I Don’t Do . . . (Fill in the Blank)

First off I want to thank my co-workers for providing me with what is turning out to be a nearly endless supply of blog post ideas. I recently had a conversation in the lunch room with a teller that led to a discussion on food. It started out the way my workplace food conversations normally start: “So, I heard you’re a vegetarian?” After the requisite questions, including “What do you eat then?” the conversation turned to healthier eating in general. She had recently watched Oprah (there’s another future post idea) and now was thinking more about what she was eating.

The conversation was actually very enjoyable as she seemed to be open to making some changes and learning about new foods, but then she stopped me cold when she said, “I don’t do fruit.” Don’t do fruit? What does that even mean? It was a solid declaration like, “I don’t do drugs.” End of story. She said she’ll eat an occasional apple, but that’s about it. She hates bananas, strawberries, etc., etc., etc. I still don’t know what to make of this. And truth be told, she is not the first person to say this exact same statement to me. I’ve also heard variations such as, “I don’t do vegetables” and “I don’t do whole grains.”

 

We all have specific foods we don’t like. I recently saw a TV ad for Miracle Whip that asked people to pick a side. I chose to side with the man who says he’d rather lick a boot than eat Miracle Whip. But to disregard an entire food category? Before you jump in and say, “That’s what you’ve done!” keep in mind that vegetarians make a conscious decision to remove meat from their diet, which they are careful to replace with other protein-rich foods. It is not a casual dismissal without regard to the diet as a whole, which is what the “I don’t do . . .” people seem to, well, do. Why don’t I ever hear someone say, “I don’t do artificial sweeteners,” or “I don’t do fast food”?