Grilled cheese on whole wheat and carrot juice — healthy hospital lunch?
At some point or another in our lives, we’ve all had the unfortunate experience of finding ourselves inside of a hospital. Whether it is for us, a friend, or a family member, it’s just one of those inevitabilities in life that happens. You deal with it the best you can and that includes putting up with the infamous “hospital food.” Next to the school cafeteria, this has got to have the reputation for some pretty crummy choices for people who are attempting to live a healthy lifestyle.
But one of my readers shared with me something his local hospital is doing that will make you cringe (although not at all surprising!). He is an IT consultant for the hospital and was taking a break recently for breakfast when he noticed signs stating they’ve gone “Heart Healthy” beginning in January 2010. UH-OH! We all know what that means, don’t we? Yep. Livin’ la vida low-carb favorites are most likely history.
I’ve always looked forward to going down and getting my bacon and scrambled eggs in the morning with my friends, he said. Great and convenient way to get some fat in the morning.
But not anymore at this hospital. Predictably, they took away the bacon made from pork (replaced by turkey bacon — EWWW!) and also the mayonnaise. WHAT?! Wouldn’t surprise me if they banned butter and replaced it with that bastion of heart-healthiness known as margarine! At the same time, they did make one positive change as well when they pulled the sugary snacks and doughnuts from the menu as well. Admirable indeed.
Well, what did they KEEP on the menu that’s so “healthy?”
They have decided to keep the carb-rich hash browns, bagels and such, he continued. What’s even more CRAZY is they have kept the honey mustard, barbeque sauce and ketchup, too!!!
Oh, but don’t you know all of those foods are naturally “fat-free?” That’s gotta count for something no matter how much high-fructose corn syrup and sugar they put in them, right? The outrage of this is not lost on my very informed, but highly frustrated reader.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Mayonnaise has zero sugar and zero carbs, but they take it away from the menu? That doesn’t make any sense at all.
He decided to speak up about this with the manager over the hospital cafeteria explaining that he’s lost over 30 pounds and improved his entire lipid panel by following a healthy high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb nutritional approach. But the response he received was lackluster at best.
It was like talking to a brick wall, he recalled. She said I was on what is considered a “radical” diet. I said that I feel she has taken all the healthy choices away from me. She mentioned part of the reason they were doing this was because of sodium content in the bacon.
Round and round we go with excuse after excuse for removing perfectly healthy foods all in the name of going “heart healthy.” It’s amazing how truly ill-informed people are these days and in a hospital no less. The only thing “radical” about livin’ la vida low-carb is how incredibly well it works as my readers was trying to communicate to this member of management. This is why I believe education about what healthy really means is so critical to turning the tide of fat-phobia that pervades our society so deeply.
My reader was incredulous about this whole song and dance about why certain items were removed from the cafeteria food choices.
I really don’t believe it has anything to do with the salt content of the foods. Why did she take the mayonnaise away then? It’s the same old story — animal fat/saturated fat is bad for you.
That’s where we are in 2010 America, buddy. It’s sad and dismaying, but this is reality. People just don’t wanna be challenged on what they believe about healthy living and will cling to what they’ve always inherently “known” to be true even if the science doesn’t support it. He even sent her links to that recent study vindicating saturated fat in the hopes that it would “get her thinking.”
While she mulls over the evidence (or not), my reader has a new plan for breakfast when he’s working at the hospital.
I am making my own bacon in the morning filling my work area with the wonderful aroma of cooked bacon which everyone loves! I proudly take it down to the cafeteria, grab some eggs, and take a pass on the turkey bacon substitute. Oh yeah, I even bring my own mayonnaise too!
You go man! If they won’t accommodate you, then you gotta do what you gotta do. Too many uninformed people just settle for what they are being told is “heart healthy” when in fact most of those choices are doing more harm than good. Dietary fat from bacon, butter, and mayonnaise for example are not the evil villains they’ve been made out to be. The real culprit in heart disease is the inflammation brought on from excessive carbohydrate intake. Consuming lots of whole wheat breads, bagels, and fat-free condiments that are overloaded on carbs will only perpetuate the obesity and heart disease for many years to come.
Do you have a story you’d like to share about how your healthy low-carb lifestyle is being challenged out in the real world? I’d love to have you talk about it in the comments section below. While our particular point of view regarding a healthy diet may go against the norm, that’s no reason for us to compromise what we know is true. Consuming a high-fat as a percentage of total calories, adequate protein without going overboard, and low-carb limited to non-starchy veggies primarily diet is what our bodies need to be healthy and strong. NEVER compromise on what you know is right for you.
I am a bit puzzled by the mayonnaise as a health food (by our standards), it might be zero carb and zero sugar, but all the mayo I see that’s commercially available is made with soybean oil. No good fats. The only exception is Kraft makes one that has olive oil in it, but it still has a large quantity of soybean oil. I’m betting the hospital cafeteria wasn’t serving mayo with olive oil. Maybe its more of a paleo concern, but I don’t often see low carbers advocating soybean oil.
You’re right about soybean oil, Lucy, but the reason mayo is off the menu at this cafeteria has more to do with the saturated fat in it. There are good ones out there and if they are truly concerned about being “heart healthy” then they’d make the change to these better brands. It’s all about the fat…that evil dastardly dietary fat.
–Jimmy
I recently had to drive to a neighboring state for a funeral. My sister chose a hotel with a continental breakfast bar. It proudly trumpeted the “make your own waffles” feature on its website. I was really worried because I thought I was going to be completely out of luck. I brought nuts on the trip but I didn’t want to eat them for breakfast.
It turns out they had hard-boiled eggs. I cut them in half, seasoned them with salt & pepper and then I put cream cheese on them. OMG, that was awesome.
When I got home I made it again with pastured eggs. I am still looking for a good source of organic cream cheese.
According to the nutrition label on mayonnaise, there is no saturated fat per serving. Most full fat mayo is made with soybean oil. I try to avoid soy products.
Here is the Hellman’s ingredients:
Soybean oil, whole eggs, vinegar, water, egg yolks, salt, sugar, lemon juice, natural flavors, calcium disodium EDTA (used to protect quality).
Hi Jimmy, I’ve noticed the phrase “moderate protein” in your blog entry above and other things you’ve written. I’m struggling with how to accomplish that.
I certainly can recognize (and eat) good quantities of fat and avoid the carbs. I’m not sure what foods are high in fat, but low in protein, or vice versa. I want to make sure I’m not eating too much protein.
Any guidance on the protein aspect of this way of eating would help a lot.
Great question, Brent, and I use that phrase “moderate protein” or even “adequate protein” by design. Too often low-carb diets are erroneously described as “high-protein” when in fact they are high as a percentage of total calories in fat. The way you accomplish this is by deliberately gravitating towards foods that consist primarily of fat like butter, coconut oil, cream, cheese, and full-fat versions of meats. This is why chicken and other lean meats are not necessarily ideal for your low-carb lifestyle as the primary source of protein because they are so low in fat. Get meats with at least a 2-1 ratio of fat to protein and you’ll be “moderating” your protein intake. Hope this helps.
–Jimmy
Great post! And very sad. I am just beginning my low-carb lifestyle and am incredibly frustrated at the notion that low fat is the way to go. As a former pasta, bread, and Triscuit junkie, I have been advocating the low carb lifestyle with my family. I just feel better in many ways, mentally I feel more clear, my mild depression is all but gone, my skin is clearer, rosacea all but gone, clothes are looser.
My mom, who battles the same 40 pounds with WW over and over, says, “Maybe you can find something a little healthier than Atkins.” My dad, who is pre-diabetic and battling an extra 30 pounds, refuses to give up his potatoes and bread, allowing them in “moderation” at one meal a day. My sister, who has gained 40 pounds in the last 2 years on a diet primarily consisting of cereal for dinner, muffins, bagels, and low-fat yogurt, says, “Well if you think it’s working for you, you should do it.”
My husband is on board with me and we are enjoying incredibly delicious meals. (Shrimp Scampi cooked in lots of butter and served in lettuce cups last night!) Fortunately that is what matters to me, but I don’t care for being judged by people who refuse to accept that another option is possible.
Good Calories, Bad Calories, Gary Taubes’ excellent book, has provided me with ammunition against the charges that high-fat, moderate protein is an unhealthy way of living. I think we are on the beginning of a revolution in nutrition and that low carb will ultimately be demonstrated to be the healthier way to go. This is another example of the extreme group think in the medical/nutrition community.
Allison
I know low carb dieting works for sure. I just went to Walgreens for the free blood sugar check that was promoted on the Oprah show with Dr. Oz. I had eaten breakfast and the nurse informed me since I had eaten, my blood glucose should be between 100 and 130. Mine was 89. She was totally impressed. She told me to keep doing what I was doing and I needed to get something to eat!
I will keep eating this way for the rest of my life.
One of our concerns is that, if we were ever to be hospitalized due to trauma (think car accident, not heart attack), the food provided by the hospital would seriously derail our LCHF lifestyle, jeopardize our recovery, and endanger our health! I have been considering formulating a medical directive of some sort that we could carry with us and that would compel the hospital to conform to our preferred diet. It’s something we low-carbers should think about!
Recently, my husband’s diabetic sister was hospitalized for a week for what is usually an out-patient surgical procedure. The food that was provided to her was extremely high in carbs, very low in fat, and lacking in adequate protein. Perhaps her stay in hospital would’ve been shorter if she’d been given real food and healthful fats that would support healing.
There is a danger out there and it’s coming from the very institutions we look to in times of need. What they don’t know can hurt us.
You know, that’s not a bad idea! Thanks for sharing.
–Jimmy
I was wondering about the mayo in this story, more about how it would be eaten than whether it should. I am personally a mayo lover, but I just can’t enjoy it as often as I’d like because it doesn’t seem to go that well with most meals sans bread. Of course, I still use it in salads of all sorts (chicken, egg, and vege) but I can’t imagine using it in my egg/bacon breakfast. I suppose the bold among us could just slather it on, no fear. Bacon dipped in mayonnaise, wow. I can just imagine the cringing lowfat vegans out there.
I share the concern about soybean oil of the previous commentor, but I must say, it really isn’t hard to make homemade mayo and it can be lovely! You can use any sort of oil you want, and experiment with various flavors, adding lemon juice, all kinds of vinegar, mustard powder, etc. I urge readers to check out some mayo recipes and do some experimenting! Once you get the hang of it, it’s really easy.
My mother was recently in a rehab/nursing home, recovering from a bout of severe back spasms. She is a type-2 diabetic, on insulin, and they brought her trays of carbs: toast, potatoes, cereal for breakfast; sandwiches with scant meat, pasta, etc. for lunch; corn, potatoes, rolls, macaroni and cheese, with scant meat, for dinner, as well as desserts and juice and crackers for snacks. They explained that they didn’t have a menu to select from, so they just put it all there and let the patient choose what to eat. The idea was to send a lot of it back to be thrown out!
To the originator of this thread. . . Duuuuuuude. . . so NOW ur famous. . . . but also getting very very scary. . .
Uhhhh, what?
–Jimmy
Brent G,
For great information about “moderate” or “adequate” protein, get a copy of the Drs. Eades book, “Protein Power Life Plan.” Check out their blogs at http://www.proteinpower.com. Very intelligent people!
I just visited a friend in the hospital. She is diabetic and she was eating dinner when I arrived. What I could see on her tray was a baked potato, a starchy veggie (can’t remember but I think peas), a roll, a fruit cup and a very small piece of chicken. She ate some of all but not the chicken. What is wrong with these institutions!!!!!!!!!!!!!??
Jimmy,
SteveCupp was referring to the guy you quoted (my hubby, btw) not to you.
@SteveCupp- our daughter is beginning to say the same about us. She says this is all we talk about anymore. LOL
Gotcha! I didn’t know who he was talking about.
–Jimmy
What is wrong with hospitals is a good question! I recently had a very messy divorce from my appendix. From the triage nurse in the ER up to the surgeon and anesthetist, I informed everyone I came into contact with that I had been diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension, both controlled by diet and exercise. Apparently I was the only one doing any talking about this, though, because NOBODY told the kitchen or the nurses and nurse aides. I was there for 2 days before the paper with the meal said “diabetic diet”. Since it was an emergency visit to the hospital, naturally I didn’t have my glucometer or strips and nobody was at all interested in my blood sugar. The nurse aide, when I told her I was a diabetic, was surprised nobody had asked her to check my BS. The soups I thought would be a good alternative to carbs were so salty I couldn’t eat them (real good for hypertension), they’re version of “turkey sausage” was so bad I actually threw it up, and every meal offered was carbs, carbs, carbs. I lost 10 pounds I couldn’t afford to lose during a 5 day stay trying to eat healthily. But everyone was surprised at how quickly I was healing despite the diabetes. My theory is that my inflammation and blood sugar levels were great due to my low carb diet.
This is a problem in the grocery store, too. Why is it that so many sugar-free things — ice cream in particular — are also usually fat-free? I actually went out and bought an ice cream maker so I could make myself some full-fat, sugar-free ice cream. I’m still working on finding a good recipe, but it’s better than that no-fat stuff they try to pawn off on us as healthy. Bleh!
I’m sure they got rid of the mayo because it was “fatty” but no way would I touch commercial mayos anyway since they are *all* made from soybean oil, as others have stated, one of the nasty unhealthy oils. I used to love mayo but I won’t touch it now unless I make it myself – so its loss from the menu would not bother me. Dijon mustard is about the only condiment I’ll eat out, and I’ve learned ever Grey Poupon contains sugar! What is that about? There should be no sugar in mustard.
I do worry about being hospitalized. I tell my family they need to bring in a jar of coconut oil and cans of sardines if I’m ever stuck there. My daughter-in-law had a baby in September, and her room actually had a mini-fridge. I don’t think she ate any hospital food the two days she was there. We brought it all in for her.