Overview

Anytime Meals support early service of planned meals as well as unplanned meals served outside of your regular meal schedule for admitted people in your system. This guide covers the complete process of preparing and serving Anytime Meals using the Plated terminal and heating appliance.

What Are Anytime Meals?

Definition: Anytime Meals are meals prepared on-demand for admitted people who require early meals or for unplanned meals.

Common Use Cases:

• People who require early meals
• New resident admissions outside scheduled meal times
• Residents who missed scheduled meal service
• Unexpected guests requiring meals
• Late arrivals after meal service has ended
• Residents returning from appointments or outings

Key Characteristics:

• Display as gray tickets in the meal assembly screen
  
• Tickets for early service for admitted people display the person's name
  
  
• Can be prepared at any time (not tied to scheduled meal times)
  
• Planned meals require manual selection of the person who will receive the meal
• Unplanned meals require manual configuration for meal type, lifestyle diet, and quantity
  
• Both Planned and Unplanned meals may be edited using the Item Swap feature on the Forecast & Inventory screen
  
• Use the same heating and serving process as scheduled meals

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the Anytime Meal Function

1. From the main terminal screen (showing scheduled meal time), locate the "Prepare Anytime Meal" button
2. Click "Prepare Anytime Meal"

What you'll see: A modal window titled "Prepare Anytime Meal" with the question "What kind of meal do you want to prepare?"

Initial Option:

• "Prepare planned meal now" 
• Subtitle: "For people who are active admits in the Plated system"
• Click "Next" to proceed

Step 2: Select Meal Type

Choose which meal period you're preparing:

Available Options:

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner

1. Click on the desired meal type (button will highlight in green when selected)
2. The system will load menu items appropriate for that meal period

Example: If you're preparing lunch, select "Lunch" - the system will show lunch entrees and sides

Step 3: Select Lifestyle Diet

Choose the appropriate dietary category:

Available Options:

• Regular (blue button) - Standard diet with no restrictions
• Vegetarian (purple button) - Vegetarian meals

1. Click on the appropriate lifestyle diet button
2. Button will highlight when selected

Note: The lifestyle diet selection determines which menu items are available in subsequent steps

Step 4: Specify Quantity

Indicate how many meals you need to prepare:

1. Use the minus (-) and plus (+) buttons to adjust quantity
2. Default starts at 0
3. Set the number to match how many residents need meals

Quantity Counter: Shows "(24 heating unit shelves available at the moment)" to indicate current capacity

Example: If you have 2 new admissions, set the quantity to 2

4. Click "Next" when quantity is set
   

Step 5: Review Meal Forecast

What you'll see: The "Forecast & Inventory" screen showing:

• Left sidebar: "2 anytime meals" with "Anytime Meal" badge (gray)
• Main section:
  • Main column: Shows the main entree (e.g., "Vegetable Tempura")
  • Side column: Shows the side dish (e.g., "Tomato Bisque")
  • Quantity indicator: "2" next to each item
    

Optional Actions at This Stage:

View Nutrition Information:

1. Tap/click on any menu item
2. View detailed nutrition facts and ingredients
3. Review serving size, calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, protein, etc.
4. Check ingredient list for allergen information
5. Click "Done" to close the nutrition view
   

Swap Menu Items (if needed):

1. Click on the menu item you want to change
2. Click "Swap This Item" button
3. Select "Anytime Meal" as the group for the swap
4. Choose from the available item list
5. Or click "Leave Blank" to skip this item entirely
6. Click "Save" to confirm the swap

Why Swap Items?

• Resident preferences
• Ingredient availability
• Allergen concerns
• Dietary requirements discovered after setup
  

Step 6: Begin Heating Process

1. When satisfied with the meal selection, click "Next: Prepare Heated Items" (bottom right)
   

What you'll see: The "Prepare Heated Items" screen with:

• Three heating units (A, B, C) with 8 bays each
• Highlighted bays showing where to place items
• Current item name displayed prominently (e.g., "Vegetable Tempura")
• Plate count: "0 of 2 plates"
  

Step 7: Load Items into Heating Appliance

Follow the terminal prompts to load each item:

1. Visual Guidance:
   • Terminal screen shows which bays to use (highlighted in yellow/green)
   • Physical lights on the heating appliance illuminate to guide placement
   • Item name displays prominently on screen
2. Loading Process:
   • Retrieve the item from your freezer/storage
   • Place item in the highlighted bay
   • Repeat for the specified quantity
3. Bay Status Indicators:
   • Yellow/Green (light): Empty bay, ready to load
   • Black: Item loaded, heating in progress
   • Green: Item heated and ready
4. Action Buttons:
   • "Skip For Now": Delay loading this item
   • "Swap Remaining Items": Change the menu item for remaining quantities
5. Continue loading until all items for all meals are placed
   

Example Loading Sequence:

• First: "Sweet & Sour Tofu" - 0 of 2 plates
• Next: "Macaroni & Cheese" - 0 of 2 plates
• System guides you through each item one at a time

Step 8: Monitor Heating Progress

After all items are loaded:

"Heating in Progress" Screen:

• Displays all three heating units with current status
• Shows estimated completion time: "Next meal ready in 13 min"
• Bay indicators show heating progress (black = heating)
  

Visual Progress:

• Watch as items heat (bays remain black)
• Ready items turn dark green with checkmark icons
• System manages heating automatically

Available Actions:

• "Back to Home": Return to main screen (heating continues in background)
• "Next: Assemble Meals": Advance to serving (only active when heating complete)

Typical Heating Time: 1.5 hours depending on items

Step 9: Heating Complete

When all items reach proper temperature:

"Heating Complete" Screen:

• Message: "Items will be kept warm for up to 2 hours"
• All occupied bays show dark green with checkmarks
• Ready to proceed to meal assembly

Action: Click "Next: Assemble Meals" (bottom right) when ready to serve

Step 10: Assemble and Serve Meals

Assemble Meals Screen Layout:

Anytime Meal Tickets (gray cards showing):

• Dining Location: Coming Soon
  
• System-Generated Identifier: Anonymous (Date/Timestamp) 
  
• Lifestyle Diet: "Vegetarian" or "Regular"
• Common Allergies: "Unknown"
• Other Allergies: "None"
• Menu Items:
  • Sweet & Sour Tofu - "Heating Unit A" with green "Ready" badge
  • Maracroni & Cheese - "Heating Unit A" with green "Ready" badge
    

Actions Available per Ticket:

1. Print Ticket (printer icon button):
   • Prints physical paper ticket
   • Use for meal delivery or tray assembly
2. Remove Items for Service:
   • Select the ticket you want to serve
   • Heating appliance lights indicate which bays to access
   • Remove items from highlighted bays
   • Items marked with green "Ready" badges are ready to serve
3. Discard Option (three-dot menu):
   • If meal is no longer needed, select the three-dot button
   • Choose "Discard unserved heated items"
   • Remove items from heating unit and dispose properly
4. Complete Ticket:
   • After removing all items, click "Done" button
   • Ticket disappears from view
   • Progress counter updates (e.g., "16 of 19 completed")
     

Serving Multiple Tickets:

• Scroll between tickets by swiping left or right
• Serve in any order needed
• System tracks completion progress
  

Step 11: Complete Service

After serving all Anytime Meal tickets:

Completion Screen:

• Message: "Nice work! All tickets are complete."
• Final progress indicator: "19 of 19 completed"
• Button: "Return to Home"

Action: Click "Return to Home" to exit the Anytime Meal workflow