January is "Oatmeal" month

I'm pretty sure that there is some smiling quaker behind this scheme. Forget Mona Lisa, this guy's expression seems pretty suspicious if you ask me!

Try as I might, I have never been able to tolerate the texture of oatmeal. I return to my toddler self gagging and wiping it off my tongue as soon as it touches. I tell myself it is good for me and that I need to be better about eating it. Alas, I cannot choke it down. It is a cross I must bear, my failure to consume warm lumpy healthiness each morning. The mere thought of it is driving me to scrape my teeth over my tongue to rid the organ of that foul vomit-like sensation in my mouth.

For all my picky eating habits as a child, the few that remain are mostly texture related. I can now consume some very smooth tomato sauce on pasta - although it will still upset my stomach. I can eat raw spinach, but once it is cooked, you are not getting that slimy weed near my mouth! I can watch other people eat cereal in milk now, but still have no desire for those mixed textures touching my sensitive lips.

As I've grown, I've learned that other people also have such issues. Growing up I felt like a complete freak. It wasn't just that I didn't "like" the food. It was completely unable of tolerating it. Maybe mom is right, and it is all in my head. After all, where else would I keep my mouth?