If I Had This Keto Meal Plan 5 Years Ago, I Might Still Be On Keto
I tried keto for three months back in 2017. I cut 10 pounds, leaned up, and felt constant energy every day. It was a daunting task to record every gram of carbs, fat, and protein—on top of total calories—for every single meal. And despite the benefits, it quickly turned from a lifestyle to a chore.
I never considered a pre-packaged meal service as an option, but if Eat to Evolve was around, I might have. Having keto friendly meals ready to go would have saved me time and money for all the Advil I bought just to alleviate my number-crunching headaches. Here’s what you need to know about Eat to Evolve.
What Is Eat to Evolve?
From a small kitchen in Kansas, Eat to Evolve entered the meal prep space in 2012. Their goal: to deliver fresh, prepackaged food to your door for convenience and healthy eating. Whether you want to build a bundle of 10, 14, or 20 meals, or shop a la carte for a specific dish, Eat to Evolve’s mission to put fresh and flavorful food on your table doesn’t change.
What’s Good About Eat to Evolve?
Enjoyable and tasty meal
With 25 different meal options, Eat to Evolve offers a good variety for keto meals. My 10-meal bundle included Tex Mex Steak and Chicken, Cracked Black Pepper Beef, Cajun Chicken Thighs, and Hearty Chicken Fried Cauli Rice (I actually had two of this one).
They were surprisingly well-seasoned compared to other pre-made meals I’ve tried and they weren’t stingy on the portions, especially for protein. I have to say these meals kept my portion control in check too—a common problem of mine—but they were filling enough that I avoided any late-night snacking.
Nutritional transparency
When you’re browsing in the a la carte section of Eat to Evolve’s website, it’s very easy to compare the nutritional information for each meal. Simply hover your mouse over the meal photo and a small chart with calories, protein, fat, and carbs breaks down the key macros of each meal.
For a more extensive breakdown, click the meal you want and the entire nutrition label is right there with all your info.
One downside: you can’t see the nutritional information when you’re building a meal bundle. To see this info, you have to view in the a la carte menu (but more on this below).
Well-packaged
I was surprised—and pleased—with how my 10-meal bundle arrived. After slicing off the tape, each meal was organized in layers with three large ice packs separating them. Vacuum-sealed tight, I was able to neatly stack these into my fridge without taking up too much space.
Easy to heat up
After a workout, these meals were a lifesaver. I was starving, tired, and had no desire to cook a full meal. All I did was take off the thin layer of film and placed the container in my microwave for 90 to 120 seconds (per Eat to Evolve’s recommendation). I let them cool and chowed down.
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What’s Not Good About Eat to Evolve?
Complex customization
I’ll start with some good news before the bad. Eat to Evolve’s website is easy to navigate and is fairly user friendly. Now to the not so good—customizing your meal plan.
I was looking specifically for keto meals and on the “Build your bundle” page, I wasn’t able to see which meals were keto friendly. However, on the “Shop a la carte” page, you can set the filter to keto (and also options like gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free if you wish).
What this means: You need to have two windows open to compare the keto-filtered meals on the “Shop a la carte” page to then build your meal plan on the “Build your bundle” page.” While it’s not the end of the world, it’s a pain in the ass, and a missing feature many of its competitor sites have.
Could do without the sauces
A personal opinion, yes, but some of the meals come with side sauces that I could have done without. For example, the Cajun chicken thighs meal comes with a hollandaise sauce that wasn’t my first choice. Maybe it’s my preference on sauce, or the fact I’m not much of a sauce guy, but it’s part of the overall package and it’s mostly empty calories. They don’t necessarily taste terrible, but they’re not additive either.
Price per meal
A 10-meal Eat to Evolve bundle costs $126, which landed at $143 after taxes and shipping were added in. That puts each meal at just under $15. Considering I spent $12 on a cocktail the other night, it isn’t unreasonable, but it’s not a standout value compared to other meal service plans. Most hit around the $12 to $16 per meal range, and Eat to Evolve’s doesn’t seem significantly better than those that cost a few dollars less per nosh.
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The Competition
There are so many meal services out there. One of the more popular ones is Trifecta and loads of fitness and nutrition influencers—along with some celebs—sponsor it. At $240 total—$16 per meal—the nutrition info is clear for every meal, but you can only pick meal plans (with Eat to Evolve you can pick individual meals).
Diet-to-Go totals $168, with a hefty tax that could vary from state to state. At $17 a meal, it’s an expensive option that doesn’t let you customize your first week. You can customize after that, but the “chef-prepared” meals are flash frozen so you lose that sense of freshness.
Factor 75 totals $139, putting each meal at $13. That’s if you add keto shakes to your plan (no shakes costs $109). Plenty of meal options to choose from, keto meals are clearly labeled on the site and the ordering process is super simple. One downside; you may be left hungry as these aren’t the most filling meals.
Looking at the cheapest per meal option, Fresh N’ Lean lands at $12 per meal and totals $167 (with added cost for additional snacks). With tons of meal options to choose from, you can mix and match with other plans if you aren’t strictly into keto and they offer some snack and meal add-ons for an additional cost.
The Bottom Line
Eat to Evolve is a good keto meal plan. Put simply, the food tastes good, meals are easy to store and heat up, and you know exactly what you’re getting when it comes to nutritional information. Customizing your plan is a pain, though, and while you’re not breaking the bank, you’re not getting any special deal either.
