Menu Cycles - Creating a Meal Period, Adding Recipes and Menus

Central and Local users - Creating a Meal Period and adding Recipes and Menus

Select a Menu Cycle.  Within the Calendar 'Days' view, select the day/date to which the meal period should be added then select the + Meal Period button.  

Fig.1 - + Meal Period button located under each day in the Calendar 'Days' view

​The 'Select a meal period' window will open.  Select the 'expand' arrow to see the list of available Meal Periods.  Meal periods that have already been added to the selected day/date will not display in the list.

Fig.2 - The Meal Period drop-down menu

Once a Meal Period has been selected, select the Add New button to open the recipe and menu search pane. This pane will open to the left of the Meal Period window.  A Meal Period must contain at least one recipe or menu to be saved.

Fig.3 - Select the Add New button to open the Recipe/Menu Search pane

Fig.4 - The Recipe and Menu Search appears next to the Meal Period window after selecting Add New.  Advanced Search Button is also located on this screen.

Recipe and Menu Search
Central Users - The datasets that are in scope for the Central user search are all of the recipes and menus that are linked to the Offer (RME Group) used to create the Menu Cycle in which the search is launched.  
Local Users - The data that is in scope for Local User search is all recipes and menus that are available in any of the current Menu Cycles for the Location

Keyword search will return matching results for Recipe names, Menu names (whole name or partial) and recipe categories. 

Multiple search terms can be entered, separated by commas, e.g. breakfast, egg. The search logic for multiple terms is 'and' so search results will contain all keywords specified in the search. 

Fig.5 - Multiple keywords can be used for search.  Search results must match all keywords.  

Advanced Search and a Recipe/Menu Filter are also available.

Advanced Search (Recipes only)
Advanced search can be used on its own or in conjunction with a keyword search.
 

Fig.6 - Advanced Search selection window with 'Clear all', 'X' (close) and 'Apply' buttons indicated

One or more of the following filters can be applied:

• Recipe Cost range
  • The slider range is 1-100 by default.  Values can also be entered manually into the Min and Max fields.

• Nutrition content and range
  • To filter by a particular nutrient, select from the drop-down menu, e.g. Fat, Saturates, Sugar, Salt, Kilocalories.
  • Using the slider, a range can be selected. The unit of measure is grams.
  • The slider range is 1-100 by default.  Values can also be entered manually into the Min and Max fields.
• Allergens not contained in the recipe

• One or more allergens can be selected from the group shown under "Does not Contain"

• Select the Apply button to trigger the search
• Once an advanced search has been made, the selections remain in place until they are cleared. To clear the existing filters, go into the advanced search screen, select Clear all.
• The Advanced Search panel is closed by using the X in the top right corner, as seen in Fig.6
• The Recipe Search is closed by using the - Close Search button in the Meal Period selection window, as seen in Fig.4.  When the search is closed, the advanced search options will be cleared.

Search Results
The following is displayed in the search results (and, once the Recipe has been added, in the Meal Period):

-    Name of Recipe or Menu
-    Type of result record (Recipe, A La Carte Menu, Buffet Menu)
-    Recipe cost (cost not displayed for A La Carte Menu or Buffet Menu)

• Multiple recipes/menus from the search results can be added to the Meal Period by selecting the Add button.  The selected recipes/menus will appear in the Meal Period pop-up on the right hand side .  
• Select the Meal Period Save button to save the items in the Meal Period.
• If Save is not selected, a confirmation message will be displayed as a reminder to save changes or proceed without saving

Fig.7- Confirmation message that is triggered when a changed Meal Period has not been saved

Ordering items within a Meal Period
A Recipe or Menu within the Meal Period can be moved up and down using the arrows on the left edge of the Recipe or Menu.

Menu recipes can be viewed by using the “expand” arrow located near Menu name (left-hand side).

Fig.8- Use the "expand" arrow to view recipes contained within a Menu

A Recipe or Menu may be removed from a Meal Period (saved or unsaved) by using the trash icon. Note that it is not possible to delete a Recipe inside a Menu.  Changes to menu content must be done in RME.