Let’s say you had to take your kid to the hospital and couldn’t pack your own meal. What would you order off of this menu and why? You are allowed one entree, two sides (including soups), two drinks, and a dessert.
I’m just curious how people would read this menu and make their decisions.
Baked fish for entree
Sides of broccoli and salad (or just double broccoli)
Drink of non-sweet tea and water
No dessert. If I HAVE to have one: no sugar added pudding.
All of that assuming I’m in a maintenance/fat loss phase. All clean food, fish is amazing and I rarely get to eat it at home, tea has many positive qualities, broccoli is a great veggie, I don’t need dessert.
Let’s have some fun and say I’m in an unrestricted gaining phase instead
Chicken alfredo pasta for entree (protein, carbs and heavy fats with creamy sauce)
Sides of mashed potatoes and brown rice if I’m still trying to be KINDA clean, otherwise: mac n cheese and tater tots for max calorie
Drinks of Chocolate Milk and Grape juice
Dessert of poundcake fries or milkshake. No sugar added pudding if I’m keeping it kinda clean.
GREAT mental exercise. This is so worthwhile when it comes to “surviving” in the real world.
Turkey Burger
Steam Brocolli or mashed potatoes sans butter (depending on carb needs)
Salad
2x whole milk
No sugar added vanilla and chocolate pudding
Id like to echo what the other posters said - it depends on your goals.
If it was me I’d go either with the ceasar salad with chicken, or tuna sandwich with any veggie they can throw on it. Green salad and peas with sandwich, brown rice and broccoli with the salad.
Milk and water to drink, and my wife or kids can choose the dessert since they’re going to steal it anyway.
I’d also sneak in some protein powder.
If you feel really ballsey (and not the patient in the bed) you can usually sweet-talk the kitchen staff to give you extra. A couple of compliments and questions go pretty far.
Edit: If it’s for a kid in the hospital, whatever the fuck they want.
The kids get their own tray and you get a guest tray. So this was more of a “if you were in this situation, what would you order for yourself” type of exercise.
Gotta love the place you live in. In my country -
prison, hospital and school food is cooked in same kitchens by same kind of people, served in aluminium bowls and a spoon that bends pretty easy.
And i dont mean prison food like that fancy stuff they show in Hollywood movies when they show prison where there are different types of foods in the tray and some milk and even a cookie - that is better food than most people on the planet get as their regular food, haha
Here its a porridge that has cabbage, carrots and potatoe in it. If its soup then its the same ingredients but in water. Thats it 
Cheeseburger with chedder add pickles
Tator tots
Sweet corn
Chocolate ice cream
Coffee or iced tea
Today I got chicken quesadillas, rice and penne pasta, strawberry shortcake and @cyclonengineer ’s double whole milk.
If I’m being honest… chicken quesadilla, tater tots and the chicken soup.
If I’m being more mature, chicken Caesar salad, broccoli, and still the soup.
I’m curious what’s up with that Oreo cookie parfait either way.
I like this exercise as well. I’m also coming more and more around to the “foods list” idea of eating, even though I never bought into that before, and exactly because it simplifies real life scenarios like this one.
Even though digestive problems are a big bane of my existence, having this constant food list type thing in my head is like a superpower when it comes to weight-gain or loss. Fast cutting is easy for me because the smaller the amount of foods on my list, the fewer opportunities there are to make mistakes. When it then comes to bulking it just means upping the volume.
Being super aware of the ingredients in things is important to me as it could change how I feel for the rest of the day. It’s also taught me that what might seemingly be an innocent soup could actually end up being the most calorie-dense thing of the entire meal.
Grilled Chicken or the Fish
Broccoli and Salad or Green Beans
Water and Skim Milk (1% would be my preferred but…)
Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding
I too, LOVE this exercise. I do it with my clients and restaurant menus all the time. You gotta be able to think on your feet in the real world and activities like this help “condition” your choices.
