Patent Publication Number: US-2011070566-A1

Title: Meal Planning System

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/244,108, filed on Sep. 21, 2009. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present teachings relate to a meal planning, shopping and diet control system and specifically relate to a meal planning system that can be carried with the user, used to generate shopping lists, purchase food, and aid in the preparation of meals. 
     BACKGROUND 
     This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art. 
     Many people lack the time or desire to plan healthy and balanced meals for themselves and/or family members. Many of the readily available and convenient meal options such as carryout or fast foods can be expensive and unhealthy. Furthermore, many restaurants tend to provide large portion sizes, leading to overeating and/or wasted food and money. The present disclose provides convenient, health-conscious and economically sound solutions to these and other problems. 
     SUMMARY 
     This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. 
     In one form, the present disclosure provides a meal planning kit generally having a connector member and cover members. Each of the cover members has a front portion defining a first aperture and a first pair of apertures each formed through the front portion and a back portion defining a second aperture and a second pair of apertures each formed through the back portion. The first aperture on the front portion and the second aperture on the back portion accept the connecter member. The meal planning kit further includes meal planning cards and elastic band members. The meal planning cards have a monthly subset of planning cards. The monthly subset of planning cards includes a first portion of the monthly subset of planning cards that provides a monthly shopping list. A second portion of the monthly subset of planning cards provides weekly shopping lists. A third portion of the monthly subset of planning cards provides meal information. A fourth portion of the monthly subset of planning cards provides images associated with the meal information from the meal planning cards in the third portion of the monthly subset. Each of the elastic band members have a first end and a second end between which is an elastic member. One of the elastic band members is operable to secure to the front portion of the cover member at the first pair of apertures and hold the meal planning card to the front portion. The first portion and the second portion of each of the cover members are operable to secure to one another and at least partially encapsulate the meal planning card held by the elastic member. 
     In another form, the present disclosure provides a system that may include a plurality of subsets of meal planning cards. Each of the subsets of meal planning cards may correspond to one of a plurality of predetermined time periods and may include a first card and a plurality of second cards. The first card may include a first list of food items corresponding to the one of the predetermined time periods. Each of the second cards may include one of a plurality of recipes corresponding to one of a plurality of meals during the one of the predetermined time periods. The one of the plurality of recipes may include at least one of the food items from the first list of food items. In some configurations, preparation of all of the plurality of recipes associated with all of the plurality of second cards may consume all of the food items from the first list of food items. 
     In yet another form, the present disclosure provides a meal planning system that may include a stock-item grocery list, a first subset of cards, and a second subset of cards. The first subset of cards may include a first multi-day grocery list and a plurality of first meal cards associated with the first multi-day grocery list. Each of the first meal cards may include one of a first plurality of recipes that include food items from at least one of the stock-item grocery list and the first multi-day grocery list. The first multi-day grocery list may list enough food items to prepare the recipes on all of the first meal cards. The second subset of cards may include a second multi-day grocery list and a plurality of second meal cards associated with the second multi-day grocery list. Each of the second meal cards may include one of a second plurality of recipes that may include food items from at least one of the stock-item grocery list and the second multi-day grocery list. The second multi-day grocery list may list enough food items to prepare the recipes on all of the second meal cards. 
     In still another form, the present disclosure provides a method that may include acquiring a plurality of first food items listed on a first card, acquiring a plurality of second food items listed on a second card corresponding to a first predetermined time period, and acquiring a plurality of third food items listed on a third card corresponding to a second predetermined time period. A plurality of first meals may be prepared from corresponding first recipes prior to acquiring the plurality of third food items. Each of the first recipes may be printed on a corresponding one of a plurality of fourth cards. The first recipes may include at least one of the second food items and at least one of the first food items. Each of the fourth cards may be associated with the first predetermined time period. A plurality of second meals may be prepared from corresponding second recipes. Each of the second recipes may be printed on a corresponding one of a plurality of fifth cards. The second recipes may include at least one of the third food items and at least one of the first food items. Each of the fifth cards may be associated with the second predetermined time period. A meal planning kit may be provided prior to acquiring the pluralities of first, second and third food items. The meal planning kit may include the first card, the second card, the third card, the fourth card, and the fifth card. 
     In still another form, the present disclosure provides a system that may include first, second and third grocery lists, a plurality of first recipes and a plurality of second recipes. The second grocery list may be associated with the first grocery list. The plurality of first recipes may be associated with the second grocery list. Each of the first recipes may include food items from at least one of the first and second grocery lists. The second grocery list may list enough food items to prepare the first recipes. The third grocery list may be associated with the first grocery list. The plurality of second recipes may be associated with the third grocery list. Each of the second recipes may include food items from at least one of the first and third grocery lists. The third grocery list may list enough food items to prepare the second recipes. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected examples and not all possible aspects of the present teachings, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of an open connector member and a closed connector member that can each hold multiple meal planning cards in accordance with the present teachings; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of a portion of a meal planner kit including a front portion and a rear portion of a cover member connected to one another with one of the connector members and also including elastic band members in accordance with the present teachings; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram of two elastic band members that can be secured to eyelets of the cover member of  FIG. 2  in accordance with the present teachings; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of one of the meal planning cards showing an aperture formed through the meal planning card that can accommodate one or more of the connector members in accordance with the present teachings; 
         FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 4  and shows a rear view of the meal planning card in accordance with the present teachings; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of an open connector member, a closed connector member, and locking member to hold multiple meal planning cards in accordance with another example of the present teachings; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram of a portion of a meal planner kit including a front portion and a rear portion of a cover member connected to one another with one of the connector members and also including elastic band members in accordance with another example of the present teachings; 
         FIG. 8A  is perspective view of a meal planner kit including a plurality of meal planning cards according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8B  is a perspective view of one of the meal planning cards of  FIG. 8A ; 
         FIG. 8C  is a perspective view of another of the meal planning cards of  FIG. 8A ; and 
         FIG. 8D  is a perspective view of yet another of the meal planning cards of  FIG. 8A . 
         FIG. 9A  is a perspective view of an electronic device displaying one of the meal planning cards; 
         FIG. 9B  is a front view of the electronic device displaying another of the meal planning cards; 
         FIG. 9C  is a front view of the electronic device displaying another of the meal planning cards; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating operation of a program operable on the electronic device; and 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of an order form adapted to be displayed on the electronic device. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed. 
     When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-8D , the present disclosure provides a meal planner system  10  that may include multiple meal planning cards  12  that can be shown to make shopping and cooking experiences for a user quicker, easier, more convenient, healthier, and/or less expensive. The meal planner system  10  can generally include connector members  14 , cover members  16 , band members  18 , and the multiple meal planning cards  12 . It should be appreciated that the term “meal planning card,” as it is used throughout the present disclosure can include or refer to sheets of material such as paper, cardboard, plastic, wood and/or metal, for example, as well as a computer screen view or display of information and/or a computer-generated view or display of information. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , one of the connector members  14  can hold all of the meal planning cards  12  in the meal planner system  10  together (or a portion thereof) and can be relatively convenient for the user to open and close. One of the connector members  14  can be sized to only hold one week&#39;s worth of meal planning cards  12 . In other examples, one month&#39;s worth of meal planning cards  12  can be held by one of the connector members  14 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , a connector member  14   a  can also be provided in many sizes to accept one or more of the meal planning cards  12 . In addition, the connector member  14   a  can be opened and closed with a locking portion  30   a.  In this example, the connector member  14   a  is a loop of consecutive ball members that can be selectively connected with the locking portion  30   a  to create differently sized connector members  14   a.  It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that the connector member  14  and the connector member  14   a  can be used interchangeably throughout the disclosure as applicable. 
     The connector member  14  can also permit the meal planning cards  12  to be relatively easily scrolled through by the user when the meal planning cards  12  are connected to the connector member  14 . The connector member  14  can permit the user to easily hold and flip through all of the meal planning cards  12 , or a select sub-set of the meal planning cards  12 . Unlike the example of the connector member  14   a  in  FIG. 6 , the connector member  14  can be one or more split key rings of various sizes to accommodate different sized sets of the meal planning cards  12 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , the cover members  16  can each include a front cover portion  40  and a rear cover portion  42  that can be joined together to accommodate and encapsulate (partially or wholly) one of the meal planning cards  12 . In one example, the meal planning cards  12  can be about 3.5 inches by about 2.5 inches (about 88.9 mm by about 63.5 mm). The cover members  16  can each have an aperture  44 ,  46  that can be formed through the front and rear cover portions  40 ,  42  of the cover members  16  and can be sized to accommodate one or more of the connector members  14 . The apertures  44 ,  46  can be located in an upper corner and on a side  50  of the cover member  16  that can be opposite of a side  52  that can accommodate the band members  18 . In some configurations, the front and rear cover portions  40 ,  42  may be connected to a central portion  43  ( FIG. 8A ) disposed therebetween. The central portion  43  may be foldable to allow the front and rear cover portions  40 ,  42  to move relative to each other between open and closed positions. 
     There are additionally two pairs of apertures  54 ,  56  formed through the front cover portion  40  and through the rear cover portion  42  of the cover member  16 . The apertures  54 ,  56  can be sized to hold post members  62  of the band members  18 . The post members  62  are connected by an elastic member  64  to provide, for example, the fastening capability of the band members  18  to the cover members  16 . In this example, the pair of apertures  54  can be formed on the front cover portion  40  of one of the cover members  16  to hold one of the band members  18 , and the pair of apertures  56  can be formed on the rear cover portion  42  of the cover member  16  to also hold one of the band members  18 . Magnetic members can hold the front cover portion  40  and the rear cover portion  42  together. The magnetic members can be built into the front cover portion  40  and/or into the rear cover portion  42 . 
     In another example, a cover member  16   a  can include the two pairs of apertures  54 A,  56 A. The apertures  54 A,  56 A can be finished with eyelets  66  to which band members  18   a  can connect, as shown in  FIG. 7 . The band members  18   a  can secure to the apertures  54 A,  56 A on the front cover portion  40  and the rear cover portion  42  without using the post members  62  ( FIG. 2 ). With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 7 , when the cover member  16 ,  16   a  is open or hanging on a refrigerator, the band members  18 ,  18   a  can be wrapped around portions of the meal planning cards  12  on the left and right sides of the cover member  16 ,  16   a  to secure the meal planning cards  12  on both sides of the cover member  16 ,  16   a.  When closed, one (or two) of the band members  18 ,  18   a  can be wrapped around the entire meal planner system  10  to secure it from opening. It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that the cover member  16  and the cover member  16   a,  and the band member  18  and the band member  18   a  can be used interchangeably throughout the disclosure as applicable. While the front cover portion  40  and the rear cover portion  42  are described above as discrete components that are joined together via a connector, in some configurations, the front cover portion  40  and the rear cover portion  42  may be integrally formed and/or may flexible portion to enable the front cover portion  40  and the rear cover portion  42  to move relative to each other between an open position and a closed position. 
     In operation, the meal planning cards  12  can be secured between the front cover portion  40  and the rear cover portion  42  of the cover member  16 . The meal planning cards can have an aperture  68  that can accept the connector member  14  and additionally connect the meal planning card  12  to the cover member  16 . Because the meal planning cards  12  are secured in the cover member  16 , the meal planning cards  12  can be protected. Moreover, the cover member  16  can attach to a refrigerator door or other location in a kitchen during cooking or while following meal planning directions found on the meal planning cards  12 . 
     The meal planning cards  12  can include a four week or a one month set that can include approximately seventy (70) to eighty-one (81) of the meal planning cards  12 , for example. A first portion of the meal planning cards  12  can provide a four week or monthly shopping list of stock items including non-perishable, long shelf-life items, and/or items packaged for room temperature storage. The four week or monthly shopping list can allow the user to stock purchased items from a store, e.g., pantry and dry items. The first portion of the meal planning cards  12  can be a single meal planning card. 
     A second portion of the meal planning cards  12  can show weekly shopping lists. Each of the weekly shopping lists can provide a list of fresh and/or perishable items to be used in weekly menus and consumed by the user. For example, the weekly shopping lists can provide a plurality of fresh items to be consumed during the week. The second portion of the meal planning cards  12  can be four (4) or five (5) of the meal planning cards  12 , for example. 
     A third portion of the meal planning cards  12  can be individually provided for a specific meal such that one meal can be provided on one of the meal planning cards  12 . The subset of the meal planning cards  12  that includes the sixty (60) to seventy-five (75) can include meal planning cards  12  that provide, for example, four (4) or five (5) sets of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and/or snacks. Each of the sets may correspond to a week&#39;s worth of meals. The meal planning cards  12  can be configured to include both snacks and breakfasts for a single day on one of the meal planning cards. The weekly shopping lists may include only enough food items to enable a user to prepare all of the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and/or snacks for the corresponding week. While the meal planning cards  12  are described above as providing four (4) or five (5) sets of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and/or snacks, in other configurations, the meal planning cards  12  may provide any other number of sets of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and/or snacks. 
     Each of the meal planning cards  12  that individually represent a single meal can have the ingredients for that meal on one side of the meal planning card  12  while directions for the meal preparation for that meal can be provided on the same or opposite side of the meal planning card  12 . An ingredient list on the subset of the meal planning cards  12  can also serve as a basis for preparing or augmenting shopping lists, whether for fresh or stock items. The third portion of the meal planning cards  12  can include sixty (60) to seventy-five (75) of the meal planning cards  12 , for example. 
     The one month set of the meal planning cards  12  can also include a fourth portion of the meal planning cards  12  that can be configured to show pictures of some or all of the meals included for the user in the four week or one month set of the meal planning cards  12 . 
     In one example, all of the meal planning cards  12 , whether used for shopping or meal preparation can be color-coded with two colors. The first color code can be on the upper edge of the meal planning card  12 . For example, the first color code can differentiate each week of a year, i.e., 52 different colors for each week of a year. In other configurations, all of the meal planning cards may correspond to a season of the year (i.e., spring, summer, fall or winter). The color code can also include a sign with a name of the month and sequential order of weeks and can also include a day of the week. 
     The second color code can be on the opposite vertical edge (i.e., right for the front sides of meal planning cards and left for the back sides of meal cards) and can differentiate the type of meal planning card  12  such as one color for the weekly shopping list, one color for breakfasts, one color for lunches, and one color for dinners. 
     It will be appreciated in light of the disclosure that the meal planning cards  12  can be used as a weekly meal planner or independent (i.e., single) meal planning cards  12 . When the meal planning cards  12  are used as the weekly meal planner, it can be shown that the user can receive increased benefits when the meal planner system  10  is used for an extended period of time. In addition, monthly and/or weekly shopping lists provided in the meal planning cards  12  can be shown to help manage the household food budget. Moreover, the meal planning cards  12  permit the user to use the same foods in multiple meals as well as reusing leftovers to create new meals which can be shown to save time and money. In doing so, the meal planning cards  12  can facilitate the user&#39;s consumption of freshly purchased items (e.g., perishable produce) within a period of a week and the consumption of all of the stock items within a period of one or more months, for example. 
     One or more of the recipes included in the meal planning cards  12  may include multiple components or sub-meals. Such a recipe could include a meat component, a pasta or grain component (e.g., rice, couscous, noodles, etc.), and a sauce component, for example, and/or any other component. The recipe may prompt the user to prepare an additional quantity of one or more of the components in addition to a quantity of that component that is needed for the particular meal corresponding to that recipe. The recipe may prompt the user to save the additional quantity of the one or more components for use in a different recipe corresponding to a specified subsequent meal. In this manner, the meal planner system  10  can reduce the amount of time required to prepare the subsequent meal. 
     The shopping lists provided in the weekly meal planner sets of the meal planning cards  12  can provide detailed amounts (i.e., measurements of weight and/or volume) of each of the fifteen (15) items (or any other number of items) that can be used during a week. The weekly recipes can include detailed ingredient lists with exact measurements for each item. When the user makes use of the meal planner system  10 , the user can finish up all fifteen (15) items during a week and therefore not have wasted any food. The meal planner system  10  will not only help control monthly and weekly grocery budgets by adding/buying only fifteen (15) fresh items each week, but the meal planner system  10  is also configured to avoid any food waste. In this regard, the meal planner system  10  provides ideas on how to use the same foods during a week and to prepare creative meals in that week. Similarly, the same monthly stock items can be used in the recipes over the weeks and months, while using the meal planner system  10 . At the same time, new stock items can be introduced for variety and then can be repeated over weeks and months, as applicable. 
     In a further example, the meal planning cards  12  need not be solely used as an entire and unbreakable set but one or more meal planning cards  12  can be also used independently of other meal planning cards  12  or each of the meal planning cards  12  can be selected randomly and used in meal preparation and can be used as a grocery shopping list. The meal planning cards  12  that provide meal preparation information can be shuffled (and re-shuffled) so that the user can randomly draw one of the meal planning cards  12  by the meal type color (i.e., breakfast, lunch, or dinner). After the meal preparation, the user can return the already drawn meal planning card  12  to the rest of the meal planning cards  12  to select at random again or to be employed with the weekly or monthly subsets of the meal planning cards. 
     It will be appreciated in light of the present disclosure, that the meal planner system  10  can permit the user to carry everything on the connector member  14 . In this regard, the meal planner system  10  can be carried in a purse or pocket and the propensity for leaving the meal planner system  10  behind can be reduced. The user need not worry or plan in advance, as the meal planner system  10  can always provide information to plan, prepare and track each meal. 
     The meal planning cards  12  can also provide a calorie count for each ingredient and nutritional information (e.g., food-energy value, fat, protein, sodium, sugar, etc.) for each meal. All of the meals corresponding to a particular day may include nutritional values adding up to predetermined daily nutritional values. In this regard, the user can control calorie intake, can easily change portions, add or skip certain ingredients according to the user&#39;s caloric needs. All recipes on the meal planning cards  12  can maximize the consumption of the seasonal foods and healthiest foods, such as antioxidants, Superfoods, healthy fats, etc. 
     In one example, the user can subscribe to a service that can provide additional meal planning cards  12 . The subscription service can provide the meal planning cards on a monthly basis over a subscription year or other suitable period. Over a year period, the meals on the meal planning cards  12  can be based on the four seasons to highlight food particularly healthy and ripe for that season. 
     The meal planner system  10  can further be configured so the user can focus on specialty foods such as will be followed by the additional antioxidant foods, kid&#39;s meals, vegetarian, international cuisine, weekend meals, gluten-free meals, diabetic meals, etc. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 9A-11 , a meal planner system  100  is provided. The meal planner system  100  may include a program or application  102  operable on an electronic device  104  such as a mobile phone (e.g., a smartphone), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an iPod®, and/or an iPad®, for example, and/or any other mobile computing device. The meal planner system  100  may be downloadable and stored in a memory unit of the electronic device  104  or the meal planner system  100  could be internet-based such that a user accesses the meal planner system  100  on a website. 
     The meal planner system  100  may be generally similar to the meal planner system  10  described above and may display a plurality of subsets of meal planning cards  112 . As described above with reference to the meal planner system  10 , the plurality of subsets of meal planning cards  112  may include a plurality of monthly stock-item grocery lists  114 , a plurality of subsets of weekly perishable-item grocery lists  116  and a plurality of subsets of meal recipe cards  118 . As shown in  FIGS. 9A-9C , the stock-item grocery lists  114 , perishable-item grocery lists  116  and meal recipe cards  118  may be displayed on the electronic device  104 . The stock-item grocery lists  114 , perishable-item grocery lists  116  and meal recipe cards  118  may be formatted specifically for a particular electronic device such as a laptop or desktop computer, a smartphone and/or other mobile device. Additionally or alternatively, the stock-item grocery lists  114 , perishable-item grocery lists  116  and meal recipe cards  118  may be formatted for printing (i.e., a “printer-friendly” format). 
     The number and content of the monthly stock-item grocery lists  114 , weekly perishable-item grocery lists  116  and meal recipe cards  118  may be substantially similar to the meal planning cards  12  described above. Briefly, each of the monthly stock-item grocery lists  114  may include a list of long shelf-life grocery items that may be used in the preparation of meals corresponding to a four week period, for example. Each of the four weeks may correspond to one of the weekly perishable-item grocery lists  116 . Each of the weekly perishable-item grocery lists  116  may include grocery items that may be used in the preparation of meals during a corresponding week. The meal recipe cards  118  may include an ingredient list and preparation steps for meals for some or all of the days in the corresponding week that include the grocery items from the corresponding stock-item grocery list  114  and/or weekly perishable-item grocery list  116 . The recipes corresponding to all of the meal recipe cards  118  for a particular week may consume all of the grocery items on the corresponding weekly perishable-item grocery list  116 . The recipes corresponding to all of the meal recipe cards  118  for a particular four-week period may consume all of the grocery items on the corresponding stock-item grocery lists  114 . It should be appreciated that while the stock-item grocery lists  114  are described as corresponding to a four week or one month period and the perishable-items grocery lists  116  are described as corresponding to a one week period, these time periods can be varied without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     With reference to  FIG. 10 , operation of the program  102  will be described in detail. It will be appreciated that code defining the program  102  and/or the user interface of the program  102  may be customized for operation on a particular operating system and/or a particular electronic device  104 . A hyperlink or icon corresponding to the program  102  and displayed on the electronic device  104  may be selected, as shown at step  200 , to start or launch the program  102  on the electronic device  104 . Then, at step  210 , the user may be prompted to select a first hyperlink or button corresponding to instructions for the meal planner system  100  or a second hyperlink or button corresponding to a list of products (e.g., subsets of cards  112  corresponding to a particular season of the year, or a particular version or release of the meal planner system  100 ). If the user selects the hyperlink corresponding to instructions for the meal planner system  100 , the program  102  may display instructions detailing navigation through the program  102  and/or recommended usage of the meal planner system  100 , as shown at step  212 . The program  102  may then return to step  210 . If the user selects the hyperlink corresponding to the list of products, the program  102  may display the list of products so that the user may select one of the products, as shown at step  214 . 
     Once the user has selected one of the products at step  214 , the program  102  may display a list of options from which the user may select, as shown at step  220 . The list of options may include (a) a product description; (b) a four week menu card; (c) a nutritional summary card; (d) one of the stock-item grocery lists  114  corresponding to a four week period; or (e) one of four subsets of cards  112  each including the perishable-item grocery list  116  and the subset of meal recipe cards  118  corresponding to one of the weeks of the four week period. If the user selects any of options (a)-(d), the program  102  may display information corresponding to the selected option at step  222 . Then the program  102  may return to step  220  to allow the user to select another of options (a)-(e). 
     If the user selects option (e) at step  220 , the program  102  may proceed to step  230  and display the weekly perishable-item list  116  corresponding to a selected one of the four weeks of the product chosen at step  214 . As described above, the user may purchase grocery items from the weekly perishable-item list  116  for use in preparation of the recipes for an upcoming week. The program  102  may display one or more photographs of meals corresponding to the meal recipe cards  118  for the upcoming week, as shown at step  232 . 
     The program  102  may display a meal recipe card  118  corresponding to an upcoming or current day, as shown at step  234 . The user may refer to the meal recipe card  118  while preparing the corresponding meal. At this point, the user may either advance the program  102  to the next meal recipe card  118  or exit the program until a later date or time. The program  102  may save the place or card  112  at which the user last exited the program  102  such that when the user reenters the program  102  at the later date or time, the program  102  may quickly return the user to the last card  112  viewed or the next card  112  (e.g., the card  112  corresponding to the next meal) in the sequence of cards  112 . 
     In some configurations, upon selecting one of the four weeks of option (e) at step  220 , the program  102  may prompt the user to select an order or arrangement of the sequence in which the cards  112  are displayed. For example, the cards  112  may be arranged by day, i.e., the weekly perishable-item grocery list  116  may be displayed first, then the photographs of one or more of the meals, and then the meal recipe cards  118  may be arranged by day of the week. As another example, the user may choose to arrange and view the meal recipe cards  118  by meal type, i.e., breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , in some configurations, the meal planner system  100  and the program  102  may be linked to or integrated into a grocery retailer&#39;s website. In such configurations, the program  102  may be configured to accept online orders for the grocery items listed on the stock-item grocery lists  114  and/or the perishable-item grocery lists  116  that the user may place using an order form  250  displayed on the electronic device  104  by the program  102 . The program  102  may communicate a completed order form  250  to the grocery retailer, who may then gather the ordered grocery items and ship or deliver the grocery items to the user&#39;s residence or other selected location. In addition to the completed order form, the program  102  may collect and transmit payment information (e.g., credit or debit account information) to the grocery retailer or link the user to a third-party payment processing system such as PayPal®, for example. In some configurations, the grocery retailer (or other business entity) may sell subscriptions for use of the meal planner system  100  via the retailer&#39;s website and/or the program  102 . 
     The order form  250  may display the stock-item grocery list  114  and/or the perishable-item grocery list  116  for a selected time period. The order form  250  may include a first input field  252  and a plurality of second input fields  254 . The first input field  252  may allow a user to input the number of servings of each meal that the user chooses to make. Default quantities of each of the listed grocery items may be automatically updated to accommodate the selected number of servings. Each of the plurality of second input fields  254  may correspond to a particular grocery item and may allow the user to select quantities of the particular grocery item that the user chooses to purchase. In this manner, the program  102  may allow the user to order selected grocery items in bulk, if desired. The order form  250  may also include first buttons  258  that allow the user to add all listed grocery items to a virtual shopping cart and second buttons  260  that allow the user to add only selected grocery items to the virtual shopping cart. 
     In some configurations, the order form  250  may be configured to allow the user to select a preferred brand for one or more of the grocery items. Additionally or alternatively, the order form  250  may be configured to allow the user to replace a listed grocery item for a different preferred grocery item. For example, the user could replace pork with chicken, replace spaghetti with angel hair pasta, or replace all meats and/or animal products with vegetarian or vegan substitutes. 
     In some configurations, the program  102  may allow the user to setup a schedule of recurring grocery item deliveries, in which the program  102  may automatically place an order with the grocery retailer for the grocery items that will be used in preparing the meals on the meal recipe cards  118 . The program  102  may be configured to time the orders and deliveries so that the grocery items arrive at the user&#39;s residence in time to prepare the corresponding meals for upcoming days. 
     The program  102  may be configured to allow a user to create an online account to which the user may logon using dedicated username and password. The user may register (or sign up) for usage of the meal planner system  100  for a predetermined time period such as 4 weeks, 13 weeks, or one or more years, for example. It should be appreciated that the program  102  may allow the user to register for usage of the meal planner system  100  for a lifetime or other indefinite period. 
     Upon establishing the account, the user may login to the account and review and select one or more individual meal recipes or groups of meal recipes for one or more days, weeks, months or years of the predetermined time period for which the user has registered. Weekly menu plans may be sorted by type of meal (i.e., breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks) or by day of the week. The program  102  may enable the user to input a desired number of servings and follow a predetermined sequence of meals or select specific meal recipes to customize a meal plan. The program  102  may generate one or more stock-item grocery lists  114 , perishable-item grocery lists  116  and meal recipe cards  118  (including photographs and/or nutritional information, for example) based on the user&#39;s selections. Additionally or alternatively, the program  102  may be configured to customize and generate the order form  250  based on the user&#39;s selections. 
     The foregoing description of the many aspects of the present teachings has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular aspect are generally not limited to that particular example, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected aspect of the present teachings, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present teachings, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present teachings.