Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
At Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center, every month is heart month. "We follow the NYC Healthy Hospital Food Initiative, which has a number of goals and standards to adhere to," says Timothy Gee, executive chef at MSK. "Our overall strategy focuses on serving not only better meats such as antibiotic- and hormone-free poultry and grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef, but also less meats, such as in our countless vegetarian dishes. My focus is to not just serve vegetarian dishes so we can say we do, but to make these dishes as good if not better than the other entrees."
Gee favors one key ingredient for heart health: flavor. "Just because you're serving superfoods or plant-forward foods does not mean you can step away from making these dishes flavorful. Focus on fresh herbs, salsas, vinegars and spices to kick the dishes up a notch."
A dish Gee says helps MSK diners start their days off right and avoid items higher in sodium is overnight oats (above).