submitted By: Jack Lubbers
posted on 9/13/2006 @ 9:22:22 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Well, I never dreamed... I guess I can say I am proud? of you for overcoming your aversion to cheese. However, you won't catch me eating it; I'm willing to suffer through the hunger pains of eating at potlucks and the wonderful smell of Mexican and Italian dishes that are full of the stuff! From your dear old Dad.
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Submitted By: Seth Davis
posted on 9/6/2006 @ 3:34:00 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I'm amazed. It's an honor to witness this milestone after having watched you avoid cheese at all costs this past year.
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Submitted By: Karin Malchow
posted on 9/5/2006 @ 8:48:02 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I had a childhood aversion to scrambled eggs, but now consume them drenched with cheese. Cheese makes all food palatable.
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Submitted By: Brendan Leonard
posted on 9/5/2006 @ 3:30:43 PM
Rated Blog Entry
It's about time you joined the mac and cheese revolution, my friend.
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Submitted By: Rebecca Zimmerman
posted on 9/5/2006 @ 3:25:20 PM
(Not Rated)
Wow ... I couldn't even imagine a life without cheese ... I agree with Karen, I could live off the stuff. If a dish has cheese or cheesey in the title, I get excited. By the way, you can never go wrong with Mac and Cheese, thats for sure.
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Submitted By: Tabitha Dial
posted on 9/5/2006 @ 3:09:25 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Be careful, Eric... eat cautiously. I peronally don't like to eat shrimp, unless it's finely chopped or very breaded. It's the texture and those veins popping as you bite down. Ick.
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Submitted By: John Brandstetter
posted on 9/5/2006 @ 3:09:06 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Cheese is one of my favorite foods. I'm much more likely to eat something if a cheese additive is present. On the other hand, I can't stomach vegetables of any kind. When I was a kid, I became violently ill after eating a couple spoonfuls of vegetable soup. This resulted in learned taste aversion, which I've never been able to get over. I've tried to eat them over the years because I know there's a real possibility of dying at 30 without them. But, sadly, my veggie fear remains 100 percent founded.
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Submitted By: John Zwick
posted on 9/5/2006 @ 3:08:29 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I hate pickles, but really that's just common sense. As fears go, most of mine are run of the mill survival stuff. Like aviophidophobia.
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Showing 1-10 of 13 comments
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