Anyone tried Healthy Chef Creations?
 

Hi! Just wondered if anyone had tried this service. The pricing is in-line with the other "fresh" meal delivery services, but their meals are organic/hormone/antibiotic free (this is the only service I've found that offers this so far).

Any experience would be greatly appreciated!

PS/FYI -- I did use the 3 hour diet, and while I lost weight, I started to get sick of the processed foods (i.e. breakfast meats clearly had preservatives, etc). Overall, the meals weren't bad...I just want the organic stuff.

I've looked at their website many times :T But I thought they were too expensive. For example, one serving of the grilled vegetable dinner costs $36. :( I also wish there was a good organic service, but I have to be able to eat and pay the electric bill :lol:

Healthy Chef Creations
 

I know what you mean! I think you may have mis-read though, because breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack are supposed to be $36/day. I think if you buy a la carte, it can be more expensive, but the daily packages are not quite as bad. Also, you can do just lunch & dinner for $26/day.

Since we just cook for 2 at home, we figured that $30 - $40/day (if I didn't buy other snacks for me) is the same or less than we'd pay if I cooked all of my own meals...of course, maybe we just spend a lot of money on food, but despite the high daily cost, it didn't seem crazy when I started to do the math.

I think I'm going to try it...there are no minimums, so I figure doing it for a week or two won't hurt the checkbook that badly.

Ooh, you're right! That is much better :)

Please let us know what you think after you try it :)

Yes, I love it.

I am in my second week and I have lost 8lbs. I ordered the regular portion because the calories and fat on the regular portion is still low and since the price is the same it didn't make much sense to me.
I do the full plan with combo meals. I spend around $400 a week((which includes $300 in food and $100 in shipping since I live outside of Fl.) but that is everything for me. I don't have to do any grocery shopping at all because it includes everything with sides you get (fruits, vegetables and dairy, etc). I also order the spa enegry shake which I drink in the morning before I work out.
It is expensive but this is the best I have felt in a longtime. I have so much energy and even my mood has improved. :D

I had looked at HCC a while back, but the price was prohibitive. More than 250 per week, and they expect you to tip drivers--which the other plans do not. So, that's more than a $100 difference with, say Diet To go.

I'd love to get organic, but $1,000 bucks a month for just me (not counting hubby's food) is way too much.

I didn't like Bistro MD. I hated the boil bags (water often leaked in) and I often microwaved. I didn't like the excessive amount of chicken, either. The beef and pork dishes were nasty. (Oh, and the chicken was injected with something, if I remember reading the menu correctly.)

Overall, not pleased with them.

I am fine with the DTG vegetarian, except I have to make so many substitutions, cause I don't like EVERYTHING. But the fajita omelets are fab with a little salsa and I love artichokes, so that's one of my fave breakfasts. That and the apple pancakes. Yum.

I think I'll keep my fingers crossed that some healthy cooking entrepreneur in my area will decide to give it a go and offer something affordable. I'll happily pick it up myself if it'll save me $16 to $20 bucks a week in deliveries plus tips.

Mir

Healthy Chef Creations
 

Hi everyone! I'm new to 3FC and looking for info on Healthy Chef Creations. I've read the posts in this thread and I'm wondering if those of you trying it can give us an update? I've ordered a week of the lunch and dinner ala carte meals and if I like them, I may try the full diet. I think it's expensive, but if it works it will be worth it (and much cheaper than full body liposuction - LOL!)

Good luck to all!

Cathy

I'm giving it a try
 

Thanks drlynn50! I've decided to give the enlighten program a shot and so far I love it. I've only been doing it for three days and the food is absolutely delicious. I also previously ordered a la carte for a week and I agree with you about the hummus - yum! The regular portions were large, as you mentioned, but I wasn't disciplined enough to divide them. I also didn't like that lack of nutrition info. I really like the enlighten program but the cost will keep me from doing it long-term. I signed up for 30 days and if I'm successful I may do another 30 days. After that I'm thinking I will try to cook healthier or maybe order a la carte again.

Thanks again for the info. Good luck to you!

Cathy

A True Treasure! I Love Healthy Chef Creations
 

I have received several orders & plan on continuing. The meals have been so delicious, wonderfully prepared & full of variety. Every week, I am truly surprised:). I love the fact that they use all organic ingredients. Also, customer service has been excellent. This is a true treasure found & highly recommend Healthy Chef Creations!:carrot:

I have been using HCC for almost 3 months now, and I love it. It may be a little expensive, but the convenience is worth the money. I don't even have to think about food shopping or portion size which is really helpful to me. For a meal delivery service, I can't believe how fresh the food is. It is important for me to eat organic, but I often struggle finding organic ingredients and I was running from store to store to gather everything! It's nice to know that someone else is running around for me, and all I have to do is eat :-)

Love Healthy Chef Creations! It is expensive, but so good annd so easy. I've been getting lunches and dinners for most of this year (since Jan).

Hello: Just completed my first day of health chef creations and the food was really delicious, much better than BistroMD. I signed up for four weeks and if the food continues to be a tasty as today, I will probably continue.

I've heard many great things about them, but I haven't had the opportunity to try them out yet.

I'm starting this diet tomorrow (just received the big box with the first week's meals).

I'm excited - the menus look great and this diet has everything I want and need.

I'll try to update to give folks who may be interested in this program and idea what it's like.

Pros
+ fresh meals (unfrozen, fresh lettuce, etc...)
+ lots of options and customization possible
+ seems to have a huge focus on eating "healthy", organic, and improving your nutrition, not just weight loss
+ the food is not huge portion wise, but it looks like it can easily take me through a day without crisis (we shall see) because it includes extras like health drinks, snacks, and desserts. I was worried, because I'm pretty tall/big naturally and I picked the lower calorie option by mistake so I'm hoping it's enough.

Cons
- expensive

Just wanted to follow up on my post above. My order was for 2 weeks to see if I like the service. Just finished my 3rd day. It's early, but I'm very happy with the food so far. Next I need to see continued effect on my weight (already see some but I'm thinking it's mostly a mis-weigh when I started), and then I'm definitely re-ordering as soon as possible.

I've put pics of a days worth of meals on the blog linked in my profile. Apologies in advance for the picture quality. Photography is definitely not my forte. I'll try to continue to post some other meals next week. I know for myself, I always want to see what the real stuff looks like unpacked and in real portions, not the slickly presented sample meals, so hopefully this will help someone considering this plan.

To add to the comments about price... I'm less than thrilled about the price, but a couple things to mention. A poster mentioned that you have to tip drivers. That post is a few years old and I believe that must have changed as there was no opportunity to tip for me. Also, of course there was a coupon code that gave me a small discount, and the first delivery came with another discount code. I'd suggest if someone wants to save a bit more on top of that, they should go with the 5-day plan (cook or eat out on weekends).

I would love to try this, especially during a busy time of my life. Do they have a low carb meals option?

ddovii - As you get more comfortable with HCC, you can reduce the price somewhat by going to a just lunch/dinner plan. That's all I've done from the start - and then I just have greek yogurt/orange juice every morning. I also do the 5 day "hot deal" plan. That gives you a bit more flexibility as well for other types of treats. I'm not sure how much the "everything" diet plan costs, but just lunch/dinner has got to be cheaper. Also, I noticed on your blog that you were struggling with which calorie level to do - I'd definitely recommend the higher one - I think the lower one is intended for 120 pound women who are looking to stay there.

Lyn - most of the HCC meals are quite low carb (not ideal protein or atkins NO carb), but in my mind a balanced low carb approach. Here's a sampling of carbs from a recent week (I think this is just for the entree part of the meal, but I could be wrong): Lunch - 3g, 3g, 9g. Dinner - 1g, 12g ,11g, 13g.
Dinners also usually include 2 sides - one starchy veggie and one non-starchy veggie.

I'm looking forward to more conversation about HCC meals with you all.

ilbnej,

Thanks, that's great advice.
One of the things I really like about this diet is it doesn't really feel like a diet, just good food and convenience. It seems like something I could continue for weight "maintenance" really easily after I lose the weight without feeling like I'm torturing myself. Just the lunch and dinner for 5 days would be perfect.

I agree with this 100% - I like to think that one of the reasons it makes eating less calories less of a torture is that the food, for every calorie you get, is filled with the nutrition you need, so you don't have lingering hunger that is really you wanting more of a particular vitamin or protein or whatever - because you're getting what you need already.

I have never eaten so well in my life!

I have ordered from Healthy Chef Creations a few times and have to say, I love it! The food is always fresh and tasty, there is a lot of variety AND it is organic. I also love that it saves me a ton of time shopping, cooking and cleaning. Pricing is reasonable considering all that...I think it was $250 for all meals for the week.

Beware
 

This used to be a great company serving great food. Now it's garbage. I was a happy regular customer for three years, spending many thousands of dollars. In 2013 HCC raised prices twice. Then in December 2013 the company changed its packaging -- now fresh meals arrive frozen and inedible in winter and hot and spoiled in summer. Menu item descriptions are no longer inaccurate. The (new?) general manager doesn't seem to give a damn about customers, customer service or the fact that his cooks are sending out raw chicken. He definitely isn't interested in refunding your money for these mistakes. It's been nearly six weeks since my request to have four rotten lunches refunded, and I'm still waiting. Good luck trying to reach him -- he's doing everything he can to avoid you, including explicitly ignoring your preferred means of communication. ("Please email me, do not telephone as I'm unreachable" elicits a prompt call and no email.) Avoid this company at all costs.