Fresh Start Review

flag Ideal for those looking to start eating healthy
  • Carb-conscious meals approved by dieticians

  • Great tasting meals made with seasonal produce

  • Meals are straightforward to prepare

  • Pause your subscription at any time

Pros & Cons

  • Offers healthy options for those looking to start eating healthier
  • Fairly varied menu
  • A bit more affordable than other food services
  • Great tasting options
  • Customers can easily customize their meals and plan to fit their dietary needs
  • Doesn't have too many vegetarian options and offers no vegan options
  • Uses a fair amount of plastic in their packaging

Plans & Pricing

As with a lot of other food services out there, Fresh Start prices can vary significantly. Generally, their prices will be around $6.99 to $9.94 per serving, but most of their menu options will cost you approximately $8.99 per serving.

That being said, since you can customize the meals that you get from the brand, these customizations can cause the price to change. For example, the chicken meals offered by the brand give you the option of having anti-biotic or organic meat for the extra cost of $2.29 and $4.49, respectively.

Not all of these customizations will cost you, though, as sometimes they can offer substitutions for certain aspects of a meal for free. For example, in one of their meals, you have the option of subbing out pre-cooked pulled pork for raw ground turkey without any additional cost.

Fresh Start plans will require you to order between 2-6 meals per week and also have a minimum of two servings per meal. This should be no problem for people who plan to order for a family or group of friends, but problems can arise when you want to get a plan for just one person.

On top of the cost of their meals, you will have to pay a shipping fee that varies depending on your location, but it usually averages out at around $13.99. This is generally less expensive than many other services in the market, and it is because these meals have less prep done for you, so you can expect to do a bit more cooking with these recipes. On top of that, they do not offer a lot of imported ingredients, which still makes for great meals, but don’t expect to be getting truffles and quinoa with their meals.

All-in-all, Fresh Start is a reasonably cost-effective option for those looking to start eating healthy on a budget.

Fresh Start Meal Plan
Starts at $6.99/meal

Overview

Home Chef is one of the most well-known food services out there today. They are known for providing healthy and great-tasting options ideal for those looking to start eating healthy. The service offers various plans and menus designed for different people, and one of their newest options is their Fresh Start plan.

The Fresh Start plan consists of dietician-approved meals with options that are both low-carb and low-calorie. On top of that, you can customize your meals based on your needs and preferences. So if you need more protein, less sodium, or just want to avoid certain foods, you can easily do that with Fresh Start.

This is a great food service option for those who live busy lifestyles and don’t have time to cook for themselves but still want to eat healthy and delicious meals. There are lots of options under the Fresh Start plan, and they are all designed to fit the needs of different individuals, making this an ideal choice for those who want to eat healthier but don’t exactly know how to start doing that.

Rating

  • "Price"
    9 /10
  • "Features"
    7 /10
  • "Ease of USe"
    8 /10
  • "Help and Support"
    8 /10

Special Features

Fresh Start specializes in providing healthy meals for individuals who are planning to start eating healthier and living a healthier lifestyle. That is why their menu is dietician-approved with a ton of low-carb and low-calorie options.

On top of that, the meals are also customizable. So, whether you want certain flavors or would like a bit more protein in your meals, that’s no problem, as Fresh Start gives you the option of adding certain ingredients to your meal or even swapping some for something that fits your diet better. That being said, some of these add-ons will cost you more money, while others are available at no additional cost.

Ease of Use

One of the best characteristics of the Fresh Start brand is how easy and convenient it is to subscribe to the service. Everything can be done online, and signing up only takes a couple of minutes!

To start your process with the brand, simply head over to their website. From there, you will be led to a signup page where you can select the plan you want. Fresh Start is under the Home Chef brand, so you can also choose from the other Home Chef options that are being offered.

After choosing your plan, you will be asked what your preferences are and what food you would rather avoid. After that, you will be led to the “Build a Box” page, where you simply choose how many meals and servings you would like per week. Once you’ve selected the number of meals and servings you’ll need weekly, you have to enter your shipping details before you see the full cost of the plan you chose. From there, you finally get to choose the meals you want, then all you have to do is wait for them to arrive at your door.

On top of that, canceling or pausing the subscription is very easy as well, so if you don’t feel like eating their meals for a week or want to stop receiving packages from them for whatever reason, you can do it fairly easily through the website.

Suppliers

Since their menu changes weekly, Fresh Start by Home Chef gets their ingredients from a wide range of suppliers. That being said, the brand ensures that their ingredients are sourced responsibly.

The company ensures that their ingredients are supplied by innovators in the market who sustainably source their ingredients, benefit the eco-systems that they operate in, and treat their employees with respect.

Because they change suppliers frequently, depending on the meals that they offer on a weekly basis, they cannot certify that all their meals and ingredients will be organic. That being said, they usually have an option for changing certain ingredients to organic ingredients.

Variety of Food

The Home Chef brand itself has a wide menu, and this goes the same for Fresh Start, which is under Home Chef. While all their meals are designed to be healthy, they still have a fair amount of variety that can fit a lot of different diets.

Upon signing up for the service, you are required to give out certain dietary preferences and restrictions. For Fresh Start, you can choose whether you prefer low-carb or low-calorie meals (you can even select both!). On top of that, you can even add what types of foods you would rather avoid, such as pork, peanuts, mushrooms, poultry, and whatever your diet requires.

That being said, while they do offer some vegetarian options, there isn’t a lot. Usually, their weekly menu will only feature 1-2 different vegetarian options, but that also depends on what the brand is offering that week.

The Fresh Start menu changes regularly, but here are some examples of the food offered in their plans:

  • Salmon with Hazelnut Brown Butter
  • Korean-Style Pork Tacos
  • Brasserie-Style Sirloin Steak
  • Mushroom-Cream Smothered Chicken
  • Sesame Sweet Potatoes and Avocado

Fresh Start meals are usually categorized into three cooking categories: Meal Kits, 15-Minute Meal Kits, Easy Prep Meal Kits, and Extras. These categories have different food that requires different cooking styles, so while some can be prepared very quickly, others will take some time and effort. On top of that, the extras menu contains great tasting food you can either add to a meal or have on their own!

Food Allergies

As mentioned earlier, upon signing up, you can select certain foods you want to avoid because of dietary restrictions or because of allergies. That being said, these meals are prepared in a facility that also eggs, fish, milk, tree nuts, peanuts, meat, wheat, soy, and shellfish. And while all their ingredients are packaged separately, that does not mean they are prepared in an allergen-free facility.

Because of this, those with food allergies are advised to proceed with caution when ordering from Fresh Start.

Customer Support

Help & Support is readily available for Fresh Start through the Home Chef contact page. You can either submit an email request on the page or contact them through phone, and for more information, you can visit the company’s FAQ page or YouTube channel.

  • 24/7 Help & Support
    You can submit a help and support request on their website
  • Phone Support
    Phone support is available from 9 AM to 6 PM CST from Monday to Friday and 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturday. You can reach them through this number 872-225-2433 or this number 855-949-3049 for a toll-free call
  • Video Tutorials
    For visual learners, you can also visit the company's YouTube page, which is filled with informative videos
  • FAQ
    Information is also available through the company's FAQ page
  • Blog
    The brand has a blog where you can read up on various topics

Final Word

And with that, our deep dive into the Fresh Start food service comes to an end. This is a great option for anyone looking to eat healthier by cooking their own pre-prepped meals and following great-tasting recipes.

It’s also a great option for those who want to learn how to cook healthy but don’t have the time to go out and pick and choose ingredients themselves. Fresh Start is fairly more affordable than other options out there, so if you’re looking to save some money while eating more nutritious and dietician-approved meals, this would be the right pick for you.

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Aneeca
Aneeca Y.
author

Aneeca is a professional journalist and a big food lover. She was born in Mexico and spicy dishes are her favorite. As a passionate traveler, Aneeca visited many European, Asian, and African countries to learn about their cuisines. She spends her free time trying recipes and preparing food for the entire family.

We make the best effort to present up-to-date information; however, the terms of each offer can be revised according to the service provider’s discretion. The above shall not be considered as an expert or professional advice for any matter.

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