A liquid menu contains the liquid food items (broths, juices, pudding, supplements, etc.) to be served to a resident or patient who is assigned a liquid diet (clear liquid, full liquid).
In the 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.
It is recommended to copy an existing liquid menu and use it as a base to create a new liquid menu.
However, if you want to create a new blank liquid menu from scratch, then that functionality is available in MealSuite. When you build a liquid menu from scratch, you can manually add items to it, or copy menu items to it from another menu.
To create a new liquid menu from scratch, complete the following steps:
- Select Menus > Menu Listing. The Menus Listing screen appears.
- Click the Add New button. The Add Menu slide-out panel appears.
- Enter or select the following:
- Type - select the menu type (Standard, Snack, Special event, Also Available)
- 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.
-
House Fallback (Also Available menu only) - the menu items are offered as substitutes when menu item selection logic excludes an item for the person and there is no personal specific substitute or personal fallback substitute for that person on their personal menu. For more information, see Menu Item Selection Logic.
- In the Extension Type field, select Liquid Menu.
- In the Menu Category Choices field, 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. For a liquid menu there is the option of not having it structured by choices; to do so, select No Choice. A menu with no choices is typically used in a cafeteria or catering environment.
- In the Configuring Meals 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.
- Also Available (AA) menu - select the meal periods the AA menu supports by selecting/clearing the check boxes as needed.
- As an option, you can enter a description of the menu in the Description field.
- Click the Save button to apply your changes and close the slide-out panel.
- Your next steps are to build the menu, which includes adding the liquid food items (broths, juices, pudding, supplements, etc.) to one or multiple liquid diets that can be assigned to residents and patients (clear liquid, full liquid, or tube feeding). See Adding Items to a Menu.