Prepared Meal Delivery Services: Lizzie’s Fresh N Lean Review

Consuming a consistent diet of nutritious meals isn’t as easy as it appears.

It involves grocery shopping to purchase fresh ingredients. And you have to give some thought to dietary restrictions — for example, if you’re on a paleo, vegetarian or low-carb diet, you’ll have to plan your recipes and macros to make sure your tasty meals fit the guidelines. Then you’ll have to cook the meal. And if you like the idea of using meal prep to plan ahead, you’ll have to portion your prepped meals to meet your dietary needs throughout the week. 

If that sounds exhausting, know that it can be. But fortunately, there’s an easier way to access delicious meals that are good for your health — a prepared meal delivery service can deliver food to your front door. 

Whether your goal is weight loss or just general health improvement, a meal delivery company can support your journey. However, there are many prepared meal delivery services out there. If you want to evaluate a meal delivery company and see if it’s right for you, it’s a good idea to look at what customers have to say in their reviews. 

With that in mind, we decided to connect with Lizzie. Lizzie is our customer service manager here at Fresh N Lean, and she’s also a subscriber. We did an initial interview with her last year when she first signed up with our fully prepared meal delivery service.

Here’s what she had to say about her experiences with Fresh N Lean’s chef-prepared gourmet meals during a year that’s been nothing short of chaotic and unpredictable for most of us.

Lizzie, thanks for taking the time to talk to us about fully prepared meal delivery! In our last conversation, you talked about your journey with skin cancer. How have your follow-up checks been going?

Hey, yeah, I’m all clear! I had a few things checked out here and there, but everything has been coming back negative for the scary stuff. One of the benefits of having some history with positive results is that they’ll see you pretty quickly, so you don’t spend too much time worrying. 

Are you still on Fresh N Lean’s Protein+ meal plan? If so, how do you think you’ve benefited from a high-protein diet?

I switched to the vegan meal service to cut cholesterol and give my body a complete health overhaul. I loved the high-protein diet — it provided well-balanced meals, and I was never hungry. But for my own health goals, I made a change and am focusing more on clean, green, and lean food. 

Fresh N Lean’s prepared meal delivery service gives customers the flexibility to switch from one meal plan to the next when they choose. Have you stuck exclusively to one plan?

I think I’ve tried everything! That’s one of the benefits of working here. I think it’s one of those things that’s more normal than we like to think. We as people change, so why wouldn’t our eating preferences change too? I feel like there’s honestly something for everyone, and we’re always happy to help people find what works well for them. 

What are the most significant benefits of having your fully prepared meals delivered?

I think this question has a million answers! Especially since the pandemic — it was a crazy ride. And we never actually stopped coming into work since Fresh N Lean is an essential business. So with all the uncertainty, prepared meal delivery was a lifesaver. And now, with things a little more settled, it’s a time saver to be able not to have to worry about juggling “regular life” with meal prep.

Prepared meal delivery services give you the chance to benefit from a consistent meal plan. Do you think your current diet has changed the way you feel physically and mentally?

One hundred percent. As the saying goes, “You are what you eat.” I physically feel lighter and cleaner. I think when you know you’re eating healthier, you will automatically start to feel better. Just knowing that you’re taking better care of yourself, that you’re choosing to take care of yourself, is huge. It affects how you see yourself and feel about yourself.

It seems as if there are many mental health stories in the news these days, which isn’t surprising given the current situation. Do you think there’s a link between diet and mental health?

You know, I think there is. I’m not a doctor or anything, but I do know it helped me in particular. After my surgery, I stopped working out, going to the beach, swimming, all of that. I didn’t feel like myself, and I wasn’t comfortable in the sun.

The first time I went back to the beach (a year after the surgery), I started to get ready to go into the water and was hit with this fear. Like, a ton of bricks out of nowhere hit me, and I quickly started covering myself up completely. I almost had a panic attack.

The feeling of being scared while standing in a place I’d always identified with flipped me over. I started getting Fresh N Lean’s prepared meals delivered after that and slowly became more confident. Through the change in my diet, I focused on a positive change that I was working on for myself, and little by little, the other things started to follow.

Are you using Fresh N Lean’s prepared meal delivery services for all your meals, or are you supplementing with food from your kitchen? Would you mind describing a typical day of meals?

I’m eating Fresh N Lean for most meals, but I supplement. I’m eating the vegan plans but am also working out. I want to make sure I’m getting enough proteins and healthy fats for a sustainable change, so I add avocado, nuts, some dairy here and there, and egg whites.

I’ll usually wake up around 4:40, make myself 16 ounces of celery juice, head to the gym around 5 am for an hour or two so I don’t have to stress about getting to work on time, then cook up some turkey bacon and eggs (or that tofu scramble that Fresh N Lean makes — oh man, is that thing good!).

Then, at work, I’ll heat some soup. Or heat some Fresh N Lean and relax. You will probably find me in the office kitchen here cutting up some carrot sticks or cucumbers to munch on at some point during the day.

And with dinner, it depends on where the family is. If they’re with me, I’ll heat two Fresh N Lean prepared meals in a pan and season with some spices (oh my gosh, is there anything better than Tony’s Creole Seasoning on like — everything?) and split it between the three of us. Then, I’ll make a salad or cook some extra protein for them, and add some avocado toast for me, because it’s California — haha!

I also eat two to three fruits during the day. Depending on what’s in season, it’s always a banana and sometimes an apple or a pear.

Pro tip: The Fresh N Lean prepared meals are also perfect soup bases. When it gets chilly here and dips below 70 degrees, sometimes I’ll throw a meal in a pot with some tomato soup base, and boom — soup! Each Fresh N Lean prepared meal is a versatile product for me, and I love finding ways to get creative. 

In your life, what’s been the biggest challenge associated with the unprecedented times we’re currently experiencing? What have you done to preserve your wellness and sanity?

The biggest challenge is trying to act like this is normal in front of your child. If you don’t hold it together as an adult, that kid will be a gnarly little stress ball, guaranteed.

In the beginning, when we couldn’t do anything, I think getting creative with things to do for fun when none of the neighborhood kids were outside playing was an experience. Doing that while still driving to work every day and trying to hold it together here and doing my best to grow the department so we could help customers was pretty tough.

Knowing that every person calling in was going through some version of the same thing added a vast weight and sense of urgency. It was pretty easy to find me running on fumes there.

I think I cried more times in the past year than in the entirety of the rest of my life put together. (Sorry, guys! Thanks for the Kleenex — it was me who caused that shortage!) But I think that was part of the whole process — just forging through and trying to do my best to make sure everyone else was alright. I honestly didn’t take care of myself until maybe the start of this summer. 

The most significant step any one of us can take is understanding that it’s okay to be wherever we are. If that’s not a positive place, then we acknowledge that and start to make better choices a little at a time — little by little. 

Have you set any health goals for the months ahead?

I will focus on staying the course and staying healthy — going to the gym four to six times a week and eating right. I’ll also take time to clear my head and be mentally well by hitting the water.

With everything happening this year, it’s been hard for many to stick with an exercise routine. So, what kind of exercise have you been able to include?

Well, I had COVID in December — that hit me pretty hard, and I’m still building lung capacity back up. That being said, my better half bought me a really sweet rowing machine for Christmas that is in our living room. If I’m not able to hit the gym in the morning, I’ll hop on that after work and row or stationary bike to an episode of Baywatch.

I also have a breath trainer to work out my lungs and increase my lung capacity. You can get them online for $20 bucks, and it’s helped on my road to recovery. Every day is ab day, like it or not. Then I’ll rotate my legs and back, and then I’ll do my cardio. Some days are easier than others, but it’s consistency that’s key.

Prepared meal delivery services make it easy to maintain a consistent diet and eat a healthy meal every day. In your experience, does a person’s diet impact the way they function at work?

Yeah, for sure. If you start the day heavy and greasy, you aren’t giving your body the right fuel to make it through the day, and you’re going to have that energy crash at some point. Eating cleaner helps you understand what your body needs and when.

In your life, how has 2021 differed from 2020?

I think I’m a little more hardened on some things and care less about what other people think about me, but I’m not sure how much of that is just age. I think we all put a little bit of a guard up somewhere, but coming out of that year, I think I started to accept that it was okay to take it a little easier on myself. So I’m doing more things for myself and (trying to) not feel guilty about it.

You manage our customer service team here at Fresh N Lean. Have you come across any success stories from our customers that have made you feel proud of the work we do?

Shoot, yes! Every day! I’m so impressed by the caliber of people that we have here. I’m lucky enough to have connected with a few (you know who you are!) — from the teachers to the nurses, to the people ordering for their parents, everyone. I think every person I’ve talked to was taking a positive step for themselves or someone they love, and I’m proud to have such an amazingly rad group of people. 

Is there any advice or encouragement that you’d like to share with our readers?

Holy guacamole! Life is hard! But that doesn’t mean you have to be hard on yourself. It’s so easy to be negative, but you need to wake up every day and tell yourself you’re worth it. Eventually, you’ll believe it — keep on truckin’, little buddies!

Next steps

Lizzie has used Fresh N Lean’s chef-prepared meal delivery service to bring her closer to her health goals, and so can you.

We support your health with organic ingredients. And if you’re a picky eater, we can customize each fresh meal to suit your dietary preferences. 

We’ll never send you a meal kit that requires cooking — each healthy meal on our menu is fully prepared for your convenience. Subscribe today to get delicious Fresh N Lean meals delivered to your door. 

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Fresh N Lean is the nation’s largest organic meal delivery service. Our tasty, chef-prepared cuisine is always fresh and never frozen, and we offer convenient meal plans like Protein+, Keto, Paleo, Standard Vegan and Mediterranean. Choose Fresh N Lean for affordable nutrition, delivered to your doorstep.