Meals is Care – Northern Westchester Hospital Northwell Well being
by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
We not too long ago heard from two vegan VRG members who had optimistic experiences throughout their hospital stays and who agreed to share their tales.
A VRG member needed to spend an evening in Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. His meal request was put in as lacto-ovo vegetarian (as a result of confusion of all the things happening medically talking); nevertheless, the meals served to him have been vegan with one merchandise being an exception!
The primary dinner meal consisted of Spaghetti Marinara, Steamed Rice, Zucchini Noodles, and a Wheat Dinner Roll. Breakfast the next day contained Oatmeal, Hash brown Potatoes, an English Muffin, a Banana, and the one merchandise that was not vegan was a Greek Yogurt (nevertheless, if the meal request had been entered as vegan, maybe vegan yogurt would have been supplied). Lastly, lunch consisted of Pasta and Sauce with Steamed Contemporary Spinach and Beans, Oven Roasted Potatoes, Blended Greens, and Diced Peaches.
Moreover, the cafeteria at Union Memorial Hospital had a separate station the place one might buy a vegan falafel bowl with many add-in objects that have been clearly labeled as vegan. Additionally they bought contemporary fruit, hummus, guacamole, and extra.
One other VRG member spent a number of days at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York. In accordance with the hospital’s web site, all sufferers’ meals are cooked to order by Culinary Institute of America cooks with entry to an onsite herb and perennial backyard and regionally grown, contemporary produce.” The affected person menu inspired sufferers to name the meals service to be taught extra about vegan eating choices. They have been very useful by way of altering menu objects to make them vegan and answering questions.
Vegan-friendly breakfast objects at Northern Westchester Hospital included avocado toast, tofu scramble, a mango strawberry smoothie, steel-cut oats, assorted breads, fruit, peanut butter, almond butter, roasted vegetable hash, and veggie sausage.
For lunch and dinner, tofu and chickpeas may very well be added to any salad. There was additionally a grilled backyard vegetable sandwich with hummus and a Baja Veggie Bowl that includes black beans, butternut squash, zucchini, corn, a quinoa and brown rice pilaf, and avocado with seared tofu out there as an add-on. A private pan pizza with plenty of greens was on the menu they usually readily agreed to make it with out cheese. Desserts included fruit and a number of other flavors of Italian ice. Almond milk and vanilla soy milk may very well be ordered with each meal.
The cafeteria had the identical grilled backyard veggie sandwich as was on the affected person menu in addition to almond milk yogurt, fruit, and a hearty salad with farro, lettuce, candy potatoes, pickled crimson onions, and walnuts.
We’re heartened to listen to of those optimistic experiences, whereas recognizing that not each hospital will likely be as vegan-friendly as these have been. As Camryn Bell, a dietetic intern, wrote in 2020, “very similar to society, they [hospitals] have come a great distance with accommodating and providing vegan choices. It’s a lot simpler to get info on substances and having the ability to have vegan meals within the hospital than it was even a couple of years in the past.”
To learn extra about being vegan within the hospital see:
