Menu Templates

• What are Menu Templates?
  • Demo Video (1:58)
• Viewing Menu Templates
  • Searching and Filtering the Menu Templates
  • Opening a Menu Template
• Copying a Menu from a Menu Template
• FAQs
  • What happens to items when removing choices on a menu (i.e., single choice menu)?
  • What happens to items when reducing choices on the menu?

What are Menu Templates?

Menu templates are menus that are published by MealSuite and your corporation/food vendor that can be copied as a menu in your account for immediate use. 

Demo Video (1:58)

Viewing Menu Templates

To view menu templates, select Menus > Menu Templates. 

Searching and Filtering the Menu Templates

You can search for a menu template via the Search field, and the following filters are available to narrow down the templates that appear onscreen.

• Published By - filter by MealSuite menu templates or those from a corporate parent account. 
• Extended - filter by extended menu templates (i.e., menu items support support therapeutic substitutes extended to diet orders) or non-extended menu templates.

Menu templates based on the menu type are available from the respective tabs (Standard, Snack, Special Event, Also Available)

Opening a Menu Template

To open a menu template click its name link. The template opens to the week-at-a-glance view (second screenshot below).  

Copying a Menu from a Menu Template

To copy a menu from a menu template, complete the following steps:

1. Select Menus > Menu Templates. The Menu Templates screen appears. 
   
   
2. Locate the menu template you want to copy and click its Copy to My Menu button. The copy slide-out panel appears. 
   
   
   
   
3. Enter or select the following:
   
   
   • Name - enter a name of your menu (maximum 40 characters). 
     
     
   • Duration (Weeks) (not applicable for special event menu or an also available (AA) menu set as a single day menu) - enter the menu cycle in weeks. If the menu template has more weeks than what you enter, then only the weeks that you enter are copied over. If you enter more weeks than the menu template has, then the additional weeks will be empty.
     
     
   • Use House Fall Back (Also Available menu only) - the menu items are offered as substitutes when the menu item selection logic excludes an item for the resident/patient and there is no personal substitute.
     
     
   • Extension Type:
     • No Extensions - select this option if the menu items will not support therapeutic substitutes extended to diet orders. When copying a currently-extended menu to have no extensions, then any existing extensions for the menu items will be deleted. You will be prompted to type Delete to confirm that you are removing extensions. 
       
       
       
       
     • Extended Menu - keep this option if the menu items are to support therapeutic substitutes extended to diet orders.
       
       
     • Liquid - if the menu being copied is a liquid menu, then Liquid is selected by default and cannot be changed. In the MealSuite system, a liquid menu is created as a subtype to a main menu type (standard, snack, special event, also available). When a person is assigned a liquid diet, they will not be served from the main menu, but rather from the liquid menu that is scheduled and associated with the main menu type. For more information on liquid menus, see About a Liquid Menu.
       
       
   • Extension Editor (applicable if Extended Menu is selected as Extension Type):
     • Auto-Open - select this option if the menu item extension grid will automatically appear when adding menu items.
     • Manual - select this option to not have the menu item extension grid automatically appear when adding menu items.
       
       
   • Menu Category Choices - select the number of choices (up to 5) that the menu can support for its menu items. A menu item labelled as choice 1 will be the main and a menu item labelled as choice 2 will be the first alternate, etc. For more information on choices, see Choices for a Menu Item. Note the following:
     • When reducing the number of choices from a template, then items no longer with an assigned choice are not copied over. See What happens to items when reducing choices on the menu? below for more information.
     • If the menu items are not to support therapeutic substitutes extended to diet orders (i.e., the Extension Type is No Extensions), the No Choice option is available, meaning your menu items will not be categorized by choices. When selecting No Choice, only items assigned to choice 1 in the template will be copied to the menu (i.e. a single choice menu). See What happens to items when removing choices on a menu (i.e., single choice menu)? below. A single choice menu with no extensions is typically used in a cafeteria or catering environment. In addition, setting a menu to a single choice menu will utilize the total needed forecasting method, as indicated by message below.
       
       
       
       
4. In the Configuring Menus section, the available options are dependent on the menu type (standard, snack, special event, also available):
   • Standard menu - select the meal periods and days of the week the standard menu supports by selecting/clearing the check boxes as needed.
     
     
     
     
   • Snack menu - select the snack times and days of the week the snack menu supports by selecting/clearing the check boxes as needed.
     
     
     
     
   • Special Event menu - select the meal periods the special event menu supports by selecting/clearing the check boxes as needed. A special event menu can be created for a single meal period of the day. For example, serving a lunch holiday meal. On the day such a special event menu is active, the breakfast is served from the standard menu, lunch is served from the special event menu, and dinner is served from the standard menu. 
     
     
     
     
   • Also Available (AA) menu - select if the AA menu is to be single day menu via the Single Day Menu option (first screenshot below) or a weekly menu via the Weekly Menu option (second screenshot below). Then select the meal periods the AA menu supports by selecting/clearing the check boxes as needed. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
5. If your account does not have the same menu categories that the menu template has, then the Configure Menu Categories section appears (screenshot below) for you to map the menu categories over to your account’s menu categories. There is also the option to add the unassigned menu category to your account’s menu category list. If you do not want to copy a particular category, then select Do Not Copy.
   
   
   
   
6. Click the Start Copy button. A progress bar appears as the menu is copied. When the copy is complete, the newly-copied menu opens to the week-at-a-glance view. 

FAQs

What happens to items when removing choices on a menu (i.e., single choice menu)?

When copying a menu template and removing choices on the new menu (i.e., a single choice menu), then only items assigned to choice 1 will be copied over. You will be prompted to type Delete to confirm that you are removing choices.

In the example below, Items A, B and E are assigned to choice 1 in the template and as such are the only items copied to the new menu that was set with no choices.

Menu with Choices:

After Copying the Menu with Choices to a New Menu with No Choices: 

What happens to items when reducing choices on the menu?

When copying a menu template and reducing the choices on the new menu, then items no longer with an assigned choice are not copied over. You will be prompted to type Delete to confirm that you are reducing choices.

In the example below, items F and G are assigned to choice 3 in the template, and are removed in the new menu that was set with only choice 1 and choice 2. 

Menu with Three Choices:

After Copying the Template with Three Choices to a Menu with Two Choices: