For this RealEats review, we were given a sample and this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase we may be compensated. All opinions are our own.
By Brittany Whelan
RealEats
The RealEats movement motto is simple: “rise up against fake food”. Collaborating with Michelin-star chef Aliya LeeKong and a team of his own culinary experts, founder Dan Wise has created a series of meals that are made with only high-quality ingredients from the Finger Lakes agricultural region of New York. Cooked, sealed in air-tight packaging, and shipped on chilled ice right to your doorstep, RealEats healthy prepared meals are designed to give you back your free time. Boil water. Drop the pouches in. It’s that easy.
Storage! The vacuum-sealed quality of the RealEats food makes storing them at any angle and in any place in your refrigerator easy to do.
Taste! All the meals I tried after no more than a few minutes of heating up could have been easily mistaken for dishes that took much longer to prepare.
Directions! Simple steps. No issues following their plan for the stovetop or the microwave.
Add-Ons! Lots of add-on’s like breakfast, soup/chili, snacks, smoothies, protein, and sides
What We Didn’t Like
Few vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free meals
Tongs required for boiling methods. If you’re using the stovetop to heat up your RealEats, make sure you have tongs to take the BPA-free pouches out of the pot when it’s ready.
Temping. The recommended temperature for RealEats meals is 165 degrees Fahrenheit which you won’t really be able to check until after the food is out of the bags.
All RealEats orders regardless of whether you choose to start right away with customizing your package or browse their weekly updated selection of healthy prepared meals will take you through the following steps:
Choosing a plan: RealEats offers either dinner or dinner + breakfast weekly deliveries that can contain anywhere from four to twenty-four meals. Each meal serves one adult.
Selecting meals: Choose from either a set seasonal or refreshed weekly menu. All meals are around 600 calories with some low calorie, dairy-free, and vegetarian meals each week.
Selecting Add-Ons: For a little bit more, RealEats offers soups, chili, breakfasts, proteins, sides, beverages, and snacks as possible extras to your order.
For our second RealEats review, we ordered the Dijon Mustard Steak, Green Curry Sustainable Market Fish, Grass-Fed Green Chili Beef, BBQ Grilled Chicken, and an add-on of Classic Beef Meatballs with Marinara (2 Servings).
When you open your box of meals from RealEats, place all of your meals in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat most meals can be prepared either by placing them in a pot of boiling water or heating them in the microwave. We tried both.
I was surprised at how easy it was to boil some water, pop the meal components in, and then plate. There virtually no cleanup and cooking them sous-vide style keeps everything super moist.
Our favorites:
Green Curry Sustainable Market Fish: My favorite! The fish was tender and the minty peas were a wonderful surprise. Everything together created the perfect bite.
Grass-Fed Green Chili Beef: Very flavorful! My husband usually adds hot sauce to everything and he at this as is!
BBQ Grilled Chicken: Chicken was moist, though I wouldn’t pour all of the bbq sauce on the plate again. The mashed potatoes were creamy and the veggies were not soggy at all.
We microwaved our side of meatballs one day for lunch by removing them from the package and placing them in a bowl for 1 min 30 seconds. They came out wonderful and did not dry out at all.
Lunch/Dinner: Shrimp & Pea Risotto, Grass-Fed Beef Bolognese, Local Squash & Chickpea Curry, and Sustainable Grilled Salmon
More on each meal below!
Favorites
Hearty Roasted Breakfast Hash: Great flavors and balance of ingredients.
Local Squash & Chickpea Curry: The squash complemented the warm, rich curry really well.
Sustainable Grilled Salmon: I’m not a huge seafood fan, but the salmon was delicious and light.
Huevos Rancheros Frittata: Yum! Layers of onions, peppers, tomatoes, and oregano on a frittata base with black beans. This was a filling breakfast with only 320 calories.
Try these (but read this first):
Wild Shrimp & Pea Risotto: The shrimp were tough to get through and the risotto was very thick. We recommend watching your cooking time with anything that contains shrimp.
Baked Blueberry Oatmeal: The New York Maple Cream was good, but the oatmeal felt too condensed. This is more like a cross between a cake and a pudding vs your standard oatmeal.
RealEats meals can be prepared in 6 minutes (or less). To heat, bring a large pot of water to a simmer, place pouches in the water, and heat based on the time indicated on each menu item. In general, proteins take about 6 minutes and sides 3 minutes. You can also microwave meals by following the preparation instructions on the back of the package.
All RealEats meals are sealed inside BPA-free, plasticizer, and phthalate-free plastic pouches. These pouches are made from quality food-safe pouches that are used by gourmet restaurants for “sous-vide” style cooking. They are safe to place in hot water, but can not go in the microwave.
A few tips to enjoying your RealEats healthy prepared meals!
You can microwave meals in addition to using the boiling method. We tried this out with the side of meatballs and they tasted wonderful. Just remember to remove the plastic packaging prior to warming in the microwave.
You can store meals in the freezer. They recommend storing your meals in your fridge, but if you’re not sure you can eat them all in a week, moving some to the freezer to preserve past the seven-day shelf life is an option.
Pictures are not the product! I know we all know this one, but it’s good to keep in mind that you have to mix well in order to fully enjoy the contents of the meal.
Improvise! If you have the time and desire to experiment with adding your own seasoning or side spin to RealEats dishes, give it a try. Make it your own!
The cost of RealEats meals starts at $7.99/meal and varies depending on your chosen plan which can be skipped, paused, or canceled at any time. All come with free shipping. Here’s the breakdown.
Dinner
4 Dinners: $14.99 per meal
6 Dinners: $12.99 per meal
8 Dinners: $11.99 per meal
12 Dinners: $10.99 per meal
Dinner + Breakfast
4 Dinners + 4 Breakfasts: $9.99 per meal
6 Dinners + 6 Breakfasts: $8.99 per meal
8 Dinners + 8 Breakfasts: $8.49 per meal
12 Dinners + 12 Breakfasts: $7.99 per meal
Add On’s
Breakfast: $5.50/each
Soups and Chilis: $7/each
Drinks and Smoothies: Starting at $2.49
Snacks: Starting at $2.59
Proteins: Starting at $10
Sides: Starting at $7 for 2 servings
RealEats is a flexible subscription service. There is no minimum subscription period and you can skip, pause, or cancel your subscription at any time via your online account.
Currently, RealEats delivers to the eastern part of the United States and is adding delivery areas regularly. Be sure to check the site to confirm you are within their delivery area.
RealEats has recently added add-ons to their menu including breakfast, soups & chili, drinks & smoothies, snacks, proteins, and sides. Below is a sneak-peak at these new menu items.
RealEats Review: Bottom Line
RealEats could easily be my favorite local restaurant instead of a prepared meal delivery service. Once the food slides out of its bag and onto the plate, I saw and tasted nothing different than what I’d expect from a meal made in thirty minutes instead of six.
And while the texture of some meals was off, these healthy prepared meals tasted great, were very easy to make, and required virtually no cleanup.
We love that meals are made with organic when possible as well as locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. In addition, meals are free from artificial ingredients, binders, fillers, GMOs, and artificial preservatives.
We also love all of the new add-ons! You can order everything you need for the week from breakfast to lunch to snacks and dinner and have it delivered to your door. The convenience of RealEats is wonderful.
