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> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
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# Crafting Meal Plans


### Crafting Meal Plans

Meal planning in Xap allows for a simple and streamlined way to schedule and plan future meals provided for your Services.
You can set up your meals plans so that you can plan the meals according to the needs of and that also meet the cultural, health and religious needs of each child.
Meal Plans are created individually **per service** .

Meal Plans include:

* Setting the meal types you provide eg. Food, Drink
* Setting the meal availabilities you provide e. Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks
* Creating your own menu items
* Ability to copy created meal plans to allow rotating menus

Families also have the ability to view Meal Plans for their child via the Guardian portal.

### Creating Meal Plan Availability

Xap will default to the below as standard availability options:
* Breakfast
* Morning Tea
* Lunch
* Afternoon Tea
* Snacks
**Depending on your care type and service settings, you may need to remove or edit these examples** .

From the **Meal Plans** screen, select **Edit Settings**

|| Edit settings allows you to configure different meals and days on which these meals are offered. Once configured, you can create the meal plan for a specific week that is ending as per the configured meals and days.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_307m0l.png)

### Configure your Menu options:
* Preferred meal availability you would like displayed eg. ASC may only provide Afternoon Tea & Snacks
* Days you provide meals
* Food/Drink to be completed
* Select **Update Settings** to save your preferences

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_v2ny3n.png)

| If a meal type category does not exist, you can create one via the Settings > Tags > **Meal Plan Type** and **Meal Type** categories see: [How to Manage Tag's ](https://help.xap.rocks/en/article/how-to-manage-tags-mbrh7p/)

### Creating your Meal Plan

1. Select the **+add** button for the day for the **Food** or **Drink** option

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_crtgda.png)

2. Complete the mandatory fields:
* **Sustenance type:** Select whether the meal is a food or drink.
* **Meal(s):** Select the meal category. You can select multiple categories as well.
* **Food/drink name:** Name of the meal. (If a new menu item select **create** to add it to your menu options list)
* **Details about the food/drink:** Enter in details of the meal. You may put the ingredients too if you wish.
* **Update the default food/drink details:** Every meal will be stored in the master list. Therefore, if you would like to update the details of the meal on the master database, select this option.
* **Day(s):** Select the days on which this meal is served. This will save you time as you won't have to enter the information multiple times.
3. Select **Update Settings** once you have entered in the relevant information.
| Menu items can be created from Settings > Tags > **Food Category** type see: [How to Manage Tag's ](https://help.xap.rocks/en/article/how-to-manage-tags-mbrh7p/)
**Repeat the process until your Meal plan has been completed for the week.**

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_1nwi5ob.png)

4. Select **Save** to save your menu items for the week
5. Select **Publish** to share the Meal Plan with your Families to view via the Guardian portal.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_z7i2zy.png)

### Copying the Meal Plan

A completed Meal Plan can be copied to a different period and can be done for a week or multiple weeks at a time, if you have a rotating menu.

1. Select the week you would like to copy the Meal Plan from, and select **Copy Meal Plan**

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_x5aybt.png)

2. Select the Week Start and End dates to copy the menu **from**
3. Select the Week Start and End dates to copy the menu **to**
4. Select **Copy Plan**

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/5dcba586b1ba9400/image_qaf6n3.png)
### Printing the Meal Plan

The meal plan can be printed out by either:

* Right clicking on the menu and printing
* CTRL/P and printing

${vimeo}[Crafting a Meal Plan](1027067154)