To the Editor:

Are there other seniors in Mesquite who wish the local casinos would provide more healthy food options? Shouldn’t they want to help keep us healthy?! The majority of us are overweight and could be heading for diabetes and other weight related issues if we don’t already have them, as well as other health issues that are not weight related but still nutritionally related. Many of us heavily support the casinos and very often partake of the complimentary buffets offered. It is very hard to get a healthy meal at our local casino buffets. Sure, there are raw vegetables on the buffets (hard to chew for some and not that appealing without a healthy dressing offered) and iceberg lettuce is there (little nutritional value), raw spinach that can deplete calcium when we are trying to fight off osteoporosis (it contains oxalic acid and is healthier for us if lightly steamed), and even if there is a more nutritional type of leafy green offered, it is usually coated with what is likely an unhealthy dressing. There are salads offered that are filled with mayonnaise, oils and sugars, cooked vegetables are swimming in butter/margarine/oils or have added sugars. There are many fried entrees offered and entrees covered in gravy, unhealthy sauces, cheese, and too much salt.  Want turkey?  It is often cut for you with the same knife used to cut the rare beef next to it, and the bloody run-off from the beef is all over the cutting board near the turkey. Sometimes there is a can of water nearby that the knife is dipped in over and over again to “clean” it.  We deserve better. Ask for better! The buffets are number one “perk” for us and can change for the better if we speak up. Just ask for a comment card and fill it out – or attach a letter to it if you want to express yourself more fully.

Lisa Miller
Mesquite