Did you know that nursing home dietary staff do more than cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner? They ensure that their residents receive proper nutrition, create meals that align with specific dietary restrictions, and follow nursing home dietary regulations.

Because dietary staff have to make sure they provide nutritious meals while following guidelines and regulations, it is essential to create a nursing home meal plan. Here are 6 tips for planning a nursing home meal plan.

Follow Regulations

While creating a nursing home meal plan, it is important to follow regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS. CMS requires that all nursing homes serve residents three meals a day, as well as snacks throughout the day.¹

Additionally, CMS requires that dietary staff provide therapeutic meals for residents who have dietary restrictions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or difficulties with swallowing. Although not required, CMS suggests providing meals to residents that match personal preferences.²

Consult with Dietitians

Another tip for planning a nursing home meal plan is having the cooks and dietary aides consult with their on-site dietitian. Dietitians can help ensure that the meals are nutritious and follow the CMS regulations.³

Additionally, dietitians can guide cooks and dietary aides on the different food textures, which is important for residents who have difficulty swallowing due to a stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s, and other health conditions.⁴

Nutritious Meals

Another tip for planning a nursing home meal plan is to cook nutritious meals. Nursing home residents need more protein, vitamins, and hydration in their diets. This is because as people get older, muscle mass loss occurs, the production of stomach acids reduces, and the urge to drink water declines.⁵

Some examples of foods that are nutritious for nursing home residents are eggs, chicken, whole fruits and vegetables, low-fat yogurt, and cheese. It is important to avoid foods that are high in fat, calories, and sugar.⁶

Implement Preferences When Possible

An additional tip for planning a nursing home meal plan is to implement preferences when possible. It is understandable that residents cannot choose a specific meal that they would like for every breakfast, lunch and dinner, but incorporating a resident’s favorite food on a special occasion or whenever possible can make for a more meaningful dining experience for the resident.

Dietary teams can learn their residents’ favorite meals during initial assessment and communication with the residents.⁷ After the dietary team gets to know their residents’ dietary preferences, they could serve a resident’s meal on their birthday or anniversary, for example, to make their day even more special.

Rotating Menus

Another tip for planning a nursing home meal plan is to rotate the menu. Consistently serving residents the same meals can cause fatigue among the residents and reduce their wellbeing. By rotating the menu every few weeks, for example, it can not only give residents more variety but also reduce meal planning burnout.⁸

Typically, nursing home dietary teams rotate their meals every 21 or 28 days. This helps ensure that the cooks perfect the different recipes. Other nursing home communities change their dietary menus seasonally, or every 35 to 70 days. This allows for more variety in meal options.⁹

Alternative Meals

An additional tip for planning a nursing home meal plan is to offer alternative meals to the residents. By implementing alternative meals, or more commonly known as always available meals, residents are given the option to choose a different meal that better fits their preferences.¹⁰

Always available meals are typically food options that are widely popular among residents and are recipes that dietary teams are familiar with. Some examples of always available meals are:

• Fresh fruit
• Yogurt parfaits
• Salads
• Tuna sandwiches
• Hamburgers
• Chicken tenders¹¹