Two Tips for Fussy Eaters Who Want to Experiment With New Restaurant Foods

If you're a fussy eater but you'd like to start broadening your gastronomic horizons by experimenting with different restaurant foods, here are some tips you might find useful.

Pick one challenging side dish off the restaurant menu during each visit

Rather than diving into the deep end and ordering a three-course meal consisting entirely of foods that you've always been afraid to try or which you've tried once before and disliked, you should only choose one challenging side dish from the restaurant menu during each dining adventure you go on.

The reason for this is that if you order three courses, none of which appeal to you, you'll be stressed out for the entire meal and will spend it forcing down a selection of foods that you are afraid of or which don't really appeal to you. Conversely, if you choose one side dish off the menu that sounds challenging (for example, if you have an issue with eating crunchy foods, then you could look for side dishes on the menu like nachos, deep-fried onion rings or breadsticks and dip) and then pick your favourite 'safe' dishes off the menu for your main course and your dessert.

You can then alternate bites of this side dish with the other foods that you genuinely enjoy and that don't stress you out. Because the item will be a side dish, you won't have to face eating a big portion of it, if it turns out that you don't like it that much. Doing this will ensure that when you're finished, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment at having challenged yourself while still enjoying most of the meal.

Let your dining companions select menu items for you

It's also a good idea to occasionally allow your dining companions to order dishes off the restaurant menu for you. This could be a good challenge to take on if one of the things that bothers you about your fussy eating is your urge to constantly have full control over your food choices. You could agree not to look at the menu and could let your companions select some new dishes for you to try.

If this is too intimidating, you could always stipulate that, for example, they can only pick dishes that don't include a specific ingredient that you cannot stand at all (such as raw tomatoes) so that you know their dish choices won't turn out to be items you cannot stomach.

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