Questions We’ve Heard a Few Times

We heart questions and comments.  Here are answers to some of the ones we’ve heard most often.

Where are your meals made?
Right here in the local DMV (DC, MD, VA) community.  Chantilly to be precise, within about an hour of all our delivery locations.

What’s your approach to sourcing animal proteins for your meals?
Check out our Real Life Sourcing approach.  In short, we’re using high quality sources, with a commitment to be transparent about the choices we make and to help our customers sort through all the food label fog out there by sharing with them what we’ve learned about sourcing.  See our DIY Guide for Buying Proteins for an example of this commitment in practice.

Can I pick the meals I want each week?
Yes and no.  We’re big believers in variety and simplicity both.  So whether you’re on one of our simple recurring plans or making a one-time order, we get things started each week with a fresh new menu lineup that’ll come your way without you having to do a thing.  Then we give you the keys to modify your order – swap out meals you don’t want or load up on those you can’t get enough of – if the fancy strikes you.

What if I’m allergic to (or just hate) certain ingredients, can you keep them out of my meals?
In plenty of cases yes.  We call these standing substitutions.  Choose from a list of commonly substituted ingredients (allergens, proteins, etc.) and we’ll swap out any meals featuring that item with another meal from the same delivery.  For finer grain ingredient screening on a week-to-week basis, use the Mod-Your-Menu tool on any placed order to dig out an ingredient you’re not crazy about.

How many people do your meals feed?
All of these are designed for one person. If you want the same thing for more than one person, just change the quantity when you checkout.

Do the meals come fresh or frozen?
They come fresh. None of the ingredients have been frozen, and we deliver twice a week so that they never have to be. Just warm them up in the oven (our recommendation) or microwave and you’re good to go.

Are your meal containers recyclable?
Yes.  Our little meal haulers are #5 plastics and rated microwave safe.  Most municipalities take #5′s in their recycling programs, but the most direct route we’ve found (i.e. where you know for sure where the recycled material ends up) is the Gimme 5 program from Preserve Products.  Short story, drop off containers at Whole Foods collection points and they’re on their way to a second life as a toothbrush or a dinner plate.

How did you determine portion sizes?
Our Standard portions start with four Zone blocks of protein per meal and build the rest of the meal around that.  XL portions add 50% more protein.  Our protein/portion sizes tend to run bigger than prepared meal providers with more of a weight-loss background.  So our standard size often equals a large from other providers.

Can you include information on ingredients, calories and macro-nutrient content of each meal?
Ingredients, yes.  You can find them on meal labels and in our Mod-Your-Menu tool so you have more info to consider if you want to customize your menu.  Additional nutritional info is a high-priority item that we’ve been working and are close to completing.  Still doing some quality testing on the system we put in place but hope to have the kinks worked out soon.  A related part of the meal experience, easy rating and review for each meal, is live on every meal label so we can keep the feedback and improvement flow going strong.

How do you determine what ingredients qualify as Paleo for the meals?
We tend to be on the “stricter” end of the paleo range simply so that you have a clear starting point from our meals and can riff around them to your situation or take on What’s Paleo.

So meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts. No dairy, grains, legumes, sweeteners (including honey or agave), no preservatives.

We take inspiration from lots of sources, including the writing and advice of folks like Chris Kresser, Robb Wolf, Kurt Harris, and Dallas and Melissa at Whole9.  Like many of these folks, we also believe in the constant evolution of healthy eating so are always looking at new ideas.  For more on how we think about food, check out our Food Philosophy.

What are the hours for pickup at delivery locations?

• Gym locations – pickup hours are whenever the gym you’re picking up from (reminder, membership is not a requirement) is open for business, which is typically when classes are happening. So your best bet is to check the class schedule at your box and time your pick up then.  You can find links to class schedules on our locations page.
• Office locations – only employees of that business can order and pickup food so pickup hours are whenever you have access to your office building as an employee.

How do I switch my pickup to a different gym location?
If you have a recurring order and want to pickup at a different gym location, email us and we’ll get you moved over.  Or if you’ve done one-time orders in the past, just set up a new order and set your gym delivery location to the new spot.  Pickup at office locations is for employees of that office only so orders can’t be switched to an office location unless you’re an employee of that business.  And a reminder that you don’t have to be a gym member to pickup from locations we deliver to.  You do however have to get familiar with the business hours at a gym (see our locations page for class schedules) as meals are only accessible only when the gym is open and that can vary pretty substantially.

Can you deliver to my gym?
If you’re in the DC/MD/VA area, we’d love to!  Shoot us an email if you’re interested and we’ll reach out to the owner at your place.

Have a question not answered here?
Drop us a line and we’ll get right back to you.