Thinking of Choosing a Meal Prep Service?

Through the lens of social media, it would appear that only recently have meal prep services become a popular option. There are now more options now than there were previously, but buying prepared meals has been around for many years. Choosing a meal prep service can be a tough decision but once you understand what you need, they can help take your nutrition to the next level.

The History of Meal Prep

The origin of meal prep comes from the days when busy parents needed quick options to feed their families. The introduction of frozen food in portion controlled packaging started somewhere around the late 1950s. It was a time where both parents became “too busy” for the prep, serving, and cleaning of dinner.

With its rise in popularity, more options became available. Companies claimed to offer a nutritious meal in a quick amount of time. Looking back, we can see that these foods were not very nutritious. They may have had the macronutrients, but they definitely lacked the micronutrients.

The meat and potato type meals that were sold as a delicious meal may have been quick, but they did not satisfy. Bland food without flavor but masked in salt and fat often disgusted the children forced to eat the food.

Meal prep foods took a back seat as the understanding of good nutrition became widely known. The interest in fresh ingredients alongside quality proteins led to more people cooking at home. People started planning meals or eating at restaurants with fresher options.

There were still some companies promoting prepped meals. Weight loss brands like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers used their group setting to promote weight loss while selling meals and food solutions.

In More Recent Times

Meal prepping has risen alongside the growth in gym memberships. Facebook photos of kitchen counters lined with meals for the week showed they were taking their nutrition serious.

Much more nutritious meals including a chicken breast, sweet potato, and green beans appeared both delicious and nutritious. But while they flooded the Facebook feeds with prepped foods, rarely did you see the same people posting week after week. It became more work than it was worth for many families.

Again came a rise in the prepared meal service. Everyone from major players like blue apron to small mom and pop companies promoted their services. The meal prep delivery service was once again booming.

Offering more Variety

Having moved beyond the meat and potatoes format, the prepared foods of today offer something for everyone.

A vegan might subscribe to a meal that includes a black bean burger, white rice, and asparagus recipe. The Pescatarian might go for a ginger salmon, Japanese sweet potato, and edamame option.

You can even find gourmet meals specific to your nutrition program. You will find options for those following a paleo, keto, or zone based diet plan. Many offer a menu specific for those with dietary restrictions such as Celiac disease.

There are even more niche meal prep services created by fitness celebrities. Stan Efferding offers his Vertical Diet philosophy as a meal through the brand Exelev8.

The Costs of Meal Prep Services

They say that eating healthy comes at a cost. This is definitely an accurate statement in this situation. Meal kit foods in most cases range from $7.00 to $12.00 depending on the quantity of meals purchased and the food they contain.

We may see the cost as expensive compared to what it would cost to make the food themselves. Others find it cheap when compared to the time required to cook the food. The remaining group of people are on the fence, seeing it both ways.

But we should look at the price of a meal through such a broad lens. Rather than looking at cost on a weekly basis, the cost of prep services should be seen on a meal by meal basis. It helps to look at a single meal set at a specific time, then decide if it is worth it.

When to Use Meal Prep Services

1. When You Don’t Have Time

We each live our own lives and each has their own unique schedule. For some breakfast looks like blended smoothies and a dash out the door. Others may find breakfast to be a time of peace and comfort where they can take time to make scrambled eggs.

Looking at your schedule will help to identify times where you cannot make the foods you want. This may be a good time to consider finding healthy food from a prepared meal delivery service.

2. When You make Mistakes

There are particular times when we make worse decisions than we would like. It could be lunch time with co-workers at the local sit-down restaurant. It might also be the 8pm carb fix that is a part of the nightly routine.

Choosing to use a meal kit company for times where you typically have poor performance could help replace a habit with something better. With most companies you can look at a similar but healthier replacement since they offer many menu options that resemble less healthy plates of food.

3. What Is your Budget?

Once you have looked at your lifestyle, you have a better idea on how many meals you need. But you will first need to see how the required meals fit into your budget before picking your menu options.

How much to spend in a month on healthy prepared meals is an individual decision. It depends on how badly you need to improve your nutrition. It matters how overwhelmed you are by the thought of making foods. These are questions you need to ask before making a financial commitment.

Looking at your budget may help you compromise. You might skip breakfast, eating out for lunch, and picking poor options for dinner because you’re exhausted. You could make an agreement with yourself that if you purchase a prepared lunch, you will commit to making a healthy smoothie in the morning. Being nourished throughout the day may inspire you to use a company like daily harvest to make. dinner prep easy but healthy.

How many meals to choose?

Starting with a single meal kit per day is a good option for many people. If you have a larger budget, you might go with two meals per day. But the amount of meals isn’t based entirely on how many meals per day.

There may be days of the week where you have more time than others. Weekends for most people are a little less crazy than weekdays. For example, choosing 2 meals per weekday but 0 meals on weekends when your meal plan differs might fit better into your budget and lifestyle.

Which company to choose?

The quality of meal matters: A meal prep company needs to choose nutrient-dense foods and freeze the food quickly to preserve ingredients. These foods should ship in a manner that makes sure they stay cold throughout transit.

The Taste Matters: Fresh foods won’t matter much if they taste terrible. The meals should be as delicious as they are nutritious. A true chef should be in charge of the recipe process to ensure they chose each ingredient for maximum flavor.

Consistency Matters: Knowing that you can expect fresh meals that taste great time and again is important. A company may have outstanding quality, chef inspired meals, but if it differs with each meal kit, you could lose excitement about the plan.

Supporting Small Business

Some companies have large advertising budgets that blind the potential customer from seeing underneath the hood. While this isn’t always the case, it may be worth looking at a smaller meal kit company to spend your money on.

Look for companies that let you see the process of how they create and prepared the meals. Being a part of the journey can help keep you accountable by giving you another reason to stick to the plan.

One such company is Max Fit Meals out of Salinas, California. Max Fit Meals is a small family business who offers a wide variety of delicious tasting meals. They have been shipping meals across the US to thousands of satisfied customers.

Where to Put Your Money

Investing in yourself is one of the best decisions you can make. If that means investing in healthy meal options prepared by you or someone else, then it is money well spent. Make sure it is something you can consistently afford as a part of your healthy lifestyle.