workplaceBBQ --without ketchup, relish

[shootingstar]

Yesterday at work late afternoon, there was an outdoor BBQ that was catered for the employees....at our construction site/main office building. Tent was up, etc.

Afterwards, I realized that there was no ketchup nor relish served. I think it was deliberate... we had grilled chicken breasts (brushed with a light sauce), sausages that didn't taste too greasy plus choice of some salad, small pickled gherkins, etc.

Instead we had a choice of regular mustard or Dijon mustard.

Hm...there were 80-100 employees that showed up (out of 200) and yes many are guys. Maybe things do change...slowly, in small ways. I know the head honcho of our organization genuinely lives a healthy life..he jogs regularily, looks slim/fit and via his secretary, he strongly prefers catering of healthy sandwiches for biz meetings.

[SadieKate]

Um, I'm not following your chain of thought.

[Trek420]

That ketchup and relish are evil? But ketchup is a vegetable.

[boy in a kilt]

Did he get a bunch of rocks thrown at him?

Given the menu, the lack of ketchup may not have been a faux pas. Good sausages only need a little bit of mustard to complete them. Relish on good sausage is an abomination.

[Trek420]

Amen! Relish on sausage is indeed an abomination. Some chefs consider even salting their food an insult. "I seasoned it perfectly, what are you doing?"

The caterer may have chosen condiments based on the flavors, the marinade of the chicken, even the wood used on the BBQ.

I'm not a fan of the stuff in the jars, most are too sweet but I've had some great homemade relishes.

[Tuckervill]

Chicken and sausages do not call for ketchup or relish.

Ketchup is mostly corn syrup these days anyway.

Karen

[Irulan]

Chicken and sausages do not call for ketchup or relish.

Ketchup is mostly corn syrup these days anyway.

Karen

LOL, HFCS is the devil, isn't it!!!

One grocery splurge I do is Annie's Ketchup. The organic part I don't care about so much, but it is NOT sweetened with corn syrup. It does cost 2-3x more that the usual stuff... but omg, the flavor is something else, utterly fantastic. Yes, I am just talking about ketchup.

[smilingcat]

why does ketchup get such a bad wrap? I use it on a meat loaf, I use it on my western style omlett, Huevos rancheros no caso(sp). fries, even on fish and chips okay so I do use malted vinegar sometime... some chinese style dishes.

OMG its use is endless... but I do agree on one thing no on HFCS.

Sausage for me is with real sauerkraut... Sausage cooked with cabbage and seasoned with fennel (dry riesling goes well) and on and on. I'll pass on the hot dogs though blach!!!

OH HFCS, I even found it in Campbell's tomato soup grrr... (I have chicken noodle soup when I'm sick. I also have tomato soup with crackers when I'm sick but no more...)

Annie's ketchup. Will be looking for it.

Smilingcat

[kelownagirl]

I only like ketchup on fries and KD. And since I don't eat either one anymore, I don't eat ketchup. I only put relish on hot dogs and those are very rare also.

BUT sticking to the topic of healthier eating in the workplace, our teaching staff has a Friday lunch signup. About 20 of us sign in groups of 4 to make lunch for the rest of the group. In the past, it has often included fattening goods and a decadent dessert so, although I enjoy it and love that I don't have to make lunches that day, I did not join in the last round. This round, quite a few people have been talking about doing more exercise and losing weight so I suggested we try to lean towards a healthy Friday lunch instead. Everyone thought it was a great idea and we had our first stab at it on Friday. Instead of tacos, we had taco salad, instead of fancy dessert, we had angel food cake with strawberries and light cool whip. Little changes can make a big difference.

[Zen]

Maybe things do change...slowly, in small ways. I know the head honcho of our organization genuinely lives a healthy life....he strongly prefers catering of healthy sandwiches for biz meetings.

Truly good food doesn't need much embellishment.
Yes, things change but usually when leadership sets an example as is the case here.
It would be great if school cafeterias followed suit.

[kelownagirl]

Truly good food doesn't need much embellishment.
Yes, things change but usually when leadership sets and example as is the case here.
It would be great if school cafeterias followed suit.

Our provincial government recently implemented huge changes in what is allowed to be sold in schools. They created a food list as 'choose often', 'choose sometimes', and 'choose least' and then limited the amount of lowest choice food allowed. For example, we still get hot dogs for the lunch program but they have to be on whole wheat buns. No pop or drinks containing sugar can be sold in vending machines, including fruit juice with sugar added. I think it's all a great idea.

[LBTC]

I still use ketchup on burgers and fries, which I usually have at home maybe once a week. I checked the labels on my heinz bottles and, while liquid sugar is an ingredient, there is no HFCS. Is that the difference between the American and Canadian product? I couldn't check Campbells soup as I stopped buying that because of some other ingredient....wheat or dairy, can't remember which.

Personally, I can't handle sausages or hot dogs. Never could. But a good burger, piled high with raw mushrooms, tomatoes, pickles, lettuce and some ketchup and relish (on a half a gluten free bun with sliced veggie cheese) is a very nice treat. yum!

Taco salad? That's considered healthy? hmmmmmm

H&B
~T~

[Trek420]

Many schools here struggle with decreased funding, high class size, rising fuel, energy and food costs. Unfortunately some may choose to cut costs by reverting to lunches with cheaper ingredients, often that evil incarnate HFCS

Fortunately even some urban schools are bringing back farm/agricultural programs. This can teach so many subjects including nutrition, science, horticulture and the enviornment and potentially even cut rising school lunch costs at the same time

www.edibleschoolyard.org

[kelownagirl]

Many schools here struggle with decreased funding, high class size, rising fuel, energy and food costs. Unfortunately some may choose to cut costs by reverting to lunches with cheaper ingredients, often that evil incarnate HFCS

Fortunately even some urban schools are bringing back farm/agricultural programs. This can teach so many subjects including nutrition, science, horticulture and the enviornment and potentially even cut rising school lunch costs at the same time

www.edibleschoolyard.org

We don't have lunch programs in most of our schools. We have parents who organize a weekly hot lunch program that is paid for my students. The MUST follow the guidelines set out by the govt. In low SES schools, there are daily lunch programs, but I believe these are paid for my the govt and are not part of the school district budget.

Oh, and the edible school yard is an awesome idea!!!

[sgtiger]

My son's school usually has at least a couple of choices for the main entree, and one of them is always meat free. They also have a salad bar with a variety of fresh fruits and veggies so that the children can choose what they want. The idea being that if they are given a choice, they are more likely to eat what they choose.