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I'm trying out a local food delivery service - Good Measure Meals. I've been on Bistro MD a couple times before but typically after ~3 mos I'd get tired and drop the plan (not necessarily the diet, just the food delivery). Overall I felt BMD just had too much spinach and quinoa - I don't think of myself as a picky eater but those are two things I really can't stand.
The other main switch is their meals are never frozen - so some of the meals are fresh salads, etc, and it LOOKS like, based on their online menu, there is far less spinach, so I'm very hopeful. I also don't have to pay a delivery fee or worry about getting home in time to meet the delivery man since I can pick them up literally a block from my house twice a week. We shall see how it goes!
I don't expect many people on here have tried it since it's local to Georgia, but thought if anyone were interested I'd keep a bit of a summary here on how my first couple weeks go. I ordered the 5-day 1200-calorie plan to start off (to make sure I don't hate the food), but I'll probably switch it to the 7-day plan next week if the first couple days go well.
I picked up my first meals yesterday - they were well-packaged and no larger than a large carryout order at a restaurant, which was nice since I wasn't looking forward to carrying a bulky box out to my car. Each meal was also clearly labeled with a day and mealtime on the meal itself (Tuesday - Breakfast, etc), so it was easy to tell which was which, rather than having to match each meal to a menu and label it myself.
For breakfast this morning, I had "Whole Grain Date Pancakes made with Cinnamon and Applesauce aside Chicken Sausage Patties. Smart Balance Spread." I popped it all on a plate (since I've heard the containers are microwavable but sometimes leave an odd 'taste' to the food) and microwaved for 1 minute. The pancakes were soft, and sweet, overall very tasty with just the butter spread. I didn't miss the lack of syrup, even though I'm usually a bit of a syrup fiend. The sausage patties were also tasty, no complaints. I would happily eat this meal again.
I ate breakfast around 8:15am and was hungry again by 12:30pm, so I got out lunch. Today, it was "Curry Chicken Salad with Couscous aside Fresh Baby Carrots and House-made Red Pepper Hummus." I decided to eat it cold, since I typically prefer chicken salad and hummus cold. The chicken salad was somewhat bland - I'm probably used to fatty versions that are heavy on mayonnaise, but it didn't have much natural flavor. It wasn't off-putting, but also not very savory. Next time I'll probably try adding a little salt or other seasoning. The hummus was very good - I'm not usually a huge fan of raw carrots, but with the hummus as dip I ate them all and then finished off the hummus with a spoon. Overall, lunch was probably my least favorite meal of the day, but I would eat it again.
Unfortunately, I started feeling a little hungry by 4pm. I wasn't starving or miserable, just a little peckish, but by the time I got home at 6pm I decided it was time for dinner. Dinner was "Salmon and Potato Hash with the flavors of Lemon and Dill aside Red Cabbage and Apples." This was probably my favorite meal of the day, possibly because I had low expectations. I wasn't sure what to expect from "salmon and potato hash", but it had a mild salmon flavor, a slightly creamy texture with medium pieces of salmon and potato, and was fantastic warm. I really enjoyed it and hope it comes again. The red cabbage and apple mix I was also dubious about - I don't typically like red cabbage, and I couldn't see any apples. I tasted it hesitantly, and was pleasantly surprised. The cabbage had been cooked somewhat to give it a nice texture and there was a taste of sweet apples with a mild underlying cabbage flavor. I ate the cabbage/apple mixture cold. The amount of food for dinner was also very satisfying, so I'm expecting I'll feel full for a bit longer than lunch.
Overall, the first day was a success for me. I'd say I'm enjoying the meals so far at least as much as Bistro MD, with the added bonus that some items are cold and some hot. Also, perhaps because they're only refrigerated and not frozen, the reheated items seem more evenly heated and appealing. I'm a big consumer of frozen dinners but the difference between fresh / frozen I noticed today is enough to make me reconsider.
One downside of Good Measure Meals compared to Bistro MD is the meals don't come with individual preparation instructions - they're fridge temp and it's up to you to figure out how long to heat it or if it would be better cold. Generic instructions on the menu tell you to separate food items which need heating from those which don't, and then heat 1-3 minutes as desired. I have a pretty powerful microwave so 1 min has been plenty so far.
Now, I may not be a culinary master, but sometimes it's not apparent to me what needs to be heated and what should be eaten cold. Breakfast was pretty clear - hot pancakes and sausage. Lunch was chicken curry with carrots and hummus. The carrots and hummus seemed clear cold would be fine but the curry chicken salad I wasn't sure - I finally decided just to eat it cold and it was ok like that; I don't know if it would have been better warm. Dinner I actually took a small bit of the salmon-potato hash and red cabbage/apple mix and heated it up to try it. Turns out the hash, while tasty cold, was even better warm, but the red cabbage/apple mix was better cold.
I suppose a little trial and error never killed anyone, and what I DO like is not everything is hot - it's nice to have a chilled veggie or fruit side sometimes and made the meals seem a little more diverse to me.
Based on the meals from today alone, I went ahead and upgraded my plan next week to a 7-day package, and if the next couple weeks continue in this vein I may seriously consider the 4-week plan which has a slight price cut.
Lost 2 pounds this first week on the program (184-182)! Pretty pleased with the results so far, and still happy with the food.
Unfortunately this first week I only ordered 5 days of food, so tomorrow and Monday I have to prepare my own food (boo...), but starting next week I'll be getting 7 days a week!
I wasn't a huge fan of the pureed cauliflower side (seemed a little bland), but otherwise the food continues to be excellent. I would have a hard time going back to Lean Cuisines for dinner...
Ok, been gone a while, but I've been eating Good Measure this week too and am happy to report, I'm still really loving it. The only thing I haven't loved was a butternut squash soup that I found a bit bland (also, I'm not typically a squash soup fan). Everything else has been good to amazing.
I'm really just kind of delighted with how good it is. I keep expecting to get something I dislike, but it all is flavored so well. Right now I'm eating baby lima beans that are soft and buttery and delicious (haven't tried the rest of the meal yet). Lunch was a spinach quiche that I was skeptical of because of my dislike of spinach... but it was really damn tasty. There was quite a lot of spinach, and still it was very good and flavorful, not just mouthfuls of spinach.
I have never liked cooking (I'm actually moving into an apartment without an oven or stove since I never use them), and I think I'm just going to stay on this meal plan forever. After I get down to goal I may up it to their 1700 calorie plan for maintenance, or just supplement with snacks, but... I really like the food and convenience.
Other highlights... There was a steak sandwich for lunch earlier this week that was amazingly good. The bun was packed separately in a baggie, so I heated up the steak, popped it on the fresh bun, and mm. Had a side that was good too, but I forget, probably a veggie.
Also the breakfasts are consistently awesome - one unique one was a "make your own parfait" a few days ago. Came with vanilla Greek yogurt, fruit compote, and some mixed nuts and granola. So good. Even the eggs are pretty good (not amazing, but good). I don't know how you make a reheated egg good.
Ok, I'm going to finish my dinner now and stop obsessing about food, but my main point is, if you're considering meal delivery and live in Atlanta, try Good Measure. At least for 5 days. I don't think there's any chance you'll completely hate it.
I think this is the best I've eaten (healthwise and flavorwise) in as long as I can remember. I'm starting to feel like a bit of a silly fangirl being so positive, but I just really like and look forward to the food. I don't even bother to look ahead to the menu any more to see if anything seems unappealing because I have faith I'm going to like it, whether I think I will or not based on the name.
And! One more key thing - I am losing weight. Even though I haven't been 100% on plan (my workplace had insane amount of snacks this week. It was pretty bad. Donuts, cakes, candy, guacamole, chips, beer, literally 6 feet from my desk every day.) Despite some indulgence, I'm still down a pound this week (and two pounds the week before), so I'm pretty pleased about that.
As for hunger - I'm hungrier in the mornings when I wake up. I think this is part because I'm eating dinner earlier the night before and not snacking after and part because I am usually pretty excited about whatever breakfast is. At first it worried me, but overall I seem to get hungry around 8-9am, 12:30ish, and 6ish. I'm a bit of a night owl and even at 11 or midnight, I'm not hungry, so it seems to be working out.
I'm also worried I'm this excited about food - but I guess at least it's healthy food, and clearly portion-controlled, so I suppose there's no harm in it.
Good Measure Meals Anyone?
