Menu System: Diet Manual

The diet manual has to be the basis for any menu system. A diet manual is based on the latest (within 5 years) scientific research. The menu must be based on scientific research for regular, therapeutic, and texture modified diets. The menu cannot be written on what someone “thinks” it should be or on what he/she learned 10 or more years ago in school. Things change. Science changes.

The first step in developing or revising a menu system is to choose a diet manual. There are several available, some of which are written specifically for long-term care. The diet manual must address the needs of your residents. For example, if you have the elderly-elderly in your facility, a diet manual with liberalized diets makes sense. If you also have the young-elderly for short-term rehab, you may need a diet manual that addresses diets that they may already be following, such as reduced fat, reduced salt, or diabetic.

If you are purchasing a menu system where the regular, therapeutic, and texture modified diets have been written for you, the first question to ask is on which diet manual is it based. If it is not based on a diet manual, you will need to review every recipe to see if it has been linked to the diets that are appropriate based on your diet manual. If it is based on a diet manual, determine which one and if it meets the needs of your residents. If it does not, look further or be prepared to review each recipe and make changes to reflect your diet manual. You need to receive at least one copy of the diet manual as part of the menu package if you will be using that diet manual.

If you are purchasing a menu system where you write the menus or enter your existing menus and then the system will create all the reports for you, check that you can link the recipes to the appropriate diets based upon your diet manual.

The diet manual can also help during surveys. If a surveyor questions something on the menu, and you can show that in the diet manual it states that the item is acceptable for that diet, then the surveyor has no reason to give a citation.

Remember that the menu is the basis for the management of the department and the diet manual is the basis of the menu.