Are You a “Foodie?” I Have to Admit: I’m Not.

I’ve never been much of a foodie.

I love learning about the sense of taste for my five-senses book, and I love certain foods, but I like very plain food best, like scrambled eggs or fish without sauce. I like my coffee mild and my meat cooked through. I don’t get much of a kick from visiting new restaurants, eating elaborate meals, exploring farmers’ markets, or learning about foods’ origins or cooking techniques.

And once I quit sugar, I became even less passionate about food.

One of the sad aspects of a happiness project, for me, is to Be Gretchen and to admit this aspect about my nature.

My lack of enthusiasm makes me feel like a killjoy; a love for food is a marker of a love for life. Cooking expert Julia Child, who's one of my patron saints, declared, “People who love to eat are always the best people”; food essayist Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, “Tell me what you eat, and I shall tell you what you are.” What does that say about me?

But over the years of writing about happiness and human nature, I've learned that usually when I think, "I'm the only one," it turns out I'm not the only one.

I thought I was the only one who was an "Abstainer."I thought I was the only one who was an under-buyer.I thought I was the only one who was comforted by routines and rigidity.

When I shared my experiences, other people said they knew exactly what I was talking about. And I realized that if I'd been paying attention, I would've realized long ago that I wasn't the only one.

So...am I the only one who's not much of a foodie? What's your experience? Or are you a tremendous foodie? I'd be interested to hear about that, too.