PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE IN
MEAL & MENU PLANNING

At last, an internationally accredited
course ​in meal planning

BECOME A RECOGNISED MEAL & MENU PLANNER
One of the areas of food coaching so rarely discussed. At last you can learn all the ins and outs of how to plan meals and menus for yourself, your family or for clients. This 4 unit program takes you through the tools of gathering client eating information, analysing eating habits, how to create a healthful eating plan - including creating and assessing recipes for clients, and how to monitor progress. 

Using your nutrition knowledge from this program, you'll review current eating for healthfulness with your client. Together, you'll pinpoint areas to improve, coming up with ideas and better options. You'll then pull together all the information and place into a meal plan your client has effectively driven, but you have collated and prepared.

We provide you with extensive tools and templates, plus a months free access to one of the best meal planning software around. This course uses a handy app to drop recipes and meals into and plan for a day, week, month or longer. You will find that this sort of food coaching technique is very powerful in helping clients make positive, permanent health choices. 

As a meal and menu planner you will not prescribe meal plans, rather you will work closely with clients in planning meals and menus with them to achieve their goals. What does this mean? To prescribe a diet you would need to have a relevant qualification in health or nutrition. To prescribe meal plans, you require a different level of insurance to cover you for advice you are giving.

INTERNATIONALLY ACCREDITED PROGRAM

AND

ACCREDITED AADP COLLEGE
(Australia, NZ, UK, US and Canada)

YOUR PROGRAM STRUCTURE

This program is made up of 4 units in total. If you would like to view more about these 4 units, including course prices and duration please click on either the picture or course name. Your elective units are located below.
These units can be taken individually (not as part of this program), for example you can take Introduction to Meal & Menu Planning on its own. However, to gain registration and insurance you will need either an underlying relevant qualification like the Advanced Certificate of Nutrition and Health Coaching, or to complete the remaining units within this program. 

YOUR ELECTIVE LIST

We have an ever increasing array of electives from
​Nutrition Psychology to Gut Health

WHO DOES THIS PROGRAM?

A diverse group of students ranging from Exercise Physiologist's, Personal Trainer's, Nurses, Health Coaches, Food Bloggers, Food Coaches, Chefs and anyone wanting to work with clients on meal planning.
MORE INFORMATION FOR PERSONAL TRAINERS
This course is ideal for personal trainers looking to gain insurance to meal plan for clients. The Professional Certificate of Meal & Menu Planning is accredited with the International Institute of Complimentary Therapists (IICT). Graduates register with IICT and gain insurance with AoN or Marsh, this sits alongside your PT qualification and insurance, qualifying you separately to provide meal and menu plans. Understand Scope of Practice!
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH YOUR STUDIES
Lots! Holding a certificate in Meal & Menu Planning will allow you to create individual plans for people and groups. No prior qualification is required, however if you hold qualifications in fitness you can use this program to provide meal plans to clients as you will hold a separate qualification and insurance to do this.

* Offer healthy eating programs
* Expand on your food coaching services to instill healthy eating habits
* Work in hospitality to improve the healthfulness of meals and menus
* Assist with healthy eating for longevity
* Build client confidence in a love of nourishment not diets

Safe, in-scope meal planning is a client-led approach, we encourage you to focus on nourishment and boosting clients positive relationship with food.
YOU'LL SAFELY AND CONFIDENTLY CREATE
Healthful eating plans with your client
  • In a collaborative process you'll support clients in creating a healthy diet that they have ownership of.
Health-filled eating plans for your site
  • Based on proven guidelines in healthy eating you can provide meal plans to nourish clients body and mind.
OUT OF SCOPE
Prescribe dietary plans
Unless you hold a relevant qualification you should avoid prescribing a diet plan. In prescribing a diet you may be liable for its outcomes.

For example, you'd like to get your client onto a calorie restriction diet to lose weight = out of scope of a meal planner.

PROGRAM DURATION

You must complete all units within 12 months of your enrolment date.
​There is no penalty for students opting out. Transfer fees may apply if you wish to move to a different program.

PROGRAM COST & DELIVERY

OPTION 1: Enrol into one unit at a time and pay as you go.... OR
OPTION 2: Pay upfront for the units 1 and 2 at discounted price $720 (save $80)
  • Total approximate cost $1500 without the discount above
  • Pay by the unit, no ongoing monthly fees opt out at anytime. Ultimately flexibility!​
As part of this program all students will receive: 
  1. A Certificate of Completion with relevant accrediting logos for each unit 
  2. A Certificate of Completion noting you have completed Meal & Menu Planning
  3. Tools and templates to use with your clients
  4. Discounts on Meal Planning Software

ACCREDITATION, REGISTRATION & INSURANCE

  • Pacific and UK: International Institute of Complimentary Therapists (IICT) - Available in Australia, NZ, UK and USA (Australian pricing: starts from $69 for associate membership through to $199 for Executive membership, fees may differ from one country to another)

  • North America: Membership also available to the AADP (American Association of Drugless Practitioners) with insurance options or direct through IICT USA, insurance starts at $117 US
 
  • Australia and NZ: Insurance package option with AON (from $210 per annum) via your registration with IICT (or independently through Marsh Insurance or other insurers, just give them a quick buzz to discuss insurance with them individually)
 
  • Northern hemisphere: Insurance also available in UK via your registration with IICT UK. Insurance for the UK via Westminster Indemnity
PROGRAM CONTENT (BY UNIT)
UNIT 1:  Certificate of Human Nutrition

This is the core nutrition unit in all our programs, not only does it cover all essential knowledge in diet and nutrition but it pathways to a number of degree should you wish to take the ultimate step. You can read full details about this unit by clicking the button below
UNIT 2: Introduction to Meal & Menu Planning
  • Meal and menu planning: What is it? Who does it? Why and how?
  • Meal and menu planning essentials
  • Non-diet approach to healthful eating
  • Software options and course application
  • Meal and menu planning process - flexibility, meeting client needs, end-user focused, relevance, motivation, evaluation, healthful, food psychology
  • Food factors - Variety, quality, quantity, individuality,
  • Data gathering and collation
  • Data collection tools - common dietary assessment tools, using the application
  • Data assessment and application to planning
  • Data assessment tools - macro and micro-nutrient profiling, energy, dietary variety and diversity, food group compliance, healthy eating ratings
  • Bringing it all together and making it functional
  • Extensive learning activities to practice your craft at each step, including use of various applications and websites.​
UNIT 3: Psychology & Behaviour Change
  • The Coach
  • The reductionist view of nutrition
  • How can we know what the best way of eating is?
  • Coaching communications
  • Understanding human behaviour
  • Personality and eating habits
  • Motivation
  • Using incentives
  • Habits, habit formation and habit change
  • Rating scales in coaching for change
  • What is the best way to eat?
  • The non-diet based approach
  • Nutrition psychology basics: the psychology of eating
  • Intuitive eating
  • Evidence and theory of behaviour change
  • Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM)
  • Barriers to change and strategies to overcome
  • Health coaching in practice for behaviour change
  • Self-assessment and self-monitoring tools; your strategy
  • The importance of outlines and summaries: The primacy and recency effect
  • AGAR; A simple but effective strategy
  • Scope of practice, referral systems and Duty of Care
Certificate of Food & Wellness Coaching