When considering detox, there are many different parts of the withdrawal management and stabilization process that are vitally important. Is there a doctor or specially addiction-trained psychiatrist that will be overseeing the process? What is the medication protocol? Will there be 24/7 nursing staff? Will the detox include clinical and recovery support to aid patients through those first rough few days of the process? Is the environment healing, soothing, private, and offer enough comfort but also enough distractions in the form of community engagement and entertainment for a patient to take their minds of going through detox?
Fortunately, here at Innovo Detox, the answers to all these questions are yes. However, there is another piece of the detox process that often isn’t thought about or considered that is vitally important in making sure patients get through detox in comfort and move on in a journey of health and wellness: the food.
Everyone knows that food and diet play an important role in a life focusing on health and wellness. Eating well, eating right, and making the right healthy choices all play into a bigger picture of feeling good and living a high quality of life. For those that suffer from addiction, often their culinary choices do not support a health and wellness lifestyle. Additionally, certain types of food can help support a patient in feeling better through the sometimes difficult physical and mental detox process.
Here at Innovo Detox, our culinary team of Head Chef Liam Surry and cooks Ted Armacost and Tyler Pangborn make sure that all patient meals are prepared to best support their medical needs during detox, making delicious, hearty, and healthy options to meet each patients’ dietary needs.
Head Chef Liam Surry explains:
“When creating the menus for our patients there are a couple of main considerations. First, we strive for diversity in our offerings so that patients and staff alike can look forward to different flavors each day and week-to-week. We include dishes from dozens of different cuisines and places: French, Asian, Mexican, German, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and many more. Though we try to accommodate a wide variety of palates and offer some cuisines for more adventurous eaters, we also recognize the emotional connections that food can have and offer some “home cooking” style meals and comfort classics.
Second, we make sure that the menu day-to-day offers a balanced diet. The menu will always include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, focusing on antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries, kale and spinach, and fresh herbs, just to name a few. We also cook nearly all our food from scratch, including our own broths, salad dressings, and sauces. This allows us to offer foods that don’t carry many of the preservatives, high sodium contents, and highly processed ingredients that come in prepackaged items. Our general philosophy is that when you eat well you feel well. By providing clean and nutritious food, we hope to provide our patients a building block for their journey towards a healthier mind and body.
Finally, we do our very best in accommodating the wide range of dietary restrictions and cultural preferences that we encounter day-to-day from different patients that come through Innovo Detox. We have an alternative menu of basic meal items that is always available for those patients who may not be able to enjoy what the menu offers. Beyond that, we create custom dishes for our patients with dietary restrictions to assure that they are able to enjoy safe and enjoyable meals that will aid them to heal. We recognize that it is a difficult time for our patients to begin their journey of sobriety with us, so we go out of our way to provide personalized and compassionate care for our patients. Some examples are making a cake for a patient celebrating their birthday while in treatment or offering some familiar goodies around the holidays.”
A day of dining at Innovo Detox would look like this: start your morning with strawberry cream cheese stuffed whole-wheat French toast, turkey sausage, and a pineapple coconut Greek yogurt smoothie. If that doesn’t suit your palate, help yourself to a variety of toast, bagels and spreads, cold cereal, or oatmeal. Lunch offers a comfort classic, such as three-cheese grilled cheese with a blistered tomato and roasted asparagus bisque. Dinner might bring a homemade lobster ravioli with tarragon cream sauce and a side salad and cannoli for dessert.”
If you or someone you know needs help for addiction or co-occurring disorders, please give us a call. Innovo Detox offers the latest in evidence-based medical, psychiatric, and clinical care for those in need of detox and medical stabilization in Pennsylvania and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic area. If we aren’t the best fit for you or a loved one, we will take the necessary time to work with you to find a detox, rehab, treatment center or provider that better fits your needs. Please give us a call at (717) 619-3260 or email our team at info@innovodetox.com. For more information on our company or services, please visit our website at www.innovodetox.com.