Origin Meals :: Real Food, Delivered to Your Door

 

There is a new generation of services that places everything you need for a fresh, healthy meal on your doorstep. Since they’ve taken storm, prepared meals and meal prep kits have seen the birth of specialty purveyors who focus on aspects such as vegetarian, vegan, paleo, and organic.  

 

 

Very recently, we had our first Origin Meals meal delivery. As someone who makes a from-scratch dinner on the regular at least 5 nights out of the week, I was curious to see how this could enhance our lives, especially given that I have one child who is gluten and peanut free and I myself am on a SCD and low-FODMAP diet. While I try to make meals that accommodate all of our dietary needs, there are just some evenings that its too tough and I end up making two or three versions of a meal.

 

I have to say – right off the bat, I was pleased. All of Origin’s meals are pre-made. They do all the work (no meal prep or clean up required!). Unlike many other meal delivery companies, Origin’s meals come to your family ready-to-eat, no cooking necessary! Not only that, but they pride themselves on quality sourcing (local, responsibly-sourced protein and quality is their top priority) and their meals all have a healthy balance of protein, fats, and carbs. Additionally, all meals are gluten, dairy, soy and MSG-free, and contain no industrialized oils, no trans-fats, and are low-glycemic. They will also accommodate for allergies.

 

Visit Origin Meals,  where the website is user-friendly and walks you through all of it. You can choose pick-up (they have 12 different pick-up locations at various cross fit gyms), or you can have them delivered to your doorstep (where you choose the delivery date). There are a myriad of options for customization: 3 different meal types (paleo strict, paleo plus gluten-free grains, vegetarian), 4 sizes (small, standard, XL, family), and options for how many meals per week (2-day, 3-day, and 5-day). You can also choose breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

 

 

It was delicious. We first dug into the roast chicken dinner, which included red potatoes, green beans, fennel, shallots, arugula and a mouth-watering pesto sauce. My kids devoured it. They especially loved the pesto.

 

 

But I think they seriously died when I fed them the classic pot roast (disclaimer: I have never made a pot roast). This one came with lentils and a mix of beets, kale, and carrots. My boys actually asked for more of the veggies and even my picky daughter ate her weight in the beef.  And while my diet limits me to what I can have, I was able to eat the beef on a salad and was astounded by how flavorful it was. Oh – and my boys licked clean the containers of horseradish aioli.  

 

 

We busted into the achiote-braised chicken one busy Saturday afternoon for lunch. It was the perfect combo to keep them fueled for the rest of the day and it sure beat making sandwiches or my husband tossing his standard frozen pizza into the oven.

 

 

Let’s talk portion size.  

I’ll be frank. I have three teenagers, all are athletes, and all eat A LOT. Not to mention my husband has a pretty hearty appetite. And (except for the roast chicken night, where my 3 kids gobbled it all up!) there was enough food there to feed the 4 of them, including me eating some of the meats on my salads, and sometimes we had leftovers.

 

Like I said, I make dinner for my family almost every night. But at only $42 for a meal that feeds all of them, I would happily add this to our repertoire twice a week. I would also consider doing lunch for myself at $12.50/meal, given that I spend hours meal prepping for myself for my lunches for the week. THAT would be a nice break.

 

I think what Origin Meals offers is perfect for busy weekdays or weekends when you want to ensure your family is eating a balanced meal, but don’t have enough time to grocery shop, cook, and do dishes. Or a healthy lunch for a busy mama. It’s an excellent (and cheaper, healthier) alternative to eating out. And frankly, the meals taste delicious!