Outsource some of your meal preparation with meal services
Are you too busy to cook your own meals? Find yourself stopping at the drive-through for a quick meal solution? Want your meals to look like this?
But find they look like this?
We all have our own barriers to meal preparation.
- You’re feeling over-whelmed with your kid’s activities.
- You are a single parent and are solely responsible for all the meal preparation.
- You travel for work and end up wasting food before you have a chance to prepare it.
- You are struggling with a life transition such as a divorce or death.
- Your kids have left and now you are transitioning from cooking for many to cooking for one or two people.
We all know that we should meal plan for the week ahead, and that there are many meal planning strategies for busy professionals. There is definite power in cooking our own foods – we know what foods and ingredients we have used, we can better manage portions, we have more influence on the sodium and other nutrients used, we can match our foods and meals with our health goals. And cooking our own meals is better for our bank account.
However, sometimes we just need help with getting food on the table for ourselves and our families. Maybe we are able to prepare food for some parts of the week, but we are consistently struggling with other parts of the week. When you are consistently running into the same challenges, a new option is needed.
There are a range of options that can help you with meal preparation. In this post, I highlight the many meal services that exist to help busy people in the Calgary area get food on their table. There is variation in these meal services – some have delivery options, some require you to go pick up the foods, some services are more health-focused.
This list is not-exhaustive and does not indicate endorsement of these businesses or particular meal service. However, meal services are one option for helping people to organize their meals and take some of the stress out of meal prep.
Meal services available in Calgary
Meal services where ingredients and recipes for you to follow are delivered to your door:
- Chef’s Plate
- Hello Fresh
- Miss Fresh
- Healthy Chef Delivery
- Make Good Food
- Chef CookIt
- Spud ready to eat dinners
Meal services where meals are cooked and delivered to your door (simply reheat):
- Fit Kitchen
- Better Prep
- Chef to Table
- Lean on Meals
- Mamaluv
- Dashing dishes – Ingredients are assembled for you. Freeze until you are ready to thaw, cook and enjoy your meal. Pick up or delivery options are available
Meal services where meals are chef prepared and purchased at their retail location(s):
- Made Foods
- Copperpot Creations – Meals are cooked and are free of the most common food allergens
- The Main Dish
- Better Prep – fully prepared, pre-made meals delivered to your door!
Skip unhelpful thinking patterns
When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, remember to shift away from black and white, all or nothing thinking. Our lives ebb and flow and sometimes, we need more help. Other times, we need less help. Skip the catastrophic thinking (I’ll never get meal planning figured out. I will always struggle with meal planning). Keep perspective and flexible thinking.
Find solutions to challenges and problems (like meals) that continue to arise in your life. Create systems (like meal planning) and solutions in your home that are aligned with your values, with what you feel is important, and with your overall goals and priorities.
What meal services have you used? What is your experience with these services? Do you have a favourite meal service that is not included here? Please leave a comment or contact me with any feedback you have.
Tagged in: busy professionals, Calgary Dietitian, Calgary Nutritionist, meal help, meal planning, meal service, meal services, midlife, stressed
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