Don’t have the time, skills or inclination to cook? Help could be at hand in the form of healthy meals delivered directly to your door by a new breed of companies who can take care of all your nutritional needs.
Soulmatefood
THE COST
Prices range from £185 for three meals and three snacks a day for six days to £2,160 for 12 weeks.
THE CLAIM
Soulmatefood’s Perform Low Carb Plan Menu consists of nutritionally balanced meals and snacks with calorie and macronutrient values that are supposed to be designed to directly correspond to your personal requirements, enabling sustainable fat loss – and convenience.
HOW IT WORKS
Soulmatefood specialises in tailoring its meals to suit an individual’s needs, so to get the most out of it you should speak to a trainer or nutritionist beforehand who can calculate how much protein, carbs, fat and calories you need to consume daily to optimise your fat loss. With this established, Soulmatefood provides six days’ worth of food – delivered in batches twice a week – consisting of three main meals and three snacks that hit these targets. Once you’re up and running, the company provides feedback and advice throughout via email. Meals can also be adapted to take into account any food you don’t like or any additional supplements you’re taking.
THE FOOD
Breakfasts include plenty of frittatas, packed with satisfying ingredients such as feta and spinach. The snacks range from smoothies and shakes to beef strips and chicken bites, with at least one protein-based snack each day for post-training consumption. Dinners cover a range of interesting cuisines and include dishes such as green Thai curry and moussaka.
THE VERDICT
‘It made life much easier,’ says MF art director Ped Millichamp. ‘Between work, training and raising two kids I’m pretty time-poor, and I’d never be able to buy, prepare or cook this much healthy food, so it was extremely convenient. The quality of all the ingredients is top-notch, and there’s plenty of meat, which is always a bonus. And even though it was a fat-loss plan, the meals left me feeling well fuelled, which was helpful pre-gym. Combined with some solid training, I was able to lose 6kg of body fat over a ten-week period, so the results speak for themselves.’ soulmatefood.com
Honestly Healthy
THE COST
Prices range from £195 for two meals and two snacks a day for six days, to £1,920 for 12 weeks.
THE CLAIM
The Business Box contains alkaline-rich vegetarian meals that help to counterbalance the acidic effects of a meat and dairy-heavy diet, resulting in increased energy, reduced stress and improved sleep and concentration.
HOW IT WORKS
As the name suggests, it’s aimed at time-poor professionals who struggle to eat well or prepare their own food during the day. You can pick whichever two main meals best suit your schedule – breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner or breakfast and dinner. Meals are delivered in batches every three days. You’re free to eat whatever you like for your third meal of the day and all day on the seventh day, although for best results it’s recommended that you keep things clean throughout.
THE FOOD
Breakfasts include veg-packed smoothies such as coconut, kale and flaxseed, seed and coconut muesli with fresh berries and hemp seed granola. Lunches are mostly salads, soups or noodle-dishes containing protein sources such as feta cheese and tofu. Snacks range from spicy juice combos such as carrot, apple and ginger to brazil nuts with a lemon cleanser shot and a beetroot brownie with aloe vera.
MF VERDICT
‘As a meat eater, I was sceptical about how I’d get on with all the veggie meals,’ says MF deputy editor Ben Ince. ‘But they were really tasty. The morning smoothies were surprisingly filling – although puréed kale for breakfast took some getting used to – while the lunches were full of fresh and interesting ingredients like samphire and fennel, which helped to increase my daily veg intake. Although it was a hectic week when I tried it, my sleep improved and I felt more energised and focused. I’d recommend it if you’re concerned that your busy lifestyle is affecting the quality of your nutrition.’ honestlyhealthyfood.com
Mealtek
THE COST
With lunches and dinners from £5.99, breakfasts from £3.99 and post-workout nutrition packs from £1.69, you’d pay at least at £19.35 a day.
THE CLAIM
Whatever your fitness target – building muscle, boosting energy, reducing fat – Mealtek creates, cooks and delivers customised meal plans to help. CEO Karl Brandt says its meals are ‘for athletes, fitness enthusiasts and those who just want to get in shape’.
HOW IT WORKS
Once you’ve told Mealtek what you want to achieve, the company’s nutritionists, dieticians and chefs devise a meal plan that will help you. Meals are delivered once a week and you’re advised to put half in the fridge and freeze the rest for later in the week. Most meals just need a few minutes in the pan or microwave and an easy-to-use online nutrition-tracking platform lets you keep tabs on what you're eating.
FOOD
Breakfasts include cherry, coconut and chocolate porridge, for lunches and dinners you’ll get dishes such as gammon with rice, red peppers and green bean salad, and at snack time expect things such as high-protein sesame-dusted chocolate balls and a protein granola mix. Mealtek can devise dairy or gluten-free plans and also offer Paleo, Primal and Pescetarian meals.
MF VERDICT
‘Every Wednesday, Mealtek would deliver five days’ worth of meals at about 1,000 calories each,’ says MF editor Nick Hutchings, who used Mealtek during a 12-week bulking programme. ‘That meant huge amounts of carbs, but some delicious sauces made these manageable. In the “leaning” phase of my regime, though, the ratios changed which meant the tastier ingredients came to the fore. The only problem was the size of my meals meant my fridge was almost bursting at the seams!’ mealtek.com
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