So, the cafeteria at work decided to "go healthy."

My favorite station -- where they make custom salads with whichever veggies, protein, dressings, topping you want -- is now the first casualty. Here are the hideous, "healthy" changes.

All salads dressings were replaced with low-fat or fat free versions
regular shredded cheese was replaced with fat-free shredded cheese
bacon bits replaced with sesame logs and sunflower seeds for crunch
corn and mango relishes added as options
Ham and beef removed from proteins (now chicken breast, turkey breast and salmon, only)
whole wheat croutons added
no more blue cheese

I snuck a peak at the nutrition info on the new "healthy" salad dressings. Nine sugar carbs in a tablespoon of the new ranch dressing. Twelve sugar carbs in a tablespoon of the fat free vinegrette. And you know they put more than a tablespoon of dressing when they toss the salads for you.

I want my bacon, cheese, beef and blue cheese dressing back. *sulk*

That really stinks.

Oh, good gravy! Nothing like someone else deciding what's "healthy" for you. How irritating!

Eeeeeek fat free cheese-run! Bad changes.

I'm betting this means the Mexican station will now use fat free cheese and sour cream on the taco salds, now, too. I should probably also double check to make sure the breakfast station is still using eggs, rather than egg beaters, for the scrambled eggs in the mornings.

I usually bring my lunch to work, but if I get busy and forget it at home, or if we don't have any leftovers after dinner (I'm feeding a teenaged boy, so leftovers are getting scarcer and scarcer), it was nice to have the cafeteria option. We are not allowed to leave anything in the department fridges overnight, so leaving a bottle of ranch or whatnot here at the office isn't an option.

I guess I'm just going to have to get more disciplined and do better at thinking ahead on lunches. ;(

I always used the vinegar and oil, which they should have or perhaps you need to ask for it. I never trust dressing when I dine out, for multiple reasons.

You could always bring your own bottle!

I really should just get back to IF and then the cafeteria lunch options really won't matter, except for all the poor people who think the will lose weight with fat free everything.

I lost weight just fine on a low fat diet but, I could never stay on one because I was starving, constantly. With LC, I sometimes forget to eat. My blood sugar was always wacky with LF. With LC, no hypoglycemia issues. But, what do I know about health? According to the food pyramid, and the Dept of Agriculture, nothing. Well, if the government tells us that low fat is good for us, it just has to be! They wouldn't lie to us.

Yet more reasons why we should bring our own lunches to work everyday. I remember when I used to work at the hospital (I still work there, but I'm at a different location now, not where the hospital is) and could go to the hospital cafeteria. They had a salad bar, and great breakfasts--they'd make you a custom omelette, cracking the eggs by hand and putting in whatever items you wanted. I remember being afraid that everything there was going to go low-fat too, so I empathize.

It sucks that you can't keep your own dressing in the work fridge--we have a rule that anything that stays in there for more than a couple days needs to be labeled and dated. Then periodically the fridge gets cleaned out, but if it's labeled and dated within the last month it doesn't get thrown out. Maybe you could talk to the powers that be about doing something like this?

--Melissa

That is a total bummer!

Not even one regular dressing??? Yikes!

I like Nancy's idea to keep a thing of olive oil and a thing of vinegar at your desk. You could also have some sliced almonds in there to add to your salads to add fat.

But, yeah, bringing your own most days is the best.

Ours did the same thing months ago.
Not only did they replace normal plain meat dishes with "healthy" options....they increased the price on anything considered "Unhealthy" which includes hotdogs, burger patties, steak meat, bacon, eggs.

I pretty much refuse to eat in our cafeteria now.
I even wrote a formal complaint and discussed some health concerns (those on a high protein diet or gluten free) and was told "Thanks for your input".
Egh.

Wow, I now appreciate even more that my work cafeteria has an "Atkins-friendly" option every day but Friday. I'm really looking forward to the strip steak on Thursday.

our cafeteria did the same thing a few years ago. No more salad that you choose yourself, everything is pre-made and packaged. All the salad dressings are low fat as you said.

the only LC things are the eggs and bacon at the grill station in the mornings...everything else is high carb junk...boo hoo too

Definitely write and complain. It can't hurt. (if no one complains, they'll think they're doing the right thing...)