Top | Caroline — Blog

Hospital food

(post, Caroline Cummins)

After three post-partum days in the hospital, it was a relief to get home to genuine homemade food. 

My hospital made an effort towards food awareness (statements on the patient menu about trying to source food locally, etc.), and some of the food was actually quite flavorful (salmon with fresh lemon and sour cream). But, by and large, the food was the expected amalgam of blah (lots of Jell-O and saltines) and pseudo-healthy (a breakfast sandwich that featured "reduced-fat cheese, lean ham, and a low-cholesterol egg"). 

Most of the selections tasted canned (cream of tomato soup) instead of homemade as the menu promised. Worse, the food-service staff had been instructed to keep patients off whole grains and fiber for the first few days after surgery, on the theory that such foods would be difficult for recovering patients to digest. But if you're already used to, say, oat-bran bread — and if you're on constipation-inducing pain relievers — wouldn't it be better to down some whole grains instead of white bread?