Create a meal plan – Overview

This article steps you through entering a meal plan so that it is ready for nutritional analysis. This article is also available as a video tutorial, click to play below.  

Video tutorial

You can create a meal plan as a general resource for your workspace and then copy it to any client you wish.

You can also create a custom meal plan for a specific client.

Create a meal plan

To create a new meal plan for the workspace:

1. Open or create a workspace.
2. In the navigation pane, click Create new resource or client and select Meal plan.
3. On the General tab, enter the name of the meal plan.
4. Enter optional information as required (see below).
5. Changes are saved automatically.

When you create a meal plan, it appears in the navigation pane.

To create a new meal plan for a specific client:

1. Open the workspace containing the client.
2. In the navigation pane, select the client.
3. On the client's Resources tab, click + Create New and select Meal plan.
4. On the General tab for the meal plan, enter its name.
5. Enter optional information as required (see below).
6. Changes are saved automatically.

Once created, the meal plan is shown in the client's Resources tab.

Set the number of days

To set the number of days (or optionally, the dates) for the meal plan:

1. On the Foods tab selectSet meal plan duration.
2. Enter the number of days. Alternatively, if you want to use dates, select Set date and then select start and end dates.
3. Click Generate.
4. Optional: Rename the days, or refine the dates.
5. Click Save changes.

When you click the Foods tab, these days/dates are shown.

Add meals and foods

To add meals and foods to the meal plan:

1. Click the Foods tab.
2. Click the day for which you are entering foods.
3. Click the empty row beneath a meal name.
4. Start typing the name of a food.
5. To select a food from the list, use the mouse to click the food (or use the arrow keys to highlight the food and then press Enter).
6. Enter the amount of the food as a number and a unit of measurement, for example, 1 cup. Select the unit of measurement from the drop-down list and press Enter.
7. Optional: Make a note about the food. 
8. To move to the next day, click the day.
9. Repeat these steps until all the meals and foods are entered for this day.
10. Changes are saved automatically. 
11. To publish the draft version, click Publish.

Copy a meal plan to a client

When you copy a meal plan to a client, you can then make any changes you want for that client. You can also analyse the meal plan against the client's NRVs and custom goals.

To copy a published meal plan to a client:

1. Open the meal plan.
2. Click the ellipsis (...) and select Copy Meal Plan to client.
3. Select the client or clients, and click Copy.

After you copy the meal plan, it is shown in the client's Resources tab.