Building a Zone Diet Menu

FormulaZone Staff, December 4, 2003

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One of FormulaZone's greatest strengths is the Menu Planner. To give the Menu Planner the power that it has, we have filled it with features. The downside of the power and number of features is that it is not always obvious how it works.

Here we go through a complete list of What the Menu Planner Can Do, as well as step by step directions on How to Build a Menu. Future white papers will delve into the more advanced features of the Menu Planner so that you may start here with the basics, and learn the more powerful features once you are comfortable with building a menu.

How To Build a Menu Automatically

  1. Click on the Menu Planner button (third button from the left across the top of any page). You will be taken to the Menu Planner page.
  2. In the Menu Planner page, click on the Create Menu sub-link (just under the Menu Planner button). You will be taken to the Create New Menu page.
  3. In the Create New Menu page, enter the name you would like to know this menu by, and select the length (in days) for the menu. Once you have entered these, click the Save button. You will be taken to the Build Menu page.
  4. The Build Menu page is where you have the choice of selecting either Manually or Automatically button. Be sure to set your desired preferences in the pink section before clicking the Automatic button. We would recommend the following settings for a menu for weight-loss:
    1. Select from Recipes Only (you could also include Packaged Meals)
    2. Select from All Recipes (you could limit it to your recipes, or your favorites)
    3. With a rating of Any Stars. Virtually all recipes in FormulaZone have three or more stars, so Any stars is a good place to start.
    4. With a Glycemic Index of Low. The Glycemic Index is a huge key to losing weight. If this seems too restrictive, you may consider using Up to Medium.
    5. Leave the Prep Time and Cook time at Any. While there are a few recipes that require some time, you can remove them and replace them if you like.
  5. Click the Automatically button, and the Menu will be built for you, and you will be take to the View Menu page.

How To Build a Menu Manually

  1. Click on the Menu Planner button (third button from the left across the top of any page). You will be taken to the Menu Planner page.
  2. In the Menu Planner page, click on the Create Menu sub-link (just under the Menu Planner button). You will be taken to the Create New Menu page.
  3. In the Create New Menu page, enter the name you would like to know this menu by, and select the length (in days) for the menu. Once you have entered these, click the Save button. You will be taken to the Build Menu page.
  4. The Build Menu page is where you have the choice of selecting either Manually or Automatically button. Click Manually.
  5. When you click the Manually link, you will be taken to the Recipes page (the page where all of the recipes are listed) in Menu Mode.
  6. You can tell that you are in Menu Mode because across the top of the Recipes page will be the words You are in Menu Mode, Editing Menu (menu name here). It will also tell you how many breakfasts, lunches, dinners, etc. are required to complete the menu.
  7. Note that when you are in Menu Mode, each recipe (on the far right hand side) has some letters next to it. B, L ,S, and/or D. B stands for Breakfast, L for Lunch, S for Snack, and D for dinner.

    (click for large view)
  8. Each letter is a link, so to add that recipe as a Lunch, for example, click on the blue link letter L in the far right column next to the recipe you would like to add.
  9. When you click the link, the page will refresh, showing you that you need one fewer lunches.
  10. If you then go to View the Menu (you can do this quickly. Note that at the top, where it says You are In Menu Mode, Editing Menu __________, the name of your menu is a link. It will take you to the View Menu page for that menu, you can see the details of your Menu.
  11. You can return quickly to the Recipe page in Menu Mode by clicking the Build Menu Manually button at the top of the View Menu page.
  12. Continue adding recipes until your menu meets your satisfaction!

Did You

Know?

Menu Planner will...

Do all of this, and more...
  • Build a menu for you Automatically.
  • Build a menu for you Manually.
  • Automatically build your shopping list for the menu.
  • Categorize the shopping list by store aisles and sections.
  • Convert food amounts to conventional amounts for your shopping list.
  • Allow you to click on a food in the shopping list to see which Recipes it is in (and then click on the Recipe if you wish to view the recipe).
  • Allow you to use Recipes AND packaged meals in a menu.
  • Allow you to use your own un-reviewed recipes in a menu.
  • Allow you to view the recipes directly from the View Menu page.
  • Let you remove recipes quickly.
  • Let you replace recipes that you have removed either Manually or Automatically.
  • Let you switch recipes from one day to the next.
  • Let you quickly use the same breakfast recipe for breakfast every day.
  • Let you quickly use the same lunch, dinner, or snack recipe for every day.
  • Automatically build meals based on your Profile or Preferences.
  • Automatically adjust when you change your Profile or Preferences.
  • Allow you to change the name of an existing menu.
  • Allow you to view and/or edit an existing menu.
  • Let you sort your list of menus by Name, Date, or length.
  • Show your menus in the My FormulaZone section of the Home page.