Hospital Food
The delivery of meals at Sacred Heart Rehabilitation, within Sydney’s St. Vincent’s Hospital, operates like a well-oiled machine, at 7 am, 12 noon, and 5 pm. To prepare, there is a daily ritual that involves completing a green paper form, and ticking boxes for meals spanning the next 36 hours. This system works pretty well, with the only exception being when my room became a COVID case zone, necessitating phone orders which sometimes went a little awry.
A fellow patient told me during our morning gym session you can make special requests beyond the printed menu. She , like me, is a prune enthusiast who, despite their omission from the menu, successfully obtained some by simply writing the word “prunes” on the menu. I’m now inspired to follow suit. It will help keep me “regular”.
As we did our physiotherapy, a group discussion in the gym began, dissecting the menu’s merits and flaws. A physiotherapist championed the “orange jelly” as a standout item, while my preference leaned towards the high-protein, high-energy porridge. Our consensus deemed the zucchini frittata tasteless and the scrambled eggs rather pedestrian. The salads are excellent!
Considering the diverse dietary requisites and the huge output, the food is pretty amazing.
“Prune Lady” remarked, “I’ve become quite the connoisseur of hospital cuisine during my four-month tenure.” In reply, I suggested that perhaps we could do a TV show, travelling from hospital to hospital :)
In the meantime, here are some of the meals I’ve enjoyed.
Some of that looks more appetising than others…🤔😏😎🤣
I like prunes – nice with a good custard – sadly no one in my family likes me having prunes 🤭🫢🤪😵😵💫
They don’t know what they’re missing
The food does look good. While my mother was in the public hospital, the food was rather ordinary in my opinion, and hers. A desert spoon of psyllium husks sprinkled on your morning cereal also keep you regular and help to control your cholesterol levels.