*This post my include affiliate links that give me a limited referral reward and allow new customers to receive discounts*
Dinner. The most stressful word in my life.. or at least it was until recently.
I don't have children, so while some may laugh when I say I'm too busy to plan and cook dinner every night, hear me out. I'm a small business owner. At any given time I'm juggling the responsibilities of running my business, the paperwork, inventory, cleaning, and social media.. not to mention the 160 guests that I interact with and maintain contact with on a regular basis. This is before any errands, making time for the gym, house chores, or projects or let's be honest just "me time". On a normal day I leave the house around 8 and don't get home until 6:30 or 7. As of recent, we are remodeling a 1920's home too, so at this point the last thing I want to do is even THINK about dinner.
For months now I have bought ingredients that ended up half used or went bad and half of the week we ended up going out to eat which meant I was paying for groceries (that were mostly going bad) AND paying to go out to eat. I wanted something easier and on hand. Then one day my guest, Jennifer, suggested Tovala.
At this point the only meal prep services I had heard of were Hello Fresh or services where they sent you the ingredients but then you had to cook it. I loved the idea that Tovala was basically already done for you other than having to maybe add a sauce or top a protein with seasoning before putting it in the oven.
Tovala. How It Works.
You sign up on their website at Tovala.com to make an account, set up payment, and start picking out your meals for the week. If you decide in the future you want to try Tovala, you can use my referral code https://my.tovala.com/referral/XAFMBFM4 to get a discounted oven with 6 meal orders and I will receive $50 toward my weekly order. They limit it to a maximum of 5 for me, but I don't believe my referral code is limited, so hopefully being able to get the discounted Tovala oven should be unlimited for new guests.
Pros.
There are numerous options to choose from. They have salad entrees, vegetarian, indian, mexican, and sometimes soups or holiday dishes. They even have add on desserts now.
They have numerous meat options and you get an entire breast or salmon filet or pork chop with the meals. So for my protein obsessed hubby this was a big win.
Their app is easy to use and you can pick out your meals several weeks in advance and also skip weeks without a problem.
We've found the food to be very fresh and the meals to be flavorful.
The meal portions are a good size for the protein and carb combinations.
This was perfect for lunch for my hubby who works from home several days a week or as a "filler meal" when he wants more than a snack before or after the gym.
Cons.
You have to have a Tovola oven. This is probably the biggest con I can think of. It is $250 BUT they give it to you for $50 with a referral code when you buy at least 6 weeks of meals which range from 80+. One thing that does make it less of a con is that you can cook other meals in it and it has an air fryer, bake, toast, and scan mode for the meals. So it takes the place of a toaster oven.
This is the biggest con for me personally. The food is delicious truly, but if you are trying to watch your carbs or eat super healthy Tovola may not be a perfect fit. I find that the majority of their meals are meat and carb combos which is perfect for my husband's eating habits, but for me it can be a little carb heavy and high calorie for my goals.
It is packaged with ice packs and being in Mississippi that can melt quickly in the summer. A couple of times this past summer we had a few boxes where everything had been shaken up and moved around and there were a couple of iffy meat pieces on top that weren't super cold. BUT I reached out to Tovala and they immediately made it right and credited our account. The customer service was top notch so I can't complain. The other times everything has been super cold and tightly packaged.
Final Review on Tovala.
I've found that this is a perfect lunch/dinner option for my husband. I love it for me as well, but right now while Im trying to watch my carb intake and train a little harder in the gym, Im trying other options. But for anyone with a normal diet who wants delicious food, Tovala is a big win. It's full of flavor and every meal is ready in under 25 mins. It has made daily lunches and dinners super easy at our house. If you decide to try it in the future let me know what you think or how it compares to other meals you have tried.
Trifecta Meals Review.
After getting back into the gym, I tried Trifecta Meals. They are based out of California and were featured on Netflix. I found their meals to be the cleanest, but also the least seasoned. If you have food allergies or are wanting to eat strong paleo or vegan I could see Trifecta being a good fit for you. For me, I found the meals to be bland and unappetizing. Also, the container didn't separate the components, so everything was just kind of mixed together on one plate. I tried Trifecta, but it wasn't a perfect fit for me and I decided to try something different.
Factor Meals. How It Works.
This seems to be the winner for me. Factor is a meal planning service that has an app like Tovala that allows you to choose your meals in advance but with an eye on being high protein and carb conscious. I found Factor to be a perfect fit for me so far. If you decide to try it, you can use my referral discount code for your first order.
Pros.
An easy to use app to choose your meals up to a month in advance. Easy to skip or pause.
They have numerous add on options. They have protein shakes, coffee protein shakes, juices, breakfast, lunch and snack options.
All of the meals are geared towards protein and healthier eating
The meals are seasoned like really seasoned. You forget you are eating "healthy".
I have always struggled with getting in enough protein but have found with factor it's easy to hit 100 grams of protein a day if not more.
Cons.
It's not cheap. My weekly charge runs between $150-200, but this does include 2 orders of added on protein shakes at $30 an order.
Final Review of Factor.
I know I didn't list many cons but it's honestly because this has been the best fit for me with a meal service provider. My husband still loves Tovala, so we order both each week. Tovala helps him maintain his weight and hit his goals in the gym, while Factor helps me hit my protein goals for strength training, but also maintains my lower carb intake. I found that for me to eat healthy I had to be REALLY honest with myself about how much time I had in a day and what I could and couldn't do manage to fit in. Doing my own meal prep just isn't realistic in this chapter of my life. Tovala and Factor have been great choices for our lifestyle, I only hope that it helps someone reading this that felt like I did. Now, so much stress has been lifted off my shoulders and I have freed up a minimum of 14 hours a week that can be assigned to other things. I hope this gives you a little insight into these meal services and if you have any more questions you are welcome to reach out below! Happy planning!
Brittany Peyton Bryan
Hair Artist. Entrepreneur. Dreamer. Believer. Doer. Achiever. Go Getter. Wifey to Adam + Dog Mom
Im a glass half full, make lemonade out of lemons kind of girl. I believe in magic and happiness and being kind. I believe in being the best you can possibly be. If you are going to do something, give it everything you've got or don't do it at all. I love all things hair and home. Im grateful for this little life of mine and hope to share a little bit of it here with you.
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