Okay, chances are if you were a picky eater as a kid (Like me!) you probably heard the above statement from your mother, father, grandmother, etc. more times than you can count. I was definitely hard to please and very finicky as a child, and I’m sure I must have dealt my parents fits. I can remember turning my nose up at peas, augratin potatoes and tuna noodle casserole, just to name a few. And I’m still not too fond of peas. Yuck! (Though, strangely enough, I tended to like veggies that other kids hated, such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, and lima beans.) I was what you might call a texture person, meaning how the food felt in my mouth was a big decision-maker. Anything mushy, gushy in the center was out. (One of the reasons why I like cherry flavoring, but hate actual cherries.)

I’m still pretty picky to a certain extent. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I have my favorite dishes and I tend to order them over and over. I know what I like and very rarely do I venture out of the box. But on a recent trip to Applebee’s, I was feeling particularly adventurous and decided to try the Fiesta Lime Chicken that a friend had been raving about. Now, lime flavoring in chicken just didn’t sound right to me, but I tried it and I have a new favorite.

This philosophy can also apply to other aspects of your life. Take movies, for example. I am not a huge Die Hard or Bruce Willis fan and had no desire to see the new Die Hard movie that came out over the summer. But my friend poked and prodded at me until I finally gave in and it ended up being one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in the past few months.

So, are you a daring person and try a lot of new things, or do you tend to be a bit more like me and play it safe, sticking to the things you know? And have you ever tried something you were certain you would hate, only to end up loving it?