Guest guest Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 Maureen, I can't really speak for Marilyn, but I think she was talking about the processed type food. Like the bread and the way some of the meat is originally processed. I know that organic health food store type food would not fit in a hospitals budget, but it would be nice if they kept some of that stuff around for health minded people. Healthy to some is garbage to others. Some might consider a dole fruit cup healthy and compared to a cup of pudding or chips, it is. But I would prefer to give my children fresh fruit. They also serve white bread or processed wheat bread rather than actual whole grains. The ham/meat they use is also usually super processed. I am able to see both sides. I personally would not serve the hospital type food in my home, but then again, I am only serving 7, not 450. And my budget is not as tight as theirs either. The fact is that orgainic/fresh foods are much more expensive than frozen, prepackaged, processed foods. They can't keep too much fresh fruit on hand because they never know how much will be needed. So, the dole fruit cups are better for them. My dd2 was able to get a banana most mornings we were there. They tried to deal with gluten free, but I actually had to teach them a few things. Agape, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 I certainly didn't take your remarks personally - I never worked in the kitchen, although I often did liaison work with them trying to get special diets for kids. But I do think calling hospital food " all garbage " is unfair because everyone has different perceptions of what is healthy. I know lots of people who consider red jello a great snack. I'm not saying one is right and one is wrong, I'm just saying a blanket condemnation is unfair. And as for a couple points that were brought up, if you don't have inside knowledge of the situation, you may not know that one person's healthy is another person's hazardous (just like CD, really). Take fresh fruit for example: healthy, right? Nope. For severely immunocompromised patients, such as those on chemo or transplant patients, it isn't allowed because it carries risk of infection - fruit can harbor a great deal of bacteria even after it is washed. Many hospitals no longer serve lettuce salads to patients because of problems keeping lettuce both fresh and clean. And as for the remarks that " MANY hospital workers haven't got a CLUE about nutrition or alternative diets, or special dietary needs: " those people are not in charge of determining what a patient is given. The DOCTOR orders the diet, the order is reviewed by a dietician if it is anything other than " regular diet, " and the actual tray is also supposed to be reviewed by a trained staff member. Yes, mistakes may happen, because this is all done by human beings. But mistakes happen in home kitchens, too - as many members of this list have shared with us. I don't claim that hospital food tastes good (hey, I'm too honest to say that! ;-) ) but it isn't garbage to most people's standards. Maureen > Maureen--No personal insult intended! I didn't SAY hospital workers didn't > work hard. But ALL institutional food lacks the quality of homemade, just by > virtue of being mass produced. Something's gotta give when you're feeding > hundreds of people at once, no matter where you are! That's no one's fault, > really--it's just a reality of institutional cooking. I was married to a chef for 17 > years, and I do know how hard restaurant workers work, and also how they do try > to produce quality food under such circumstances. > > Many people have issues with " artificials " , and these mass produced items > almost always contain these problem substances, so they can last longer on the > shelf, or look better after preparation. Gluten isn't the only issue I was > referring to, by any means! I simply don't consider bright red jello to be healthy > for my kids (or anyone). I make my own, with no added sugar or dyes. Salads > must be preserved with something, so the lettuce doesn't wilt, right? Is there > BHT in those boxes of cereals we're given for breakfast? Or dough conditioners > such as calcium proprionate in the breads? > > Another issue I have is that MANY hospital workers haven't got a CLUE about > nutrition or alternative diets, or special dietary needs, and this can be a > real problem! No one can know everything, and we can't expect them to. But the > severe lack of knowlege is really not good, when these people deal with so many > people of varying needs, each and every day. Plus, accidents happen, and > mistakes are made. Many of us can't afford these mistakes. > > I prefer not to eat food I would not serve at home, prepared by people under > a LOAD of pressure to feed hundreds of people at once. I apologize if I > unintentionally offended anyone by this. I also don't think I'm alone in my > preferences, since I've had this same discussion with vegans, and members of the > Feingold Association, and have heard similar sentiments over and over again. But > all that being said, Maureen, I never meant to hurt your feelings! Marilyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2005 Report Share Posted May 12, 2005 I certainly didn't take your remarks personally - I never worked in the kitchen, although I often did liaison work with them trying to get special diets for kids. But I do think calling hospital food " all garbage " is unfair because everyone has different perceptions of what is healthy. I know lots of people who consider red jello a great snack. I'm not saying one is right and one is wrong, I'm just saying a blanket condemnation is unfair. And as for a couple points that were brought up, if you don't have inside knowledge of the situation, you may not know that one person's healthy is another person's hazardous (just like CD, really). Take fresh fruit for example: healthy, right? Nope. For severely immunocompromised patients, such as those on chemo or transplant patients, it isn't allowed because it carries risk of infection - fruit can harbor a great deal of bacteria even after it is washed. Many hospitals no longer serve lettuce salads to patients because of problems keeping lettuce both fresh and clean. And as for the remarks that " MANY hospital workers haven't got a CLUE about nutrition or alternative diets, or special dietary needs: " those people are not in charge of determining what a patient is given. The DOCTOR orders the diet, the order is reviewed by a dietician if it is anything other than " regular diet, " and the actual tray is also supposed to be reviewed by a trained staff member. Yes, mistakes may happen, because this is all done by human beings. But mistakes happen in home kitchens, too - as many members of this list have shared with us. I don't claim that hospital food tastes good (hey, I'm too honest to say that! ;-) ) but it isn't garbage to most people's standards. Maureen > Maureen--No personal insult intended! I didn't SAY hospital workers didn't > work hard. But ALL institutional food lacks the quality of homemade, just by > virtue of being mass produced. Something's gotta give when you're feeding > hundreds of people at once, no matter where you are! That's no one's fault, > really--it's just a reality of institutional cooking. I was married to a chef for 17 > years, and I do know how hard restaurant workers work, and also how they do try > to produce quality food under such circumstances. > > Many people have issues with " artificials " , and these mass produced items > almost always contain these problem substances, so they can last longer on the > shelf, or look better after preparation. Gluten isn't the only issue I was > referring to, by any means! I simply don't consider bright red jello to be healthy > for my kids (or anyone). I make my own, with no added sugar or dyes. Salads > must be preserved with something, so the lettuce doesn't wilt, right? Is there > BHT in those boxes of cereals we're given for breakfast? Or dough conditioners > such as calcium proprionate in the breads? > > Another issue I have is that MANY hospital workers haven't got a CLUE about > nutrition or alternative diets, or special dietary needs, and this can be a > real problem! No one can know everything, and we can't expect them to. But the > severe lack of knowlege is really not good, when these people deal with so many > people of varying needs, each and every day. Plus, accidents happen, and > mistakes are made. Many of us can't afford these mistakes. > > I prefer not to eat food I would not serve at home, prepared by people under > a LOAD of pressure to feed hundreds of people at once. I apologize if I > unintentionally offended anyone by this. I also don't think I'm alone in my > preferences, since I've had this same discussion with vegans, and members of the > Feingold Association, and have heard similar sentiments over and over again. But > all that being said, Maureen, I never meant to hurt your feelings! Marilyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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