Why have just one favorite meal?

I love food.

I guess in way or another, we all do! I mean, it keeps us alive, after all!

Like many children growing up, I was a picky eater. Or, in the words of my father, “you don’t eat enough to keep a bird alive.” I was not a fan of vegetables unless it involved corn, peas, carrots, potatoes or green beans. And the beans better be from the can and not fresh! Fresh green beans right out of the garden just did not do it for me.

I liked hamburger and pork chops, but that was about it for me in the meat department. And I would only top my burgers and hot dogs with ketchup. Sauce on my spaghetti? No thanks!

As I aged and evolved, I have changed my eating habits ever so slightly. I actually do not mind the occasional tomato on my turkey sub, mustard is now a must have on my dogs and I even eat steak. Steak! I am living in the Chef Boyardee penthouse in terms of my eating habits these days.

As I was flipping through the channels earlier this week, I came across a relatively new cooking show. The hosts of the show were cooking their “last suppers.” If they knew today was their last day on earth, they each prepared meals that they wanted to eat before they passed on.

Kind of a morbid turn for my column, but that is not the focus of what I am getting at here. The main point is the food. What caught my attention as I was turning the channels was the making of a fantastic-looking cheeseburger. My mouth was watering. Lunch was over, but I was ready to dig into that burger, big time. In addition, the chef made onion rings that actually made me want to eat them and I am not a fan of onions. They looked that good.

As I watched the chefs devour their cheeseburgers and onion rings right before my puppy dog eyes, I started thinking. What would my last meal be? What would I request if I knew that this would be the final meal I would ever eat in my life?

Obviously, I would not be worrying about calories or how healthy the meal would be. Who cares, right? If I gain weight and can’t fit into my pants the next day what would that matter? I won’t have a tomorrow, so eat up today.

As I started to ponder what my last meal menu would consist of, I think I started taking this whole thing a little too seriously. I couldn’t decide on what I wanted. Did I want that juicy cheeseburger? I would substitute the onion ring with fries of course and wash it down with a thick chocolate milkshake.

Or did I want a pizza? I love pizza.

But if it is my last meal, maybe I should live large and eat something that I have always wanted to eat, but still never have. Lobster for instance. Better yet, why not an all-you-can-eat buffet? I could have unlimited amounts of anything and everything that I liked.

I could list a million things that I would love to eat, ranging from chocolate cake to my Grandma Wellington’s tuna noodle casserole to my step-mom’s spare ribs and potato salad. I do not have a single favorite food.

I am sure if push came to shove, I could narrow down my choices pretty quickly. But for now, why worry about it? That is not a decision I think I need to make anytime soon (at least I hope not). But in the meantime, I think I will keep broadening my food horizons and make that eventual choice all the more difficult! Why limit yourself with just one favorite meal? Have many! A quick sidenote to liver and Brussels sprouts, you will never make the list, sorry.