I am so surprised to see that this site exists and that this many people feel the way I do. I am a 24 year old from NYC, so thankfully being vegan or vegetarian is quite common and I can always find something to eat around here. My diet is mainly eggs, buckwheat, cereal, cucumber, avocado, rice, seaweed, ice cream, hamburgers (plain with no bun, extra sauce, and MUST be well done), and a few other items. I have recently started branching out more because my very supportive boyfriend of 4 years is (slowly) but surely trying to help me eat new foods. Sometimes I feel he may be pushy, but it is only because he loves me and he wants me to be able to have a well rounded healthy diet. I can definitely understand this, as his grandma who has similar eating habits to me is having health problems at her old age because of the way she has been eating her whole life. My mother always said the reason I don't eat meat is because a childhood friend's mother showed me a video of slaughter houses and terrible conditions in them. I am not sure if this is true or not, but I am always scared to try meat, even if I sometimes feel I like chicken nuggets I can't get over the fact of eating a dead animal. I can't even touch raw fish or raw ham etc… I feel so bad about this and I hate not being able to cook for my BF the way I would like to because I can't taste the food as I make it for him and I don't know how to experiment with different recipes. I myself would love to try the new foods but once I have that piece of fish or steak in front of me I cannot physically pick up the food and put it in my mouth. I also have a thing with the texture of the food, if I don't agree with it and I still like how it tastes I won't eat it. I always tell myself today will be the day you try something new, but it rarely happens that way. I am going to a sushi dinner on Monday, so hopefully I will try something new! I want to do this not only for my boyfriend but mainly for myself. Especially when I have kids in the future I do not want to set this kind of example for them. If anyone has any tips on ways to feel better and constantly keep trying new feeds, PLEASE let me know. 🙂 I thought I was alone in this, but it turns out there are many of us! hopefully we can all overcome any obstacles we feel are in our way. Happy Holiday's everyone, and remember to pack a little side snack for your holiday dinner 😉 I know I always do..