Credit:
Reviewed / Monica Petrucci / Danielle DeSiato
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
-
Fresh n' Lean
Pros
-
Fresh, healthy meals
-
Breakfast offered
-
Lots of variety
Cons
-
Meal tastiness varied
-
Cumbersome packaging
-
Heating instructions could be better
-
We all want to eat healthy. The benefits of a balanced diet on our mental and physical well being are not lost on any of us, it's just the execution that sometimes falls apart (thanks to long workdays, busy parenting, and other exhausting life stressors).
That's why pre-made meal kits have exploded in popularity lately, with options for everyone—from gluten-free vegans to fitness buffs. We've tried a dozen competing brands, so we just had to get our hands on Fresh N Lean, a popular option that promises whole foods, nutritional ingredients, and a wide range of meal plans for different diets and lifestyles.
What is Fresh N Lean?
This pre-made meal kit service ships fresh, vacuum-sealed meals right to your doorstep.
With such an overwhelming number of options in this field, it's hard to differentiate between pre-made meal kit brands.
What sets Fresh N Lean apart is its commitment to meals that are fresh and contain whole foods and organic ingredients. You don't have to stress about getting your dose of healthy foods everyday—even if you're on a strict diet—because this service is designed to take care of that for you.
Fresh N Lean offers seven different meal plans: Protein+, Keto, Paleo, Mediterranean Diet, Whole30, Plant-based, and Low-carb/low-cal plant-based. The menu seems especially catered to folks on strict diets, offering plenty of variety and tasty meals with none of the meal prep stress. Plus, everything on the menu is gluten-free and sustainably sourced.
Subscribers can decide how many meals they want delivered each week, choose from a list of 100+ options, and can even include additional snacks and bulk proteins in their order for an added cost.
Prices start at $9.99 per meal (for the standard Vegan plan) and go up to $10.66 per meal (for the Keto, Paleo, and Whole30 plans).
Meals arrive every Friday and come with "best by" dates printed on individual labels, but they can also be frozen for up to six weeks.
What we tried
Kitchen & Cooking staffers each tested a dozen Fresh N Lean meals to see how they measured up.
Both of the Reviewed kitchen team staffers (editor Danielle DeSiato and senior staff writer Monica Petrucci), tried a week's worth of meals to gauge whether Fresh N Lean is worth subscribing to.
Monica tried the newly launched Plant-based meals, while Danielle opted for the Mediterranean plan.
We both heated them up according to the package instructions (either on the stove, in the microwave, or in the oven) and took note of how the meals tasted, whether they filled us up, and whether we ran into any issues with packaging or our individual subscriptions.
What we like about Fresh N Lean
We loved that our Fresh N Lean meals centered around fresh, local ingredients.
The meals are fresh and healthy
Similar healthy and organic meal kits we've tried, like Daily Harvest and Sprinly, are fully plant-based and don't offer options for omnivores. And standard fresh meal deliveries like Freshly and CookUnity don't promise nutrient-dense, organic ingredients (at least, not in every meal).
Fresh N Lean offers more flexibility, with grass-fed beef and free-range chicken alongside Impossible and Beyond meat alternatives on the menu. Plus, fresh, organic veggies are always prioritized, and processed foods are minimized.
All of the meals Monica tried on the vegan plan were packed with fruits and vegetables, most of which were in season (which reflects Fresh N Lean's commitment to locally grown ingredients). Since we tested this plan in the fall, veggies like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale were the stars of the show. We even received a tasty pumpkin loaf in one of the boxes.
All of the dinner entrees Danielle tested on the Mediterranean plan were also packed with seasonal ingredients and flavors like kabocha squash, spicy maple chicken, cranberries, and sage stuffing—although none were decidedly Mediterranean. She also added a package of delicious cinnamon maple almonds to her order for a handy pantry snack.
Meal plans include breakfast options
Whether you're a sweet or savory person, there are plenty of breakfast meals to choose from on the Fresh N Lean menu.
Protein-packed options include meals like scrambled eggs and hash browns with maple sausage, or a pineapple oatmeal flip cup with pepitas and chili lime almonds. The vegan breakfast menu features dishes like chia seed pudding, banana oatmeal, and tofu scramble with Impossible sausage.
Not all pre-made meal kits offer breakfast options, so having hearty, ready-to-eat meals first thing in the morning (often the busiest time of the day) is definitely a plus.
There's lots of variety
Each week's menu lays out over 100 options across a range of diets—plus many additional à la carte options.
We were pleasantly surprised to see so much variety in these plans. The vegan plan, especially, had a wide range of featured proteins—from traditional tofu and legumes like lentils, to modern additions like plant-based "chicken," Impossible burgers, and Beyond sausage. Anyone looking to adopt a more plant-based lifestyle won't have to worry about boring salads or protein deficiency.
What we don't like
Unfortunately, some meals delivered small portions or were lacking flavor.
The plant-based meals could be tastier
The plant-based meal plan is the newest to come from Fresh N Lean, so we were excited to try it out. Unfortunately, not all of the meals were satisfying.
Both oatmeal varieties we tried lacked flavor. The added berry in the strawberry almonds oatmeal was discolored and mushy, with no added benefit. And we had to add some peanut butter and cinnamon to remedy the bland flavor.
Some meals, like the cilantro basil pesto quinoa and veggie bowl, were tasty but not filling. There weren't enough carbs or protein to balance out the amount of veggies, so I found myself getting hungry again an hour or two after lunch.
Other meals, like the tofu scramble with Impossible or Beyond sausage, went too far in the opposite direction. These meals were heavy and way too filling, with no fresh veggies to balance out the heavy carbs and greasy protein (we would've loved to see some bell peppers or spinach in the mix).
The packaging is cumbersome
Both testers struggled with Fresh N Lean's tough-to-open packaging.
These meals are packaged differently from other brands' meals we've tested in the past. They're all vacuum sealed in plastic packaging in order to maintain freshness, which worked well in keeping organic fresh veggies looking bright for days.
Unfortunately, though, we had a hard time opening them. The packaging instructions tell you to cut a small opening in the plastic before microwaving, and then simply "peel back the film" when it warms. The problem is that there was no perforated edge or easy-to-grab handle on the film, so we often ended up using scissors and/or burning our hands in the process.
There's no guidance on preferred heating method
One thing we appreciated about our favorite pre-made meal kit, CookUnity, is the chef-recommended method of warming on each package, which differed depending on the meal.
Fresh N Lean meals all offer the same standard warming advice for each meal: either two to three minutes in a microwave, seven minutes in a 350 degree oven, eight to 10 minutes in a 350 degree air fryer, or to warm it on a stove until it reaches a "desired temperature." (Since each dish ranges widely in size and texture, we think there should be appropriately differing instructions depending on the meal.)
While microwaving is most convenient, and pretty much worked with most meals, some would have tasted noticeably better with a different heating method. Impossible patties in the microwave, for example, came out soggy; they tasted significantly better when heated on the stovetop.
Salmon is tough to reheat in general, so we avoided microwaving it in favor of heating it in a skillet, although it still came out a little tough with that method.
And we definitely wouldn't have put oatmeal in the oven to dry out. (We also found it strange that non-heatable items, like chia seed pudding, still had heating instructions on the packaging, despite the DO NOT HEAT warning below it.)
Related content
feature
Should you subscribe to Fresh N Lean?
If you're following a strict diet—and don't want to worry about meal prepping—Fresh N Lean is a great option.
It depends on your priorities
If you're looking for a pre-made meal kit that's completely gluten-free and flexible enough to accommodate diets ranging from Mediterranean to Keto to Vegan, Fresh N Lean is a solid choice. You can be confident in knowing that every meal will be nutritious, with locally sourced, organically grown, and dietician-certified ingredients to suit your health goals.
If your priorities center more around flavor than function, this may not be your best bet. We found meals from services like CookUnity to be much tastier, without any off-putting textures or bland ingredients. Check out our roundup of the best pre-made meal kits to find your perfect match.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
