Health
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Good health, delivered daily
Meal services reduce daily hassles while providing high-quality cuisine.
By Judy Asman Published: November 23, 2006
Do you want to eat healthy, but lack time to cook? Now you don't have to. With an ever-growing emphasis on the importance of eating right, a number of businesses have sprung up that will deliver freshly made meals right to your door - dishes that are not just tasty and nutritious but healthy as well. Some of the programs are geared toward weight loss (very healthy if you are overweight) while others focus simply on healthy, well-prepared delicious food. All three services profiled here rescue you from fast food and reduce stress by taking time-consuming activities (grocery shopping and meal preparation) off your plate.
Susan’s Healthy Gourmet
Since 1996, Susan's Healthy Gourmet has delivered low-cal comfort meals and gourmet dishes to “busy and health conscious” people in Orange County. Her dishes are so healthy, they helped actors Ted Lange, Nick Turturro and Erika Eleniak trim the fat while competing in VH1's Celebrity Fit Club 4.
Why it's healthy: Susan's offers three portion sizes, each meal having a calorie count of 375, 500 or 600. After joining Weight Watchers in May, Irvine resident Neil Weiss, 57, found out about Susan's food and started on a regular meal plan. In 15 weeks, he's lost 30 pounds. Neil likes that Susan's food is “always fresh and wholesome, plus the quality is excellent.” In addition, Susan's menu lists whether the meals are low-carb or vegetarian. The nutritional values always meet the guidelines of the American Heart Association, American Dietetic Association and American Cancer Society.
Convenience factor: With 48 hours advance notice, Susan's delivers meals the day before your plan starts. Packaged and placed in a Styrofoam cooler, each dish has a label suggesting the best day to eat it. For example, Susan's recommends eating seafood dishes on the first or second day while they're fresh.
Delicious perks: While pizza fans will enjoy the “pizza of the week,” seafood and spice lovers will delight in dishes like Chef Chris' Crawfish Étouffée with thick pieces of crawfish, brown rice, cauliflower and Cajun vegetables. Got kids? Susan's kids' menu features fun dishes like cheeseburger pizza and jam filled French toast for dinner.
Prices: Individual meals: $6.25-$16.50 depending on portion size and meal type (breakfast, lunch or dinner). Flat rates: daily, $32.50-$38.50; five-day, $162.50-$192.50; seven-day, $227.50-$269.50. Delivery: $10/week throughout Southern California. Call for kids' menu, “meal of the week” and family portion prices.
Where to order: susanshealthygourmet.com or 949.833.2929
Jodi’s Vitality Gourmet
To say Jodi Jones is her own success story would be an understatement. Nine years ago, the former marketing executive was diagnosed with lupus and later, fibromyalgia. Having coined herself as “Junk Food Jodi,” she turned her life around by changing how she ate. She not only cut the junk food but she transformed her own recipes into nutritious and flavorful dishes. The results were remarkable. Jodi overcame lupus – a disease for which medical science has not yet found a cure – and went on to become a certified nutritionist and co-authored “The Vitality Connection” with Dr. Michael Grossman. With the birth of Jodi's Vitality Gourmet, she has used fine ingredients cooked into delectable meals to help others lose weight and minimize symptoms of chronic diseases.
Why it's healthy: Pat Anderson, 70, of San Clemente calls Jodi's Vitality Gourmet a “life saver.” With Jodi's program, Pat not only lost 50 pounds in five months, but her blood sugar levels are balanced, her cholesterol levels are down 100 points (without taking medication) and she looks and feels 20 years younger. The average “Jodi plan” is based on 1,400 calories per day with each dish containing about 35% protein, 35% low-glycemic carbs and 30% healthy fats. Using fresh, organic whole foods and high quality poultry and fish, Jodi's meals are safe for diabetics and can be tailored for vegetarians. She doesn't use sugar, fried foods, white flour or white rice. She can also work with your doctor or nutritionist to customize your meal plan for your health needs.
Convenience factor: Jodi's delivers locally and throughout the continental U.S. Meals arrive in coolers lined with the same insulation used by NASA for food packaging.
Delicious perks: Priding herself in serving five-star restaurant quality dishes, Jodi's entrees contain fresh ingredients that create delightful blend of flavors. Her Greek brown rice salad with shrimp is refreshing with a tasty dose of garlic, feta cheese, black olives and large pieces of shrimp. For breakfast, Jodi's provides ingredients for a delicious smoothie.
Prices: Basic five-day program (five lunches or dinners, 10 snacks), $90; full five-day program (10 meals and more), $175. Delivery: call for rates.
Where to order: vitalitygourmet.net or 949.770.0723.
Home Bistro
Based in Plattsburgh, N.Y., Home Bistro is the foodie's answer to pre-cooked, pre-packaged, delivered-to-your-door meals. With the culinary expertise of chefs Denis Chauvin, Scott Stillman and John Kwiatowski, Home Bistro sous vides (soo-veeds) its dishes to seal in texture and flavors. Sous vide (French for “under vacuum”) is a cutting-edge process that involves vacuum sealing the pre-cooked meals and flash freezing them at just the right time. When customers receive them, all they need to do is place the packages in simmering water, wait for about 10 minutes, then voila - exquisite meals at a moment's notice.
Why it's healthy: Home Bistro has special menus for low-carb and low-fat dishes. Because of its flavor and richness, the cauliflower puree - the low-carb solution to mashed potatoes - had Nicole Ortiz fooled. The 37-year-old Costa Mesa resident was looking for a way to eat well, save time and maintain her slender figure. That's when she Googled places that deliver healthy food, and found Home Bistro. When she received her filet mignon with béarnaise sauce, a low-carb favorite, Nicole was not only impressed with the quality, texture and flavor of the once frozen entree but also by the cauliflower puree side dish (8g net carbs). “They tasted just like mashed potatoes,” Nicole says. “They were delicious.”
Convenience factor: Ordering food on homebistro.com is like buying merchandise on any major retailer's website. All you need to do is choose individual meals, add them to your cart and check out with payment. The site shows a photo of each meal and describes how it’s prepared, what the carb count is (if it's low-carb) and what makes it low-fat. The meals arrive in insulated coolers with plenty of dry ice to ensure freshness.
Delicious perks: For the chefs at Home Bistro, “It's always been about the food.” With an appetizer menu that features taste bud dreams like escargot in garlic sauce, duck confit ravioli and lobster in shrimp sauce, even the low-carb and low-fat dishes will have an epicurean salivating. Featured items include roasted rack of lamb with garlic sauce (10g net carbs), shrimp scampi (12g net carbs) and orange cashew shrimp with fried rice (low-fat). Home Bistro also offers a low-carb chocolate mousse that has about 6g net carbs per serving.
Pricing: Low-carb dishes, $6.99-$17.99; low-fat, $6.99-$13.99. Delivery: add $14.95-$29.95 for standard shipping. Check website for express shipping rates.
Where to order: homebistro.com or 800.628.5588 OCM
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Susan’s Healthy Gourmet Since 1996, Susan's Healthy Gourmet has delivered low-cal comfort meals and gourmet dishes to “busy and health conscious” people in Orange County. Her dishes are so healthy, they helped actors Ted Lange, Nick Turturro and Erika Eleniak trim the fat while competing in VH1's Celebrity Fit Club 4. Why it's healthy: Susan's offers three portion sizes, each meal having a calorie count of 375, 500 or 600. After joining Weight Watchers in May, Irvine resident Neil Weiss, 57, found out about Susan's food and started on a regular meal plan. In 15 weeks, he's lost 30 pounds. Neil likes that Susan's food is “always fresh and wholesome, plus the quality is excellent.” In addition, Susan's menu lists whether the meals are low-carb or vegetarian. The nutritional values always meet the guidelines of the American Heart Association, American Dietetic Association and American Cancer Society. Convenience factor: With 48 hours advance notice, Susan's delivers meals the day before your plan starts. Packaged and placed in a Styrofoam cooler, each dish has a label suggesting the best day to eat it. For example, Susan's recommends eating seafood dishes on the first or second day while they're fresh. Delicious perks: While pizza fans will enjoy the “pizza of the week,” seafood and spice lovers will delight in dishes like Chef Chris' Crawfish Étouffée with thick pieces of crawfish, brown rice, cauliflower and Cajun vegetables. Got kids? Susan's kids' menu features fun dishes like cheeseburger pizza and jam filled French toast for dinner. Prices: Individual meals: $6.25-$16.50 depending on portion size and meal type (breakfast, lunch or dinner). Flat rates: daily, $32.50-$38.50; five-day, $162.50-$192.50; seven-day, $227.50-$269.50. Delivery: $10/week throughout Southern California. Call for kids' menu, “meal of the week” and family portion prices. Where to order: susanshealthygourmet.com or 949.833.2929 Jodi’s Vitality Gourmet To say Jodi Jones is her own success story would be an understatement. Nine years ago, the former marketing executive was diagnosed with lupus and later, fibromyalgia. Having coined herself as “Junk Food Jodi,” she turned her life around by changing how she ate. She not only cut the junk food but she transformed her own recipes into nutritious and flavorful dishes. The results were remarkable. Jodi overcame lupus – a disease for which medical science has not yet found a cure – and went on to become a certified nutritionist and co-authored “The Vitality Connection” with Dr. Michael Grossman. With the birth of Jodi's Vitality Gourmet, she has used fine ingredients cooked into delectable meals to help others lose weight and minimize symptoms of chronic diseases. Why it's healthy: Pat Anderson, 70, of San Clemente calls Jodi's Vitality Gourmet a “life saver.” With Jodi's program, Pat not only lost 50 pounds in five months, but her blood sugar levels are balanced, her cholesterol levels are down 100 points (without taking medication) and she looks and feels 20 years younger. The average “Jodi plan” is based on 1,400 calories per day with each dish containing about 35% protein, 35% low-glycemic carbs and 30% healthy fats. Using fresh, organic whole foods and high quality poultry and fish, Jodi's meals are safe for diabetics and can be tailored for vegetarians. She doesn't use sugar, fried foods, white flour or white rice. She can also work with your doctor or nutritionist to customize your meal plan for your health needs. Convenience factor: Jodi's delivers locally and throughout the continental U.S. Meals arrive in coolers lined with the same insulation used by NASA for food packaging. Delicious perks: Priding herself in serving five-star restaurant quality dishes, Jodi's entrees contain fresh ingredients that create delightful blend of flavors. Her Greek brown rice salad with shrimp is refreshing with a tasty dose of garlic, feta cheese, black olives and large pieces of shrimp. For breakfast, Jodi's provides ingredients for a delicious smoothie. Prices: Basic five-day program (five lunches or dinners, 10 snacks), $90; full five-day program (10 meals and more), $175. Delivery: call for rates. Where to order: vitalitygourmet.net or 949.770.0723. Home Bistro Based in Plattsburgh, N.Y., Home Bistro is the foodie's answer to pre-cooked, pre-packaged, delivered-to-your-door meals. With the culinary expertise of chefs Denis Chauvin, Scott Stillman and John Kwiatowski, Home Bistro sous vides (soo-veeds) its dishes to seal in texture and flavors. Sous vide (French for “under vacuum”) is a cutting-edge process that involves vacuum sealing the pre-cooked meals and flash freezing them at just the right time. When customers receive them, all they need to do is place the packages in simmering water, wait for about 10 minutes, then voila - exquisite meals at a moment's notice. Why it's healthy: Home Bistro has special menus for low-carb and low-fat dishes. Because of its flavor and richness, the cauliflower puree - the low-carb solution to mashed potatoes - had Nicole Ortiz fooled. The 37-year-old Costa Mesa resident was looking for a way to eat well, save time and maintain her slender figure. That's when she Googled places that deliver healthy food, and found Home Bistro. When she received her filet mignon with béarnaise sauce, a low-carb favorite, Nicole was not only impressed with the quality, texture and flavor of the once frozen entree but also by the cauliflower puree side dish (8g net carbs). “They tasted just like mashed potatoes,” Nicole says. “They were delicious.” Convenience factor: Ordering food on homebistro.com is like buying merchandise on any major retailer's website. All you need to do is choose individual meals, add them to your cart and check out with payment. The site shows a photo of each meal and describes how it’s prepared, what the carb count is (if it's low-carb) and what makes it low-fat. The meals arrive in insulated coolers with plenty of dry ice to ensure freshness. Delicious perks: For the chefs at Home Bistro, “It's always been about the food.” With an appetizer menu that features taste bud dreams like escargot in garlic sauce, duck confit ravioli and lobster in shrimp sauce, even the low-carb and low-fat dishes will have an epicurean salivating. Featured items include roasted rack of lamb with garlic sauce (10g net carbs), shrimp scampi (12g net carbs) and orange cashew shrimp with fried rice (low-fat). Home Bistro also offers a low-carb chocolate mousse that has about 6g net carbs per serving. Pricing: Low-carb dishes, $6.99-$17.99; low-fat, $6.99-$13.99. Delivery: add $14.95-$29.95 for standard shipping. Check website for express shipping rates. Where to order: homebistro.com or 800.628.5588 OCM |
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