There are lots of reasons you would love living at Coquitlam’s Earl Haig Retirement Residence, and today, we’re going to focus on…
FOOD!
One of the great benefits of moving into an independent retirement community is not having to cook your own meals! For those of us who actually enjoy cooking, we know a lot goes into preparing a fully balanced, nutritious and delicious meal.
As the body ages, however, everything entailed in eating a good meal gets harder (sourcing out ingredients, travelling for shopping, preparation, cooking, serving, cleaning up, etc.). We may then find ourselves relying on easy-to-prepare items like toast or processed foods, which are lacking in proper nutrition, not to mention the added ingredient of LOVE.
Well, never fear! The Earl Haig Retirement Residence is here, and we aim to please! You’ve spent your life serving your families and society, now let us take our turn to serve YOU. We go out of our way to make sure your meals are the best in home cooking as part of our senior care service!
In fact, 90% of what we serve is made from scratch! We chop fresh fruits from local produce stores in-house for our fruit salads – nothing frozen or canned here! Instant mashed potatoes? NEVER! Freshly peeled and cooked potatoes to your plate only! Homemade soups, savoury pies, healthy sandwiches, you name it!
Tooting our own horn? For sure, but with good reason! And just to show we are not biased, let’s let the experts have their say. We were visited by a professional nutritionist who regularly evaluates the meal selections in retirement communities, and this is what she had to say:
“The menu at the Earl Haig Residence provides a good variety of nutritious food that meets the nutritional requirements of residents based on Canada’s Food Guide for Healthy Eating. Audits on nutritional adequacy, meal service and dining environment scored 100%. The dinner sampled was attractive, flavourful, and enjoyed by most everyone, including myself.”
-Christine Chou, Registered Dietitian
You might be asking yourself, “So, how does this all work? What kind of meals do you actually serve? Do I get a choice?”
How it works is, once a week, we put out copies of the following week’s menu choices (for lunch and dinner) at the retirement residence. For each meal, there are two options, and you simply circle the option you want, and hand it back into us.
Here are some examples of our lunch options:
- OPTION 1: Won Ton Soup with Roast Beef Sandwich
- OPTION 2: Won Ton Soup with Vegetable Mini Quiche
- OPTION 1: Ham & Cheese Sandwich with Four Bean Salad
- OPTION 2: Beef Taco Salad with Black Beans
- OPTION 1: Turkey Noodle Vegetable Soup with Tuna Salad Sandwich
- OPTION 2: Turkey Noodle Vegetable Soup with Grilled Cheddar and Swiss Cheese Sandwich
Here are some examples of our DINNER options:
- OPTION 1: Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Carrots and Dinner Roll
- OPTION 2: Halibut with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Carrots and Dinner Roll
- OPTION 1: Chicken Pot Pie with Green Salad
- OPTION 2: Cheese Tortellini in Rosetta Sauce with Green Salad
- OPTION 1: Sweet and Sour Pork with Veggie Chow Mein and Egg Rolls
- OPTION 2: Tilapia Fish with Veggie Chow Mein and Egg Rolls
The menus at our independent living community are always shifting and developing as we try out new recipes and new ideas. And while the technical side of meal time (ingredients, nutrition, and preparation) may be important, equally important, and what we have for you in spades, is LOVE.
For more information or to book a tour, please call us at 604 937 3790.
Author – Jennifer, Administrator/Earl Haig Retirement Residence
