[PrincessDietMuch]

I am new and first wanted to say that I absolutely love your site and your board! You guys are so real and honest and have probably helped countless people out there (and Noodlebean you are adorable)! I love reading your blogs!

I have spent hours researching the various meal delivery plans because I want a good one that I can somehow afford (no small task considering these companies want your first born to sign up). I've been on Jenny Craig, but to be honest I am beyond bored with that food and just can't bring myself to go back. Every time I have ever gained a few pounds I go back to Jenny Craig and spend my life savings, but the food hardly changes and it's difficult to eat the same 8 favorites over and over again (I'm also not thrilled with all the sugars and preservatives). I don't want to just lose weight. I would also like to feel that I am eating healthy if I can swing it.

After looking at Pur Foods, Deliciously Yours, Chefs Diet, Bistro MD, Nutrisystem, The Seattle one (can't think of the name now) and revisiting Jenny Crag, I am thisclose to ordering from E-Diets for their Deliciously Yours program (or maybe Pur Foods). Chefs Diet has the most mouth watering selection I have ever seen in my life and caters to a huge celebrity clientele but they want over $1000.00 a month (that's what it works out to). If I have done my math right, Bistro MD works out to be $800.00 a month if you want 7 days with snacks which I do. That was disappointing to learn so I went to have a look at the Pur Foods and Deliciously Yours. They would be about what I paid for Jenny Craig (which is still a lot, but at least workable).

My question is this. I noticed that Noodelbean spoke of the food spoiling and that is what scares me most. I am a little paranoid about things like food poisoning as have had breast cancer so my immune system is not the greatest (I have noticed that I do not fight things off like I used to). This was my fear about any fresh food diet that is delivered to your door. At least with frozen you can pretty much know if you have a problem when it comes defrosted. Do the side dishes regularly spoil still? When you are hungry and want to have everything prepared, you don't want to have to buy and make side dishes. The other thing that freaked me out is that they do not vacuum pack (they tell you this like that's a good thing, but vacuum packing makes things stay fresher longer). If they do not vacuum pack and they use no preservatives, how on earth can the food last past a week like that let alone two weeks?

Is Pur better than Deliciously Yours in this respect (I read that they come from the same company, but I wondered if one was less likely to spoil than the other plan)? I really wanted Bistro but I honestly cannot afford $800.00 a month for food and if I only do weeks and have weekends off, I will be derailed again. Any suggestions? Can Pur Foods or Deliciously Yours deliver each week instead of every two weeks because of spoilage? I love the idea of fresh food, but I don't want bacterial issues from it.

Sorry for the long post. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I plan to make a decision early this week and order one of or the other. Thank you for listening!

[YouWhoLouWho]

I had one meal that looked bad from Pur foods. They refunded my money and I now toss my meals in the freezer when I get them, unless it is going to be consumed in the next day or two or includes lettuce or something that can't be frozen. Deliveries are once a week so unless you get off schedule it won't be in your fridge for two weeks.

[PrincessDietMuch]

Oh wow thank you for that tip. I never even though of freezing the meals when I got them!

I went to the Pur Foods and Deliciously Yours sites again just now (I think I am going to drive my husband crazy with all this diet talk until I make a decision as to where I am going) and I noticed that Pur Foods doesn't have as much of a selection as Deliciously Yours. Is the service still awful at Deliciously Yours do you know? Could I freeze those foods too? Do they also deliver once a week or is it only the Pur Foods version (actually that made me feel better because I can see storing a week's worth of fresh food but not two weeks). Once you figure the delivery time in there and the fact that it's been sitting on a truck all day, I would be leery of two weeks of food.

I guess if you freeze it you have to figure out how long to zap it, but that's a better problem than spoiled food. Thank you for that. I really appreciate it. I am so wishing that Bistro MD was not so expensive! A part of me wants to sign up for that one, but that's just too much for me (and I was not impressed by that odd little "My Night" they have every week where they do not provide you with a meal). I like that it's frozen and gourmet so I would not have to worry about spoilage, however I am not thrilled with the idea of having to go to the grocery store and get 4 meals and spend more money (that's an odd clause and could derail those of us that need total structure to start).

I swear this stuff can be so confusing! Deliciously Yours seems to have the best looking menu next to Chef's Diet (which of course is out of the question). I must admit that even Bistro MD's food does not appear to be as good as Deliciously Yours although that could be just great pictures.

By the way, if I sign up for the three day sampler at Pur Foods, am I on the hook for more billings or do they just honorably hit you up for that one week? They also did not mention ice packs like the others do, but I assume ice packs are put into the coolers are they not?

In any event thank you so much for your help. I wish this stuff was just black and white! I am so glad I found this site!

[LaurenH]

I do the Pure Foods Fresh Start program and have been on it for (gulp) 9 months! Hard to believe. I've lost about 52 pounds so far. I absolutely love it. I imagine I would like the other programs too, though, and may try them at some point. The food at PFFS is nutritious and follows the glycemic index, which helps keep blood sugar levels stable. It tastes fresh to me, not at all like Lean Cuisine, etc. I like the fact that it doesn't contain a lot of chemicals and additives. Their menu is pretty varied for my purposes.

PFFS does include ice packs with the food, which comes in a big cooler each week. This time of year, the food sometimes freezes en route. (I live in Michigan). So I only order salads during the warmer months.

I've never had any problem with them overcharging me or forcing me to keep paying or whatever. The customer support people are delightful, but you have to call them; they rarely respond to email. They have given me refunds on meals where something went wrong -- for example, I ordered a couple of their cereals for breakfast a couple weeks ago, and whoever packed the order just threw the bags in with the rest of the food. As a result, the cereal turned into powder. When I called, they refunded me, no problem.

As far as I know, I've only once had something spoil -- it was a hard-boiled egg, which smelled off. They refunded me for that entire meal.

I've never gotten food poisoning from their meals, and after nine straight months, that seems like a pretty good trial run!

In any case, you can try these programs for just a short time and see if you like them. If not, then you can move on to something else. Good luck!

[PrincessDietMuch]

Lauren,

Thank you so much for your input. Actually it helped me to make a decision to try Pure Foods. I am a little nervous that I have called their customer service number listed on their web site for hours today trying to get in touch with someone and it's as if the phone is dead (no recording, nobody answers...nothing). I thought perhaps I was calling the wrong number so I looked on their site again and I do have the right one.

It's not easy trying to make a decision about this stuff because there is so much conflicting information out there, but this one sounds like the right one for me (the price is right and the food fresh without any junk in it). I love the fact that they make weekly deliveries (that changes everything because no way was I buying that fresh food will last two wees in your fridge). I'm not sure I understand why they don't vacuum pack when that guarantees freshness longer in foods and adds no preservatives or anything even remotely negative, but I guess that will just be one of those great mysteries.

The food looks wonderful and I like the fact that the breakfasts are not all artificially filled donuts and stuff (that kind of turned me off with Bistro as well as the price and the missing dinner per week). I have allergies to Aspartame and crap like that and like many people, I get headaches from it. That stuff is not good for you...never has been. I would rather limit my exposure to any of therm whether they be Splenda, Aspartame or that other one that starts with an a). I prefer real sugar in moderation. I also love love love the fact that you can pick squares of chocolate for dessert (how yummy)!

Oh well hopefully I will be able to get in touch with someone soon on their end. I'm pretty sure I will be going with this one. Thank you for that information! It's greatly appreciated!

P.S. My husband says if I like it, he may also join because he needs to lose about 25 pounds, so I may get a partner which will make it even better for me! He thinks the other programs are insanely priced and won't consider them.

[PrincessDietMuch]

Update:

I finally got through to Pure Foods (and they admit the number they have on their front page and pretty much all over the place is wrong)! I spoke to Sue who said she mentioned this to her tech people some time back so you can imagine all the people they must have lost as a result (especially since it has not been corrected....I almost gave up trying to reach them as well). The only reason I found the correct one is by looking at every page and at the bottom of one of them, it had a different number.

It was more expensive than I thought and that was because I have looked at so many the past few days that I got them confused with eDiets Deliciously Yours price of $159.60 delivered each week. She said that their program for 7 days delivered was over $180.00! That surprised me and took me aback for a moment (the reason I did not want to do Bistro mainly was the price which is $800.00 a month and this was coming dangerously close to that)! I gulped a little and she continued on with her sales pitch about the foods being better than Deliciously Yours and why (then she really threw me a bit by saying....I think theirs is frozen anyway). She was actually very sweet, but I was a little insulted there as she is not talking to a dumb consumer here. I know perfectly well that they make the food for eDiets and it is delivered fresh, not frozen and she had to be well aware of this as well. That was the second blow. The third (and the one I am trying to get over right now) is when I asked her what level of service this is shipped at. Is it overnight or second day. She said that it is shipped regular Fed Ex Ground! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even the color from my husbands face dropped when i told him that one.

So let me get this straight, they ship completely fresh food that has no preservatives and is not even vacuum packed for freshness to your home in a cooler with regular gel ice packs (not even dry ice which is the best for this type of thing) and it is shipped regular ground and can sit in a hot Fed Ex Drivers truck all day long till it's been delivered after all that? I can see why people have had issues because to me this is pure Russian Roulette at best (not to mention the non-airconditioned hubs where they sit as well)! I am so bummed right now! I want to order through them but that's crazy to me.

She offered me a 10% discount and said she would lock in that price for me for 6 months if I wanted and that I could cancel at any time so the cost would be $173.00 per week instead (still $60.00 more a month than eDiets) and I almost bit until she told me about their shipping). Now I don't know what the heck to do. I really wanted this program but that's insanity. It's a miracle they don't have even more problems really.

Jenny Craig ships my frozen food in dry ice and in summer, the dry ice is totally melted by the time I get it and they ship overnight! How in the heck is this going to even work in the summer? Oh man......

Back to the drawing board again (clenches fists)....

[PrincessDietMuch]

Wow this really is a bit of a ghost town. Oh well I guess you kinda talk to yourself here for the most part (it was worth a try anyway)!

I did go ahead and sign up today for Pure Foods Fresh Start after weighing everything carefully and realizing that with Bistro I would need to buy another 4 meals and they ship regular Fed Ex Ground too (sigh). I figured for the money, I will get fresher food that actually appealed to me more than any other food selection I have seen (and I have viewed many these past few days and nights). I even get squares of chocolate that sound so yummy! It's about $680.00 a month but at least that's workable for me (was spending $450.00 a month).

Good luck everyone and thanks to those two women who answered and tried to help me out. I greatly appreciated that very much!

Happy New Year! XOXO!

[LaurenH]

Good luck, Princess; glad you finally got through. For a company with as few internet smarts as Pure Foods, it is remarkable that they get new customers, isn't it? Sue is a gem, by the way; she's the real thing.

As for melted ice packs -- theirs have always arrived fully frozen at my doorstep. The cooler takes about 2 days to arrive. They use far less ice during the winter than they do in the summer, at least to Michigan.

I had one cooler go astray over the holidays, and the food arrived in 5 days. When I called them, they refunded my money for the entire shipment. Glitches do happen, but I've always had good satisfaction from their customer support team. For me, they've been a lifesaver.

By the way, I get a chocolate square for dessert four nights a week now, and their brownies the other three nights. (I was eating brownies every night, but they're higher in calories so I'm spacing them out now.) The brownies are best if you heat them in the microwave wrapped in a slightly damp paper towel for about 15 seconds.

I also supplement with a piece of fruit and a container of yogurt every day, though I didn't initially. You'll lose more quickly if you don't, but it helps me.

Hope you have a good experience with them. If not, there are plenty of other fish in the sea.

[PrincessDietMuch]

Yeah I'm pretty excited about trying this one (I get my food next Wednesday)! I think Sue is incredibly nice (and so is Craig). He was wonderful!

I was just a bit worried because Noodelbean (totally cute little name) mentioned getting vegetable side dishes from this diet that were off or had possibly gone bad hence the concerns about their shipping method in her blogs. I already ordered quite a few of those dark chocolate squares for the next few weeks (I love chocolate and love Ghiraredlli)! The only thing I am confused about is the Pomegranate Chocolate. The other chocolate lists as chocolate mint so you know they don't just give you a square of chocolate and a mint leaf (lol) so it must be mint chocolate and so forth. So does the Pomegranate chocolate mean they give you a pomegranate and a square of chocolate or is there a product that is literally called Pomegranate chocolate? I was cracking up even asking this, but I swear I am totally clueless on this one! The odd thing is that when I asked Craig about this when I was setting my account up, he wasn't so sure either so we both had a good laugh but still no answer.

Anyway the food looks amazing The only thing I wish we could do is order from the Deliciously Yours diet as well as the Pure Foods since they are both made in the same place (that would be a perfect selection because there are things from the eDiets version that I really wish were on this one (also Craig mentioned that he thinks they got all their problems squared away now over at eDiets).

I can't wait to try the banana pancakes, Fritatta and the breakfast with sweet potato's (sounds yummy)!

The nice thing about having all of these meal plans now available is that if you get sick of one, you can shift to another for a few months so that you don't get stagnant and still have portion controlled meals. I may try Deliciously Yours in a few months and even Bistro MD as well (it's so nice to have options instead of the same old Jenny Craig or Nutrisystems)!

Anyway we are having Lobster Tail for New Years Even here in a bit so I am totally splurging tonight (God I love Lobster)! Lobster, Asparagus, Baked Potato's, Crescent Rolls and Chocolate Cake for dessert (my last big blow out)! Oh and of course the Asti Spumante which I love love love (I think that stuff is just so awesome)! Hope you have a fabulous evening!

[YouWhoLouWho]

My shipments arrive in two days as well with the ice packs still frozen. I started with the 3 day trial then did 6 weeks of the 5 day program. Day six I dieted on my own and day seven I had a cheat day. I not too concerned about dropping weight fast..lol
I quit for the holidays and for vacation and have done better than I expected maintaining my weight loss so far. I have added in some exercise during this time
I signed up for another 6 weeks before Christmas (they had a 10% off deal) and got my first box today. So I am officially back on for another 6 weeks.
I like the brownies too Lauren! I warm them in the micro and have a cup of diet hot chocolate at night. Yum.
Princess- the chocolate with pomgranate is just a small square of chocolate with pomgranate bits in it. I prefer the mint one..lol
The "treats" are small but hey when you are dieting what can ya do? I am going to re-evaluate at the end of this 6 weeks and see what I want to do. Comtinue on , change companies, or diet on my own. Good luck with the plan!

[crenita]

Well I call myself a meal delivery veteran. I have been with 4 different companies and have seen the good and bad of all of them. They all have contributed to my success so far.
I am currently on Bistro's Biggest Loser plan... 5 day no snack and no breakfasts.
After trying all of them I do better with my own breakfast choices then what any of the companies provide. I am a big eggbeaters fan and use that with soy breakfast meats . I also recently tried the Vitamuffins ( 100 cal each) They are Wonderful.
The major problem I had with Ediets and Pure foods was I was just too hungry more time than I felt I should be. One thing that I found my body craves protein and neither provided enough protein to satisfy my hunger. Other than that the food with Pure food was great. Customer service was good and responsive. If I had a problem item they never hesitate to credit me.
They need better snacks though.
I tired the Diet to Go and I had no weight loss at all .Too much bread ......tastie but no weight loss.
I was hestiating to try Bistro but they had a special and I tried them and LOVED the food. When I wanted to reduce the cost they worked with me to find what would work for me and still let me lose weight. Also they introduced me to great snacks that I now order directly from another company.
I really like that the food is frozen so when I want to go out or have something for a meal that isn't Bistro no problem, the food is safely in the freezer. All vacuum sealed in food saver type , individually packed so the meat, and veggies are separate.
They use dry ice so no problem with disposal. I live in Florida and was concerned re the heat but NO problem never had food that arrived that wasn't solidly frozen.In fact I almost freeze my fingers on the food as I put it away. Have to put a glove on to put all that in the freezer. I have been with them since July. Also one big plus for me is they have a dietitian that you can communicate with directly for problems suggestions etc. She is great and has really given me good idea' and support when needed.
Good luck to all with your respective plans. I am sure you will find what works best for you and there is nothing that is easier than meal delivery to keep you focused and on plan...
I see lots of pounds flying away from all of us over this new year

[PrincessDietMuch]

Oh wow thanks for that Lou. It was killing me trying to figure out if I was going to be getting chocolate and a pomegranate or a piece of chocolate with Pomegranate in it (it sounds like it might be really delicious but I guess I will know soon enough...ordered like three of them my first week..lol)!

I got in on the 10% deal too otherwise I was a little spooked by the price but then they threw that in there and made it a better deal. I am so excited and can't wait to begin! For me it's not just about the weight loss but I want to feel healthy again. I think having all this fresh food that is portioned correctly is a great way to start! I'm going to keep some string cheese and apples around just in case I crash or feel weak.

I may actually try BistroMD in a few months so thanks for that insight Crenita! I actually prefer frozen for safety reasons so BistroMD will totally be the next stop I take if I begin to find this food is getting a bit stagnant. The only thing I will miss from Jenny Craig is those fabulous desserts (the cheesecakes were incredible)! Oh and the French Toast, Pot Stickers and Chicken fajita's were awesome!

Well here's crossing my fingers and hoping we all do well this year (it's a brand new year and a fresh new start)!

P.S. Thanks for the tips on the brownies guys. I ordered one of those for my first week to try (love brownies...sounds yummy)!

[chinchillables]

Originally Posted by PrincessDietMuch

I may actually try BistroMD in a few months so thanks for that insight Crenita! I actually prefer frozen for safety reasons so BistroMD will totally be the next stop I take if I begin to find this food is getting a bit stagnant.

you'll like it... trust me. ;-)