It doesn’t take too many days of having a loved on in the hospital before eating out becomes a real issue.  While my kids love the treat of a “dinner mom didn’t fix”, I personally get tired of it really fast, especially when you find out four days later that one particular restaurant failed health inspection.

It’s just not appealing to me to think of how many people handle my food, with their DNA landing on it before it reaches me at the table.  And if someone sneezes as your food is passing by them in the restaurant …… ewwww!

So, now that I have disgusted you all, how can we handle the problem of dining out?

First, consider bringing your lunch to the hospital.  It can be done and unless the patient is on a doctored ordered diet, they can even have some.  I love a good sandwich from home, and in no way am I too good to eat one.  I also don’t mind leftovers.  Pack a Tupperware plate with dinner and heat it in the day waiting room’s microwave.  And, raw veggies and fresh fruit are much better for you than the 497th trip to the vending machine for chips or a candy bar.

But another way to enjoy a good fresh (and healthy) meal on the run between life and the hospital is to check out your local grocery store’s specials.

This last week, GreenLife Grocery (owned by Whole Foods) had several great specials to kick-off summer.  My favorite?  Chicken kabobs ready to grill for $3.99 a pound.  These kabobs were loaded with fresh veggies along with chicken.  They were unseasoned, so you didn’t have to worry about sodium content, and they were only handled by the guy in the meat department putting them together as we watched, not by half a restaurant.

 

I seasoned the kabobs with Mrs. Dash …. a great healthy and delicious alternative to salt.

The best part of all is it took me 10 minutes to shop, 15-20 minutes to cook on the grill, and 5 minutes to call the family in to eat.  We might have spent $20 on dinner (including the side item) for a family of five.


We can’t even eat at Wendy’s or McDonalds for that price!

 

 

 

And I prepared a side of garlic & olive oil roasted potatoes & set a happy table to take our mind off everything else going on while the kabobs cooked.

Candles from Creative Candles and flowers from the grocery.  Simple and relaxing when your going through stressful times.

 

 

 

Shortcuts, in the kitchen are so often a necessary thing in our very busy lives.  How do you add shortcuts or deal with constant travel between the hospital  and home?