I fasted for more than 12 hours prior to my blood test this morning and then afterwards I went to the hospital cafeteria and ordered a standard breakfast: two eggs, hash browns, bacon, and an OJ. Cost: $4.15 Everything was delicious but I was starving so I could have been biased. It was your basic diner food. I noticed that they had available the cholesterol free egg substitute.
There was a real chef cooking (cheer!), but they use styrofoam and all plastic (jeer). There were no veggies out that I saw, but there was fresh fruit. I would have grabbed some but it was right then that I realized that they only take cash (jeer) and I was out. So I had to drop everything and run to their ATM. By the time I came back, I was famished that I just wanted to eat that I just paid as quickly as possible.
From my limited experience in hospitals, I believe this food to be better than most. Real cooking is important! What kind of experiences have you had with hospital food?
I've only ever been hospitalized once, for one night after surgery to set a broken arm. Due to grogginess from the anesthesia I really don't remember my dinner, other than that there was some gravy and green peas. I literally fell asleep mid bite. Breakfast, however, since I wasn't under any dietary restrictions was large (IMO since I was a kid) and quite good. There was, as I recall, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast. I ate hungrily (having had next to nothing for nearly 24 hours…I broke my arm before the school began) and enjoyed every bite.
I am a registered nurse who works in the surgical department of our area's largest hospital (over 800 beds). I tend to bring my lunch to work with me, simply due to the fact that it's cheaper, however, I do occasionally eat at our cafeteria.
Our hospital has 4 different places to purchase food. Our main cafeteria is quite nice. There is an extensive salad bar, which is open at all times of day (even breakfast time). For breakfast, there is a breakfast bar in addition to the salad bar. This usually has scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, a potato of some sort (hash browns, home fries, etc), french toast sticks, grits and cream of wheat. There is a line cook available to make omelettes to order (with veggies, cheese and ham to choose from), pancakes, fried eggs or waffles. There is plenty of fresh fruit available, as well as cereals, milk, juices, and a variety of breads. For lunch, the breakfast bar is transformed to a hot bar & features different "themes" of food each day. For example, sometimes they have a variety of quiches, BBQ meats, or mexican food. There are always two choices of soup. There is a grill area where you can get grilled cheese, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, etc…and another area where you can have the daily "specials" served to you (lasagna, fried chicken, fish, etc, depending on the day's menu). There is always a vegetarian option available. There are also pre-packaged salads and sandwiches, and a separate "bar" where you can make your own cold sandwiches, with selections of meat, tuna and egg salad, etc.
We also have a "cafe" area at a different area of the hospital that has more of a "food court" feel to it. It has a coffee shop, a sub counter (think Subway), a mexican counter (think Chipotle), and a counter that sells grilled chicken sandwiches and wraps. They also have a refrigerated area with prepackaged sandwiches and salads.
Near our ER, we have another "quick stop" type of food place. They sell individual pizzas, prepakaged sandwiches and salads, and have 2 types of soup daily.
The other food place at our hospital has a nicer dining room that overlooks the city. They have a grill cook who will make sandwiches to order, a person who will make panini/wraps to order, a hot bar that always has fresh baked pizza that you can buy by the slice, as well as whatever the daily "special" is (which is always a bit more higher quality than what is found in the cafeteria). They also have a nice saladbar.
Our hospital's food service is part of our nutition department. They've really amped up the "making good choices" campaign. For example, in the cafeteria, there is a sign above the baked potatoes (which I forgot to mention…they have them daily along with toppings such as broccoli) that reads something along the lines of choosing a baked potato over french fries will save you so many calories & grams of fat, etc.
You can get your food on real plates & use real flatware…or if you have to run, they have stopped using styrofoam containers and have gone to biodegradable containers.
When I spent time in St. Vincent's Hospital (NYC), the food was mainly generic — salty broth, soggy noodles with bland sauce, canned peas, jello cups. But it was easy to overlook given its great downtown location (helloooo, Chinatown congee, fresh fruit, and pizza!) so I guess it all evened out in the end. But the staff there was great; it saddens me greatly that they closed this year.
A few months ago, my Dad was admitted for a mild heart attack. He eats very healthy food, but what the hospital gave him to eat after having his stints put in was: stewed beef, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy which would have been something he never would have had at home!