Adding a Personal Menu Item

• What is a Personal Menu Item?
  • Adaptive Aides and Supplements as Personal Menu Items
• Adding a Personal Menu Item
  • Ensure Personal Menu Item is Assigned to a Production Area
• Adding a Personal Menu Item to Resolve a "Substitute Needed"
• Using Filters to Help your Search
  • Filtering by Food and Non-Food Items
  • Filtering by Vendor Products
• Removing a Personal Menu Item from a Personal Menu
• FAQs
  • I am searching for an item, but can't find it (i.e., the search is not returning results)?
  • Can a personal menu item be added to a specific meal period on a specific week?
  • If I add a personal menu item to a resident/patient profile who is on a therapeutic diet order, will the substitute recipe that is extended for that personal menu item on its menu item extension grid be served instead?
  • If I add a fluid personal menu item to a resident/patient profile who is on a fluid type, will the thickened fluid substitute that is extended for that fluid personal menu item on its fluid substitution grid be served instead?
  • I've added a personal menu item. It is appearing in the personal menu view and people reports, but not appearing in production reports (e.g., Kitchen Production Sheet)?
  • Is there a report that shows when personal menu items were added to or removed from a resident's/patient's personal menu?
  • Does the system detect if a menu item is changed to a non-compatible item? For example, does it detect if someone replaces baked chicken with a banana?
  • Does the system detect if an item conflicts with the assigned diet type of a resident/patient?
  • Does the system detect if an item conflicts with the assigned texture type of a resident/patient?
  • Is there a report that captures the personal menu items assigned across resident/patients?

What is a Personal Menu Item?

A personal menu item is an item that is added to a person's personal menu that is not currently served on the main menu. A personal menu item is specific to the day of the week, the meal period or snack time, and the menu category. 

Personal menu items will appear in the Touch and POS apps, production reports, and the following people reports:

• Dietary Profile Report
• Meal Service Report
• Snack Service Report
• Tray Card Ticket Report (People) - Lists Dietary Needs
• Tray Menu Ticket Report (People) - for Non-Select & Advance Ordering Service Types
• Person-Specific Select Menus Report (People) - for Table Select & Advance Ordering Service Types
• Snack Delivery Worksheet
• Stickers (People) - for Personal Items, Snacks or Identification
• Personal Menu Items Report

Note: For a person with the advance ordering service type, if that person does not select an item, then a personal menu item will be served instead if a personal menu item exists for the same day, meal period/snack time, and menu category. 

Adaptive Aides and Supplements as Personal Menu Items

For a resident/patient who requires an adaptive aide or supplement, you would add these as personal menu items. Prior to doing so, first ensure you have appropriate menu categories to assign the adaptive aides and supplements to. For more information, see the following articles:

• Adaptive Aides (Equipment)
• Supplements

Adding a Personal Menu Item

1. Open the resident's/patient's personal menu.
2. From the top left of the screen, select Add New > Personal Menu Item. The Add Personal Item window appears.
   
   
    
3. Click the Search Filter control on the right side to open the available filters (screenshot below). Use the filters as needed (described in separate section below) to aid in your search. Note that if searching for a therapeutic substitute recipe, select the Therapeutic Recipes check box (more information about this settings is described in the separate section below). 
   
   
    

4. In the Search field, enter the description or ID of the item or product you are searching for and click the magnifying glass or press Enter on your keyboard. The search results are returned (maximum 100). Note that if you do not find the search results suitable, then click here for search tips below. 

   
    

5. By clicking the eye icon () of an item, the Item Preview window appears with the following tabs:
   • Details - displays the recipe details.
     
     
      
   • Nutrient Value - displays the nutrient values. 
     
     
      
6. For an item you want to add, click its + icon. You can repeat the above steps to add other items. Each time an item is added, the Personal Item(s) to Add section refreshes with the added item.
   
   
    
7. Enter or select the following:
   • Day - select the days to serve the item.
   • Meals - select the meal periods (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and snack times (snack am, snack pm, snack hs) to serve the item.
   • Menu Category - select the menu category to apply the item (e.g., if Cheerios is the item, then select the Cereal category). Note that the categories that are available depend on the meal and snack times that are selected.
   • Amount - adjust the default serving size if needed.
   • Item should be served
     • In addition to choices from the menu - the personal menu item is listed as an additional item alongside the menu item(s) on the personal menu for that day/meal period/menu category.
     • Instead of regular menu - the personal menu item replaces the menu item(s) on the personal menu for that day/meal period/menu category.  
   • Select item by default in orders - this option is available if the person’s service type for any meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner) is set to advanced ordering or table select. With this option selected, the system will always order the personal menu item rather than have it as an option.
   • Item Note - you have option of adding a note (e.g., “milk on the side”), which will be printed on the service report for production staff.
8. Click Add to close the window and add the item(s). A personal menu item is identified with the blue Personal Item label. 
   
   
   
   Note: If the resident/patient is assigned a diet type that is set up with recommended restrictions, a message appears stating such and gives you the ability cancel the item, or ignore the restriction and apply the item.
   
   
   
   An item that is intentionally added despite a diet restriction is identified with a warning icon (). Hovering your cursor over the icon displays the restriction that is applied and informs you to change the item if you do not want it to be served. 
   
   

Ensure Personal Menu Item is Assigned to a Production Area

For a personal menu item to appear on production reports (i.e., Kitchen Production Sheet), it must be assigned to a production area. Ensure that the item is assigned to a production area and that the production area is selected in the base settings of the production reports.

Adding a Personal Menu Item to Resolve a "Substitute Needed"

If an item or items for a day/meal period/menu category on a resident/patient's personal menu cannot be served due to an allergen or the item being manually marked as DNS on the personal menu, then the text "Substitute Needed" appears (screenshot below). 

In addition, the text "Substitute needed" appears underlined on the Person-Specific Select Menus Report and the Tray Menu Tickets Report. For a deeper breakdown of why "Substitute Needed" text appears, see Why does "Substitute Needed" Text Appear? 

Note: To display DNS items on the personal menu (i.e., crossed-out) due to an assigned allergen or a personal menu “do not serve” customization, ensure the Display Excluded Items option is selected from the Display Options. 

One of the means to resolve a "Substituted Needed" text is to add a personal menu item. To do so, complete the following steps:  

1. Hover over the day/meal period/menu category instance and click the Add Substitute option (first screenshot below). The Add Substitute modal appears (second screenshot below).
   
   
   
   
    
2. Select the Personal Menu Item option and click the Add Substitute button. The Add Personal Item window appears.
   
   
    
3. Click the Search Filter control on the right side to open the available filters (screenshot below). Use the filters as needed (described in separate section below) to aid in your search. Note that if searching for a therapeutic substitute recipe, select the Therapeutic Recipes check box (more information about this settings is described in the separate section below). 
   
   
    

4. In the Search field, enter the description or ID of the item or product you are searching for and click the magnifying glass or press Enter on your keyboard. The search results are returned (maximum 100). Note that if you do not find the search results suitable, then click here for search tips below.

   
    

5. By clicking the eye icon () of an item, the Item Preview window appears with the following tabs:
   • Details - displays the recipe details.
     
     
      
   • Nutrient Value - displays the nutrient values. 
     
     
      
6. For an item you want to add, click its + icon. You can repeat the above steps to add other items. Each time an item is added, the Personal Item(s) to Add section refreshes with the added item.
   
   
    
7. The following fields are automatically populated based on the day/meal period/menu category instance of the Substitute Needed issue: Day, Meals, Menu Category. Adjust these fields if needed to add the personal menu item to other instances.
8. For the Items should be served field, there are the following options:
   • In addition to choices from the menu - the personal menu item is listed as an additional item alongside the menu item(s) on the personal menu and the Touch app ordering screen.
   • Instead of regular menu - the personal menu item replaces the menu item(s) on the personal menu on the personal menu and the Touch app ordering screen.
9. The Select item by default in orders option is available if the person’s service type for any meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner) is set to advanced ordering or table select. With this option selected, the system automatically adds the personal item when on the Touch app ordering screen.
10. In the Item Note field, you have option of adding a note (e.g., “milk on the side”), which will be printed on the service report for production staff.
11. Click Add to close the window and add the item(s). A personal menu item is identified with the blue Personal Item label. 
    
    
    
    Note: If the resident/patient is assigned a diet type that is set up with restrictions, then when you click Add, the system triggers a warning message about the conflict (screenshot below), and prompts you to look for another item. 
    
    

Using Filters to Help your Search

When searching for an item to add to a personal menu, you can utilize filters to better improve the results. From the Add window, click the Search Filter control to expose the Filters section (screenshot below). The filters are described below.

Filtering by Food and Non-Food Items

With the Food & Non-Food Items option selected, the following filters are available: 

• Food Type - filter by recipes, prepared foods, and non-food items.
   
• Categories - filter by recipe categories (if searching for recipes) and food categories (if searching for prepared foods). Note that if searching for both recipes and prepared foods, recipe categories are listed first in the drop-down, followed by food categories (screenshot below).
  
   
   
• Portion Cost Range - enter the cost range of the item (recipe cost, prepared food cost, non-food item cost) you are searching for. Note that this filter applies to items within your selections in the Categories field, or at least three characters entered in the Search field.
   
• Tags - filter by tags applied to recipes and prepared foods.
   
• Owner - this field lists your account and all parent accounts. Select one or more accounts whose recipes you want to select from.
   
• My Recipes Only - filter by "My Recipes" recipes (i.e., recipes owned by your account). Note that selecting the My Recipes Only checkbox also automatically selects your account, and only your account, in the Owner field.
   
• Therapeutic Recipes - therapeutic substitute recipes (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.) identified as such in the system (via the recipe's Recipe Box label) will be returned in your search results. Without the Therapeutic Recipes check box selected, such substitute recipes will not be returned in the search results. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.  
  
  
   
• Recipe Box (available only if Recipe is selected from Food Type) - returns recipes assigned to a recipe box label. More than one recipe box label can be selected. A recipe box label identifies the recipe (e.g., Entrees Poultry, Entrees Vegetarian, etc.), including a recipe that is a therapeutic substitute for a regular recipe (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.). 
  
  Note that if selecting a recipe box label for a therapeutic substitute recipe and/or IDDSI-compliant recipe, then the Therapeutic Recipes check box also needs to be selected. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.  
  
  

Filtering by Vendor Products

With the Vendor Products option selected, you can search for a prepared food associated with a vendor product. From the vendor products that are returned from the search results, you then select one, which in turns adds the prepared food item the vendor product is linked with (i.e., vendor product is verified for the prepared food item). In other words, the prepared food item the vendor product is linked with is added, and not the vendor product itself. 

Note: If a vendor product is in red text in the search results, this indicates that the vendor product is either a special order vendor product or out-of-stock. 

If a vendor product is not returned in the search results:

• Check your your vendor product list to confirm if the vendor product is available. See Searching for a Specific Vendor Product. If you confirm that the vendor product is not on your list, see What If a Vendor Product is not on a Vendor Product List? If you confirm the vendor product is on your list, then contact MealSuite Support.
• It could be that the vendor product does exist in your account, but is not linked with a food item, and as such that vendor product will not be returned in the search results. For more information and instructions on getting a vendor product linked with a food item in the system, see Facility Account: Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product or Corporate Account: Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product.

I am searching for an item, but can't find it (i.e., the search is not returning results)?

When searching for an item (personal menu item, fallback substitute, specific substitute), use the following search tips: 

• Ensure the filter settings are not precluding the system from displaying the recipe in your search results. For example, ensure that the Food & Non Food Items option is selected.
• To return therapeutic substitute recipes (e.g., Gluten Free, LoCal, Low Salt, etc.) and/or IDDSI-compliant recipes (e.g., SB6, MM5, etc.) in the search results, select the Therapeutic Recipes check box in the Filters section. Without the Therapeutic Recipes check box selected, such substitute recipes will not be returned in the search results. The reason for this is that therapeutic substitute recipes are typically added to a regular item's therapeutic extension grid, and as such are not typically added directly to a personal menu.  
  
  
• For therapeutic recipes, utilize the abbreviations of how they are named in the system. For example, if searching pureed bread, enter p.bread without a space.
• Use a keyword from the recipe name. For example, for chicken a la king, enter "king".
• If wanting to know the recipe by its exact name so that you can search for it, locate the recipe on the Recipes Listing screen. 
• Utilize the Food Type filter: filter by recipes, prepared foods, and non-food items. Note that an ingredient cannot be added directly on a personal menu. 
• Utilize the Categories filter: filter by recipe categories (if searching for recipes) and food categories (if searching for prepared foods). Note that if searching for both recipes and prepared foods, recipe categories are listed first in the drop-down, followed by food categories (screenshot below).