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Friday, January 2, 2015

Why Didn't Someone Tell Me? Plus, Another Bargain





Over the years, various people have offered me things to eat I had never tried. Okay, I tried the calamari and it was fine. I will never eat shrimp again even though it was fine. Most shrimp smell and taste nasty. That alone caused me to never eat them after a high school experience with shrimp. Some things I flatly turn down because they are raw meat or have spicy hot peppers.

However, one simple thing has had me stymied. Sunflower seeds. No one told me I had to get the seed out of the shell. Okay, laugh. I know you are. I have gagged my way through trying to swallow the hull , choking on it eventually. Plus, they tasted awful. No one ever told me not to swallow the hull  until I had tears in my eyes. Yeah, I just spit the whole thing out and vowed never again. .

Last week, I was searching for unsalted peanuts amongst the snack items. I saw some little little seeds and looked at the name--sunflower seeds. Hmmm, I have never tried these tiny ones, just the huge ones. Maybe I can swallow these. Then, it hit me--these were inside the "big seeds." I bought some and am hooked.

Bargain


This week, I found 30 oz. Miracle Whip for $2.97, priced matched at WM and used a $1 coupon. That means I paid $1.97 for my beloved MW. That price is about 50% of the usual price.

Your turn
Have you ever turned down a food after a bad experience, never to taste it again? Was the result funny or tragic? Maybe you tried it twice and loved it? What deals have you found or coupons used this new year?

14 comments:

  1. Someone who boarded with us told us that he would never, ever eat passion fruit again, because by the time he had got the seeds out there was nothing left.
    And yes, sunflower seeds ARE addictive, but a pain to peel.

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    Replies
    1. EC,
      LOL...I will remember that if I ever have a passion fruit. Oh, I never intend to peel a sunflower, just buy seeds without the hull. I just get a few in a small bowl and put the bag away. Otherwise, I would eat the whole bag. Now, I need to find a passionfruit. My brother ate them all the time when we were kids.

      Delete
  2. Linda,
    Giggle. Omg, I am sorry, but that is funny. You were getting some serious fiber from those hulls, though. So glad you discovered the real beauty of sunflower seeds.
    Patti from ca

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    Replies
    1. Patti,
      Very little fiber could pass my tonsils. Yes, now it is funny. A few days ago, it was not. Then, I realized how funny that must have been to others. Patti, they are delicious!

      Delete
  3. Trying not to laugh - really !
    I use ground sunflower seeds in baking to add extra protein.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wean,
      Yes, it was funny but distressful. I thought I was going to choke to death. I was wondering if the unground seeds could be added to other foods, like salads, brownies, or soup.

      Delete
  4. My co-workers and I had been taken to a very authentic Chinese Restaurant in NYC back in 1990 to celebrate an important work related milestone. The selected menu had fried jelly fish and other "delicacies" we thought were pretty bad. That night I decided never to touch Chinese Food ever again until a whole year later when my American friends heard the story and decided to undo the deed of choosing that terrible menu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. T'Pol,
      I am glad your American friends helped you over that authentic Chinese food experience. I went to a Thai restaurant and have never recovered enough to do that again. Thanks for sharing that experience.

      Delete
  5. Having been to a number of countries on assignment where the spiders are the size of Volkswagons - I can clearly state, I do NOT eat bugs (tarantula actually tastes a bit like crab but I don't like crab either). In such places, where you really don't know WHAT that meat is, I often take packs of ramen noodles in my suitcase and cook them in the fancy hotel coffeepot in my room. And Quest Protein bars.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brigid,
      I can imagine your ploy would work for me. I am not very adventurous in the food arena. Being in another country would make me wary. I hope those assignments were not lengthy. I will have to remember the Quest protein bars. Spiders the size of Volkswagon? Thanks for the heads up. Shivers! Thanks for the comment.

      Delete
  6. Linda - OK, I was laughing. The secret to eating unhulled sun seeds is to only eat one at a time, use your front teeth to split the hull, suck out the seed, spit out the hull. Will keep a child occupied for an hour if you give him a tablespoon.
    For us, buy raw sun seeds and toast them if you must. I use a tablespoon on my salad every night. I've lightly toasted them and put them in muffins, brownies and cookies. If you put them in a food processor or blender they will make sunflower seed butter - like pb - but I find it has a slightly bitter taste. I've seen them for sale with hot pepper seasoning, soy sauce (tamari), and even ranch flavoring.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bellen,
    Thanks. Since I have an overbite, this won't work well for me. I toasted pumpkin seeds and only my 3 yr old, maybe she was 4, sat and ate them until I was afraid she would be sick. I hope she was not eating something meant to be spit out. But, she sat and ate them at the table, so if she spit things out, I am not aware.
    Mine are roasted, unsalted kernels. I will look for the raw sunflower seeds and see what I can do with them. Thanks for the info.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I guess I am either an inexperienced or adventurous eater but I have never had a meal that put me off eating that food ever again. Sure there have been things that I didn't care for but I have never had a traumatic food experience. You cook it, I'll try it. Although, I am pretty certain that I could not eat live bugs or those grubs that you see people eating on those Survivor type shows. That is where I would absolutely draw the line!

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  9. I have a very, very small list of things I won't eat...I'll try anything, as long as it doesn't smell funky.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.