Fresh n’ Lean Review: Is the Pre-Made Meal Delivery Service Worth it?

Are you tired of grocery shopping but want to eat healthier? Prepared meal delivery might be the solution you’re looking for.

Fresh n’ Lean is a meal kit company that offers healthy meals crafted from high-quality ingredients that are all fully prepared and cooked before arriving at your door.

This Fresh n’ Lean review can help you decide if it’s a good fit for your household.

What Is Fresh n’ Lean?

Fresh n’ Lean is a meal delivery service offering heat and eat meals for many different special diets and dietary restrictions.

Their chef-curated menu features meals made from high-quality, organic ingredients, and they offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes. Meal choices include omnivorous and vegetarian meal plans.

In addition, they have add-ons like organic beef jerky and almond butter cups. 

The single-serving meals arrive fresh at your door and are fully cooked, so all you have to do is reheat them before eating.

How Does the Service Work?

To sign up for Fresh n’ Lean organic meal delivery, you start by choosing a meal plan. The Fresh n’ Lean menu includes:

• Protein+: high protein meals
• Keto: low carb, high-fat meals
• Paleo: meals free of grains, dairy, legumes, soy, and gluten
• Standard Vegan: no animal products
• Whole30 Approved: appropriate for people on the Whole30 program
• Low Carb Vegan: lower carb meals free of animal products
• Mediterranean Diet: rich in whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables, and olive oil
• Bulk: single-ingredient bulk trays so you can build your own meals (including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and meats)

After choosing your meal plan, you can select any combination of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for five or seven days.

Alternatively, you can make a la carte orders to choose a combination of meals or meal prep ingredients. 

You can even add allergies and food preferences to help the Fresh n’ Lean team choose the meals that are best for you.

Then, you can add optional snacks. 

While you can’t choose your meals with your first order (unless you’re ordering a la carte or bulk), subsequent deliveries provide customization options.

Fresh n’ Lean is a subscription-based service, so you’ll be billed and shipped meals weekly unless you skip a week or cancel your subscription. 

It’s easy to do either of these online, so there is no need to contact customer service.

How Much Does Fresh n’ Lean Cost?

Fresh n’ Lean prices start at $10.32 per meal, but the per-serving price changes depending on how many meals you order each week and which types of meals you order.

For example, breakfast is less expensive than lunch and dinner. 

Shipping is free, and Fresh n’ Lean may periodically offer deals for new members.

A la carte or bulk orders require an $85 minimum, and the cost of add-on snacks varies.

*Right now through January 13th, you can get 25% off your order with Fresh N’ Lean!

My Experience Using the Service

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with Fresh n’ Lean. I chose the keto meal plan with five breakfasts as well as five lunch and dinner recipes. 

In addition, I excluded bell pepper and olives as a personal preference since I dislike olives and chunks of bell pepper in my food. 

Here’s what I received:

• 5x Ground Beef Frittata with Asparagus and Mushrooms
• 2x Ultimate Bison Burger
• 1x Beef Stroganoff
• 1x Roasted Turkey Patty
• 1x Curry Roasted Chicken Thigh

My meal arrived with several reusable ice packs, and the trays were also recyclable. It seemed fairly eco-friendly to me.

The first meal I tried was the Ultimate Bison Burger. I reheated it on the stovetop. Unfortunately, the included cheese cooked away, so I had to add another slice.

Nevertheless, the burger was outstanding, and the side dish of kale and squash was delicious as well. I’m really glad my box contained two of these.

*Related: Are you looking for a more robust meal delivery service? Take our free quiz to identify the best choice for your home.

Next, I tried the frittata. I reheated this one in the microwave and slathered it in hot sauce. It was very good, but it didn’t look that appetizing.

Finally, I tried the Beef Stroganoff. I thought the flavors and textures of this dish were fantastic, but again, it didn’t look like it would taste that great.

Overall, I enjoyed Fresh n’ Lean and am looking forward to trying the rest of my meals. It was nice to have quick meals in the fridge to pull out for an easy lunch.

How Easy are Fresh n’ Lean Meal Kits to Prepare?

Fresh n’ Lean meals are easy to prepare since they’re premade meals. There are no supporting materials except for the instructions listed on each individual package.

You can reheat your Fresh n’ Lean meals using a stovetop, oven, microwave, or air fryer. 

If you use the microwave, all you have to do is pierce the film and microwave for two to three minutes (or slightly longer if you froze the meal). 

To reheat using your stovetop, oven, or air fryer, you’ll have to remove the food from the tray.

Fresh n’ Lean recommends reheating using methods other than the microwave to maximize the texture and taste of the food. Avoiding this method also prevents uneven heating.

In my experience, prep time for Fresh n’ Lean meals took no longer than ten minutes. This even holds true when reheating using the stovetop.

Who Should Use Fresh n’ Lean?

Here’s who this meal kit delivery service would be a good fit for.

Cooking for One or Two People

Fresh n’ Lean’s ready-to-make meals are a great fit for small households of one or two people. 

The nutritionally balanced meals are made with fresh ingredients. They are a good alternative to cooking small meals each day.

Read our guide on the top one person meal kits for other choices.

Busy Families

Fresh n’ Lean is an excellent fit for busy families, especially since you can make orders as large as you want with the a la carte option. 

The meals reheat quickly and are made with high-quality ingredients. They’re great to have on hand for work lunches, busy evenings, or days when you don’t feel like cooking.

People Who Follow Specialty Diets

Finally, Fresh n’ Lean is a great fit for health-conscious people who follow specialty diets or who have specific dietary needs. 

Their kitchen is 100 percent gluten-free, and they also offer some meal plans for vegans and vegetarians.

They even offer meals that are compliant with some other strict diets, like paleo, Whole30, and keto. This makes it one of the top prepared meal services for healthy living.

Who Shouldn’t Use the Service?

On the other hand, here’s who may benefit from other meal delivery kits.

People Who Want to Cook Fresh Meals

If you want to cook your meals, you should look into other meal kits. All Fresh N’ Lean meals are fully assembled, cooked, and only need to be reheated. There’s no cooking required.

Large Families

Larger families may have difficulty using Fresh n’ Lean because of the price and the lack of more kid-friendly options.

A more traditional meal kit company that focuses on family-friendly options might be a better fit for larger families.

Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of this meal delivery service.

Pros:

• Fully prepared meals that only need to be reheated
• Healthy food for a variety of dietary needs
• Several weekly meal options with an a la carte menu
• Offers meals and snacks
• Organic and high-quality ingredients

Cons:

• Expensive
• Some of the meals don’t look appetizing

If you need healthy, easy-to-prepare meals, Fresh n’ Lean is worth trying.

The Competition

Here’s how Fresh n’ Lean compares to other meal delivery subscription services.

Trifecta

Trifecta is probably Fresh n’ Lean’s closest competitor. Both of these meal kit services provide fresh, fully-prepared meals that are made from high-quality meats and organic produce. 

They both offer a variety of menu options for specialty diets, including vegan, keto, and paleo meal delivery. Plus, they both have a la carte options.

Trifecta’s prices are slightly higher than Fresh n’ Lean, but you may want to consider trying both services and then choosing your favorite if they seem like a good fit for you.

Read our Trifecta Meals review to learn more.

Hungryroot

Hungryroot is a service that combines healthy meal kit delivery and healthy grocery delivery. Using credits, you can choose any combination of meal kits or groceries each week. 

This service offers hundreds of recipes per week to choose from, and their variety of recipes includes keto, paleo, vegan, and more. 

Hungryroot’s prices vary, but their meal kits for four people start at about eight credits. Credits are approximately $2.12 each.

*Right now Frugal Rules readers can get 30% off Hungryroot orders off $99+, plus a FREE gift in every delivery for life.

Read our Hungryroot review to learn more.

Factor

Factor is a meal delivery service that specializes in healthy, heat and eat choices. The service is best for busy homes that want to stay fit or need keto or vegetable-based meals. 

Among the companies I’ve tested, Factor is among the most robust and flavorful. However, the company is best for single individuals or small homes. 

Factor meals are about the same price as Fresh n’ Lean. They also include a complementary 20 minute consultation with a registered dietitian when you start with the service.

*For a limited time only, Frugal Rules readers can get up to $276 off your first five boxes!

Read our review of Factor meals to learn more. 

Bottom Line

Fresh n’ Lean is an excellent option for healthy eating that will allow you to save time shopping, planning, and cooking. 

Their weekly menu offers a large variety of meal choices for several specialty diets, and their meals are made with organic ingredients and high-quality meats.

The service is expensive and starts at about $10 per meal. Nevertheless, they might be worth it if you need a convenient, healthy meal option.

What do you look for in a healthy meal service?