Healthy Hospital Food
Adding Plant-Based Options to Patient Menus
Adding Plant-Based Options to Patient Menus
Everything you need to offer plant-based options in your hospital.
Great hospital care means more than state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatments—it includes all aspects of the hospital experience, including delicious, healthy food.
Follow these 10 easy steps to add plant-based options to your patient menu.
Review your current patient menu for existing plant-based options that could provide a nutritionally complete meal.
Is there a substantive option for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? It should meet your hospital’s nutrient guidelines for patient meals.
If you don’t have plant-based meals available, meet with your hospital’s food service director and administrators. Will necessary menu changes be made at the hospital or health system level? Discuss overall staff time and resources that may be needed.
Evaluate frozen, pre-prepared, and scratch-made menu items. Each have advantages, depending on patient demand, available kitchen equipment, and staffing.
Independent providers can use these tested recipes. Tips for nutritionally complete meals:
Invite kitchen and administrative staff to try out new recipes.
Consider a weekly plant-based special on rotation as an insert.
Offer in-service training for:
Teach patients how plant-based options can help them get healthy. You can use these free handouts, or create your own.
Offer samples to nursing and administrative staff. Include an article in your in-house and public newsletters about the new options. Reach out to local media about the steps your facility has taken to offer delicious, health-promoting food.
Get Healthy With Good Nutrition
Food for Life classes teach you how to improve your health with a plant-based diet.