I've had my share of taste testing a bajillion different supplements and brands and protein shakes and energy bars- the whole shabang. Everything now tastes the same to me. IF I were to need supplements at this point in time, it would be to support my current sport and goals. But I try to avoid this "blender" lifestyle like the plague.

I'm training again for another half marathon in March 2018 and I wanted to start off early on and be held more accountable. So I re-hired my #HippieTraining Coach Brian Wyatt (check out Brazen Race Series!) and I'm off and running on a program again, WOOHOO!

I'm trying long and hard to NOT focus on supplementation to help me with my program. I am focusing on better variety and nutrient dense meals that can keep me satisfied, full, and fueled for my current schedule and activity levels. So far it's been fun trying the different services and just in general, eating meals that I normally would not ever think to prepare for on my own.

Keep in mind, at all times- I am ALL about that colorful veggie life. I want all the nutrients and variety and hopefully flavor in these services. Because #ThatVeggieLyfe is a #GoodLife.

On the search for more vegetables in my life... <3

Background on my personal food choices (in the last few months prior to choosing the prepped food service option:

I am a pretty boring eater. I will slow cook meat (chicken or beef) with minimal ingredients. I will roast the same 3-5 vegetables- also, with minimal ingredients- and have grown bored of my own meals. I used to make quinoa or lentils or rice but even that has been getting boring.

More than boring and bland, it's the amount of time it takes to decide, shop, prep, cook, and clean everything that really got to me when I wanted to focus more on clients and work-related projects. Making food was just not as fun for me anymore. I was more likely to eat more junky food because I was so annoyed that I kept making the same things all the time (while at the same time not creative enough to try and make other types of meals).

I think I enjoy cooking more when it's more than just me; but either way, I still think my food is pretty BLAHHHH.

Enter Food Delivery Services galore!

Regarding MEAL KITS services versus PREPARED MEALS:

I prefer prepped meals for now. I cannot handle the prep and clean up I've been dealing with for years. I currently need/want this service because I would like to focus more on growing a business. I've searched through and prefer plant based (not necessarily vegetarian/vegan), hopefully organic, local(ish); but I have also considered and tried more popular services. I literally Googled "best food delivery services..." and I found an article similar to THIS, but now there are so many that the original list I went off of is now in interwebz cloud space amongst all 8 billion other "Best of..." blog articles.

These notes are (quite obvi) my biased opinion.

The taste tested services...

The food prep service I've been using the last couple months is called Kettlebell Kitchen and I think this is a referral link: https://refer.kettlebellkitchen.com/s/Samantha14 and If this does not give you a discount, try this coupon code: HolidayKBK20 (expires 1/31/2018)
I've also tried Freshly and it was good enough for convenience, although a little bland.
I am now waiting for my Daily Harvest order to come in next week. Most likely not sticking with this one- because a blender life is not a life for me.
My boyfriend currently uses ProTrain- Food for Fitness meals (so naturally I was "gifted" his leftover, untouched meals as he forgot to pause his subscription when going out of town). I really like what they offer and the variety so far. I had the impression it was literally just asparagus and chicken the whole week long but I think my Trainer bias took over and I assumed the worst possible (tasting) meals for weeks at a time so I never gave them the chance until now.
I've also tried Thistle (my roomate went out of town and I "had" to use up her untouched meals. They were just ok but maybe I didn't give it a long enough chance).

Other options are meal kits which you still prepare and cook (usually under 30 minutes) but may be good if you like cooking and the ingredients are all there for you instead of searching and shopping for them. Ones I've tried and liked are:

HelloFresh was fun to prep and cook when I had someone to cook for and eat with me.
Purple Carrot (the TB Performance Plan- although, I am now "banned" from associating with anything Tom Brady, as my (Raider Nation) boyfriend is completely disgusted with the guy- but I digress. What I liked about it was that it was plant based and included more adventurous meals for me than what I would ever imagine to cook for myself. Whatever.

I like that I've tried all these services, but now I'm trying to find more local versions of them and possibly cheaper AND just as good (we'll see). I got caught up in the pretty, well-designed websites and user-friendly processes that I lost my focus on my need for the service to be cost effective and tasty enough to deal with for a short while. I can only handle so many meal kit subscriptions at one time. Here are some ones I am looking into in the near future:

I hope this list and notes gives you a good idea on where to start at least. Check out their awesomely eye-catching websites (note: bells and whistles) and try them for yourselves :) most sites give you a coupon code for your first meals. I only have the one code for #1 KBK.

Blender life- is not a life for me...