179.0 Everyone Has Gained Weight!

Last night we had dinner with dear friends who have just moved to a "resort life style" retirement center. It's new, it's gorgeous, and has every amenity you could ever wish for in a resort or a retirement community.

After they took us on the grand tour and shared all of the wonderful aspects of the place including physical therapy opportunities, dance classes, balance workouts, a cocktail lounge, (very popular as we walked through at about 5:30 pm :)), a workout room with personal trainer on staff, etc., we went to the dining room. The menu was encased in a beautiful holder and we did feel like we were in a lovely resort.

As you can imagine, I combed through that menu very carefully looking for options that I was comfortable with. And I did find some. I ordered a romaine and tomato salad with oil and vinegar on the side as well as the blue cheese crumbles (at least a half a cup!) on the side, salmon without the barbeque sauce as offered, and a side order of sauteed spinach, and a side of asparagus. The others ordered the prime rib, and the cheesy mashed potatoes. For dessert I ordered fresh berries, while they ordered creme brulee, low-sugar blueberry pie and a chocolate sundae. By the way, I'm not criticizing what they ordered, but am including their orders to give you an idea of the selection.

So why am I writing this? I'm writing this because there weren't a lot of healthy options. There wasn't a plain potato option, there were no low salt options, and after we ordered dessert, the waiter returned to our table to say that there weren't anymore berries available. And, when my dinner arrived at the table, the spinach was less than half a cup, and the asparagus side order consisted of 4 very skinny stalks.

When Jeff complimented our hosts on the food, they agreed that it was delicious, and said that everyone who has moved there has gained weight. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that this place has obviously spent a huge amount of money on the facility, has a wonderful philosophy of engaging the folks in all sorts of activities and opportunities, and provides equipment and staff to help people stay healthy, but hasn't put that same care into the food they are serving the residents.

I woke up this morning thinking about that big dollop of cheesy mashed potatoes that Jeff had eaten. And, there must have been at least a cup and a half of ice cream supporting the chocolate sauce that made up the sundae. As I am writing this I am thinking about "the kitchen conspiracy" that I could center a novel on...namely that you cut back on the healthy items in terms of serving size and options, and go heavy on the comfort food. Maybe that's what folks want, but it makes me wonder!