Healthcare & Hospital Cafeteria Menu Ideas

Offering healthy cafeteria menu options in hospitals, assisted living and other healthcare settings will help patients feel better and recover faster. Since finding good-for-you foods that also taste good and are easy to cook at scale can be challenging, our list of healthy healthcare and hospital cafeteria menu items will help facilitate your patients’ speedy recovery in a way that’s good for business as well.

10 Healing Foods to Help With Recovery

When someone has surgery or an illness, there are a few foods to help with the healing process. Check out these foods that can add a bit more healing properties to your menu:

• Leafy greens – Eating kale, spinach, mustard greens and Swiss chard will help decrease inflammation, improve how your body heals wounds and enhance immune function.


• Eggs – This is an excellent source of protein that can help your immune health and wound healing. That’s what makes eggs such a good choice especially after surgery.


• Salmon – Salmon offer the selenium, iron, zinc and more you need to heal quicker. If you find a fish supper difficult, try fish oil supplements.


• Berries – Berries provide vitamin C which is important in the healing process. They also provide antioxidants which help act as an anti-inflammatory.


• Nuts and seeds – Adding almonds, pecans, walnuts or sunflower seeds can better fuel the body for healing. In addition to being a good source of vitamin E and zinc, nuts and seeds can help with your immune health and protect against cellular damage.


• Poultry – The immune system can benefit from the amino acids and protein in chicken and turkey. Plus chicken is great in any dish, especially for picky eaters.


• Organ meat – Organ meat is great for skin health, wound healing and more as these dishes are full of immune-supportive nutrients like vitamin A, iron, zinc, copper and more.


• Cruciferous vegetables – Cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts and kale add more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to any dish which will help with immune health.


• Shellfish – Eating just 6 oysters will provide over 300% of your daily value for zinc. Eating clams, mussels or oysters is great for healing.


• Sweet potatoes – Sweet potatoes are high in carbs that will provide your cells with the energy needed to heal faster. This plant is also an anti-inflammatory that’s loaded with manganese, vitamin C and carotenoids.

Dishes for Assisted Living Dietary Restrictions

It can be tough to eat healthy, healing foods with a specific diet. Here are a few menu ideas for the different types of dietary restrictions:

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

• Grass-fed chicken and vegetables with a side salad


• Garlic butter-roasted salmon with potatoes and asparagus


• Sweet potato, kale and chicken salad with peanut dressing


• Sheet-pan Mediterranean chicken with Brussel sprouts and gnocchi

Low FODMAP Diet

• Turkey chili with sweet potato and lentils


• Moroccan chicken


• Cilantro-lime turkey salad


• Sushi bowls with smoked salmon

Diabetic Diet

• Chicken and spinach skillet with pasta with lemon


• Garlic butter salmon bites


• Chicken enchilada skillet casserole


• Chicken and white bean soup

Renal Diet

• Chicken stir fry with coleslaw pancakes


• Crispy tortilla pizza


• Turkey Waldorf salad


• BBQ chicken pita burger

Cholesterol-Restricted Diet

• Winter vegetable mulligatawny soup


• Beer-battered fish tacos with tomato and avocado salsa


• Chicken and mushroom ragu


• Black bean queso wraps