Researchers at Amsterdam UMC have designed a week of entirely plant-derived hospital menus that meet clinical protein requirements, offering hospitals a working template as Dutch healthcare institutions face binding targets to shift their animal-to-plant protein ratios. Between April and December 2025, a group of 16 experts, including hospital and company chefs, dietitians, a physician, facility staff and industry product specialists, developed and tested recipes against six criteria: protein quantity, protein quality, palatability, portion size, cost and preparation feasibility. As the authors put it, total weekly costs stayed within budget limits, “indicating that nutritionally adequate plant-derived menus can be implemented without increasing costs.”