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Fresh N’ Lean Review – Our Honest Thoughts

The popularity of the plant-based diet has seen the number of vegan meal delivery service providers increasing.

In this review, we’re going to look at Fresh N’ Lean vegan meal delivery service (see also ‘Green Chef vs. Purple Carrot‘) and see how it compares to others on the market.

For me, the mark of a great meal delivery service is in providing convenience alongside delicious and healthy meals.

It has to be as easy to cook as it is to order and all of this is made even harder if you’re looking for a specific diet such as being vegan.

Read this review if you want to find out more about this tasty vegan meal delivery service (see also ‘Vegan Options at Panda Express‘).

What Is Fresh N’ Lean?

Fresh N’ Lean is a meal delivery service based out of California.

Founded by Laureen Asseo and her brother Thomas, they make pre-cooked, pre-prepared, pre-packaged, ready to go meals made from fresh and whole ingredients so that all you have to do is heat them up.

Fresh N’ Lean is a little different from some of the other vegan delivery options we’ve reviewed in the past. They are not an exclusively plant-based company, Fresh N’ Lean do cater for other diets.

They also send out ready meals with literally no prep needed whatsoever.

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​I chose the (Fresh N’ Lean) meal plan that I’m on because I wanted to slowly start eliminating meat and focus mainly on a pescatarian diet before going completely vegan.

​-​ Santia Deck, Professional WFLA Player

Other meal delivery services similar to Fresh n’ Lean:

​A ​vegan starter kit would also be perfect for beginners. You can read about the Nutriciously Vegan Starter Kit here and see if it’s good for you.

What’s On Fresh N’ Lean’s Menu?

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A Fresh N’ Lean meal prides to have the freshest, most organic ingredients on their menu.

They do not like to freeze or fry and believe in letting the whole foods speak for themselves. They do have a fairly static menu and believe that good simple cooking is all you need.

As part of this review, here’s a sampling of their plant-based menu as a taster. They have options for breakfast, breakfast lunch, lunch, and dinner.

Vegan Entrees

  • ​Lentils And Herb Roasted Potatoes With Green Beans
  • checkChickpeas With Sumac Carrots And Broccoli
  • checkThyme And Rosemary Stew With Quinoa
  • checkQuinoa And Veggie Bowl With Chipotle
  • checkSpinach Pesto Pasta
  • checkSweet And Spicy Zucchini With Brown Rice And Tofu
  • checkBalsamic Tofu With Brown Rice And Potato
  • ​Arroz Con Vegetales
  • checkMushroom Pasta With Beyond Patty®
  • checkBroccoli With Rice And Beans
  • checkBeyond Patty ® With Lemon Brussels Sprouts And Rice
  • checkSouthwest Chili With Roasted Cauliflower And 
  • checkBeyond Beef® Crumbles
  • checkCreamy Vegan Alfredo With Broccoli

How Does Fresh N’ Lean Compare To Other Vegan Meal ​Delivery Services?

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Let’s see how the Fresh N’ Lean meals compare with other vegan meal delivery service (see also ‘Gobble Review‘) options.

How Much Does It Cost?

When compared to other plant-based meal (see also ‘High-Calorie Plant-Based Meals‘) delivery service providers, Fresh N Lean is fairly affordable on a per meal basis.​ It’s also said to be cheaper if ​you ​opt to have a full menu for the week which includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner (or only two meals per day), you might need to pay cheaper.

When choosing the cheapest meal plan available and ignoring any delivery costs, it works out to be about $8 per meal. Which may sound like a lot, but is significantly cheaper than most.

With a meal delivery service (see also ‘ Urban Remedy Review: Should You Use It?’ ), you are paying for convenience and time saving. When you factor in the fact that every Fresh N Lean meal is prepped for you and all you have to do is chuck it in a microwave then its value in time-saving is by far and away one of the best on the market.

Is The Fresh N’ Lean Menu Flexible?

Fresh N Lean is fairly rigid with their menu. I find it strange, considering they cater for the widest range of different diets out of all the meal delivery service (see also ‘Is Daily Harvest Worth It?‘) providers we’ve reviewed. This also includes low carb or gluten-free diets.

But that is where the flexibility ends, in choosing your overall plan. From there, you can pick a few ingredients you don’t like, state any allergies you might have — but you pretty much get what you’re given.

One part of me likes it and it does force you to try new things, also the convenience of not having to pick from new menus every week is noted.

However, the other side of me does tire of the lack of choice.

How Does Fresh N’ Lean Taste?

Fresh N’ Lean meals taste healthy. These are simple, low-calorie meals designed to be nutritionally balanced.

It comes as no surprise that when compared to other meal delivery kits (see also ‘Terra’s Kitchen Review‘) that range in calories from 500-800, that these 300-500 ready meals are a little less exotic.

They do have some very enjoyable recipes and they’re certainly not bland, but it’s far from adventurous cuisine.

Dishes like the creamy alfredo or the sweet and spicy zucchini give insight into the kind of decadent meals you could be eating every day, flavor-forward and moreish.

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But the large majority of the meals are simply variations on steamed veg which is something I could do for myself.

Are The Meals Easy To Prepare?

Yes, Fresh N’ Lean meals are easy to prepare. In this category, Fresh N Lean is a clear winner, as they come completely pre-prepared.

All you have to do is heat up your vegan meals and you have a healthy ready to eat lunch and dinner. It couldn’t be made any easier bar them sending someone round with a fork and knife to cut it up and feed it to you.

Other plant-based delivery services will deliver you a recipe and the components may be pre-portioned, but you still have to do the prep and cooking.

This is still much more convenient than shopping and planning out the meals yourself, but Fresh N Lean has taken it to the next logical step.

Whole foods, fresh, prepared and delivered to your door.

Is Fresh N’ Lean Environmental Friendly?

Ordering from a meal delivery service might not be as bad for the environment as you might think. In fact, it may actually be better than shopping is [1].

But this doesn’t mean it isn’t without its faults. Like most other companies, Fresh N Lean claims to be thoughtful and responsible about its packaging but it still individually vacuum seals the ready meals in reams of plastic.

Seeing as each meal is ready to cook and isn’t comprised of all its separately wrapped components, there is a strong argument for the fact that Fresh N Lean is considerably more eco-friendly than other meal delivery services.

The lack of freezing and sourcing of only local produce is further evidence that the company is at least on the right path.

Fresh N’ Lean Pros And Cons

PROS

  • ​Each ​meal comes pre-prepared and all you have to do is heat it back up
  • checkNo frying and no freezing means you get the most nutrition possible from the whole food ingredients
  • checkCaters to a wide variety of different dietary requirements
  • checkDelivers nationwide with meal plans to serve your taste and budget
  • checkDelivery boxes are lined with ice packs to keep food fresh
  • checkA great way to ease yourself into a new diet
  • checkSimple no-fuss recipes that champion the ingredients

​CONS

  • ​There is a lack of flexibility in the meal choice
  • banThere is a similar lack of flexibility in the meal plan, cancellation and breaks

Is Fresh N’ Lean ​Worth Buying?

​Subscribing to meal delivery services (see also ‘8 Food Delivery Services To Support Weight Loss‘) is definitely convenient. The time you save from not having to plan meals or prep them at all is huge, and Fresh N Lean offers that convenience.

However, I wish they could be more flexible with the meal options. It would be a much engaging process if consumers are allowed to personalized their menu. I honestly find it weird that they don’t allow it. I find this lack of flexibility and variety of choice in the healthy meals ​limiting as a consumer.

​Also, while they clearly care about the health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet

(health benefits of Beeswax) [2], they also cater to other dietary choices such as paleo and keto and this lack of focus can make each seem a little lacking.

If you’re looking for healthy and convenient meals though, you should​ give ​Trifecta a try​. It’s another vegan meal service (see also ‘Territory Foods Review‘) that’s convenient and offers a lot more variety of meals specifically catered to plant-based nutrition.

​TrifectaBest Vegan Meal Delivery Services

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  • ​Offers large meal plan varieties – Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan, and Classic
  • check​Organic ingredients
  • check​Utilizes low carbon footprint
  • check​Delivers fully-cooked meals at your doorstep
  • checkGet the BEST PRICE until the end of [month]

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Jason Hughes
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