They sound like items found on the menu at your favorite family restaurant: smokehouse chicken sandwich, beef stew, oven fried chicken, spaghetti, whipped potatoes, chocolate banana bread pudding, orange creamsicle dessert.
But, in fact, this menu is reserved for a very special culinary crowd—Baptist Golden Triangle patients. And these dishes are just a few examples of the new lunch entrée items on the regular “Great Living Menu” that are making mouths water and meal time something to look forward to at the hospital these days.
A new culinary day has dawned at the hospital. Almost all meals are made from scratch and are prepared with the freshest ingredients possible, replacing butter and salt with olive oil and fresh herbs and spices. Everything is served with a healthy side of dietary education to help patients realize that hospital meals can both taste good and be good for them.
It was a trend that started in California, explained Libby Walker, Baptist Golden Triangle’s director of Food and Nutrition Services, and has grown mainly because of the internet.
“There is so much more information available to people now. The education level of the public has been raised to eat more healthy foods,” she said.
With the new emphasis on healthier fare, not only are the menu items prepared fresh each day, there are also more options. Perhaps the biggest change is a new “Always Available” menu, with items ranging from pasta and pizza to a variety of soups, sandwiches and salads; breakfast items; beverages; and desserts that are now available to patients any time hunger pangs hit, as long as their physician gives the OK.
Preparing fresh food daily has meant a big learning curve for the dietary staff, according to Morrison’s on-site executive chef Drew Dixon, who has implemented the new menu items and trained dietary staff.
“It’s been a big change for the kitchen staff. They are no longer opening a can and dumping food in a pot. Now, they are cutting fresh vegetables every day,” said Dixon.
More roasted vegetables means more time spent in front of the oven. But when one menu item can meet the requirements for up to six different diets, it’s worth the extra time and cuts down on waste in the kitchen, he added. For example, the oven fried chicken contains no salt and uses egg whites and crushed corn flakes in place of a traditional crust. It can be served to a patient on a regular diet or a physician-ordered reduced fat, reduced cholesterol or low sodium diet.
All the changes in the menu had hospital team members and the public fearing the fate of a staple on the Wednesday retail lunch line—the fried chicken.
No fears, reassured both Walker and Dixon.
“Every hospital has that one item they have had for years and years. There will still be fried chicken on the retail line at lunch on Wednesdays,” said Walker.