SE1851600A1

SE1851600A1 - A method and a computer program for calculating a recommendation for composing a meal

Info

Publication number: SE1851600A1
Application number: SE1851600A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Per Simre
Original assignee: Take Off Food Sverige Ab
Priority date: 2018-12-18
Filing date: 2018-12-18
Publication date: 2020-06-19
Also published as: WO2020127308A1

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for calculating a recommendation for composing a meal from a plurality of food units, the plurality of food units comprising a plurality of flavor types, wherein all units of a flavor type have similar weight and similar nutritional composition, the method comprising, by a processing unit:receiving diner characteristics, the diner characteristics comprising a weight and an age relating to a diner;receiving meal type data;retrieving a nutritional recommendation based on the diner characteristics and the meal type data, the nutritional recommendation comprising a recommended intake of calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates for a meal of the meal type, which is consumed by a diner with the diner characteristics;determining a set of combinations of units which meet the nutritional recommendation, each combination of units in the set comprising at least a first number of units of a first flavor type and a second number of units of a second flavor type; and,presenting at least one combination of units of the determined set of combinations of units as the recommendation for composing a meal.

Description

A |\/IETHOD AND A COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR CALCULATING ARECONINIENDATION FOR CONIPOSING A |\/IEAL TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates, in general, to methods and computerprograms for calculating meal compositions.

BACKGROUND ln order to live a healthy life, consumers often want to follow nutritionalrecommendations. Such recommendations may be based on medical studies.Nutritional recommendations may also be part of dietary guidelines distributedby governments or health organizations. A nutritional recommendation maycomprise a recommended intake of calories, protein, fat, and carbohydrates.The recommended intake may e.g. be per day or per meal. lnformation aboutthe nutritional composition, in terms of e.g. calories per weight unit, proteinper weight unit, fat per weight unit, and carbohydrates per weight unit, ofdifferent food products, e.g. pasta, tomato, and minced meat, may be found intables. When the consumer cooks a dish, e.g. a pasta Bolognese, from anumber of food products, the consumer may calculate the nutritionalcomposition of the dish from the weight of the different ingredients and thetable. The nutritional composition may then be compared to the nutritionalrecommendations. Alternatively, ready-made dishes, e.g. frozen or tinned,may be bought, wherein the nutritional composition of the dish is listed on thepackage.ln particular, parents may desire to provide meals with a proper nutritional composition to their children. Baby food is often sold in pre-configured compositions which should meet nutritional recommendations.However, in the pre-configured compositions, there is a limited degree offreedom for the parent to compose the meal.

SUMMARY lt is an object of the invention to provide a method for calculating arecommendation for composing a meal, wherein the method facilitates ahealthy and varied diet. These and other objects of the invention are at leastpartly met by the invention as defined in the independent claims. Preferredembodiments are set out in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-implemented method for calculating a recommendation forcomposing a meal from a p|ura|ity of food units, wherein the plurality of foodunits comprises a p|ura|ity of flavor types, wherein each food unit of a flavortype is a discrete unit of food with a flavor defined by the flavor type, whereinall units of a flavor type have similar weight and similar nutritionalcomposition, the method comprising, by a processing unit: receiving diner characteristics, the diner characteristics comprising aweight and an age of a diner, wherein the diner is the intended consumer ofthe meal; receiving meal type data, the meal type data comprising informationregarding the meal type, the meal type being the intended eating occasion ofthe meal; retrieving a nutritional recommendation based on the dinercharacteristics and the meal type data, wherein the nutritionalrecommendation comprises a recommended intake of calories, arecommended intake of protein, a recommended intake of fat, and arecommended intake of carbohydrates for a meal of the meal type, which isconsumed by a diner with the diner characteristics; determining a set of combinations of units which meet the nutritionalrecommendation, each combination of units in the set comprising at least afirst number of units of a first flavor type and a second number of units of asecond flavor type, the first and the second flavor types being different,wherein a nutritional composition of the combination of units meet thenutritional recommendation; and, presenting at least one combination of units of the determined set ofcombinations of units as the recommendation for composing a meal.

There are signs that ready-made food is a growing market. Someconsumer groups may eat mostly ready-made food. For example, smallchildren may eat mostly canned baby food. Another example may be elderly people who are no longer capable of cooking a meal from scratch. lt may beparticularly important for these consumer groups that their meals meet anutritional recommendation. Small children may need meals living up to acertain nutritional recommendation because they are growing. Elderly mayneed meals living up to a certain nutritional recommendation because theyhave a fragile health. People may need meals living up to a certain nutritionalrecommendation because they are on a diet. Ready-made meals with aspecified nutritional composition on the packaging may make it easier toensure that the meal meet a nutritional recommendation. ln the following,food, food preparation, and food distribution is discussed using baby food byway of example. However, it should be understood that the concepts mayapply to any food. lt is a realization by the inventors that the number of ready-made mealsone distributer can supply may be limited due to constraints on the productionfacilities and on the supply chain. For example, it may not be commerciallyviable to supply more than e.g. a selection of 15 different variations of babyfood meals. For the consumer this may result in a difficulty to provide a childwith a varied diet which fulfills the nutritional recommendations, especially ifthe child is allergic or picky. For example, if the child is allergic to gluten theselection of baby food meals may easily shrink by half. Furthermore, if thechild cannot or will not eat one particular component of the ready-made meal,such as e.g. pasta, then other components, such as e.g. Bolognese sauce,may not be accessible because the ready-made meals come in a mixed form.The child may love rice Bolognese, unconventional as it may be, but cannothave it since Bolognese sauce always come with pasta.

An advantage of the inventive concept may thus be that it facilitates anutritional and varied diet. When the meals are broken down to flavor types alarge variation of meals may be provided to the end-consumer without themanufacturer having to deal with an excessive number of different packages.A flavor type may herein contain a single ingredient, e.g. carrot purée, fish orpasta, or a combination of ingredients, e.g. vegetable stew or Bolognesesauce. The flavor type may be in a cooked form or in a raw form. The flavortype may be in a liquid form, purée form, solid form, or in a combination ofthese forms. A flavor type unit may be configured to be stored at roomtemperature, at refrigerator temperatures or at freezer temperatures. ln someembodiments the food units may be frozen food pellets. Frozen food pelletsmay have the advantage that waste is reduced as the pellets may not need to 4 be individually packed. One package may contain several frozen food pelletsof a first flavor type while another package may contain several frozen foodpellets of a second flavor type.

As discussed above, there are a number of advantages of distributingfood in food units, e.g. the manufacturer may provide a freedom to composemeals to the user without having to handle excessive packages. According tothe invention, recommended meal compositions are provided which enablesfood to be distributed in form of food units while a consumer may still veryeasily compose meals so as to meet nutritional recommendations.

Thus, the invention may make it easier to compose a meal whichmeets nutritional recommendations as a set of combinations of units isprovided, wherein all of the combinations of units meet the nutritionalrecommendations, from which one may choose. The set of combinations ofunits may e.g. be presented as a list on a smartphone screen. One does nothave to try various combinations of ingredients and calculate the combinednutritional composition of the meal from the nutritional composition of theindividual ingredients. Such an approach may be time consuming and difficultsince it may take several tries to get several different aspects of the nutritionalrecommendation right, e.g. getting both the calorie content, protein content,fat content, and carbohydrate content right. Once a combination of units hasbeen chosen, e.g. three units of rice, two units of chicken and two units ofpeas, the meal can easily be composed on a plate and served directly orcooked, e.g. in a microwave oven. The different flavor types of the food unitsmay be mixed together or left separately depending on the preference of theintended consumer of the meal. Some children may prefer to not mix flavors.The fact that the method outputs a number of units, rather than a weight or avolume, for the different flavor types may make it easier to prepare the mealas no scales or measuring cups may be needed. Furthermore, decidingwhether one has enough of the different ingredients at home may be easier.For example, checking if you have three units of a certain kind in a package iseasier than pouring the content in a measuring cup, only to find that there istoo little. The invention may thus make it possible to distribute food in a formwhere the consumer can prepare the meal and find the nutritionalcomposition of the meal as easily as with a ready-made meal but wherein theconsumer still has a large freedom in varying the meals. The invention maytherefore facilitate a way of cooking which combines the advantages of ready-made meals with the advantages of home cooking.

Another advantage of the inventive concept may be that it reduceswaste. Ready-made meals generally come in certain sizes, e.g. baby foodcans in sizes suitable for 6-9 month babies, 9-12 month babies etc. lt mayoften be the case that the child does not eat the entire can, the child may e.g.eat 2/3 or 4/3 of a can, and the rest of the opened can or cans may bediscarded as it is not enough for a full meal. The reason for the child noteating the entire can may be that the child is between two sizes of baby foodcans or that the child of a certain age and weight needs an amount of foodwhich is not reflected by the standardized baby cans. For example, a canintended for 9-12 month old children may be supposed to provide foodaccording to the nutritional recommendations for any 9-12 month old child.However, a large 12 month baby may require a different amount of food thana small 9 month old baby. By dividing the meal into several units it may beeasier to provide the child with an amount of food which is closer to what thechild can be expected to eat while still ensuring a meal which meets thenutritional recommendation. Furthermore, it may be easier to prepare e.g. halfa meal for the child to start with if you know that the meal should be e.g. fourunits of mashed potato and four units of fish. Half of the units may stay in thefreezer and be cooked once the child has eaten the first half. The sameconcepts apply to adult food as well. Ready-made meals for adults generallycome in one single size which is supposed to work for a large span of bodysizes and types. The inventive concept may ensure that an adult can preparean amount of food suitable to him or her.

A further advantage of the inventive concept may be that it is easier tocustomize a meal. The meal may be customized in terms of which flavorcombinations are represented. lt may also be customized in terms of ensuringthat the amount of food is suitable. lt may also be customized in terms ofensuring that the nutritional composition is suitable for a certain age andweight of an intended consumer. lt may also be customized in terms ofensuring that the meal is suitable for an intended consumer who is allergic.

A further advantage of the inventive concept may be that it is easy toachieve an accurate nutritional composition of a customized meal. When thenutritional composition of a meal is calculated using e.g. tables there may bean uncertainty in the nutritional composition of the different components of themeal. For example, the table may specify the nutritional composition ofpotatoes while in fact different types of potatoes may have slightly differentnutritional composition. The inventive concept may provide a method wherein the nutritional composition of each unit is predefined. Furthermore, themethod may provide a composition of a meal which is easy to implementwithout adding any measuring inaccuracies. A combination of units maycomprise a few integer number of units of different flavor types. lt may beextremely hard to make a mistake when counting e.g. four or five food units ofa certain flavor type. ln contrast it may be easier to introduce errors when youweigh an amount of an ingredient in a measuring cup and part of theingredient stays in the measuring cup when you plate up. lt should be understood that the method may be implemented in anytype of computer product. lt may e.g. be implemented in a smartphone. lt should be understood that the term "food unit" should be construedas a small volume of food, wherein the meal is composed of a plurality ofunits. One flavor component of the meal may be composed of one or severalunits of a certain flavor type. The weight of a unit may be such that thenumber of units needed for composing a meal is within an interval which iseasily countable for the person preparing the meal while at the same timegiving a fine enough resolution in the nutritional composition that can beprepared. The weight of the units may e.g. be such that each flavor type inthe different combinations of units is represented by e.g. 1 to 20 units or e.g.1 to 10 or e.g. 2 to 6 units. The weight of the units may also be such that nomore than a pre-set total number of units is needed for the combination ofunits. For example, all the combinations of units in the set of combinations ofunits which is presented as the recommendation for composing a mealcomprise at most a total of 30 units, or 50% of the combinations of unitscomprise between 3 and 20 units. lt should also be understood that units ofdifferent flavor types may have different weight. For example, fish units mayweigh 20 g while carrot units weigh 15 g.

The different units of a certain flavor type may have similar weight. ltshould be understood that similar weight may mean that the weight follows astatistical distribution. The statistical distribution may have a mean weight anda standard deviation. The standard deviation may be e.g. 10% of the meanweight or some other percentage. Thus for a carrot unit which nominallyweighs 15 g the standard deviation may be 1.5 g. The different units of aflavor type may have similar nutritional composition. lt should be understoodthat similar nutritional composition may mean that the weight of the differentnutritional components, e.g. protein, fat, carbohydrates, in the units followstatistical distributions. A statistical distribution for one nutritional component, 7 e.g. fat, may have a mean weight and a standard deviation. The standarddeviation may be e.g. 10% of the mean weight or some other percentage. ln asimilar manner other nutritional components such as e.g. calories may followa statistical distribution. The number of calories in a unit may have a meanvalue and a standard deviation. The units may also be configured such thatother nutritional components such as e.g. vitamins, minerals, trace elements,saturated fat, non-saturated fat, essential fatty acids, probiotics, fibers, sugar,or cholesterol are similar for units of the same flavor type.

The method for calculating a recommendation for composing a mealfrom a plurality of food units may utilize the fact that food units with a fixedweight and fixed nutritional composition can simplify the calculation. Themethod may thus be implemented in computer products with lowerprocessing power. lt may be sufficient to try a finite number of combinationsof units in order to produce a set of combinations of units which meet thenutritional recommendation.

The diner characteristics may be received in various ways. Forexample, if the method is implemented in a smartphone the dinercharacteristics may be entered using the smartphone keyboard. The dinercharacteristics may also be stored in a computer memory from which theymay be received. The diner characteristics may comprise a weight and anage relating to a diner, wherein the diner is an intended consumer of themeal. lt should be understood that the weight may refer to the weight of theperson who is about to eat the meal. lt should also be understood that theweight may refer to e.g. an ideal weight or to an intermediate goal weight. Forexample, an underweight child at 10 kg with a higher ideal weight, whereinthe ideal weight may be based on the child"s height, may want to use 11 kgas diner characteristic weight for a month and then increase it further until theideal weight is reached.

The meal type data may be received in various ways. For example, ifthe method is implemented in a smartphone the meal type data may beentered using the smartphone keyboard. The meal type data may also bereceived in other ways, e.g. based on the current time according to thesmartphone or based on previous meals recorded by the smartphone. Themeal type data may comprise information regarding the meal type. lt shouldbe understood that meal type may refer to different meals which according tonutritional recommendations should have different nutritional compositions. lt should be understood that the meal type may be selected e.g. from a groupcomprising: breakfast, lunch, or dinner.The nutritional recommendation may be retrieved from a database, e.g. a database storing nutritional recommendations for diners of different agesand weights. The nutritional recommendation may also be retrieved from acalculation according to a given equation. lt may also be retrieved from acombination of a database look-up and a calculation. The nutritionalrecommendation may be based on the diner characteristics and the meal typedata. lt should be understood that the nutritional recommendation maycomprise a recommended intake of calories, a recommended intake ofprotein, a recommended intake of fat, and a recommended intake ofcarbohydrates for a meal of the meal type. lt should also be understood thatthe nutritional recommendation may comprise a recommended intake ofvitamins, minerals, trace elements, saturated fat, non-saturated fat, essentialfatty acids, probiotics, fibers, sugar, or cholesterol. lt should be understoodthat the recommendation may be a recommendation for a specific type ofmeal, e.g. breakfast, lunch or dinner. lt should also be understood that therecommendation may be a recommendation regarding a daily intake, aweekly intake or an intake relating to another time period. lt should beunderstood that the recommendation may be a minimum amount or amaximum amount. lt should also be understood that nutritionalrecommendation may comprise a recommended ratio between differentnutritional components, e.g. a ratio between saturated fat and non-saturatedfat. lt should also be understood that the nutritional recommendation may bebased not only on the weight and age relating to a diner, other parametersmay also be included. For example, the nutritional recommendation mayfurther be based on information regarding what diseases or allergies the dinerhas. A person with short bowel syndrome may need a diet that avoids high fatfood. A person with short bowel syndrome may also be deficient in e.g.vitamin A, D, E, K, B12 as well as zinc, magnesium, calcium, selenium. Aperson recently diagnosed with coeliac disease may be deficient in fiber, iron,calcium, magnesium etc. The nutritional recommendation may relate both tothe nutritional composition of the food and the weight of the food. Forexample, an underweight person who cannot eat a lot per meal, perhaps dueto hiatal hernia, may need a diet which has a high calorie value per foodweight unit. The nutritional recommendation may also be based on otherfactors such as e.g. how often and how hard the diner exercises.

Determining a set of combinations of units which meet the nutritionalrecommendation may be done in various ways. For example, pre-calculatedunit combinations may be stored in a database together with the nutritionalcompositions of the pre-calculated unit combinations. A set of combinations ofunits may be determined by a search in the database for combinations whichmeet the nutritional recommendation. Another example may be that nutritionaldata for the individual flavor types is stored in a database. The set ofcombinations of units may then be calculated based on the nutritional data forthe individual flavor types. For example, a first number of units of a first flavortype may be chosen, e.g. chosen randomly or based on some pre-determinedconstraint, a second number of units of a second flavor type may then becalculated such that a meal composed of the first number of units of the firstflavor type plus the second number of units of the second flavor type meetsthe nutritional recommendation. More than two flavor types may of course beincluded. Determining a set of combinations of units may also be done byaccessing a database with information regarding both the nutritionalcomposition of pre-calculated unit combinations as well as the nutritionalcomposition of individual flavor types. Determining a set of combinations ofunits may also be done by a combination of accessing a database andperforming calculations relating to at least one of: the diner characteristics,the meal type data or the nutritional recommendation.

The determining may provide a set of at least two combinations ofunits, each combination meeting the nutritional recommendation. Thus,different combinations are determined. From the set of determinedcombinations, at least one combination may be presented. Thus, a firstcombination in the set may be presented to a user. By a set of combinationsbeing determined, a new combination may be immediately presented asanother alternative recommendation, in response to the user rejecting the firstrecommended combination being presented.

Presenting the determined set of combinations of units may be donee.g. as a list on a smartphone screen. The set of combinations of units maybe presented by another device than the device doing the calculations. Forexample, the set of combinations of units may be determined by calculationson a server but the determined set of combinations of units is presented by asmartphone.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving a meal restriction, the meal restriction being a constraint on the recommendation for composing the meal; wherein combinations of units which do not satisfy the meal restrictionare excluded from the determined set of combinations of units.

An advantage may be that the meal is easily customized. Anotheradvantage may be that it saves time when you know that the determinedcombinations of units adhere to the restriction. For example, when you have acraving for coriander you do not need to go through several packages to seeif that specific ingredient is present. lnstead you may be presented with a listcomprising e.g. the two combinations of: fried fish, curry sauce and rice; andchicken, stir fried vegetables and noodles, wherein both combinations includecoriander. More than two combinations may of course be included. Anotheradvantage may be that the interference of different nutritional componentsmay be enhanced or reduced. For example, the meal restriction may take intoaccount when the uptake of one nutritional component depends on anothernutritional component. lt should be understood that the constraint may be either that the mealshould or should not contain a certain unit type. lt should be understood that aset of combinations of units may be determined followed by the removal ofcombination of units which should be excluded. lt should also be understoodthat a set of combinations of units may be determined in a manner thatautomatically excludes unwanted unit types. For example, if the determinedset of combinations of units is retrieved by a search in a database of pre-calculated unit combinations the search may be configured such thatcombinations including unwanted unit types are automatically excluded. lt should also be understood that the constraint may be that certaincombinations of units should be excluded. For example, combinations of fishand rice should be excluded but combinations of fish and potatoes or chickenand rice are allowed. lt should also be understood that the constraint may bethat certain combinations of nutritional components should be excluded. Forexample, consumption of fibers or oxalates may block the body"s ability toabsorb some minerals, e.g. iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.A diner may want to avoid fibers and oxaiates in combination with theserriinerais but otheriivšse not. lt should also be understood that the constraintmay be that certain combinations of nutritional components should have acertain ratio. For example, some nutritional components may aid the bodilyuptake of other nutritional components. Vitamin C may aid the uptake of iron,vitamin D may aid the uptake of calcium. A meal restriction constraint may be 11 to ensure that there is enough of the aiding nutritional component in relationto the nutritional component which uptake one wants to enhance.

The meal restriction may be a restriction which should always befollowed. For example, when the diner is allergic to a certain food. The mealrestriction may also be a restriction which is tied to a certain time. Forexample, on l\/londays the child is served fish for lunch at the daycare centerso dinner should not contain fish on l\/londays. The meal restriction may alsobe set for a specific meal. For example, right now I would like to have avegetarian meal. The meal restriction may be stored in a computer memory.The meal restriction may also be entered on the occasion. lt should also beunderstood that the meal restriction may be calculated, e.g. based onprevious meals such that repetition of meals or similar meals are avoided.

According to an embodiment, the meal restriction comprises at leastone flavor type the meal should not contain. An advantage may be that flavortypes which the diner dislikes or is allergic to may be excluded.

According to an embodiment, the at least one flavor type the mealshould not contain is based on a list of allergies of the diner, the list ofallergies being retrieved from a computer memory.

An advantage may be that allergic reactions may be avoided. This maypotentially save lives or reduce discomfort for allergic diners. A furtheradvantage may be that it simplifies composing a meal for an allergic diner.lnstead of having to look at several packages of ingredients or severalpackages of ready-made food to see what possibilities one has for composingthe meal one may only need to look at a determined set of combinations ofunits wherein the determined set already has been checked for allergens.Storing the allergies in a list in a computer memory may have the advantagethat flavor types the meal should not contain may be excluded from thedetermined set of combinations quickly and with limited requirements oncomputational power. A list may also be changed quickly and dynamically.The list may be referenced every time a set of combinations of units isdetermined, thereby reducing the risk of an allergic diner being served a mealhe or she should not eat. lt should be understood that a flavor type may comprise a combinationof ingredients. lt may be enough for one ingredient to be on the list ofallergies to constrain the recommendation for composing the meal such that itdoes not contain that flavor type. lt should also be understood that an amountof an allergen below a threshold value may or may not be allowed. For 12 example, in the case of the diner not being very allergic to a certain allergen,trace amounts of that allergen may be allowed. The list of allergies mayfurther comprise information regarding how serious the different allergies are.Thus the threshold for a certain allergen may be set according to howintolerant the diner is to that allergen.

According to an embodiment, the at least one flavor type the mealshould not contain is based on a list of previous meals eaten by of the diner,the list of previous meals being retrieved from a computer memory. Anadvantage may be that repetition of meals or similar meals are avoided.

According to an embodiment, the meal restriction comprises at leastone flavor type the meal should contain. An advantage may be that flavortypes which the diner likes may be included. Another advantage may be thatif the diner has a deficiency in a certain nutritional component this may bemitigated by selecting certain flavor types which may help to remedy thedeficiency.

According to an embodiment, the meal restriction comprises amaximum cost of the meal. An advantage may be that allows a consumer tokeep track of costs and to save money on meals.

According to an embodiment, the meal restriction comprises a list ofavailable flavor types such that the determined set of combinations of unitsonly includes the available flavor types.

According to an embodiment, the meal restriction comprises amaximum number of flavor types in the meal such that the determined set ofcombinations of units does not include combinations of units with more thanthe maximum number of flavor types.

An advantage may be that the complexity of the meal may becustomized. With more flavor types the meals may be more varied. However,it may also require buying and storing more packages. There may be a trade-off between having a varied diet and a diet which is practical. The user mayadjust this trade-off by setting a meal restriction which limits the maximumnumber of flavor types.

According to an embodiment, determining a set of combinations ofunits comprises: accessing a database with unit combinations, wherein each entry in thedatabase comprises a pre-calculated unit combination and a nutritionalcomposition of the pre-calculated unit combination, wherein the determinedset of combinations of units is selected from a subset of the pre-calculated 13 unit combinations which has a nutritional composition that meets thenutritional recommendation.

An advantage may be that a set of combinations of units may bedetermined quickly. Finding a subset of the pre-calculated unit combinationswhich has a nutritional composition that meets the nutritional recommendationmay be faster than performing the calculations from scratch. Anotheradvantage may be that computational resources may be used effectively.lnstead of performing the same calculation several times the calculation maybe done once and the result may be saved. Another advantage may be that adevice with limited processing power may perform the method.

According to an embodiment, each entry in the database relating to apre-calculated unit combination further comprises a list of the flavor types inthe pre-calculated unit combination of the entry. An advantage may be thatthe database may be searched quickly. Programming languages may haveefficient methods for searching and comparing lists as well as retrievingelements from lists. lt should be understood that the term "list" should be construed toinclude both lists in functional programming languages and arrays in object-oriented programming languages.

According to an embodiment, determining a set of combinations ofunits comprises: accessing a database with unit nutritional data, wherein each entry inthe database comprises a record of a flavor type and a single unit nutritionalcomposition, wherein the single unit nutritional composition is a nutritionalcomposition of one unit of the flavor type in that entry; selecting a potential combination of units comprising a number of flavortypes and for each flavor type a number of units; calculate the combined nutritional composition of the potentialcombination of units based on the number of units of each flavor type and thesingle unit nutritional composition of that flavor type given by the database;and, including the potential combination of units in the determined set ofcombinations of units if the combined nutritional composition meet thenutritional recommendation.

An advantage of the embodiment may be that it saves storage space.A database with unit nutritional data may be smaller than e.g. a database withunit combinations. The combinations of units may be calculated as needed 14 using only a small database with unit nutritional data for the individual flavortypes.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises: receiving a selected combination of units, the selected combinations ofunits being a combination of units selected from the set of combinations ofunits to be served to the diner; and, storing, in a computer memory, the selected combination of units.

An advantage of the embodiment may be that it makes it possible totrack previous meals. Another advantage may be that the embodiment makesit possible to adjust future meals according to the tracked previous meals.Thereby, future meals may be customized according to previous choices.Future meals may be customized by avoiding the same combination of unitsas has been recently chosen or by avoiding similar combinations of units.Future meals may also be customized by extracting a preference the dinermight have based on past selections. A diner who seems to like chicken maye.g. be presented with a set of combinations of units wherein four of thecombinations of units comprise chicken, two of the combinations of unitscomprise pork and two of the combinations of units comprise fish.

Another advantage of the embodiment may be that it makes it possibleto generate statistics of past meals. This may help the diner to make informedchoices for future meals. The diner may thereby be helped to improve thediet. For example, you might estimate that you eat a reasonable amount offish while in reality you only have it occasionally. Statistics may help youremedy this. Statistics of past meals may also help a doctor to improve adiagnosis. Statistics may also help to optimize a diet over a period of time.Even though every individual meal in a diet follows a nutritionalrecommendation the diet may still be skewed over time. For example, if everymeal only contains the minimum recommended intake of a certain nutritionalcomponent then improvements on the diet may be made based on statistics.Another advantage may be that the embodiment makes it possible to accountfor nutritional recommendations which are based on longer time periods thana single meal, e.g. on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. A nutritionalrecommendation may e.g. be that a certain nutritional component should bepresent in a meal e.g. once a week.

Another advantage of the embodiment may be that it makes it possibleto track which types of proteins the diner has eaten, e.g. proteins from meat,proteins from legumes, protein from fish etc. Such information may make it possible to ensure that the diet over time has a specific ratio between thevarious protein types or that a specific amount of a certain protein type iseaten within a certain time. The ratio may be such that it has a specificnutritional benefit for the diner. The ratio may also be such that it has aspecific environmental benefit, e.g. that the diet has a certain animal proteinversus plant protein ratio.

Another advantage may be that the embodiment makes it possible torate past meals. The selected and stored combination of units may be ratedby the diner or the person serving the diner, e.g. when the diner is a child.This may make it easier to remember how well received past choices were.The information may also be shared with other users of the method. Theother users may then base their choices on what combinations seem to bepopular. The information may also be shared with the producer of the foodunits. lnformation regarding the selections the consumers make may help theproducer modify the range of flavor types. This may reduce waste. Forexample, when the producer sees that a certain flavor type is bought and triedby the consumers but then rarely eaten (and presumably discarded) thatflavor type may be discontinued. lt may also help the producer to make newflavor types to meet a demand. For example, if two flavor types often areused together, e.g. fish and tomato sauce, a new flavor type which combinethe two original flavor types, e.g. fish in tomato sauce, may be introduced inthe range. A consumer rating on the selected and stored combination of unitsmay help the producer further.

According to an embodiment, the method further comprises: updating a list of remaining units based on the selected combination ofunits; wherein the list of remaining units is a list of the number of units ofeach flavor type which is available for future meals and wherein updating thelist of remaining units comprises reducing the number of units of each flavortype in the list of remaining units by an amount corresponding to the numberof units of the corresponding flavor type in the selected combination of units. lt should be understood that the list of remaining units may relate toe.g. the number of units of each flavor type which is stored in the home, e.g.in the home freezer. An advantage may be that the method may be adaptedto only present a combination of units which may be found at home. This maysave time for the consumer who may not need to look for something that isnot there. lf the food units are stored in the freezer of refrigerator it may also 16 save energy as the freezer/refrigerator may not need to be openedunnecessarily. Another advantage may be that the consumer may beprovided with reminders when a certain flavor type is running low. Theconsumer may also use the updated list of remaining units when shopping.For example, consumers often decide what to eat later when they are in thegrocery store. lt may then be useful to know what you have available athome. Thus you may save time by not having to return to the store to get aflavor type that you mistakenly thought you already had. lt may also reducewaste as you may not need to buy an extra package just in case, the extrapackage later being discarded as it passes the best before date.

The embodiment may also facilitate that the list of remaining units isupdated when a meal is chosen. By updating the list as part of the selectionprocess rather than as a separate action one may reduce the risk of forgettingto update the list. This may result in a more accurate list of remaining units.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer program product comprising a computer-readable medium storingcomputer-readable instructions which, when executed on a processing unit,will cause the processing unit to perform the method according to any one ofthe preceding claims.

Effects and features of this second aspect are largely analogous tothose described above in connection with the first aspect. Embodimentsmentioned in relation to the first aspect are largely compatible with the secondaspect. Such a computer program product may thus provide a possibility toinstall and execute the program in order to obtain the above-discussedadvantages of the method.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit ofparts comprising: a plurality of food units, wherein the plurality of food units comprises aplurality of flavor types, wherein each food unit of a flavor type is a discreteunit of food with a flavor defined by the flavor type, wherein all units of a flavortype have similar weight and similar nutritional composition; wherein the plurality of food units is configured such that acombination of food units from at least two flavor types meet the nutritionalrecommendation; and a computer program product according to the second aspect of theinvention for causing the processing unit to present at least one combination 17 of units from the plurality of food units as a recommendation for composing ameal.

Effects and features of this third aspect are largely analogous to thosedescribed above in connection with the first and second aspect. Embodimentsmentioned in relation to the first and second aspect are largely compatiblewith the third aspect.

An advantage of the third aspect may be that by providing the pluralityof food units and the computer program product as a kit of parts the foodunits may be configured to match the nutritiona| recommendations used in thecomputer program product. For example, the food units may be configuredsuch that the number of units needed for composing a meal is within aninterval which is easily countable for the person preparing the meal while atthe same time giving a fine enough resolution in the nutritiona| compositionthat can be prepared. The food unit may also be configured such that acombination of units meet nutritiona| recommendations for a differentnutritiona| components simultaneously. For example, situations wherein acertain combination of units meet the nutritiona| recommendations for allrelevant nutritiona| components but one may be avoided. lnstead of forcingthe consumer to add an extra unit of a certain flavor type to the meal just tolive up also to the nutritiona| recommendations for the last nutritiona|component, all the units of that flavor type may be configured such that theyare enriched in that particular nutritiona| component. lt should be understood that the distribution channels for the plurality offood units and the computer program product may be the same or different.For example, the computer program product may come with a package offood units. The computer program product may also be distributed by othermeans, e.g. downloaded from a website or an app store. ln an embodiment of the third aspect the plurality of food units is furtherconfigured such that a combination of units in the set of combinations of unitscomprises 30 units or less. ln an embodiment of the third aspect the plurality of food units is furtherconfigured such that a combination of units in the set of combinations of unitscomprises between 3 and 20 units.

An advantage of configuring the food units such that a combination ofunits in the set of combinations of units comprises a number of units in thesespans may be that they are easily countable for the person preparing the 18 meal while at the same time giving a fine enough resolution in the nutritionalcomposition that can be prepared.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages ofthe present inventive concept, will be better understood through the followingillustrative and non-limiting detailed description, with reference to theappended drawings. ln the drawings like reference numerals will be used forlike elements unless stated otherwise.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of food units.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of computing device implementing themethod.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of computing device implementing themethod.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of computing device implementing themethod.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the method.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of computing device implementing themethod.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of computing device implementing themethod.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of computing device implementing themethod.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION ln cooperation with attached drawings, the technical contents and detailed description of the present invention are described hereinafteraccording to preferable embodiments, being not used to limit the claimedscope. This invention may be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and fullyconvey the scope of the invention to the skilled person. 19 Fig. 1 illustrates a plurality of food units 1, wherein the plurality of foodunits 1 comprises a plurality of flavor types 2. The flavor types 2 displayed arechicken, Bolognese sauce, potato, pasta, and carrot. ln this embodiment thefood units 1 are marked with an icon i||ustrating the flavor type 2 of the unit 1.However, it should be understood that such a marking may not be necessary.ln this embodiment the flavor types 2 are divided into categories. Round foodunits 1 correspond to protein rich flavor types 2, rectangular food units 1correspond to carbohydrate rich flavor types 2, and oval food units 1correspond to vitamin and mineral rich flavor types 2. Dividing the flavor types2 into categories may make it easier for the user of a method 100 (asdescribed below) to compose a meal according to the selected combination ofunits. Dividing the flavor types 2 into categories may also simplify the processof calculating combination of units that meet the nutritional recommendation.However, it should be understood that the flavor types 2 may not need to bedivided into categories. lt should also be understood that the flavor types 2may be divided into categories for computational reasons although this is notvisually apparent to the person preparing the meal.

Fig. 2 illustrates the method 100 being implemented in a computingdevice 50. ln this case the computing device 50 is a smartphone 52. Once themethod 100 has been performed at least one combination of units 1 of thedetermined set of combinations of units 1 is presented on the screen of thesmartphone. ln Fig. 2 two combinations of units 1 are presented. However, itshould be understood that a single combination of units 1 may also bepresented. The rest of the combinations of units 1 may be available fordisplaying if the user discards the first presented combination of units 1. ltshould also be understood that the entire set of combinations of units 1 maybe displayed immediately, or part of the set. ln this embodiment the screen ofthe computing device 50 displays an indicator 40 showing a set ofcombinations of units 1. That indicator 40 may in turn comprise one or moreindicators 42 of combinations of units 1. An indicator 42 of a combination ofunits 1 may comprise a number of indicators 44 showing a number of units 1.Each indicator 44 showing a number of units 1 may be linked to an indicator46 showing a flavor type 2.

The user may then compose the meal according to one of theindicators 42 of combinations of units 1, e.g. by placing food units 1 of thedifferent flavor types 2 according to the indicated numbers and flavor types 2 on a plate. The user may or may not proceed by cooking the food units in amicrowave oven.The method 100 may be implemented in various computing devices50. Fig. 3 shows an embodiment wherein the method 100 is performed by asmartphone 52. ln this embodiment the smartphone 52 comprises aprocessing unit in the form of a central processing unit 56 which, whenexecuting computer-readable instructions, performs the method 100.ln this embodiment the smartphone 52 furthermore comprises acomputer memory 58 which stores information which may be needed toimplement the method 100. The stored information may be a databasemapping diner characteristics to nutritional recommendations, suchinformation may be retrieved from the database when needed. The storedinformation may also be a database mapping nutritional recommendations topre-calculated unit combinations, such information may be retrieved from thedatabase when needed to determine a set of combinations of units whichmeet the nutritional recommendation. The stored information may also be adatabase with unit nutritional data which maps a flavor type 2 to the nutritionalcomposition of a single unit 1 of that flavor type 2 for a plurality of flavor types2, such information may be retrieved when needed to calculate the combinednutritional composition of a combination of units 1. The stored informationmay also be: lists of diners, diner characteristics for one or more diners, mealrestrictions for one or more diners, lists of allergies for one or more diners,lists of previous meals eaten for one or more diners, a list of available flavortypes 2, a list of remaining units 1.Fig. 4 shows an embodiment wherein the method 100 is performed on a server 54 which is wirelessly connected to a smartphone 52. ln thisembodiment the server comprises a central processing unit 56 and acomputer memory 58 that perform the tasks described in connection with Fig.3. The steps of the method 100 may be performed by different devices. Forexample, determining a set of combinations of units which meet the nutritionalrecommendation may be performed by a server 54 while presenting acombination of units or a set of combinations of units to a person may bedone by a smarthphone 52. The method 100 may also be performed byutilizing a central processing unit 56 on one device and a computer memory58 on another device, by utilizing two central processing units 56 on differentdevices, or by utilizing two computer memories 58 on different devices. 21 ln the following a method 100 according to an embodiment of theinvention is described. A flowchart of the embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 5. ltshould be understood that Fig. 5 does not indicate that the steps of themethod 100 need to be performed in a particular order. As a person ofordinary skills in the art understands the steps of the method 100 may beperformed in various ways. Fig. 6-8 illustrates embodiments wherein inputdata is provided for the method 100 to receive.

According to the embodiment of Fig. 5 diner characteristics arereceived 102. The diner characteristics may be received 102 from a userinterface which may be e.g. a screen on a computing device 50 or the screenof a device that is communicating with a computing device 50. ln Fig. 6 a userenters diner characteristics, in the form of a weight and an age relating to adiner, on the touch screen of a tablet computer. ln Fig. 6 a dinercharacteristics input interface 10, with a weight input control 12 and an ageinput control 14, is used to enter the weight and age of the diner. However,the diner characteristics may also be stored in a computer memory 58 orreceived in other ways. For example, an age may be entered once and storedin a computer memory 58, the age may then be updated regularly inaccordance with a time keeping device. The weight may be set at intervaltimes. The user may be reminded to update the weight when a weight isdeemed outdated. Between updates the last entered weight may be used oran extrapolated value may be used. The resolution of the received weight andage may be arbitrarily fine or coarse.

According to the embodiment of Fig. 5 meal type data is received 104.The meal type data may be received 104 from a user interface which may bee.g. a screen on a computing device 50 or the screen of a device that iscommunicating with a computing device 50. ln Fig. 7 a user enters meal typedata on the touch screen of a tablet computer. ln Fig. 7 a meal type data inputinterface 20 is used to enter the meal type in the form of selecting a breakfast,lunch, or dinner meal type. However, the meal type data may also bereceived in other ways. For example, the meal type data may be set inaccordance with a time keeping device. For example, in the morning the mealtype data may be set to breakfast automatically. The user may be notified ofthe automatically set meal type data and thereby be given the possibility ofchanging it. lt should be understood that the meal type data may be defined inother ways than breakfast, lunch, dinner. For example, it may be defined as 22 different times of the day or different meal sizes wherein a certain meal sizegenerally is eaten on a certain occasion.

According to the embodiment of Fig. 5 a meal restriction is received106. This step may be optional. ln some embodiments step 106 may beexcluded altogether. ln other embodiments step 106 may be included if theuser so wishes. ln other embodiments step 106 may be mandatory.

The meal restriction may be received 106 from a user interface whichmay be e.g. a screen on a computing device 50 or the screen of a device thatis communicating with a computing device 50. ln Fig. 8 a user enters a mealrestriction on the touch screen of a tablet computer. ln Fig. 8 a mealrestriction input interface 30 is used to enter the meal restriction. The mealrestriction may be a flavor type 2 the meal should not contain. This may beselected by selecting flavor types 2 individually or in groups. For example, anoption "vegetarian" or "kosher" may select entire groups of flavor types 2 themeal should not contain. The meal restriction may be based on a list ofallergies of the diner. The meal restriction may be based on a list of previousmeals eaten by of the diner. The meal restriction may comprise at least oneflavor type 2 the meal should contain. The meal restriction may comprise a listof available flavor types 2. The list of available flavor types 2 may e.g. berelated to what flavor types 2 the user has in the home freezer. The list maybe updated when the user selects a combination of units 1 for a meal. Theuser may also update the list when a new package of food units 1 has beenbought. The meal restriction may comprise a maximum number of flavortypes 2 in the meal. lt should be understood that the meal restriction may beentered via a user interface or received from a computer memory.

According to the embodiment of Fig. 5 a nutritional recommendation isretrieved 108. The nutritional recommendation may be retrieved from adatabase wherein various diner characteristics and meal types are mapped tovarious nutritional recommendations. For example, the nutritionalrecommendation from e.g. a health institute may be that a 10 month old baby,weighing 10.2 kg, should have a daily intake of 867 kilocalories and that thecalorie intake should be distributed between fat, carbohydrates and proteinaccording to certain calorie percentages, e.g. 30-45°/> of the calorie intakeshould come from fat, 45-60°/> should come from carbohydrates, and 7-15°/-.~should come from protein. The nutritional recommendation from the healthinstitute may then be distributed over a number of meals during the day. Forexample, breakfast 21.4 °/>, lunch 27.0 °/>, first snack 15.8 °/>, dinner 23.4 °/>, 23 and second snack 12.3 °/> of the daily calorie intake with the calories of eachmeal being distributed between fat, carbohydrates and protein according tothe same calorie percentages as the daily intake. The nutritionalrecommendation stored in the database may then be that a dinner for a 10month old baby, weighing 10.2 kg should comprise 203 kilocalories, wherein30-45°/> of the energy intake should come from fat, 45-60°/> should come fromcarbohydrates, and 7-15°/> should come from protein. The database can ofcourse comprise nutritional recommendations also for vitamins, minerals,trace elements, saturated fat, non-saturated fat, essential fatty acids,probiotics, fibers, sugar, cholesterol, or other nutritional components. lt shouldbe understood that other types of nutritional recommendations for daily intakemay be used. For example, the nutritional recommendations may be setaccording to the recommendations that are relevant in the country whereinthe method 100 will be used. lt should also be understood that the daily intakemay be distributed over the daily meals in various ways, either defined by e.g.a health institute or by the provider of the method 100. lt should also beunderstood that the calorie intake in the nutritional recommendation may be aspan or a minimum value and not necessarily a fixed value. lt should beunderstood that the nutritional recommendation may also be expressed asone or more equations. For example, a daily intake of calories may be derivedfrom the Schofield equation based on the age, weight and gender of thediner. The daily intake of calories may then be divided into a calorie intake permeal according to a predefined ratio between the meals. A nutritionalrecommendation may also be retrieved from a combination of a databaselook-up and a calculation. The nutritional recommendation may adhere togovernment rules and regulations. For example, if there are government rulesand regulations for ready-made meals the nutritional recommendation mayensure that a meal composed from a combination of units also adheres tothese regulations.

According to the embodiment of Fig. 5 a set of combinations of units 1is determined 110. ln one embodiment pre-calculated unit 1 combinations arestored in a database together with the nutritional compositions of the pre-calculated unit combinations. A set of combinations of units 1 may then bedetermined by a search in the database for combinations which meet thenutritional recommendation. ln one example a search in the database for adinner for a 10 month old baby weighing 10.2 kg results in a combination of:two chicken units 1, three parsnip units 1, four mashed turnip units 1, three 24 green pea units 1 and two apple units 1, wherein the combination of unitscomprises 203 kilocaiories, 8,6 g fat, 23,5 g carbohydrates, and 6,2 g protein.Such a combination may provide 37 °/> of the ca|ories from fat, 46 °/> of theca|ories from carbohydrates, and 12 °/> of the ca|ories from protein. lt should be understood that instead of mapping diner characteristicsand mea| type data to a nutritiona| recommendation in a first database andthen mapping the nutritiona| recommendation to a set of combinations of units1 in a second database, the diner characteristics and mea| type data may ofcourse be mapped directly to a set of combinations of units 1 in one singledatabase. ln such an embodiment a nutritiona| recommendation is retrievedsimultaneously with a set of combinations of units 1 being determined. ln another embodiment, a database with unit nutritiona| data for theindividual flavor types 2 is provided. A combinations of units 1 may then bedetermined by combining various numbers of units 1 of the different flavortypes 2 until a combination meets the nutritiona| recommendation, thatcombinations of units 1 may then be added to the set of combinations of units1. The units 1 of the different flavor types 2 may be combined in a trial anderror fashion. This may be done completely randomly or using a fittingalgorithm. The process may also be aided by the use flavor types 2 dividedinto categories. For example, it may be computational advantageous to getthe protein content of the mea| right by mainly varying the number of units 1 inthe category of protein rich flavor types 2.

According to the embodiment of Fig. 5 at least one combination of units1 of the determined set of combinations of units 1 is presented 112 as therecommendation for composing a mea|. ln one embodiment the entiredetermined set of combinations of units 1 is presented. ln one embodimentthe determined set of combinations of units 1 is presented in an orderaccording to a rating. ln one embodiment only one combination of units 1 outof the determined set of combinations of units 1 is presented.

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment wherein the method 100 in addition topresenting at least one combination of units 1 comprises one or two additionaloptional steps. ln one embodiment a selected combination of units 1 is received 114.The user may select a combination of units 1 of the presented combinationsof units 1, thereby indicating that this combination of units 1 will be served toa diner. The selected combination of units 1 is then stored in a computer memory 58. ln such an embodiment the flavor types 2 and the number ofunits 1 of each flavor type 2 in the selected combination of units 1 is stored. ln another embodiment, a list of remaining units 1 based on theselected combination of units 1 is updated 116. The list of remaining units 1may represent the number of units of the different flavor types 2 available inthe home freezer. The list may be updated by subtracting the number of units1 of each flavor type 2 in the selected combination of units 1 from the list. Thelist of remaining units 1 may then e.g. be used as input for a meal restrictionin the form of a list of available flavor types 2.

A computer program product for causing the method 100 to beperformed may be associated with units 1 from a particular vendor. Thus, thecomputer program product may be based on knowledge of the products soldby the vendor, such that nutritional composition of individual units 1 may bewell-known to the computer program product.

Further, this allows the combination of units 1 to be computed basedon thorough knowledge of the units 1 that will form part of the combinations.Hence, the database of unit combinations may be fitted to the particularproducts sold by the vendor, such that a consumer may be assured that therecommendations for composing a meal applies to the products that areavailable to the consumer. Likewise, if the unit combinations are calculatedbased on accessing a database of nutritional data, the database of nutritionaldata may be fitted to the particular products sold by the vendor.

Hence, the computer program product may facilitate easy compositionof suitable meals to a consumer based on food being sold in units 1, whichneed to be combined for meeting nutritional recommendations. ln the above the inventive concept has mainly been described withreference to a limited number of examples. However, as is readilyappreciated by a person skilled in the art, other examples than the onesdisclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the inventiveconcept, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

26 CLAIIVIS

1. A computer-implemented method for calculating arecommendation for composing a meal from a plurality of food units,wherein the plurality of food units comprises a plurality of flavor types,wherein each food unit of a flavor type is a discrete unit of food with aflavor defined by the flavor type, wherein all units of a flavor type havesimilar weight and similar nutritional composition, the method comprising,by a processing unit: receiving diner characteristics, the diner characteristics comprising aweight and an age relating to a diner, wherein the diner is an intendedconsumer of the meal; receiving meal type data, the meal type data comprising informationregarding the meal type, the meal type being the intended eating occasionof the meal; retrieving a nutritional recommendation based on the dinercharacteristics and the meal type data, wherein the nutritionalrecommendation comprises a recommended intake of calories, arecommended intake of protein, a recommended intake of fat, and arecommended intake of carbohydrates for a meal of the meal type, whichis consumed by a diner with the diner characteristics; determining a set of combinations of units which meet the nutritionalrecommendation, each combination of units in the set comprising at leasta first number of units of a first flavor type and a second number of units ofa second flavor type, the first and the second flavor types being different,wherein a nutritional composition of the combination of units meet thenutritional recommendation; and, presenting at least one combination of units of the determined set ofcombinations of units as the recommendation for composing a meal.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method furthercomprising: receiving a meal restriction, the meal restriction being a constraint onthe recommendation for composing the meal; wherein combinations of units which do not satisfy the meal restrictionare excluded from the determined set of combinations of units. 27

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the meal restrictioncomprises at least one flavor type the meal should not contain.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one flavortype the meal should not contain is based on a list of allergies of the diner,the list of allergies being retrieved from a computer memory.

5. The method according to claims 2-4, wherein the at least oneflavor type the meal should not contain is based on a list of previous mealseaten by of the diner, the list of previous meals being retrieved from acomputer memory.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2-5, wherein themeal restriction comprises at least one flavor type the meal shouldcontain.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2-6, wherein themeal restriction comprises a list of available flavor types such that thedetermined set of combinations of units only includes the available flavor types.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2-7, wherein themeal restriction comprises a maximum number of flavor types in the mealsuch that the determined set of combinations of units does not includecombinations of units with more than the maximum number of flavor types.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims,wherein determining a set of combinations of units comprises: accessing a database with unit combinations, wherein each entry in thedatabase comprises a pre-calculated unit combination and a nutritionalcomposition of the pre-calculated unit combination, wherein thedetermined set of combinations of units is selected from a subset of thepre-calculated unit combinations which has a nutritional composition thatmeets the nutritional recommendation. 28

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein each entry in thedatabase relating to a pre-calculated unit combination further comprises alist of the flavor types in the pre-calculated unit combination of the entry.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, whereindetermining a set of combinations of units comprises: accessing a database with unit nutritiona| data, wherein each entry inthe database comprises a record of a flavor type and a single unitnutritiona| composition, wherein the single unit nutritiona| composition is anutritiona| composition of one unit of the flavor type in that entry; selecting a potential combination of units comprising a number of flavortypes and for each flavor type a number of units; calculate the combined nutritiona| composition of the potentialcombination of units based on the number of units of each flavor type andthe single unit nutritiona| composition of that flavor type given by thedatabase; and, including the potential combination of units in the determined set ofcombinations of units if the combined nutritiona| composition meet thenutritiona| recommendation.

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims,wherein the method further comprises: receiving a selected combination of units, the selected combinations ofunits being a combination of units selected from the set of combinations ofunits to be served to the diner; and, storing, in a computer memory, the selected combination of units.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method furthercomprises: updating a list of remaining units based on the selected combination ofunits; wherein the list of remaining units is a list of the number of units ofeach flavor type which is available for future meals and wherein updatingthe list of remaining units comprises reducing the number of units of eachflavor type in the list of remaining units by an amount corresponding to thenumber of units of the corresponding flavor type in the selected 29 combination of units.

14. A computer program product comprising a computer-readablemedium storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed ona processing unit, will cause the processing unit to perform the methodaccording to any one of the preceding c|aims.

15. A kit of parts comprising: a p|ura|ity of food units, wherein the p|ura|ity of food units comprises ap|ura|ity of flavor types, wherein each food unit of a flavor type is adiscrete unit of food with a flavor defined by the flavor type, wherein allunits of a flavor type have similar weight and similar nutritionalcomposition; wherein the p|ura|ity of food units is configured such that a combinationof food units from at least two flavor types meet the nutritionalrecommendation; and a computer program product according to claim 14 for causing theprocessing unit to present at least one combination of units from thep|ura|ity of food units as a recommendation for composing a meal.