Do you ever stink up the office with healthy food?

You're on Page 1 of 2
Go to
  • I feel bad. I just drizzled a little olive oil over some frozen veggies and cooked them in the handy toaster oven at work. Carrots, Brussels Sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower...yum! But now the whole hallway stinks and it's my fault!

    I do feel bad though. Why do cooked veggies have to smell so bad?
  • I don't know but thats funny!!!
  • All the darn time...

    But, on a happy note, I'm generally the only one here during the day (from 8am-ish to about 2) so no one knows but me!
  • I understand. I microwaved cabbage at the office once. Note that I said "once". People kept asking, "What's that smell?"
  • Another that works surprisingly well is to run fresh broccoli under the faucet, wrap it in those awful non-absorbent brown paper towels, then microwave it for 2:00. Stinky but perfectly done!
  • it stinks at work when i heat up my stuff lol but i really don't care ahaaha.This is life veggie stinks lol
  • I've been microwaving oatmeal at work for about a week now. Luckily it doesn't really smell, but people give me a funny look when I walk down the hall carrying my tube of quaker oats!

    I'd rather stink up the office with healthy food. One of the co-workers makes microwave popcorn almost every afternoon and I can smell it all the way in my office (and I'm on the other end of the hall from the kitchen).
  • Two words for you, Eliana.

    Boiled. Eggs.

    Nuff said!

    I also bring tuna, cabbage, broccoli/cauliflower/carrots, things flavored with garlic and onions, oh, I could go on and on!

    I agree with Matt, this one lady at work burns her microwave popcorn every.single.day! I'm starting to think she likes it that way, and does it on purpose. The smell permeates the entire ground floor.

    Hey, it could be worse, you could be bringing chocolate cake and refusing to share!
  • Sorry! I'm not one of your "group" but can I post on this topic anyway?

    I'm bad for bringing garlic hummus to work... can't help it! It tastes great and it's a good snack!

    The worst here is my smoker boss who likes to eat sardines. Puke... I can handle almost anything but that.
  • No, I don't feel badly. It's a communal microwave.

    And our kitchen & microwave are fairly aromatic most of the time anyway. The Quality Control Testing department, whose members all sit in cubicles near my dep't, are nearly all from India, except for their manager. (Yes, that's about 14 people, male & female. This still astonishes me, how the dept members all hail from the same country.) And they use the microwave to warm up dishes at lunchtime.

    Some of my coworkers don't like Indian food & don't like the foreign smells. The first time someone wrinkled her nose over it, speaking sotto voce to me about "that kind of food," I thought she was joking & parodying what someone who likes everything plain & pretty much boiled would say. But no. She was dead serious. She really is offended by the smell of spices used in Indian food. And I've never looked the same at her since. It took that moment for me to learn that we have a fundamental disconnect between us.

    I tried to tell her that the Quality Control Testing dept people probably smell the faux chemical butter & burnt popcorn & think that is some annoying foreign American smell. But she didn't crack a smile at all.

    ETA: Saef loves Indian food. (I hope that's clear.) And is not the type to steal coworkers' food from the fridge, but has slavered over what's in the Tupperware & has teetered on the edge of a commencing a life of crime.
  • Today actually - I had made this salsa that you could smell all over the building!
  • I work on a floor with about 55-65 people, and we all share the kitchenette. We have actually received an official complaint from someone about the smell of the food. Yep, you guessed it, the complainer is one of those microwave popcorn fanatics. But that's ok because "popcorn is healthy for you". It's the garlic and the curries and... Yeah, right... Idjit.
  • Quote: I understand. I microwaved cabbage at the office once. Note that I said "once". People kept asking, "What's that smell?"


    I love it! Just today I had my "crack slaw" for lunch and was worried about the cabbage smell. Too bad! It tastes great and is healthy!
    Red cabbage, scallions, lean burger sauteed in toasted sesame oil and topped with a little soy sauce. Yum!

    If you're curious - check it out in the South Beach Phase I recipes thread.
  • My home is my work- but last night I tried boiling cabbage and the whole house smelled like a sewer. WHY does it smell like that? I couldn't eat it... my husband asked why I couldn't eat it. I haven't cooked it since I started watching what we eat. I told him I don't think I like it unless it is drowned in butter (how I used to eat it).

    Anyway, this morning when I got back home from working out I could STILL SMELL IT! I hope tonights dinner can cover up the stench!

    Stacy
  • Hey Stacy - I found a candle at the store that sells all those candles in jars (why can't I remember the name???). They have a "good air" candle that is great! I use it for cooking cabbage and, even worse, bell peppers.

    Oh, YANKEE candle. I finally remembered!