Why does hospital food stink?

futurethin2014
futurethin2014 Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm currently in hospital, and this my morning menu:

Three apple cinnamon crepes
Skim milk
Smart Balance
Bread
Mozzarella string cheese

This must about almost seven hundred calories! Any other of MFP member hate hospital food?

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Ironic, isn't it, we go to hospital to get better and the food there is not healthy at all. I've always wondered about this :noway:
  • ThinkInOregon
    ThinkInOregon Posts: 283
    The last hospital I worked at would frequently feed their patients biscuits and sausage gravy AND 3 slices of bacon, some canned fruit or juice and coffee/tea for breakfast, even to the patients on a 'Healthy Heart' diet.

    Mortifying!

    Generally the dietary staff is not adequately trained in proper nutrition. Frequently physicians are not either.

    Eat 1/2 and be happy you resisted... or send it back and ask for something else.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    Not all hospital food stinks. I work at a small hospital and our food is great. The difference is that we have our own dietary chefs instead of using a catering company like a lot of places use. Many hospitals use the same companies that colleges use, which tend to be the colleges that have terrible food. The colleges that don't use a company and have their own staff tend to have better food. Same concept.

    I also agree with the previous poster's point about not well trained dieticians.
  • dmoses
    dmoses Posts: 786 Member
    My dad was in the hospital this weekend. His breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, grits, pancakes and muffins?!?! Carbs much?!
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    I love hospital food, it is probably my favorite, and if you are staying in the hospital, just about all of them have a healthy option for you to pick.
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    I would eat the cheese and demand some fresh fruit.

    Do you have any friends or family who can bring you real food?
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    I spent the week in the hospital end of last month, early this month.

    Might have been the best I've eaten in a while. I had a whole menu to chose from and ordered my own meals. Probably depends where you are.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Guess it depends on the hospital.

    The hospitals here serve better food than I feed MYSELF (and I eat VERY well). As did my local hospital back on Long Island (Stony Brook University Medical Center). The food is superb there.
  • futurethin2014
    futurethin2014 Posts: 18
    Yuck ... sounds wrong that the decaf I'm guzzling.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I don't think it sounds all that terrible. :ohwell:
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
    Because hospital food is nothing but reheated leftovers from the airplane food.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I loved the hospital food when I was in after having my daughter. The menu was pretty extensive and they had a lot of tasty options.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I don't think it sounds all that terrible. :ohwell:
    I think it sounds good.

    In the hospital, calories would be the last thing on my mind. Get well soon!
  • Luvbeers
    Luvbeers Posts: 11
    Depends on the hospital I would guess. The hospital I was at in Europe had a fridge in the room with free beer and champagne.
  • Jess__I__Can
    Jess__I__Can Posts: 307 Member
    I love hospital food, it is probably my favorite, and if you are staying in the hospital, just about all of them have a healthy option for you to pick.

    I love hospital food too!
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    I've only been in the hospital once and I wasn't all that hungry because some guy kept coming in and asking if he could have my poo... I wasn't even sure if the dude worked there and I really didn't want to eat anything and have to surrender my stool.
  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
    I was just talking about this with my sister the other day. The healthcare system I work for and the other nearby hospital are very adamant about no smoking. You can't smoke even in the parking lots of their buildings. I think it's great, actualy... but the food doesn't match up with that whole health-conscious attitude. Our hospitals have Au Bon Pain in them, one has a Friendly's. Even the cafeterias have things like chicken fingers, frieds, ice cream, potato chips. Not that there's anything "wrong" with those foods, but as an employee or visitor there you aren't really encouraged to make healthier choices.
  • enjolrasbarricade
    enjolrasbarricade Posts: 28
    Because they have to feed countless patients and many hospitals don't have the funding for good food so they buy the cheapest which is often not good. When I was in-patient for my ED they gave everyone the same kind of food(it was mostly uncooked sausages and a sesame bagel) while I was in a public hospital, that is. When my parents moved me to a clinic, everyone got a personal food plan and the food was better. So really it depends on the hospital.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
    Ironic, isn't it, we go to hospital to get better and the food there is not healthy at all. I've always wondered about this :noway:

    i work in a hospital and lost all my weight while working here and eating "hospital food" daily. there are healthy options all the time. I think it just depends on the hospital.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    The last hospital I worked at would frequently feed their patients biscuits and sausage gravy AND 3 slices of bacon, some canned fruit or juice and coffee/tea for breakfast, even to the patients on a 'Healthy Heart' diet.

    Mortifying!

    Generally the dietary staff is not adequately trained in proper nutrition. Frequently physicians are not either.

    Eat 1/2 and be happy you resisted... or send it back and ask for something else.

    Wait...Wuts wrong with that? I was actually trying to find that on the menu and couldn't find any of it.
  • DymonNdaRgh40
    DymonNdaRgh40 Posts: 661 Member
    Ironic, isn't it, we go to hospital to get better and the food there is not healthy at all. I've always wondered about this :noway:

    i work in a hospital and lost all my weight while working here and eating "hospital food" daily. there are healthy options all the time. I think it just depends on the hospital.

    Same for me. I work in a hospital and there are always healthy options in the cafeteria. Most of my diet comes from hospital food.
  • tonums1977
    tonums1977 Posts: 5 Member
    Our hospital has fairly yummy food. About half the menu is healthy, grilled chicken breast, mahi, salmon, etc. But there's also bisquits and gravy and cheesecake. Because some of our patients barely have an appetite. A lot need extra calories for healing. If I can get my 95 year old patient to eat French toast covered in butter and syrup for breakfast I would be thrilled. Because she isn't going to get the 2500 calories the nutritionist recommend for healing by eating egg whites and strawberries.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Not all hospital food is bad. I was in two hospitals this past fall and both had good food. One in NH even had a nice menu you could order from.
  • tinglesby
    tinglesby Posts: 96 Member
    I've only been in the hospital once and I wasn't all that hungry because some guy kept coming in and asking if he could have my poo... I wasn't even sure if the dude worked there and I really didn't want to eat anything and have to surrender my stool.


    WHAT?! IN. THE. HELL!!!
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,059 Member
    Echoing the companies post from earlier; a lot will bring in a company like Aramark to provide food. My college uses them, and the food is definitely hit or miss. The food at my local hospital is okay, and I'm pretty sure they use a food distributor; when I was in the ER for my throat swelling shut from a lovely lymph node infection, the nurse snuck me up a fresh fruit cup once they were able to reopen my throat. It was actually really, really good. The rest of the food I've seen there, not so much.

    When I went to a hospital in Boston to visit a family member, the food was phenomenal. It's all hit or miss where you go, unfortunately!
  • 0somuchbetter0
    0somuchbetter0 Posts: 1,335 Member
    I've only been in the hospital once and I wasn't all that hungry because some guy kept coming in and asking if he could have my poo... I wasn't even sure if the dude worked there and I really didn't want to eat anything and have to surrender my stool.


    WHAT?! IN. THE. HELL!!!

    ha ha . ha ...

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