Damn you, Subway

Places like Subway or Chipotle seem like they would be a Picky-Eater's dream, right?  I can pick and choose what I want without worry.  When I first went to places like Subway, I will admit I was in heaven.  My mom loved it because she didn't have to deal with me any longer.  However, the truth came out in the end...and design your own food places are horrible for picky eaters (namely me).

First things first:  It comes with a lot of stigma.  The looks I get when I order 3 soft chicken tacos from Qdoba with nothing on them.  I'm sorry that I don't want my food to crunch inconstantly when I eat. Sue me.  

Now what really grinds my gears is the price I pay for being picky.  I'm talking the cost of less food.  

          My first Subway sandwich was a kid's white bread with ham (NO CHEESE).   It was perfect.  When I got a little older, I would get honey oat bread with ham.  Then in high school, I really branched out and would order ham and pepperoni on Italian Herbs and Cheese.  That is what I still order today, with the occasional squirt of ranch. (please note the lack of veggies of any kind)
          Do you know what they say to me when I order that?  "We are going to have to charge you double meat."  It didn't used to bother me until I noticed that my Subway order was always 3 or so dollars more than the people I was with.  Or it was the same price as people who ordered footlongs.  

          After some serious research I discovered that a plain ham sandwich is $3.50.  A turkey and ham sandwich is $4.00.  A Subway Club (ham, turkey, roast beef) is $4.50.  I think there is a pattern here: $.50 for every extra meat. 

THE DOUBLE MEAT CHARGE IS $2.50 (I said it in all caps because I was flabbergastedly yelling in my head).  There are 6 sandwiches on the menu with 2 or more meats and I'm paying $5.50 for a 6 inch with ham and pepperoni?  The part that really gets me is that I only order 2 meats.  I don't get any vegetables at all, yet I'm still paying more than you. 
          I understand that Subway doesn't know I'm not going to load up on veggies, that's why they charge what they do--because you have the option of getting more.  So as a picky eater, I am paying for the guy who gets everything on their sandwich, which is totally unfair.  That is why design your own food places aren't always the best for picky eaters.  We have to pay for the non-picky eaters. 
         Side note: Because I'm smarter than the average bear, I have started asking for the Italian BMT without Salami at Subway.  It usually confuses them enough to not question me. 

Solution:  SATCO.  It is an amazing little mexican food place in Nashville.  You order tacos and pay for every topping you but on them.  So it's awesome for me because I pay $1.25 for a plain chicken taco and life is good.  

References:

http://subway.com/applications/menu/frmMenuPanel.aspx?CC=USA&LC=ENG&MenuID=53&FDI=1
http://www.snapfinger.com/Menus/Subway/Menu.aspx?SiteID=493&category=Subs
http://thesatco.com/

Growing and Maturing

For most of my life, I blamed everyone else for my crazy eating habits.  Why don’t you have a sandwich with nothing on it? “Fine, I just won’t eat!!!” That type of attitude.   

One day I realized that it wasn’t fair of me to blame the world for it, it was my fault.  It makes me “make do” with what’s placed in front of me and reminds me to not get angry when I don’t like anything available to me. 

Even I can’t be perfect all of the time, and this blog is my place to vent about people who assume that everyone is a “foodie” or that all picky eaters are 12 and under. 

Method to the Madness

Now, I also think it’s important for you to know the rules that I base my eating habits with. 

Once you are a picky eater for a long time, you find it easiest if you can categorize your food preferences to help the people around you

My Food Rules:

1.    1.  There are foods I plain ol’ don’t like.  And I don’t like anything that they are in.  Also, I cannot be fooled.  I don’t like Peña Coladas, and yes I can taste the coconut.  Ask my dad, who made me a banana/chocolate shake when I got braces (it didn’t get eaten).

a.       Bananas

b.      Coconut

c.       Orange

d.      Coffee

e.      Peas

f.        Ground beef (exception: hamburgers)

2.    2. I don’t like my foods mixed together. This is a hard one for people to understand, the see everything as “mixed together” so for those people, no I do not mean pasta with chicken.  It mainly applies to casseroles or things with mixing textures (see Rule 3).

 Exceptions:

a.       I like everything in the mixture, example: salad

b.      I can separate everything and eat it separately, example: King Ranch Casserole

3.      3.I don’t like mixing textures.  This is the pentacle rule by which everything else stands.  This is about eating something consistent, and biting down on something totally different.  That is gross.  I will eat an onion by itself but I will be damned if I want that crunchiness in the middle of my perfectly consistent bite.

Those are my general rules, and if a new food breaks one of the rules, I won’t try it. 

General Picky Eater Suff

I have absolutely no appreciation for food at all.  What does that mean you ask?  Think of the most delicious thing you have ever eaten.  Did it combine amazing flavors that came together creating an explosion in your mouth?  Did you want to have every piece of the dish on your fork so that you could taste it all at one time?  If you answered yes, you are probably not a picky eater.  I can honestly say I never think about food in a romantic way.  I never want something out of the ordinary when it comes to food, and that makes me the Anti-Foodie. 

 

Before I get started on the trials and tribulations of being a picky eater, I think you should have some background information on my picky-ness.  When I was a toddler, my mom took me to the doctor because I wouldn’t eat.  He told her that I would eat when I was hungry and not to force me to try new foods.  Every kid’s dream, right? I was never told to finish my plate or try one bite of everything—it was awesome.  I survived off of chicken tenders, fries, pancakes, waffles, and the occasional  serving of fruit.  I have a picture eating a banana (a practice that has since been terminated) and I remember dipping cheese into ketchup (because I didn’t really like cheese).  

 Please note the grapes in hand

Now, I can’t blame the doctor 100% for how I turned out, my stubbornness is also a key factor.  When I was 4 I can still remember falling asleep on the table instead of eating a chicken breast after being told I had to try it to leave the table.  The one person who made me eat food was Tina, my mom’s best friend and my second mom.  However, I wouldn’t “eat” the peas.  I would keep them in my mouth all day until my mom picked me up.  

 So what have we learned?  A crazy doctor + a stubborn attitude = picky-ness for life. 

Its science.