Designing a meal plan that meets the needs and preferences of your residents should go beyond simply calculating calories. When developing a nutrition/meal plan for your residents, it is important to consider the following factors:
• Physician orders.
• Resident preferences.
• Food allergies.
• Utilize all the food groups.
• Caloric intake.
• Capabilities of your staff.
Here are just a few examples of resident preferences to consider:
• Religious or spiritual preferences.
• Cultural preferences.
• Favorite foods.
• Foods a resident doesn’t like.
• Special meals for birthdays and holidays.
• Time of day a resident likes to eat.
• Family traditions (e.g., popcorn while watching movies every Saturday).