I’m completely spoiled in that my company provides pretty much three square meals a day plus snacks and all the beverages that the local 7 Eleven can offer. But what really bugs me (not that I have an excuse to complain ) is anything to do with the food at work specifically; it’s the traditional sense of what food should be.
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Veggies aren’t meant to be boiled
I love veggies, but the only type that I’ve been seeing lately is raw lettuce of boiled/charred veggies. They have no flavor. Instead, why don’t we have sauteed veggies seasoned with salt, which brings out the veggie’s natural flavor? Also, I enjoy purees sometimes, but I don’t really like eating my 8 servings a day of fruits and veggies by ingesting baby food along with my side of <insert meat> stew/pasta/generally weird saucy thing.
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Substituting meat with <insert name of veggie> will not make the dish taste good
Why are vegetarian dishes simply meat dishes with tofu or ‘hearty’ vegetables replacing the meat? The reason meat is good is because it’s a delicious food that gives it’s own flavor. Substitute it with tofu, which is a lovely bland food meant to take on and enhance the flavor of the food around it, and the dish becomes pretty nasty.
No flavor + no flavor = yuck!
Instead, tofu fried and seasoned with black bean sauce is amazing!
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Meat is not the epitome of food
And veggies can be the main dish. Just because I eat meat doesn’t mean that I want meat as a main dish every single day. It also doesn’t mean that to sneak nutrients into my meal you need to hide grapes in my stew (ew!). Stop doing that!
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I guess I’ve just been spoiled on Chinese food growing up. Generally, my mom would cook sprouts, bok choy, tofu, dried tofu, etc. separately in a wok with only oil and salt. Both enhance and bring out the taste of the veggie. Then, we’d have one meat dish to accompany the 3-5 veggies.
I enjoy complicated food every once in a while, but complicate doesn’t not automatically mean better.
In fact, everything’s too over processed. Just give me some fruit, some sauteed veggies, and I’d be totally happy. 
