Menu Planning
Elevate Your Healthcare Menu
1/24/2025
When the prominent University of Chicago Medicine Hospital renovated its main campus several years ago, a retooling of the menus in the Sky Lobby Food Court and patient rooms also occurred. Gone were the dry baked chicken with seasonless vegetable entrées, tasteless tuna fish sandwiches, and cardboard-like pizza. Replacing those uninspired options were healthier, more flavorful selections that included local favorites, globally influenced choices, and even chef-driven specialties.
These necessary changes—such as adding a grilled sandwich station, made-to-order omelets, wraps, and more—entice staffers and patients’ visitors to stick around and dine on campus instead of cruising elsewhere for meals. Additionally, most patients may receive hotel-style room service and order meals from a menu. These choices may vary, depending on dietary needs, yet they are much more exciting than the average hospital dining experience.
University of Chicago Medicine’s impressive model may be easily duplicated and customized at other hospitals across the country. Concepts like these are a win-win for all involved, from those creating the menus to the consumers.
It’s also an opportunity to offer more appealing, nutritious options like plant-based dishes, according to experts such as Anna Herby, a nutrition education specialist for the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The nutrients and fiber of healthier diets can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, making it key for hospital dining teams to look at plant-based menus for patients.
“As a dietitian, I want to talk about plant-based hospital food, but people always ask, ‘But what about…?’ and ‘Where are they going to get protein?’ But a plant-based diet can absolutely meet a therapeutic diet,” Herby says in an article for Foodservice Director. “Pretty much none of the diets are impossible to do plant-based.”
Experts further advise testing unconventional new items here and there before changing the entire menu. “We’ve found the best approach is baby steps,” says Dustin Harder, culinary specialist with the Physician’s Committee.1 “You find yourself excited about plant-based food and its benefits. But even if you start with just one item, if the staff loves it and tells patients about it enthusiastically, then it’s planting the seed. Water it over time. And then let it grow.”
Thinking about updating the menus at a hospital? Here are a few tips—and recipe ideas—to consider:
Educate staffers first
Before changing anything, operators should first take the time to ensure that the staffers who will be intimately involved with the menus are well informed. That includes, of course, having the staff nutritionist work with the culinary team to review menus as well as host monthly or quarterly meetings to discuss trends and concerns.
During these gatherings, which may be in-person or virtual, operators should help them craft talking points backed by science for various special diets. These specialized fact sheets are a great start. They include essential information, varying from how to reduce breast cancer risk to healthy children’s snacks to managing high blood pressure.
Showcase simple ingredients
What may also be covered in these meetings is how simpler ingredients featured in plant-based dishes may save on prep time and labor—issues that continue to plague the foodservice industry. Simplot features a variety of key ingredients that have been prepped to save time on labor as well as waste. They may also help spark creativity and maintain the consistency of the dish.
Simplot's avocado portfolio, for example, allows operators to utilize quality avocado products year-round. There’s the Dill Pickle Avocado Spread, Hand-Scooped Chunky Avocado Pulp, Individually-Wrapped Avocado Halves and Cucumber Tzatziki Flavored Avocado Spread to name a few. Some fun recipe ideas range from a refreshing Green Applecado beverage to Avocado and Banana Ice Cream to a Fiesta Chopped Salad (replace shredded cheddar with a plant-based alternative).
The variety of sweet potato products offered are great options to consider as well. Nutrient-dense and high in fiber, they are easily the star of any recipe. Roasted Sweet Potato Chickpea BBQ Wraps are an ideal option for lunch, while Harissa Marinated and Roasted Sweet Potatoes are certain to grab patrons attention with their unconventional North African accents.
Feature enticing, global eats
Speaking of international fare, one of the hottest plant-based categories focuses on global flavors. These crave-worthy offerings range from fusion cuisine like Mexican-Korean food to re-imagining classic dishes. Think Cilantro Lime Rice Burritos, Roasted Italian Vegetables over quinoa, Avocado Banh Mi or a Multi-Grain Orzo, Chickpea, Kale and Roasted Cauliflower Bowl.
Test new plant-based menu items
In the end, the dishes won’t gain much momentum if they do not click with customers. That’s why it’s advised to test them out leveraging a limited-time offer (LTO) or with minor changes before committing several new dishes to menus all at once. Here are some ways to help the growth:
• Hold special tastings of new menu items for staffers.
• Create surveys with raffle prizes to motivate staff participation.
• Ask staffers for recipe ideas that may be adapted for menus.
• Offer complimentary tastings to patients for feedback; they’re a captive audience.
