My mom used to rip up “ugly” food

My mom used to buy some of the worst looking food. Old bananas, wilted celery, bruised tomatoes. She’d cut out the parts that were beyond saving and use the rest of it. She called it “ugly food” and said we had to make it work or go hungry. She had to work full time and still feed 4 kids, so we didn’t argue. It was normal to use pieces of veggies that were half moldy, or to eat the slimy parts that would turn on us in the fridge. If I politely declined, I got my phone taken away but not the food.<br>It never really bothered me because I learned early on to be OK with the slime and the taste of food that was past its prime. I learned how to mask those tastes and textures with spices, salt, and sauces. The times that I had eaten normal, fresh food away from home, I felt like how I was living was not normal, because everyone else ate fresh food.<br>I’m married now, and my partner makes fun of the fact that I can eat rancid food. She’s so much more picky and can tell right away when food goes bad. It takes me a lot longer to get to that point where I can admit that the food is beyond its expiration date. I’m going on 30 and still have a lot to learn about what food should taste like when it’s fresh and not when it’s beyond its prime. <br><br>I’m not dramatic enough to say that my childhood trauma was trauma, but it definitely made it hard for me to figure out how long food lasts and how it should taste. My eating habits hurt me rather than help me. I’m not sure what the lesson is here but there must be one.