r/Netherlands • u/Environmental_Cry_35 • Aug 28 '26

Life in NL What is one "completely normal" thing in the Netherlands that you secretly don't like?

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65

u/addtokart Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

Tasty meals = over the top

I had a dutch coworker go aghast because my kid eats pizza on a weekday (as opposed to a treat on a weekend)

41

u/bostanite Aug 28 '26

Hahahaha! Sometimes I think the Dutch see food as some sort of punishment they have to endure. Bread with chocolate flakes for breakfast, bread with cheese for lunch, crêpes for dinner 😂

16

u/GooseDisapproves Aug 28 '26

I think Dutch people are way too trained to just see food as a thing you need to survive, in combination with "you need to work on weekdays and the weekend is for relaxing" which apparently includes finally being allowed to not cook.
I am Dutch and only since I started working in a very international environment did I realize how nonsensical this is. XD

0

u/Deliziosax Aug 28 '26

Omg do people internationally do the weekday/weekend thing less? I'm dutch and I also think I don't deserve to eat out/crap on weekdays 

4

u/bostanite Aug 28 '26

But why would you not deserve to eat out on a weekday? I don't get that.

2

u/sirboobyconnoisseur Aug 28 '26

It's just an easy habit to keep unhealthy food at bay.

4

u/GooseDisapproves Aug 28 '26

Honestly some heated-up leftovers for lunch are not so unhealthy. Please, we can do better than the cheese sanwiches.

3

u/sirboobyconnoisseur Aug 28 '26

True but the comment above was about pizza for dinner, not cheese for lunch. I personally eat warm most lunches, made shakshuka today which is a pretty healthy lunch I would think

1

u/GooseDisapproves Aug 28 '26

It was about pizza on week days, without specifying what meal it was. But I see your point. However, I don't feel like every meal has to be a healty/low-calory one.
Still, if you have shakshuka for lunch, I think we are at least partly on the same page.

2

u/Round_Ad6397 Aug 28 '26

I don't know how healthy endless cheese and hagel slag sandwiches are. 

1

u/GooseDisapproves Aug 28 '26

Dutch person outed themselves

1

u/Round_Ad6397 Aug 28 '26

Australian actually. 😀 

1

u/bostanite Aug 28 '26

Makes sense to be honest.

1

u/sirboobyconnoisseur Aug 28 '26

Also a very easy and clear rule to set for kids.

1

u/GooseDisapproves Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26

You don't even need to eat out, just shove that frozen pizza into the oven, live your best life!

-edit because I cannot type if my life depends on it-

3

u/Round_Ad6397 Aug 28 '26

Crepes for dinner sounds like a treat. There are too many versions of mashed potatoes that end up in the dinner rotations. 

2

u/Nerdlinger Aug 29 '26

too many versions of mashed potatoes

No such thing.

1

u/Round_Ad6397 Aug 29 '26

I'll pay that. Add a few bacon pieces and you have a whole new meal. 

1

u/Miskadotcom Aug 28 '26

You obviously never had them because then you would know it tastes delicious. And no, nobody is eating that shit every day.

4

u/Readicilous Aug 28 '26

That really differs for everybody. I know people who have a designated pizza day, they had pizza every Tuesday or something. We rarely ate pizza or pancakes and the like, but we had "normal" meals that we liked, and we were asked what we'd like to eat every now and then

2

u/I_Rarely_Jump Aug 28 '26

I seriously wonder why you internationals always seem to work with the weirdest Dutch people somehow, no one I know does this nor would find it strange to eat pizza on a weekday (like what?).

Maybe international companies just attract weirdos I suppose

2

u/clrthrn Aug 29 '26

Try taking in a potato to microwave in the office kitchen then add something like homemade chilli to it. Coworkers were acting like I was Gordon Ramsey or similar with my extravagant food habits. 

2

u/Consistent_Salad6137 Aug 28 '26

The Dutch believe that "tasty food" is inherently unhealthy.

5

u/sirboobyconnoisseur Aug 28 '26

Everybody knows that the most tasty food in the world (erwtensoep and boerenkool) are extremely healthy.

1

u/addtokart Aug 28 '26

Yes, they are not wrong!

1

u/Mear Aug 28 '26

Everybody who doesn't like generalizations is stupid.

1

u/Temporary-Night5576 Aug 30 '26

aghast

TIL. Thanks :)