Hate it When Your Foods Touch? You Could Be Suffering From This Food Phobia.
Updated: Feb. 14, 2024
Don't let anxieties control your ability to enjoy delicious eats. Taste of Home has a simple solution.
As adults, we tend to transition our excitement for piles of presents to piles of food. Workplaces are overflowing with baked cookies, donuts and vegetable dip, And family reunion plates are piled high with, well, everything. For some people, that “everything” is a problem that can trigger real anxiety. Especially when those foods touch one another.
Food Phobias Are Real
The term is brumotactillophobia, and it’s a mild form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The fear begins with your taste buds—the need to taste food separately is a pretty standard gut response. However, when a person with brumotactillophobia begins to worry about foods touching each other, this fixation becomes the focal point of the meal. Over time, the mind makes a habit out of preemptively worrying before food has even hit the plate.
Help Is Here
If you experiences this food phobia, or know someone who does, there is a quick and easy solution: the Food Cubby plate divider. This handy little tool is for food phobics, picky kids and adults alike. It’s a semicircular strip of rubber that adheres to clean plate surfaces, perfect for keeping different foods separate. Psst! You can purchase it, here.
This is especially handy for meals with multiple runny sauces or lots of liquid, like spaghetti, fruit cocktail, or mashed potatoes and gravy. And as a bonus, it even helps with portion control.
The Food Cubby divider easily withstands the high heat of the dishwasher. And if you’re heating up leftovers on the same plate, it is completely microwave-safe.
This practical gift is a go-to for anyone, food phobia or not. Honestly, who enjoys buttery corn runoff mixing with their yams anyway?
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Taste of Home editors, who aim to highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We welcome your feedback. Have something you think we should know about? Contact us, here.
