Order Up: The Best Meal Delivery Companies of the Central Coast
Meal delivery companies have flourished in the pandemic, with more people eating at home. SLO County meal prep companies offer advantages that larger commercial companies lack, including access to abundant produce from the Central Coast agricultural community. These ingredients serve as the base for ready-to-eat meals, and provide significant appeal for those desiring a simple way to eat fresh and local.
Additionally, local companies offer convenience that exceeds meal kit companies like Blue Apron. Their meals are fully cooked, prepped and ready to reheat and eat. Enjoying a farm to table meal has never been more accessible. With a variety of options, those desiring to eat low-carb, gluten-free, or more wholesomely will find something to suit their tastes.
We talked to three meal prep businesses based in San Luis Obispo County, each with its own specialty. They’re here to make our lives easier with delicious, healthy substitutes to grabbing lunch or dinner out.
Naida Freeman always had a passion for food and cooking. It wasn’t until later in life that her connection between health and nutrition became a path to follow. This path led her to attend Bauman College in Berkley, Calif., where she received certification as a Therapeutic Chef, focusing on the ways nutrition can heal the body.
After working in The Wellness Kitchen in Templeton, Calif., Freeman built her own meal prep company, focused on the same values that drove her to further pursue the power of food in the first place.
“I started my company, Wild Dandelion, to offer those that are dealing with health issues, dietary restrictions, or merely wanting to improve their health, fully prepared meals that are nutrient-dense and full of flavor,” Freeman says.
For Freeman, food is much more than simple fuel for the body. “My goal is to simplify someone’s healing journey by taking care of the challenging part of eating healthy.”
Since Freeman is a trained Therapeutic Chef, her meals focus on foods that heal, avoiding foods that are commonly problematic for people with dietary restrictions. “I specialize in using alternative ingredients to support people coping with illness or who simply want to optimize their health,” says Freeman, “All of our meals are gluten, dairy, and refined sugar-free.”
Wild Dandelion consistently offers vegan meal options that never compromise on flavor. For omnivores, Freeman upholds the ideals of clean, local eating. “We always use organic meat, wild-caught seafood, pasture-raised eggs, and source local and organic produce as much as possible.”
A sample set of meals might include a breakfast of carrot cake baked oatmeal cups with sweet cashew cream, mains like creamy mushroom stroganoff over spaghetti and sauteed asparagus, and à la carte options like freezer-friendly, coconut-lime marinated diced chicken.
Wild Dandelion offers door-to-door delivery of local, therapeutic meals throughout the 5 Cities, San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Templeton, Paso Robles, Los Osos, Morro Bay and Cayucos. “We currently only offer delivery, but hope to provide a few pickup locations throughout SLO County in the near future,” says Freeman, of expanding the services of Wild Dandelion.
Wild Dandelion provides a meal prep service for those with specific dietary needs, and Freeman’s personal experience, as well as her professional training as a Therapeutic Chef, uniquely qualifies her to fill this void in meal delivery services. Through Wild Dandelion, Freeman not only serves delicious meals, but cares for her client’s well-being through her therapeutic food.
You can order Wild Dandelion through their website.
Before founding Clean Machine Meals, Ryan Hernandez spent 10 years working as a chef at restaurants throughout the Central Coast, including Villa Creek and Thomas Hill Organics in Paso Robles, and Sidecar in San Luis Obispo. In 2017, he noticed an ongoing problem.
“I saw how difficult it was for my friends and me to fit meal preparation into our busy lives,” Hernandez says, “I recognized quickly how this would be a great opportunity to grow as a full-time business and support SLO County in eating well.”
Hernandez combines his professional experience as a fine-dining chef with “quality ingredients to promote a healthier body and remove the repercussions of consuming more processed foods.” Clean Machine Meals focuses on healthful foods that fit an active lifestyle. Uniquely qualified to transform the perception of healthy food as somehow less than restaurant quality, Hernandez founded his company on the premise that “clean eating should never be boring or tasteless.”
As for menu inspiration, Hernandez cites his hard-working staff. “Our passion and love for food drives us to stay creative and constantly come up with new meal options for clients.” Often, Hernandez and his crew find inspiration in recreating classic Chinese, Mexican, Thai and pasta dishes into healthy, ready-to-eat meals.
A sample meal week might include Thai basil chicken with baked eggplant, bok choy and ginger rice; slow braised beef short ribs, roasted potatoes and root veggies; and creamy sun-dried tomato chicken with roasted garlic, fried shallots , crispy bacon, and baby spinach over gluten-free noodles tossed in a dairy-free cream sauce.
Clean Machine Meals provide the ideal solution for those concerned with specific nutritional values, as each meal is individually labeled with the caloric, protein, carbohydrate, and fat content, along with ingredients used, so that clients can easily fit the meals into their healthy lifestyle. Each meal is also gluten, soy, dairy and refined sugar free making it easy for those with food sensitivities to enjoy chef-crafted locally sourced food from home.
Hernandez created a company to serve practical needs and considers every aspect of his clients’ busy lives, aiming to provide delicious healthy alternatives to take-out and other processed foods. “Since time is valuable and cannot be bought, we are able to provide a service that allows clients to use that time in a way that suits them, and not have to worry about what to eat,” says Hernandez.
Clean Machine Meals delivers throughout SLO County, partnering with local gyms to provide convenient pickup locations in Paso Robles, Templeton, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach and Santa Maria.
Order Clean Machine Meals through their website.
Four years ago, Natalie Magana sought a local meal prep company to help her eat healthy in an affordable and convenient way. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, she decided to try it herself.
“I started cooking out of my apartment kitchen for friends and family,” Magana says, “I quickly outgrew my tiny kitchen and knew I wanted to take the jump to start my own business.”
The Menu Meal Prep was founded to fulfill the needs of busy parents, working professionals, and students who desired to eat healthy on a budget, but didn’t have the time (or space) to cook their own meals.
Magana worked diligently to build The Menu into a full-time business that continues to grow. Today, The Menu Meal Prep services the Central Coast from Paso Robles to Nipomo, and the coastal communities from Cayucos to Los Osos.
“Every Monday, we deliver healthy, fully cooked, ready-to-eat meals to your door with contact-free delivery,” Magana says.
A sample menu includes dishes like Asian tuna salad with toasted sesame oil, dried cranberries, and cilantro, over mixed greens; honey mustard chicken with brown rice and asparagus; ranch pork chops with mashed potatoes and roasted cauliflower; pinto pozole soup; and kale pesto pasta.
Though focused on delivering healthy foods, Magana resisted pressure to adhere to diet trends, citing her belief that eating in such a way is not sustainable. “Instead, my goal has always been to teach our clients that you can eat healthy without compromising on quality, taste, or appearance,” says Magana. Her adherence to this principle gained The Menu Meal Prep a loyal following, with local customers who consistently order week after week.
Magana runs The Menu Meal Prep on the philosophy that to succeed fully as a local business, one must in turn support local business. “We pride ourselves on sourcing as many of our ingredients locally as we can; whether from local farmers or gourmet shops,” says Magana. Since The Menu Meal Prep has grown, she’s also begun a program to support different local businesses each week. “You can find items on our menu from other local businesses who receive 100 percent of the sales.”
Certainly it is Magana’s belief in her own vision, and in her local community that is to thank for her success. The Menu Meal Prep features a host of different menu items each week, as well as subscription plans that include discounted meal pricing for those who desire to order on a consistent basis. You can order The Menu Meal Prep through their website.
