Good Measure Meals

This is my 2^nd week doing Good Measure Meals (5 dinners per week plan), and so far it’s been fantastic! I am doing it for convenience purposes b/​c I hate to grocery shop and hate to cook. The meals are really good and tasty with great variety. You can tell that everything is made with good quality ingredients and is fresh, not frozen. My favorites so far have been the steak with rice & beans and Mexican corn. I also LOVED the brussels sprouts! They were amazing! All of the fish & meats are cooked perfectly. Highly recommended! Plus the icing on the cake is that its a non-​profit company that supports Open Hand.

**See end of review for 25% off code**
After having a baby, a well-​rounded diet was difficult to manage. My mom prepared most meals during the first week we were home with the baby, and things went a bit downhill from there. We got by on a lot of Chic-​fil-​a, Jimmy Johns, and often skipped meals.
I lost a bit too much weight too quickly (50% of my baby weight within 2 weeks), and I started feeling tired, dizzy, and weak. I needed an easy food solution that didn’t just fill me up but also included the proper nutrients. A co-​worker told me about Good Measure Meals, a service available in the Atlanta area, that delivers up to 3 prepared meals a day + snacks. I signed up last week and received the first delivery today.
I signed up for a 2100 calorie — 5 day package for both my husband and me since the Good Measure Meals home page offers a free day (see below for a 30% off code) when you sign up for a week. Today’s delivery included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for Tuesday — Thursday. Thursday, we will receive another delivery with Friday and Monday meals.
Since we received our delivery around 6pm today, we decided to eat Tuesday’s dinner today even though it is Monday. The meal was Shrimp and Chicken Etouffe with Brown Rice, Corn Soufle and Turnip Greens. The portion size was huge (560 calories), and we actually shared one meal and put the other package in the freezer since we weren’t hungry enough to eat both packs.
First thoughts:
Quality and convenience — The meal was quite good and would have taken at least an hour if I prepared it on my own vs. the 5 minutes it took to heat it in the microwave. Factoring in dreaded grocery shopping, it is a huge time saver. I typically prepare my own food and have never eaten a frozen TV dinner, so the quality is something a healthy eater would appreciate.
Price — With the free 5^th day offer (see below for 25% off code) from the Good Measure Meals homepage + delivery, two orders of the 2100 calorie — 5 day package came to $ 248.24 (delivery cost $ 28 and tax was $ 4.32; a pick-​up location costs around $ 3 — we were looking at the most convenient option). This comes to around $ 8.30 per person per meal (this assumes that snacks are eaten with meals and not considered separate meals). If I like all of the meals, the price is worth it just to get back on track. I can definitely cook high-​quality meals for less, but the convenience makes it worth occasionally using this service.
Next time — If we continue to be satisfied with the food and order again, I will probably order the 1700 calorie — 7 day package. The difference between this one and the 2100 calorie pack is 2 extra days of meals and no snacks. With this package, my husband and I can share the dinners and pick and choose which breakfasts/​lunches we want and fend for ourselves on the other 3 or 4 breakfast/​lunch days. That package would cost $ 171.43 + $ 28 shipping + tax… bringing each meal to about $ 9.50 (about $ 7.50 if you count the dinners twice since we can split those).
Overall, I enjoyed my experience with Good Measure Meals. It was extremely convenient to just open the fridge, pull out a container, heat it up, and eat within just a few minutes.
I highly recommend ordering a full week of 3 meals per day when time is tight and good food is necessary (new moms, people recovering from surgery, etc.) *great gift idea. The dinner-​only option may be more economical for those who just need to reclaim some of their afternoons or don’t want to spend time cooking every day.
The target market for Good Measure Meals is individuals, but it would be nice to see couple or family packs in the future since ordering meal plans for each person in a family would get costly very quickly.
**Good Measure Meals discount code: JAMIE25
**25% off any 1 week order (FYI, I will receive a $ 20 credit for any referrals)
See my blog for a 6-​part thorough review of a full week of meals with pictures:

Love this program! Easily customizable, healthy, locally made and most importantly, it tastes excellent. So far I’ve had 6 meals and have enjoyed every single one. While I assume I’ll eventually find a meal I don’t like, at least it won’t be because of the quality. Other foods I’ve bought have required freezing or were so loaded with preservatives that it could survive a year in the sun (gross). But these have all looked/​felt/​tasted fresh. Plus, they sponsor a charitable organization — a nice little perk. I have nothing but great things to say and will be recommending this to all my friends and coworkers!

I have trouble with portion control. My brain thinks an 11 inch plate should contain heaps of food.
I like good food, and one of my first thoughts on waking up is, «Whats for breakfast?» Good measure meals to the rescue!
A plate of food from them is about four times better than frozen food from the grocery store. I loved the squash casserole and blackberry cobbler. Your shrimp and grits won’t have pools of oil, but the taste is fine. Yes, some selections taste better than others and you may have to sprinkle a little sea salt (taste first).
My daughter, the accountant, said investing in your health is a good use of money. This is pricey, but the convenience factor is great and no more wilting of unused produce in my fridge.
I chose the 1,400 calorie option, but after becoming educated on snacks dropped down to the no snack 1,200 calorie selection. Picking up big bags of food at my local Y sure beats grocery shopping! Believe me, no food is wasted and I feel full all day on the portions.

I tried the Healthy Selection dinners and was pleased with the offerings. It is challenging to cook a healthy and satisfying meal under 400 calories, but GMM somehow makes it work. Of course, every single person isn’t going to LOVE every single meal, but I’ve had no major qualms… I wasn’t a huge fan of certain dishes, but I fought through them with little to no b*tchng. To quote my girl Dita Von Teese, «You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.» You can’t please everyone 100% of the time, right??!
The moral of the story is — GMM is convenient (pickup food at your local gym twice a week because you’re TOTALLY at the gym that often,) healthy and inexpensive (compared to buying all the ingredients– like I really have sesame seeds or scallions on hand. Or eggs. Or milk. Basics, shmasics.)
Now I don’t have to
a. spend all my money and calories on eating out every night and be «single-​shamed» into eating at the bar
b. live off Lean Cuisine French Bread Pizza and Twizzlers
c. cook something and be forced to eat the leftovers for the next six meals in order to not be wasteful and disrespectful to the starving kids in Africa.
Win-​win.

I’ve been on this plan for two month now, I’m loving the crepes and oatmeal bar for breakfast, the pumpkin bread rocks! I am on no seafood so the substitute a vegitarian meal for that, all I can say is YUCK… into the trash, even the dogs won’t eat it!
Does anyone have any of their breakfast recipes? Also love the thai inspired meals.

YOUR GOOD MEASURE MEALS VEGGIE PLAN IS NOT ALWAYS VEGETARIAN.
I have been using Good Measure Meals now for about 5 – 6 weeks. And most of their meals are DELICIOUS.
BUT… there is a huge problem. I am a vegetarian and subscribe to the vegetarian option. On balance, most of the meals are great. The problem is that they are not all vegetarian. The bigger problem is that Good Measure Meals KNOWS this and hasn’t done anything.
Good Measure Meals serves light yogurts. Almost ALL light yogurt contains gelatin. And gelatin is an animal product. From Wikipedia:
«Gelatin is a mixture of peptides and proteins produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the skin, boiled crushed horn, hoof and bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as domesticated cattle, chicken, horses’ hooves, and pigs.»
Good Measure knows this, as I have pointed it out to them twice. Today, I called and was told by the man who answered that «It’s not that easy» to just switch it out until they find a better option.
Actually, that is not true. It IS easy. Just stop using light yogurt in your vegetarian meals. If they were using a sausage patty on their veggie plates, would they tell me they were going to keep it till they found another option? Of COURSE not. That’s because many vegetarians don’t know that light yogurt basically contains meat. And Good Measure Meals has made a business decision to use up all their light yogurt on unsuispecting vegetarians because it is convenient and cost effective for them.
This is very disrespectful to people who’ve devoted considerable energy to making sure they don’t consume animal flesh.
I have decided that a company that doesn’t care enough to provide what they say they provide doesn’t deserve my $ 600 a month.

This is such a great company — and the food is yummy!
I learned about Good Measure Meals through volunteering with Jr League at Open Hand. GMM is a substantial provider of meals that Open Hand delivers to local Atlantans who are critically and terminally ill. Yes, GMM sells retail to individuals (see other Unilocalers’ reviews) but they also donate food (a lot of food) to this great organization.
On a recent Sat, I was packing meals with my Jr League girls and got to see first hand the process of how the GMM are put together — portioned out, sealed, etc– as well as get to sample some. Open Hand tries not to waste leftovers (there are allotted numbers of meals each recipient gets so if they have extras, either of the in-​house made or GMM variety they will put them to other use) so they let volunteers take something home after a shift. The black bean soup is yummy and the Spanish chicken with rice is awesome.
It’s been 6 or so years since I’ve done a meal-​delivery service for myself, and since then I’ve started cooking for reals, but if I decide to jump on that again, I would definitely give GMM a go.

My husband and I were excited to start this program, as a way to jump start losing some weight. We loved it the first week, so we signed on for a 4-​week plan. We figured by doing a total of 5 weeks we would experience their entire menu since they have a 5 week rotation. We found hair in a total of 3 meals during this time. The company was very apologetic after the first two, and refunded the cost of those meals, but the third time it happened I decided I couldn’t take it any more. Even if the hair had not been an issue, we became very disappointed in the menu selection. Here are some examples:
1) During the entire 5 week period, we only had salad ONCE! It was delicious, so I don’t understand why there was only one salad in 5 weeks.
2) They tend to lump certain menu items too close together. Like rice as part of a lunch and then risotto that same night for dinner. And then rice again the next day. And then no rice/​risotto for another week.
3) Many of the lunches felt more like dinner — heavier items that needed to be heated, instead of more lighter style lunches like salads.
4) Inconsistency in quality which was obvious since my husband and I were both eating these meals so we had side by side comparison. One night the dinner was pot roast. Opened the first one up and it looked great — big chunks of tender meat with some peas and carrots. Opened the second one and there was NO MEAT, just gravy and a butt load of peas and a few carrot scraps.
5) A lunch of asian chicken with broccoli — the broccoli was literally two teeny tiny broccoli «stalks», no heads. What a joke.
6) Roasted turkey with mashed potatoes and a white gravy. It was pretty decent. But it was served with peas smothered in a white cream sauce! Why would you service the peas with a white cream sauce when you already have white gravy.
Overall, I think GMM is a great concept, but they clearly need to revamp their menu and execution. The best part of this program are the breakfasts. We loved every one of them. We are not fans of cottage cheese, but there were only 3 times that was part of the breakfast, and we can’t expect to love everything on the menu.

I struggle to eat healthy in the evenings, and I especially struggle to eat enough vegetables, so I went looking for a reasonable solution and Good Measure Meals is it.
The pros:
1. Pre-​measured meals with nutrition information included on the packaging.
2. Each meal had a vegetable side equal to about 1 cup.
3. A variety of foods to eat (something that’s hard to do as a single person cooking for yourself only).
4. Pick-​up location was close to home.
5. Price is reasonable.
6. Having a meal waiting at home kept me from eating out. (Eating fewer calories and fat PLUS less spending. Yay!)
7. It’s a charitable organization, so you can feel good about spending your money with them.
The cons:
1. I’m not a big fan of leftovers and this is essentially what you’re eating because the meals have been cooked and then packaged.
2. Most of the meals I had were higher in fat than I would like (around 15 grams). I usually prefer to eat meals around 10 – 11 grams in fat. But it’s a whole lot better than eating out, so it’s not a deal breaker.
3. Lack of seasoning. I had to add spices or salt every time, but it makes sense with this kind of service that has to cater to a large clientele.
I selected the no-​seafood, dinner only, 5-​day plan which allowed me a couple of nights to eat out. If you’re a single person looking for healthier eating options, Good Measure Meals is a good place to start.
P. S. I never re-​heated the meals in the container (thanks to the tip from other Unilocalers!) And meals re-​heated in the microwave tasted better than meals re-​heated in the oven.

Since moving back to Atlanta over two years ago, I’m pretty sure I could count the number of meals I’ve cooked on my fingers and toes. Okay, so maybe just my fingers. Yeah, I’m pretty bad.
Luckily, Good Measure Meals seems to fix many of my vices: spending too much money, eating shitty food, drinking too much since I ate a lot of meals at bars, not eating until super late in the day or just completely forgetting to eat, etc. And so far, so good (I’m two weeks in). I like the 5-​day plan which means I can still have my fun weekends, or, more likely, grab dinner out during the week and save one of the pre-​made meals for later. I love that I can pick the meals up just down the street at Savi and I really don’t have to put any thought in to the whole eating process. While breakfast is still a chore for me and I literally have to force food down the throat, I can see it becoming part of a routine eventually.
So yes, Good Measure is perfect for me. It’s not so much the calorie count, although that’s a great advantage. I just love being able to get in three well-​balanced meals a day without having to put in any work.
Of the meals I’ve had, I’d say about 10% have been really incredibly awesome and the rest have been okay to good: a hell of a lot better than Lean Cuisines, that’s for sure. I wish there was a way to somehow vote on the meals you really loved or really didn’t like, but all in all I’m very pleased and foresee using their service for a while to come. And my one other complaint would be that I wish the containers were compostable or degradable: I’m creating a hell of a lot more trash than I ever have before, and the guilt is setting it.
Oh, and all of this AND it contributes to a great, local cause? A win-​win for everyone involved.

I just started with GMM dinners only and so far so good. I’m so happy to add some variety to my meals and w/​no cooking or cleaning up!
I think the portion sizes are perfect. While I’d love to eat more, I don’t need to. The protein, carb, veggie balance is great — heavier on the veggies which works for me. I don’t micro in plastic and the food is easy to get out of the plastic it comes in. The ingredients seem/​taste fresh and real. Real chicken breast not some man made thing. The food is not seasoned at all so you need to still season it to your taste. I guess they avoid using butter, salt, etc which is good and also tasty. So I have several seasoning options ready.
I’m so excited that the personal training studio (Body Solutions) where I workout is now a pick up place. Convenience is another plus!

The food is great. Prepared fresh and with quality ingredients.
My only issue is that they do not account for people with food allergies. I cannot use their service due to my food allergy.
What I can eat of it has been really good. You don’t feel like you are on a diet and they just keep improving the food and the pick up places.

I have used Good Measure Meals on and off for a year. I like the calorie plans, especially since my waist line doesn’t seem to be shrinking, so much as growing like the Marshmallow Man.
The food is pretty good and is made fresh twice a week. You do get some nastiness in the bunch (grinder with smoked veggie riblet, super salty wild mushroom ravioli I’m looking at you), but by the most part the food is tasty (fave: veggie shepards pie). I do the veggie choice since I don’t eat red meat and the regular plan is peppered with beef. There is also a No Seafood option. We don’t get seafood in the veggie plan unfortunately. Sad because some of the options sound fantastic.
You also have your choice of 1200, 1400 (200 cal snack+1200), 1700, and 2100 (400 cal snack+1700) calories a day plan. There is 400 cal dinner only plan and you can purchase plans for either 5 days a week or the full 7. I go 5 days a week so that I can cook some during the weekends. If worst comes to worst and you can’t eat a meal or 2 during the week, you can always freeze it or save it for the weekend. If you go out of town for a week, all you need to do is call and put your order on hold for a week.
The food can be pricey, but when you are stuck in a rut like I am with restaurants then it really balances itself out. The best thing about GMM’s, other than my stomach shrinking, is that all profits go to Open Hand Atlanta.

You know, the food just isn’t as good as I had hoped. Being single and not wanting to waste food, I decided to give this a try for a couple of weeks. Tried it, not likely to go back.
Some of the meals were damn yummy (chicken chimichanga, quiche lorraine, and black bean burger come to mind), but most of it’s just ok, and a couple of things were downright inedible (spaghetti squash side had the funkiest taste — blech).
The portion control aspect is nice. They now have 4 plans — 1200, 1400, 1700, and 2000 calories, each offered 5 or 7 days a week. They have a vegetarian plan and a no-​seafood option as well.
The idea is great, and as I said, some of the food is great — but on a regular Joe’s salary such as I have, I just can’t justify the expense. It’s not even THAT expensive — but if I use coupons and such, I can probably eat (my meals at home anyway) for about a third of what I spend on GMM. It’s the classic battle of convenience vs. cost — and for me, in this case, cost wins out over convenience. Back to grocery shopping and cooking at home for this one!

After a year on & off this program, decided it just wasn’t worth it. The veggies are bland and typically take up most of the dish. They changed the delivery schedule without notifying customers or the pick up location, causing obvious issues. Writing the manager did not produce any response! No explanation, no apology! Just trying their latest competition and seems promising.

The cooking process for me goes something like this:
Day 1: Scour the internet for recipes
Day 2: Go to Kroger’s for ingredients
Day 3: Go to Whole Foods for the locally grown organic herbs and vegetables that MUST be in the meal
Day 4: Make sure the dishes I need are clean
Day 5: Try to motivate myself to go to the kitchen and cook
Day 6: Make the food.
Sufficed to say, my refrigerator stays pretty barren. As I’m now in a state of temporary pseudo-​bachelorhood, I found myself in daily situations in which I’d leave work at 7−8pm, be ravenous on the trip home, and end up at the drive-​thru of one of the fast-​food restaurants that litter the streets on the way home. After a few weeks of this, my heart and GI tract were screaming in protest.
Desperate for a change (but not so desperate as to actually cook), I stumbled across Good Measure Meals. Good Measure is a food delivery service that focuses on nutritionally-​balanced, fresh, locally-​made food. I signed up for the dinner plan, which provides 5 dinners a week for about $ 9 a meal. There are other plans that include 3 meals a day and snacks, but that’s a little too much for me. $ 9 more than I like to spend, but I found myself spending more than that at sit-​down restaurants, and about half that for fast-​food restaurants.
The food is really, really good, and the menu is highly varied. I’ve been using good measure for about 6 weeks, and I don’t think I’ve had the same thing twice (in fact, I wish they would go back and make some more of that broiled cauliflower with Parmesan cheese), and all the meals have a balanced mix of protein, high fiber carbs, and vegetables. The meals are always about 550 – 650 calories, which I’m learning is an appropriate amount of food.
I’m always satisfied at the end of a meal, but it’s not necessarily enough to make me full. I’ve learned to supplement the meals with healthy snacks, and thus far things are working out great. I tend to cheat a lot– mainly with social drinking, which ruins the whole calorie counting thing– but I can’t tell you how liberating it is to know that I can go home and not have to worry about what to have for dinner.

YUM! This food service makes me feel like a star (and look like one). This meal delivery service was created by the man who opened Murphy’s in the Highlands. The food is phenomenal. My first week everything that cam I said to my roomate «You’ve got to try this!» They come in different packages 1200 calories, and 1700 and in a five day or seven day plan. They also deliver to your house but even more appealing, they probably deliver to your gym, forcing you in there to workout.
I mean I hate to sound like Kirstie Alley here but I can eat Pasta, French Toast (amazing), BBQ sandwiches and all kinds of delicious meals that they offer. YUMMY. One recommendation I noticed that all the meals had kind of the same after taste and then I started putting them on a plate rather than microwaving them in the container and they tasted better. I think that something about the container makes the food taste weird if you microwave it in there. Also I freeze the meals that I don’t eat for later. I don’t think they recommend it but I’m still alive.
The food may seem expensive because you are paying for a months worth of food all at once but I don’t think it is that bad. When I am cooking for myself, healthy food I usually spend about 110 bucks a week and usually go out to eat in that week. So I figure its about $ 130 a week for food that is professionally prepared and delivered and helping me get skinny. Definitely worth the extra $ 80 a month.