Smelly lunches | Imamother

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 11:57 am

Oh, I wish people would not bring fish for lunch. Where I work most people bring cooked foods from home and heat them in the microwave oven. Lately, quite a few people seem to be in the mood for fish! It is popular among the ethnic groups here and few other people mind the aroma, so I doubt there is much I could do about it tactfully.

Just venting (although I wish I could vent my workspace, lol)...

CatLady

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 12:03 pm

I thought fish and popcorn were workplace microwave no-nos! Maybe my office is more uptight?? We have a diverse ethnic mix, but nobody brings anything off-putting. Although some people don't like the smell of cooking oatmeal, which I now have to enjoy behind closed doors!

My mom was the Queen of Smelly Lunch-packing when I was in school. She'd regularly send me either a salami sandwich or chopped egg, both of which could be discerned from far away! I used to beg for the much less stinky sliced cheese or PB&J sandwiches.

PS: Today I'm reheating pizza, with crunchy carrot sticks and an orange for dessert. Wink

chocolate chips

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 12:26 pm

Everything smells and it is hard to know what will be nice for some and yuck for others!

This reminds me when I was working and just pregnant...the mexicans used to reheat their lunches and it STANK!! It made me gag! I used to go out for my lunch when they had theirs delivered.

Puke

Chayalle

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 12:47 pm

CatLady wrote:

I thought fish and popcorn were workplace microwave no-nos! Maybe my office is more uptight??

Definitely. When I used to work in the office (I work from home right now) the cafeteria perpetually stank of popped corn. I couldn't walk in there when I was pg, or I might as well just go to the ladies room.

I had one (non-Jewish) coworker who lived on tuna. She admitted to eating tuna most nights for supper, whenever she couldn't be bothered to fix herself anything else. Her cubicle always had a tuna odor.

Ah, the lovely work memories! My kitchen smells of the Challah I baked last night, with everything topping. Infinitely more pleasant!

crl

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 1:38 pm

I also work with a lot of diverse cultures, but for me, sometimes it's the SEEING of the food more than the stench.

Once, the girl who sits next to me brought in some sort of salad that smelled actually ok, but when I looked and saw what it was -- Whole. Mini. Octopi. -- I had to leave, it was just way too disgusting for me.

morah

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 2:34 pm

I know there will always be someone who can't stand the smell of something that should be totally innocuous (like my friend who can smell a peeled orange a mile away and starts gagging; she hates oranges), but there are certain things that have very strong odors and should always be avoided in the office environment- fish, eggs, garlic/onions are definitely up there on that list.

yo'ma

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 2:37 pm

morah wrote:

I love that smell. I don't like eating oranges because I don't like peeling it, but if I smell someone else peeling I get the urge for it and ask them for a piece LOL

freidasima

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 2:50 pm

Well hard boiled eggs are ok, they don't really have a smell. So are cheese sandwitches, or cut up vegetables. My husband often has a chumus or a techina sandwitch, doesn't smell much. Apples and a cucumber and a carrot stick or whatever. I often just have bread, plain, dunked in a soy milk to be moist. but agree in full that some smells are just too much for the office.

morah

Wed, Feb 22 2012, 2:51 pm

yo'ma wrote:

morah wrote:

I love that smell. I don't like eating oranges because I don't like peeling it, but if I smell someone else peeling I get the urge for it and ask them for a piece LOL

Like you, I'd would eat a lot more oranges than I do if I weren't too darn lazy to peel them... I also love the citrus smell in general- whenever I zest an orange or lemon or lime, I take a moment to enjoy the lovely aroma.