I have a ton of packing to do (and we all know how I feel about that)…
The Current Packing Situation
The Packing List
… Plus I have some things I must do in my personal life before heading overseas. I need a “free day!”
I would also love a free day because I’m having such a difficult time concentrating on anything other than my upcoming trip. Whenever I’ve opened up a document to make some edits at work today, my mind starts thinking about things I cannot forget to pack or about how flippin’ excited I am! I’ve clearly got ants in my pants!
Fortunately filling up a tumbler of hot tea puts me into “work mode” for some reason, so I have managed to get some pivotal things done at work this afternoon. Phew!
Lunch
Lunch today was so, so good! I love it when I pack a lunch for myself that ends up being exactly what I’m in the mood for when lunchtime rolls around.
Today I made a big salad that included lots of fresh veggies.
Every Veggie Salad
In the mix:
- Butter lettuce (My new favorite kind of lettuce!)
- Carrots
- Orange, yellow and red pepper
- Grape tomatoes
- BBQ pulled chicken
- Balsamic vinaigrette
So Bright 'n' Pretty
The chicken was definitely the highlight.
The lowlight = Grape tomatoes. They were too squishy and honestly made me gag. I ate one before eating my way around the rest. What a bust of a buy!
The totally off-putting texture of the grape tomatoes got me thinking about how texture affects what foods we love and hate. For the most part, I can put aside texture in favor of flavor, but there are certain foods I just can’t enjoy because of their odd texture, namely canned green beans, canned mushrooms and overly ripe tomatoes. Bleh!
Question of the Afternoon
- Are there certain foods you avoid solely because of the texture?
P.S. The Fashion page was updated!
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Sometimes the texture of eggs bug me. I’m not as picky as my hubby, there are a ton of things he wont eat for various reasons but with the texture thing he wont eat cucumbers. thats ok with me though, at restaurants I have them put all the extra veggies on my salad while he eats lettuce and cheese (he’s so exciting) 🙂
I love cottage cheese mixed in things but cannot eat it plain. The curds and creaminess really throw me off. Make me gag even!
I CANNOT eat squishy grape tomatoes or squishy grapes!
The texture of coconut totalllllly grosses me out!
I also really don’t enjoy nuts in anything…the crunch/weird texture just throws it all off for me. Imagine my disappointment this past Thanksgiving where EVERY dessert had some form of nuts in it- ugh!
I don’t remember if you’ve been abroad before, but either way, you will LOVE it. I went to Italy a couple of summers ago- absolutely amazing! Worst part is wanting to buy everything, then having to pay for it in your heavy or additional suitcases- we brought back 19 bottles of wine! =D
i agree with mushrooms and cottage cheese, but the worst for me is applesauce. GAG.
Raw bananas – love them frozen and in smoothies, breads, caramelized, etc… but raw bananas make me gag… so do squishy, mealy apples.
I avoid mealy apples or any softer apples like red and golden delicious. There is nothing delicious about them! lol 🙂
I agree Abby! I don’t like mealy apples! Blech!
I also don’t like canned mushrooms (fresh are superb), tapioca, and grits. Yeeeessshh!
Oh and squishy tomatoes…so horrifying to bite into one of those.
Totally relate to needing a vacation before a vacation AND after. Packing stresses me out – unpacking stresses me out AND traveling, while a blast TIRES me out. haha Looks like you’ve got a solid list going though. I think you’ll be okay 🙂
Texture doesn’t generally stop me. What can I say? I’m one open-minded eater. haha 😉
Have FUN planning your trip – but don’t take anything that you don’t mind getting stolen – worst case scenario. As Diana said, engagement/wedding ring – the things that you won’t be taking off should be okay, but anything else is easy pickins! Esp in Italy, which I LOVE, but pickpocketing is another level there. You’ll still have your purse, but the bottom might be slit open and contents removed on a crowded train, etc. Make a copy of your passport and leave one in the U.S. and give one to someone else to carry who is traveling with you … much easier to deal with the US Consulate if you have the copy and the orig is stolen. Just on the safe side – hopefully it won’t happen. But who wants to lose a day or two getting that figured out for the time it takes to make a copy 🙂
Take as little as you can – you won’t miss anything and you’ll be traveling much lighter and able to get around easier. We don’t bring anything that needs to be charged or plugged in and didn’t miss a THING. So nice to be away from that stuff. It’s a vacation, after all!
I totally feel ya with the grape tomatoes! Texture gets me sometimes with tofu that’s been cooked and it’s still soft on the inside. Blech. I also don’t like mealy apples!
So excited about your trip! I’m going to live vicariously through you 🙂 I am totally with you on the texture thing. I just got braces last month (as an adult 🙁 and I have been eating a lot of soft foods. Some good, some not so much. Some foods are just gross without their “normal” texture. I am so jealous of your crunchy vegetable salad! I can’t eat any of it! Guess I am living vicarioulsy through you on that too 🙂
I know exactly how you feel. I hate packing too and it takes me forever. I’m leaving for Ireland in 2 weeks and I’m already dreading the “prep” work!
I feel you on needing a pre-vacation vacation sometimes. 🙂 I avoid most yogurts because of texture (and flavor), which is weird because I love the funky texture (and flavor) of cottage cheese. Haha. [I do love froyo, and yogurt mixed with or in other foods.] 🙂
i can’t stand the texture of cottage cheese! ew!
Gag inducing textures 🙂
milk, potatoes (including thick cut fries), eggs, cottage cheese, tofu, peas (the insides are like mini potatoes!), mushrooms, cooked carrots, red or golden delicious apples (pink ladies for the win!), eggplant, coconut, bananas, anything pureed like babyfood, any canned vegetable, avocado, any kind of pudding that isn’t sweet and smooth (ie bread, or rice pudding), mayonnaise/miracle whip, and lots more 🙂
PLUS I have Celiac’s disease!
I was an easy child to feed 😉
I really don’t mind the texture of any food- i love food and I love to eat, but I would have to say that biting into a mealy apple usually makes me throw it away instead of suffering through it. have fun on your trip to Europe!
oh boo – sucks about the tomatoes!
textures – for the longest time I couldn’t eat hard boiled eggs. Still kind of can’t eat a lot – it weirds me out! Other than that, tofu is a no-go!
Ditto on the mushrooms! I get the heebee geebees just thinking about them! Yiiiick.
Your salads always look so healthy and filling Julie~ahh so excited for your trip! can’t wait 🙂
I do not like grapes. The texture, taste…everything about them makes me gag!
Cottage cheese, bananas (except in my shakes), and anything that is smushy that’s not suppose to be smushy (like your tomatoes, or grapes, etc).
The salad looks delicious, though!
And love your packing list. You’re just like my husband. I need to start making my list. We head to the beach on Wednesday.
Man, that is one heck of a salad beast!!!
Texture alone: Can’t do cottage cheese or mushy mushrooms.
Even though you hate packing— check out that list- you seem super organized about it.
And I agree with much of the above– no cottage cheese for me (solely bc of its texture)!!
Are you taking your Michele watch to Europe? My bf wants me to leave mine (it was a gift from him). He’s worried it will get stolen, mugged, lost. Any advice on packing valuables?
The salad looks amazing! As far as odd textures go, I don’t like spongy-syrupy cakes, if that makes sense. I had one recently expecting it to be a moist [normal] cake, and it was spongey and syrupy. Hard to explain, but it was just a nasty texture!
Texture is CRUCIAL! I swear creamy and crunchy peanut butter are two completely different foods! (also how I feel about pulp vs. no pulp orange juice!)
Also, thank you SO much for turning me on to butter lettuce! I’m addicted!
I don’t know if I have any texture freak outs with foods.Nothing really bothers me – I think.
i always want a free day before vacations/trips. but alas such is the grown up life! 🙂
I avoid shrimp because of the texture. Yick! My fiance hate yogurt because of the texture which I think is just insane.
You should try sungold tomatoes, they are small like grape tomatoes but taste like candy. You can grow them in a small pot too if you don’t have room for a garden.
I can t stand raw carrots,just cooked. Also , anything that has a gelly texture.
you won’t need 2 watches! let ryan keep one safe for you in FL, and it’ll be a treat for you to wear it when you return… that was the first thing i noticed about your packing list (haven’t looked further :P)
I can’t think of anything off the top of my head but my sister has an issue with eating oats in the form of oatmeal- too mushy for her!
I felt just the same before my last vacation- there is so much to do before traveling and 8+ hours of the day is ‘wasted’ at work! Priorities I tell ya ;)!
Your post title made me think of Jersey Shore and laugh — “Shirt before the shirt!”
I’m with you on the texture of mushy tomatoes. I also won’t eat them if they’re too firm and mealy. Others on the list include bananas with brown spots on the actual banana, strawberries with squishy spots (they make me shudder), purple greens once they get slimy-ish, olives of any kind and bubble tea. And now I’m cringing thinking about all of the above!
I totally pick food for texture. I just can’t stand trying to chew something with horrible texture, even if the taste is okay. And to me taste and texture go hand in hand. Like with meat, any kind of meat. The taste is awful and the texture is the WORST. Blech!
Hi! New follower to your blog…I’ve checked it out before but never subscribed to your posts until now 🙂
Squishy grapes are a no-no for me. I try to be brave and just eat them but when I do I instantly regret it. They have a different taste to them and when you don’t get that satisfaction of busting through the skin because it’s not firm it just makes me cringe.
Hi Julie! I’ll be traveling from Florida (Tampa) to Italy myself in 2 weeks – Florence then Rome! Crazy coincidence huh?
Travel safe and I hope you have a great time!
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