Freshly Meal Service 2021 Review

It can be hard to find the right meal delivery service for you in 2020, especially one that provides strict gluten-free solutions.

Even if you know your goals—weight loss, gaining muscle, or place well during the CrossFit Open, there are so many different options out there now that you might not know where to start.

But what would you say if there was a meal service that delivers right to your door, and requires no chopping, cooking, or cleaning?

If that sounds like it’s up your alley, Freshly might be a good solution for you.

Here’s a breakdown of Freshly’s meal delivery service:

What Is Freshly?

Freshly is a weekly subscription meal service that delivers freshly prepared takeout meals developed by a team of chefs and nutritionists.

Unlike other subscription services such as Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, Freshly’s meals come fully-cooked—meaning all you have to do is heat them up.

And according to their website, each meal takes only three minutes to heat up. There is no cooking or cleanup of any kind.

Something that stands out about Freshly’s meal prep system is its emphasis on delighting customers.

They constantly ask for feedback from customers (you can rate each meal individually after it’s delivered), and historically, they’ve made adjustments to their business model based on customer feedback.

Read Also: Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services – 2021 Review

How Does Freshly Work?

Freshly offers multiple different meal plan options, such as:

• 4 meals per week
• 6 meals per week
• 9 meals per week
• 12 meals per week

People that use Freshly meal kit service typically use it for the same meals (usually lunch or dinner) over the course of a week.

Their pricing structure, which we’ll tackle more in-depth on in this article, incentivizes you to subscribe to the higher number of meals per week. The more you subscribe for, the more you save per meal.

Read Also: What are the foods that lower testosterone?

What Can You Expect In Your Meal

Freshly lays out pretty specific details about their meals on their website, Freshly.com. Below is some information about what you can expect from your food delivery.

Types of Meals

Freshly offers fully-cooked meals for lunch and dinner. They used to offer breakfast but stopped at the end of 2019.

According to their support page, they stop offering breakfast meals to focus on expanding their entree options for the other two meals. The decision was based on customer feedback.

Given this, Freshly may be a good option for you if you aren’t a fan of breakfast or practice intermittent fasting.

Read Also: The Beginner’s Guide for Intermittent Fasting

Types of Ingredients

All of Freshly’s meals are made without preservatives or chemicals, meaning they’ll last 4 to 5 days in the fridge. You won’t find any processed sugars or artificial ingredients in your lunch or dinner.

You can expect each meal to come with high protein and fresh vegetables. Depending on what the entree is, though, you might also find dairy, mashed potatoes, a carbohydrate side like rice or pasta.

Nutrition Value

Each Freshly lunch or dinner meal averages about 500 calories. Their portion sizes range between 350 and 600 calories, though even the higher-calorie meals are comprised of healthy foods.

If you’re trying to eat fewer calories, there is an option when you set your subscription to receive the <500 calorie items in your order.

Diet Accommodations

If you have allergies or follow a specific nutritional approach like paleo, low carb, or vegetarian diet, Freshly has options for you.

But keep in mind, they prepare around 20 different meals per week on a rotating basis. Not all the healthy meals work for every diet, so you may find your options are limited and/or not be eating new meals every night.

Their website says that of the 20 different meals, about 8 of them work for the paleo diet and 4 fit for vegetarians.

Read Also: What is the Renegade Diet?

Sample Freshly Meals

Here’s a handful of lunch and dinner options that you might come across if you subscribe to Freshly.

• Mexican style shredded beef with masa cakes
• Creamy cashew coconut chicken
• Steak peppercorn with carrots and green beans
• Super pesto and veggie fusilli (vegetarian)
• Sausage and peppers with tomatoes and rice
• Carved turkey and grain-free stuffing (dairy-free)
• Turkey and mushroom meatballs
• Homestyle chicken with butternut mac and cheese

As you can see, there’s a wide variety in terms of what types of food you can get, as well as which diets your meals may adhere to. Depending on your situation and nutritional goals, this wide variety of meals could be a plus or a negative.

How Much Does Freshly Cost?

Compared to other meal plan services, some say that Freshly meal options are a bit more expensive. The smaller subscription model (4 meals per week) averages out to $12.50/meal, while 12 meals per week averages out to just $8.99/meal.

Here’s a full breakdown of their pricing structure:

• 4 meals per week = $49.99/week
• 6 meals per week = $59.99/week
• 9 meals per week = $69.99/week
• 12 meals per week = $107.99/week

Keep in mind, though, that unlike other meal kit options, your food is delivered to your doorstep portioned out and fully cooked.

The price may be higher, but more work is being done to simplify your weekly meal planning before you receive your order. When pricing against other options, this is something you should keep in mind.

How To Order Freshly

The simple answer is that you sign up on their website, set your subscription up, and you’re good to go.

However, if you decide to change or cancel your subscription, you’ll have to update this on the website. It takes three weeks to update your subscription, so make sure to do it in advance if there’s a holiday or family trip coming up.

Giving feedback is important for maximizing your Freshly subscription—after your first delivery, your future orders will be partially determined based on what you liked and didn’t like.

They ask customers to leave reviews each week so they can personalize your needs and give you the best experience possible.

Your food is delivered right to your door. Because you can select your delivery day, you can receive food on Saturdays (or whenever you’re off work), or let the box sit outside and grab it when once you’re home from work.

Don’t worry, it comes lined with ice packs to keep everything cold and fresh.

CrossFit and Freshly

If you’re a CrossFit athlete—or just focused on increasing your fitness—perhaps you’re wondering how Freshly stacks up to other meal delivery services. Here are some potential pros and cons to consider for the fitness-inclined.

Read Also: What is the CrossFit Diet Guide to help you reach your potential?

Pros

• Compared to other meal prep services, Freshly is one of, if not the most convenient. There is absolutely no cooking or cleanup involved, which isn’t the case with most other companies.
• Each meal comes with around the same caloric value, so you’ll have consistency if you’re trying to lose weight or counting calories.
• Each meal is at least somewhat balanced in terms of the three macronutrients—protein, fat, and carbs.
• Meals are made with healthy ingredients, and all meals come with at least one vegetable.
• You can easily change/modify your subscription if you’re experimenting with food services or nutritional approaches.

Cons

• Other meal prep services out there do a better job of catering to a specific diet or nutritional protocols. If you’ve got certain allergies or need, you might find other companies are a better fit.
• They don’t serve breakfast or snacks, so you may need to prepare that food on your own.

And by the way, if you’ve come this far—there’s an FAQ section on their website that may answer any of the questions you still have.