Loving Thanksgiving for Family, Not for Food

Thanksgiving for picky eaters is like Halloween for very religious families. As a certified picky eater of 20 years, there is not a single day of the year that I dread more than Thanksgiving.

While I do think my taste in food has expanded an exceptional amount as I’ve gotten older, there are still not many foods I will eat on Thanksgiving. I don’t eat a lot of meat, because I think anything other than chicken tastes disgusting, so when there’s a variety of meat like turkey and ham placed in front of me, a sense of panic instills in me.

People often joke about how they overeat during the holidays, but personally, I starve. I go home hungry every year because the only thing I will eat is dinner rolls and cranberry sauce. I don’t even eat dessert because I think pie is gross.

I come from a family of fantastic cooks. I love my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles cooking every other day of the year. But for some reason on Thanksgiving, everything is a casserole. Why can’t I have regular green beans? Why does it have to be in the form of a casserole? Can I just have regular mashed potatoes without cornflakes? Who decided gravy on everything was a good idea?

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started making my own small meal to eat before Thanksgiving. I spent about 15 years forcing myself to try and like the meal that my family spends all day cooking, but I had to eventually realize that I am not a holiday meal kind of girl. And I am not saying we should just have chicken strips and pizza for Thanksgiving dinner, but rather just a regular meal that doesn’t send every member of a family into a spiral in the kitchen that morning.

While I think Thanksgiving food was sent by the devil himself, I do enjoy getting to see my family and spend time with those who I don’t often get to see. While I don’t want to eat the ham that my stepdad and his brother get up at the crack of dawn to smoke every year, I do appreciate that I have a family who is able to come together and enjoy each other’s company … even if I do go home hungry every single year.

Lizzie Rush is a Grand Island, Neb., sophomore studying journalism and the Collegian’s Editor In Chief. Contact her on Instagram.

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