If you’ve made a commitment to yourself to eat healthier in January – but are lacking in motivation or time to prep, then a few healthy ready meals in the freezer can really help keep your resolution. “January is a time for fresh starts,” Lily Simpson, founder of the London-based meal delivery service Detox Kitchen, says. The brand – which is loved by Gwyneth Paltrow – has long been offering nutritionist-designed healthy meals to its clients, but this year is offering a big “Ultimate Reset” programme. “From gut health to skin glow, sleep to movement, this programme is about more than resolutions—it’s about transformation,” she adds.
But whether you do a big reset, or just want something in the freezer for when you’re home late and know the other option is reaching for a takeaway, we’ve taste-tested the best healthy ready meals available to keep your January healthy eating plans on track. As the transformation coach Rachael Sacerdoti says, “Healthy eating can be easy, delicious, and accessible to all, no matter how hectic life gets.” Especially if you have one of these at the ready…
Top nutrition and transformation coach Rachael Sacerdoti has transformed the lives of hundreds of clients with her weight loss programme Its So Simple; now she is launching a range of healthy ready meals based on tried and tested recipes her community love. Each meal has a macro break down for those following a programme, but with an emphasis on high protein to help hit fitness targets. Meals include the tempting sounding smoked turkey, garlic and herb crusted new potato or soy and miso tofu with green and egg noodles, along with treats like banana and pecan bake.
Detox Kitchen is the OG of delivered healthy food. This year, along with its three-day resets and fridge fills (where you order a week’s worth of food to literally fill your fridge with healthy meals), it is launching the Ultimate Rest – a 20-day programme that combines its chef-curated, nutritionist-approved meals with a programme of exercise and wellbeing exercises (even simple things like taking three deep breaths before you eat, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system), and a luxury gift bag worth over £400, including Pilates tools and a skincare treats. It says that the reset has proven itself: last year, 80% of participants achieved their health goals, and 99% would join again. The food is delicious -and crucially filling, with meals like chicken satay with brown rice and Xo tofu with quinoa or turkey meatballs and a daily treat – coconut truffle is one of the best.
Field Doctor teriyaki salmon ready meal
Field Doctor
There’s a lot of goodness going on in Field Doctor’s range of healthy ready meals designed by registered dietitian Sasha Watkins and Michelin trained chef Matt Williamson. Each meal has around 13 different plant types and a minimum of 160g vegetable for gut-health-boosting properties, the meals are all made with heart-boosting extra virgin olive oil and include wholegrains (for fibre) and absolutely no emulsifiers, additives or UPFs. They cater for a wide range of diets, including a low FODMAP. Along with being tasty, convenient healthy meals – think teriyaki salmon and rice or sweet potato and spinach korma – the brand is working with the NHS to help get staff better quality meals (particularly when kitchens are closed on night shifts) and has recently won a Innovate UK Grant to develop a range of meals and programme of care for breast cancer survivors.
The Prep’d protein Firecracker Chicken ready meal
Prep’d
Created for gym bunnies or bros on the go, these ready meals are protein heavy (to help with muscle gains and prevent hunger pangs) with dishes including like Chipotle Beef Chilli, or Firecracker Chicken with rice which has 36k of protein – more flavours are coming soon – all are made with premium British & Irish meat, supporting British & Irish farmers. All the meals are macro checked (you can scan your barcode into MyFitnessPal), and the brand has a lovely charity initiative – so far nearly 7,000 meals donated to the food charity The Bread and Butter Thing.
COOK has a selection of low calorie ready meals that sound much more exciting than usual diet food – think Moroccan spiced lamb tagine or Spanish bean stew; the calories are clearly marked, they taste as good as the rest of the range, and helpfully come in 1, 2 or four person sized meals – meaning you don’t have to cook other meals for the rest of your gang.
HEALTHY SNACKS, TRIED AND TESTED
Big in South Africa, and only just really making its way over here is the idea of snacking on a stick of beef; but new brand ROAM is on a mission to help us ditch the protein bars – and all the UPFs in them – and get our protein from grass-fed beef bars and bites. Delicious flavours, including chilli and salt and pepper and porcini, they are easy to chuck in a bag and eat on the run.
Feja bone broth
Feja
I’ve swapped a mid afternoon cup of tea for a warming mug of chicken broth – and I am feeling the benefits of a protein hit, combined with a shot of collagen to help my skin and nails.
For when you need a sweet hit, grab a sachet of chocolate-flavoured ultra-clean bone broth combined with coconut extract to help control blood sugars and nix cravings.
Welleco Evening Elixir
Welleco
Try this 13-calorie hot chocolate before bed, made from organic, fairly traded cocoa beans, acerola cherry Powder, chamomile flowers and Shiitake mushrooms and which boosts skin collagen formation, has antioxidant effects and contains magnesium to help you sleep.
