With the boom of meal delivery services, you now have plenty of options to choose from. There are all kinds of meal deliveries, including prepared meal delivery services. This Nutrisystem vs Freshly comparison is one such popular debate when you talk about fully prepared meals delivered to you every week.
These are ready-to-eat meals. Nutrisystem and Freshly are subscription-based services allowing you to choose how many meals per week and servings per meal you want. The scope of the menu is not limited in any way. Everything from the quality and freshness of the ingredients and wide menu variety to recyclable packaging is well taken care of.
The fully cooked meals are either frozen (Nutrisystem) or kept cold with the help of ice packs and cooling insulation (Freshly) during shipping. Either way, important aspects like value, convenience, nutrition, special diet plans, etc. are a part of the experience. But still, you have to pick one of the two, and that’s where this article comes in to help you decide.
All You Need to Know and Understand About Meal Delivery Services
It has been said enough times now that the whole concept of meal delivery has already gained momentum in the food industry. Meal kits, and even premade meals, are becoming so much more popular at this point. And, to be honest, why wouldn’t they when they have so many advantages to offer?
You get the most accurate quantity of high-standard, and sometimes even organic, ingredients. These come to you prepped (and cooked in the case of ready-to-eat meals). So, if you don’t like or don’t have time for supermarket trips, meal delivery service can be such a huge relief.
Specific ingredients are provided, which minimizes the wastage of food and money. At the same time, you can try out new dishes, upgrade your cooking skills, and also stick to your diet plan (keto, paleo, gluten-free, vegan, etc.).
Choosing the Best Prepared Meal Delivery Service
Here are some of the most important factors you should be taking into consideration when picking a meal delivery service that suits you, your lifestyle, and your dietary preferences the most.
i. Menu Variety
Does the menu have a lot of options? What kinds of ingredients (seasonal, organic, etc.) are a part of the meals? What types of meal plans does the menu include?
A wide variety of ingredients and flavors on the menu is always welcome when it comes to deciding which meal delivery service to choose. You know it’s worth your money when the menu accommodates different kinds of diets, such as low-carb, gluten-free, vegan, low-calorie, pescatarian, vegetarian, paleo, keto, and so on.
ii. Freshness and Quality of Ingredients
As far as the food quality is concerned, it can only be tasty and healthy if the ingredients used for the recipe are fresh. Even quality matters a lot. Many top-prepared meal delivery services like Nutrisystem and Freshly are honest and very forthcoming about the quality of ingredients.
Generally, grass-fed meat sources set the benchmark, along with organic produce. Ensure the company doesn’t use artificial ingredients, chemicals, or preservatives. No hormones, antibiotics, and whatnot are present in chicken, beef, pork, etc.
iii. Nutritional Value of Meals
Are the meals nutritionally balanced? How would you know? Just click on the recipe to view everything about it – this includes its list of ingredients, nutrition chart, instructions for preparing/cooking, and more. Also, if the website doesn’t provide this type of helpful information, you can select another meal delivery service that does.
You should know what is going into your system, for example, meals with a higher amount of lean proteins, healthy fats, whole grains, vegetables, etc.
Is the menu designed by registered professional nutritionists or dieticians? This could mean a lot in terms of incorporating well-rounded meals into your weekly diet.
iv. Ease of Preparation
When picking fully prepared meals, you don’t really have to consider this particular factor. Well, not exactly, because even prepared meal kits can be a nuisance to heat if the service or company doesn’t prioritize crucial factors like comfort and convenience.
The meals (cooked) should be ready to eat after only a short time of microwave or oven heating (max. 5 minutes). However, some complicated dishes may require stovetop heating for a more refined texture and taste.
v. The “Taste” Factor
Tasty food is addictive, and it’s even more satisfying when your tasty meals are also nutritionally well-balanced. So, premade meals better be delicious! In that case, you can savor every bit of every dish guilt-free.
You can customize your meals to suit your specific dietary needs, preferences, restrictions, plans, etc. There should be plenty of delicious, filling vegan and gluten-free recipes too, which is awesome considering how more people are eliminating gluten and meat from their daily diet.
You get access to such a versatile and customizable menu which includes only fresh and nutritious ingredients. This gives you the opportunity to eat meals that are the most flavorful and nutrient-packed.
vi. PricePerServing of Meals
The price range of meal plans offered by prepared meal and meal kit delivery services, such as Nutrisystem and Freshly, is wide-ranging. Hence, there will always be enough options to fit every budget. Generally, the range is anywhere between $4.99 and $14.99 for a single serving of the meal.
Freshly, in comparison to Nutrisystem, is a more affordable choice here. Typically, the higher number of meals per week and/or servings per meal you pick, the more inexpensive the meal delivery service becomes. This applies to both Freshly and Nutrisystem.
Type of Meal Delivery Service
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem has a unique meal program for those looking for a service that plans all their meals in a health-conscious manner – not just for lunch or dinner but all the meals you are supposed to consume in a day.
Nutrisystem takes care of up to 6 meals daily. It’s a 4-week program, meaning you must order and pay for the 4weeks’ worth of meals at a time.
Nutrisystem chooses the meals, but you can select your meal preferences based on ingredients, nutrition, and the like. Select the meals for each day, starting with breakfast up to dinner. They have different tiers for meal selection, the costs starting from $9 per day to $13 per day.
Freshly
Comparatively, Freshly is miles and miles away from what Nutrisystem does. With Freshly, you can select between 4 and 12 meals weekly. They have a weekly rotating menu that changes week to week and offers more than 40 recipes. The meals meet different dietary preferences, such as vegetarian, balanced, and extra snacks or add-ons.
Meal Plans and Prices
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem features 3 different diet meals and plans for you to pick from.
Basic Program – $9.99 per day
Simple precooked meals start from breakfast, morning snack, lunch, evening snack, dinner, to post-dinner snack. It consists of 3 meals per day with 3 snacks included, and the meals are personally tailored for either Women or Men.
You can either select your own meals for each day or let Nutrisystem select the top-rated and chef-recommended ones on your behalf.
Uniquely Yours – $12.14 per day
A combination of traditional and modern precooked meals is included in this category. This meal program offers more variety than the Basic program with more dietary options.
You can pick your own meals or let Nutrisystem decide the better route for your everyday needs. The plan includes 6 different meals every day: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, evening snack, dinner, and post-dinner snack.
Plus, the meals are different for men and women, with a slight increase in per-day cost if you choose the men’s plan. I’ll list the differences between Women’s and Men’s plans in a minute.
Uniquely Yours Max+ – $13.57 per day
Protein-focused meals with 30g or more protein per meal are part of this premium meal program. The menu offers more than 150 different recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
The meals are portioned with 30g of proteins, larger servings of vegetables, and no carb-heavy sides. All the meals are pre-cooked, and you can easily heat them in a microwave, oven, or skillet – the choice is entirely yours.
Like previous meal plans, you can select either a Women’s or Men’s meal plan and pick your meals for 5 or 6 days of the week. Nutrisystem allows you to pick your meals for each day. Consequently, if you select the Chef’s Choice option, the meals are selected based on the most popular dishes on their menu.
On all the abovementioned options, Nutrisystem also lets you add protein shakes that help with weight loss and boost protein. Since this is a 4-week program, you have to add 28 protein shakes, one for each day, for a discounted price of $40 on the first order.
For a Basic Plan, Nutrisystem costs anywhere from $280 to the most premium plan, which goes up to $410 per month for all meals, including snacks.
But wait, why are the prices different for Women and Men?
It’s important to keep in mind that Nutrisystem charges different prices for Women’s and Men’s plans.
However, there is no restriction if you want to opt for either. It depends on your daily calorie requirements, so Men’s meals have more calories daily than Women’s. The Women’s plan features 4 proper meals a day with 2 snacks. Men’s plan features 5 meals per day with 2 snacks.
What you’re essentially paying more for in the Men’s meal plan is the extra daily meal. This applies to the Basic, Uniquely Yours, and Uniquely Yours Premium plans.
If your diet demands more healthy meals per day for weight loss, you can opt for the Men’s meal plan, which costs a meal per serving more than the Women’s. If you’re on a strict weight loss diet plan with fewer calories and more healthy nutrients, however, the Women’s plan is perfect for you.
There are perks to consuming fewer or more calories per day depending on your body’s needs and lifestyle. Counting calories, regardless of the number of meals you eat daily, is essential for weight loss.
According to a study, eating a moderate amount of calories daily, not excessively low but not too much either, lets you burn more calories through physical activity. A calorie deficit of 500 calories per day for an entire week burns about 1 pound of fat each week. The exact number of calories burnt depends on the person, as it is not the same for everyone.
Lastly, Nutrisystem does not charge a shipping fee. It’s all included in the price you see on each plan’s rate card -no hidden charges and no extra delivery costs during checkout!
Freshly
Freshly gives you tons of options when it comes to selecting different meals for the entire week. It’s not a fixed 4-week meal delivery service like Nutrisystem. You have to order from week to week, and you can choose from 4 to 12 meals per order.
Having said that, there’s even the added advantage that you get more discount if you increase the number of meals to your order.
So, for example, these are the savings on every flexible plan you pick on Freshly. Before I show you the discount margin for each meal plan, the average price per serving for Freshly is $9.5-$12 per serving.
You pay the highest when you order the minimum quantity, which is between 4 and 5 meals per week. After that, any plan you select will automatically have a discounted rate.
- 4-5 meals (minimum order)
- 6-7 meals: Up to $12 discount on the total bill
- 8-9 meals: Up to $20 discount on the total bill
- 10-11 meals: Up to $29 discount on the total bill
- 12 meals: Up to $35 discount on the total bill
Diet-wise, Freshly offers incredible dietary preferences taking into consideration the different lifestyles of most people. All the diet plans cost the same, but there may be some relevant differences in price with premium ingredients such as salmon or steak.
Overall, however, I did not find any significant price increase, even if you order more nonvegetarian recipes from their menu.
Freshly serves all single-serve lunches, dinners, and sometimes add-ons like breakfast, snacks, and proteins. The cost of the add-ons is much less expensive than the per-serving cost of the meals.
For example, an add-on like 3 grilled chicken breasts will cost you $3 extra. Proteins like chicken, turkey, and sauteed veggies are highly recommended if you want to boost your protein intake daily. Also, thanks to Freshly’s affordable costs, you don’t have to pay a lot of money to increase your protein diet.
Please note that the serving size of Freshly’s add-ons, on average, is from 2 to 4 servings per portion. When you factor this in, you’ll very quickly realize that the add-ons cost less than $2 per serving, even for nonvegetarian proteins.
Plus, there is no limitation or restrictions with regard to the number of add-ons you can include in your weekly cart. You can mix and match based on what you like.
This is what Freshly offers to accommodate different dietary lifestyles. On Freshly’s menu, you’ll find recipes that may be one of the following:
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Plant-based
- Low-carb (less than 35g carbs)
- Low-calorie (less than 500 calories)
- High-protein
- Soy-free
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
Each recipe has multiple dietary labels, like the ones mentioned above. You will find more than a few that adhere to the aforementioned dietary restrictions, making Freshly a practical and versatile meal delivery service if you’re a vegetarian or looking for meals that are low in carbs and calories and high in proteins.
People sensitive to ingredients like gluten, soy, and dairy will also benefit greatly from Freshly as all their meals are certified gluten- and dairy-free. A few meals are prepared without soy.
All the entrees and add-ons are cooked and packed without artificial ingredients, including processed sugar, preservatives, colorants, and additives. Excessive amounts of sugar are also eliminated.The average meal has around 6-7 grams of natural sugar and zero added sugar.
The variety of Freshly’s meals is impressive, considering how affordable it is when you order more than 4 meals per week. For finicky people, trying out Freshly’s1-week box is definitely better and less expensive than opting for Nutrisystem’s 4-week program.
Nutrition & Ingredients
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem serves precooked recipes and snacks that are prepared and packed well. The meals are either flash-frozen or nonperishable meals, so they arrive in two different packages for convenience.
Flash-frozen meals are prepared meals that should be stored in the freezer for longer shelf life. Since Nutrisystem delivers every 4 weeks, flash-frozen meals are necessary to keep the food from spoiling.
In a lot of homes, leftovers such as curries and marinades are stored in the freezer for later consumption. So, it’s not uncommon to freeze your meals to preserve the flavor and freshness of the food for a long time – for weeks most likely.
The other type of meal that Nutrisystem delivers is nonperishable items such as dry food items. Nonperishable items are those that you do not have to keep in the freezer. You can keep them in your pantry, but keep them out of direct sunlight and moisture. Any dry and cool place is sufficient.
After opening the package, the food must be consumed within a few hours to avoid the risk of spoilage. Even if you can’t finish the entire packet serving, you can then keep the item in the fridge or freezer, depending on how long you want to store it before eating it again.
With that out of the way, let’s talk about the quality of the ingredients and nutritional breakdown.
For weight loss, a healthy and balanced meal consists of enough calories and carbs and more proteins, vitamins, and healthy fats. One thing you’re most likely to find in takeout food is high amounts of salt and unhealthy fats, which are not considered healthy.
With a meal delivery service like Nutrisystem, you don’t have to worry about using processed ingredients such as sodium, sugar, and fats. They have meals full of whole, unprocessed, and preservative-free foods such as nuts and seeds, vegetables, beans and legumes, and lean proteins.
The 4-week diet consists of only whole foods, nothing else. Meals with sauces or marinades are also made with plant-based alternatives, no preservatives, added sugars, and additives.
Your Nutrisystem diet will consist of “Smart” carbohydrates, sufficient calories, and low sodium.
Smart carbohydrates include beans, whole grains, and vegetables that contain essential phytonutrients, minerals, fiber, and vitamins. You’ll receive plenty of recipes with healthy sources of carbs like oats, quinoa, sweet potatoes, beets, kidney beans, and chickpeas.
Whole foods and the carbohydrates they provide are beneficial for weight loss, contrary to what you’ve been told about eating carbs and weight gain. Studies suggest a sufficient intake of healthy carbs in your daily meals, unhealthy sources of carbs like white bread, pasta, and refined carbs need to be eliminated completely.
Sufficient calories are necessary for weight loss and staying fit and healthy. Nutrisystem provides a good mix of recipes with fewer than 500 calories in one serving and some high-calorie foods contributing to weight loss.
It’s a myth to aggressively cut back on calories to lose weight. Though you will lose a lot of weight if you restrict your calorie intake, you will quickly gain all the weight back as soon as you return to your normal eating routine.
The solution to this, however, is eating a balanced portion of calories. When you calculate how many calories your body needs based on your weight, activity, and weight loss goals, you’ll quickly realize how important calories are to keep you active and healthy every day.
Typically, the body needs 2,000 calories per day for both men and women. Men require a slightly higher intake of calories (up to 2,600-3,000), while women should consume at least 2,000-2,400 calories per day.
Dieticians and chefs of Nutrisystem prepare meals based on these numbers for better results. The meals and snacks have sufficient calories without any unhealthy fats and refined carbs. Most of the calories come from whole foods like beans, chickpeas, lean proteins, legumes, nuts and seeds, vegetables, and fruits.
Low sodium means a restricted salt diet, but you shouldn’t eliminate sodium from your diet completely. USDA recommends a 2,300 mg intake of sodium on a daily basis, which is normal and healthy. However, consuming sodium in food below 2,300mg depends on your body and weight loss goals.
Nutrisystem ensures that all the meals are designed with the 2,000g-2,3000mg sodium intake range in mind. The meals and snacks have limited sodium content, but not so low that you have to worry about the risks of a sodium deficit diet. A balanced portion of sodium in your diet is necessary. Nutrisystem ensures that you do not exceed the necessary limit. This is because a high-sodium diet can also make you gain more weight.
Freshly
Freshly considers health and weight loss from a completely different light. Though Freshly is not as weightloss-focused as Nutrisystem, its meals are very well-balanced and satisfying – nutrition- and taste-wise.
The meals are all certified gluten-free with other dietary restrictions such as dairy-free, soy-free, high-protein, low-carb, and low-calorie. All the meals are prepared with zero preservatives, additives, and artificial sugars. There’s no use of processed ingredients like fatty cheese, salty marinades, and sauces.
Where Nutrisystem offers different meal plans based on your weight loss goals and calorie requirements, Freshly features four different meal plans based on overall nutrition and main protein ingredients.
Purely Plant
Plant-based ingredients, including protein, are added. There are no meat or animal by-products. In this meal plan, you will find many recipes with lentils that are used for making pasta, rice, and cream-based ingredients like coconut, cashews, or legumes to make sauces and dressings.
All the meals are plant-packed with red bell peppers, butternut squash, tomatoes, red split lentils, beans, chickpeas, oats, and plant-based pasta made with lentils and brown rice.
Signature Collection
This meal plan includes a bit of everything healthy, tasty, and wholesome. Lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, fish, and some beef-based meals are included.
The average calorie range of these meals is between 500 and 600 calories per serving, but you will find more than a few meals with lean proteins that contain fewer than 500 calories.
The lean proteins are paired with veggies, not refined carbs, for a better, nutritionally satisfying diet. Peas, green beans, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, and pasta made with brown rice and lentils are common.
Freshly Fit
Meals with fewer than 500 calories and 35g carbs are included in this meal plan. Chicken, turkey, shrimp, lentils, and beans are the main sources of protein. One or two beef recipes are also included with a surprisingly balanced nutritional value paired with mushrooms, herbs, garlic, lemon, roasted bell peppers, and shallots.
If you have more questions regarding diet and ingredients, you can directly chat with one of Freshly’s Menu Experts for immediate assistance. Any advice on healthy eating, allergy accommodations, swapping ingredients, etc. is handled by the menu experts.
Meal Preparation & Cooking Time
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem’s meals need to be either heated in a microwave, on a stovetop, or on a skillet. The flash-frozen meals, to be more specific, need to be heated in this way. Some items are packed in airtight packaging that can be eaten straight out of the packet. You don’t need to store these types of items in the freezer or fridge, nor do they require heating.
You can tell which ones require heating by how the flash-frozen meals and nonfrozen foods are packed. If you’re still lost, Nutrisystem’s website provides you with all the information you need. Some of the packaging will have accurate meal preparation tips and steps printed on it, so you can use different heating methods like the oven, microwave, or grill pan to make the meal taste better and more homemade.
Frozen foods have a “Keep Frozen” label on them. The nonfrozen foods can be stored at room temperature away from direct sunlight in the cabinets and drawers of your kitchen. Some items are fine when kept in the fridge, but most must be stored in the freezer.
Once a meal is kept out to thaw, do not wait for longer than 10-15 minutes before you heat the meal. After removing it from the freezer, food that sits out for as long as 2 hours starts growing bad bacteria. Thus, ensure you don’t wait very long before heating up your delicious meal.
Nutrisystem’s plans for a day include up to six meals, breakfast, and a few snacks. The snack items are mostly nonfrozen, which means they can be stored outside the freezer/fridge in the pantry. Plus, you don’t have to heat the snacks as they’re perfectly delicious when eaten straight out of the packet.
Frozen meals, on the other hand, must be removed one meal at a time in order to heat and serve. This should take only a little over 5 minutes unless the meat takes longer to heat up. There will be accurate heating instructions on Nutrisystem’s website and on the packaging label.
You can also log and monitor your diet with the NuMi app, which Nutrisystem provides for meal planning and meal tracking.
Overall, I didn’t find any complaints about the speed and consistency of meal preparation. The breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are quick and straightforward to heat up. Nutrisystem’s meals are quite light and lean, so they don’t require any complicated prep method.
Freshly
Cooking Freshly’s meals takes less than 5 minutes. Unlike Nutrisystem, Freshly’s meals are all single-serve, and each meal is packed in microwave-friendly containers. You save more time because the meals need to be kept in the fridge, not a freezer, so you don’t have to thaw the meal before heating it.
Simply remove the plastic liner from the lid, place the meal in the microwave, and let it heat up for a few minutes. Premium ingredients like meat may take slightly longer to heat, but chicken, veggies, and seafood heat up very quickly.
There’s no need to transfer the meal from the container to a bowl or a plate. You can even eat off the container if you want to save time cleaning up afterward. Light entrees take 2-3 minutes to heat and cool down fairly quickly. So, if you don’t consume the meal within 15 minutes after heating, you can reheat it easily without any hassle.
The sides and protein add-on also come with printed heating instructions that you can easily follow. Depending on the number of servings you pick, the heating time varies between 5 and 15 minutes max.
Certain meals can be heated on a skillet or a pan if preferred. I like heating pan-seared dishes such as grilled chicken, sauteed vegetables, and similar recipes on a skillet. They taste better when cooked for a few minutes longer on the stovetop.
The overall prep time, no matter which dish you pick, is less than 10 minutes for heating in the microwave, oven, or stovetop.
Shipping
Nutrisystem
The great news about Nutrisystem’s shipping and delivery is that they do not charge any shipping fee. It’s completely free for nonfrozen and frozen foods for the 4-week meal program.
If you’re ordering just the A La Carte frozen foods, the shipping costs $20 on orders less than $75. Above that, the shipping of frozen and nonfrozen foods from the A La Carte menu is completely free.
Nutrisystem takes up to 5 days to deliver the entire month’s order. Some orders can take up to 10 days if there’s any delay due to weather or carrier problems. The meals stay frozen with the help of dry ice inside the container. Even after the delivery is done, the dry ice melts within 5-7 hours. Unpack the meals after the dry ice has completely melted.
Nutrisystem does not deliver on its own, it makes use of services like FedEx, SmartPost, and DHL for delivery everywhere. They deliver to the continental United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Air and road deliveries are also applicable,but for certain out-of-reach areas, the order may take longer to arrive than usual.
You can also have the order shipped to PO and APO boxes, which take longer than 10 days to deliver.
Thankfully, you can track the delivery and shipment of your order on the Track Order page once you sign in. In this section, you can also view and compare past orders and effectively check the shipping date, tracking numbers, and shipping status.
Keep in mind that frozen meals and nonfrozen meals are delivered separately. This means you’ll receive two shipments in total for every order.
Freshly
Freshly does charge a shipping fee based on the delivery address and size of the order. The average fee range is between $4 and $12 per order. If you’re a student, you can access their student discount, which gives students above 16 years oldan $80 discount on the first few orders. The condition here is to sign up using your student email address.
Freshly delivers all over the 48 continental United States. You can easily find out the areas by entering your zip code and checking immediately whether Freshly delivers to your location or not.
You can select the perfect day of the week for all your deliveries. The time, however, depends on Freshly. You can easily opt for live tracking updates to receive notifications whenever the parcel is dispatched, shipped, and out for delivery.
The meal container is designed to keep the meals fresh and cool for up to 2 days during transit. Plus, even if you’re not home before delivery, the meal box will be delivered straight to your doorstep. The meals stay fresh even then for up to 12 hours at your doorstep.
Nutrisystem Pros
- Great meal plans for weight loss and diabetes control.
- The meals arrive very fast and in an organized fashion.
- Flexible meal delivery service for firsttimers.
- All the meals are frozen and heat up very quickly.
- Dietician-approved meals with hundreds of recipes.
- High-protein nutrition with add-ons like protein shakes.
- Customizable menu for allergies, IBS, and dietary restrictions.
- Different breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack menus.
- Calorie-specific diet plans for both men and women.
- Shipping is completely free.
- Comfortable meal plans for singles, couples, and families.
Freshly Pros
- More cost-effective than Nutrisystem with single-serve recipes.
- You save more money if you increase the size of the order.
- All the meals are naturally gluten-free and certified.
- Wide variety of diets for vegetarians with low-carb and low-calorie meals.
- Cooks very fast and is ready to eat in less than 5 minutes.
- Interesting and delicious add-ons for breakfast and protein.
- Some recipes are paleo-friendly, soy-free, dairy-free, and vegan.
- Most of the packaging is eco-friendly and recyclable.
- Meals are well-portioned to avoid the wastage of food at the end of every meal.
Nutrisystem Cons
- It’s an expensive meal delivery service.
- You have to order for the entire month.
- Some of the meals may contain GMO and other processed ingredients.
- No foolproof guarantee about what the meals contain.
- A few flash-frozen meals are not healthy in the long run.
- Calorie-restrictive diet plan is not suitable for everyone.
- No scientific evidence for weight loss and blood sugar regulation for diabetes.
Freshly Cons
- Some may find the portion size too small or light.
- The meals are very plain and traditional.
- Not a lot of options for diet restrictions.
- It’s a single-serve service and is not fit for families.
- You need to have pantry items like salt and pepper to season for some meals.
Menu and Recipes
Nutrisystem
On Nutrisystem’s menu, you have filters you can sort and find specific recipes with. You can filter by the following subcategories other than Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks.
You can sort by the following:
- Storing Condition: Nonfrozen and Frozen
- Special Dietary Needs: Diabetes-Friendly and Vegetarian
- Nutrition: Protein, Low sodium, Fiber, and No Cholesterol
- Preparation: No Prep, Microwave, Conventional Oven, Toaster Oven, and Stovetop
- Exclude Ingredients: Spicy foods, Wheat, Milk, Dairy, Fish, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Tomatoes, Chocolate, Sugar, Pork, Onions, and Nuts and Seeds
- Type of Cuisine: Bestsellers, New, Italian, Beef, Chicken, Seafood, Soups, Sandwiches, etc.
Breakfast
Nutrisystem features 20 different breakfast choices that you can accommodate within any one of their meal plans. Each breakfast item is backed by nutrition, ingredients, and customer reviews.
My favorites are the Granola Cereal, which is also Diabetes-Friendly and Vegetarian. You can fit this meal inside any one of their meal plans with a click of a button.
Here’s the nutrient breakdown of the Granola Cereal:
- Calories: 150
- Total fat: 2g
- Sodium: 25mg
- Total carbohydrate: 30g
- Dietary Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 5g
Another interesting option that is more filling than the Granola Cereal is the Breakfast Burrito. It’s an excellent source of protein with fewer calories, more fiber, and healthy carbs. It’s perfect for a satisfying and energy-packed start to the day, if you ask me.
Here’s the nutrient breakdown of the Breakfast Burrito:
- Calories: 200
- Total fat: 5g
- Sodium: 230mg
- Total carbohydrate: 30g
- Dietary Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 8g
Turkey Ham and Cheese Omelet, Honey Wheat Bagel, Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal and Cinnamon Roll are some other interesting breakfast items on their menu.
Lunch
There is everything you could possibly imagine to eat for lunch on Nutrisystem’s menu – noodles, pasta, soups, stir-fries, sandwiches, burritos, flatbreads, dumplings, hamburgers, and power bars.
My favorite is the Classic Hamburger for meat lovers or the Spinach and Cheese Pretzel Melt for vegetarian.
Here’s the nutrient breakdown of the Classic Hamburger, which is also diabetes-friendly and a good source of protein:
- Calories: 240
- Total fat: 8g
- Sodium: 540mg
- Total carbohydrate: 28g
- Dietary Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 14g
The nutrient breakdown of the Spinach and Cheese Pretzel Melt is just as tempting.It is vegetarian, diabetes-friendly, and provides plenty of proteins:
- Calories: 230
- Total fat: 6g
- Sodium: 350mg
- Total carbohydrate: 32g
- Dietary Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 12g
The Café-Style Creamy Tomato Soup, Country-Style Hashbrown Casserole, and Country-Style Chicken and Dumplings are labeled as Restaurant Faves and have some really positive customer reviews.
Dinner
The dinners are balanced in that majority of the meals are high in proteins and heart-healthy. Most meals are also diabetes-friendly, meaning no artificial ingredients or processed ingredients.
You can filter meals according to their nutritional values. So, for example, you can easily select meals low in sodium, high in fiber, and protein-rich. I found more chicken recipes than beef and pork, although there are a few meaty recipes for foodies. Plenty of vegetarian options also have more proteins and fiber than carbs.
The Lemon Caper Chicken is one of the heart-friendly and diabetes-friendly recipes, packed with protein and fewer calories per serving:
- Calories: 420
- Total fat: 11g
- Sodium: 600mg
- Total carbohydrate: 50g
- Dietary Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 32g
The Artichoke and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast, Mediterranean Flatbread, and Grain-Crusted Pollock with Vegetables are labeled as protein-rich and delicious recipes with top ratings and reviews.
Snacks
Nutrisystem has an impressive snacks menu with different recipes and delicious flavors for binging. The Walnut Chocolate Cookies have only 150 calories and are a good source of fiber with 7g of proteins. For something more binge-worthy, the Cheese Puffs are diabetes-friendly, with 150 calories, 7g protein, and fewer fats.
Freshly
Freshly’s menu is direct and user-friendly. Everything you need to know about their meals, cost, and flexible meal plans is displayed on a single page.
You can find different recipes based on the following subcategories and/or filters:
Purely Plant
Vegetarian and plant-forward meals are included, though the meals in this plan aren’t as abundant as those in Freshly’s Signature plan. Protein-rich alternatives to meat are included, plus plenty of lean and non-refined carbs such as brown rice, lentils, and beans make up the Purely Plant diet.
The Creamy Marinara Lentil Pasta has the following:
- Calories: 520
- Total fat: 26g
- Sodium: 790mg
- Total carbohydrate: 63g
- Dietary Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 12g
Signature Collection
Balanced meals with and without meat are included. Overall, I did realize that the meals provided by Freshly are more satisfying and filling than Nutrisystem. You are served with larger portions of chicken and healthy carbs such as vegetables, beans, lentils, and brown rice.
In chicken, the Homestyle Chicken has the following:
- Calories: 560
- Total fat: 27g
- Sodium: 560mg
- Total carbohydrate: 35g
- Dietary Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 46g
In beef, the popular Flame-Seared Top Blade Steak has the following:
- Calories: 610
- Total fat: 35g
- Sodium: 1180mg
- Total carbohydrate: 34g
- Dietary Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 41g
In seafood, the top-rated, soy-free Wild-Caught Fish Cake has the following:
- Calories: 570
- Total fat: 25g
- Sodium: 980mg
- Total carbohydrate: 65g
- Dietary Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 23g
In turkey, the low-calorie Heartland Turkey Meatloaf has the following:
- Calories: 460
- Total fat: 27g
- Sodium: 620mg
- Total carbohydrate: 23g
- Dietary Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 34g
FreshlyFit
FreshlyFit has meals that are low in calories and carbs with restricted fats. Most recipes are calorie-controlled, with less than 500 calories per serving. Chicken recipes and seafood recipes are top priorities, with loads of carb-conscious veggies.
The classic Oven-Glazed Chicken Marsala has the following:
- Calories: 350
- Total fat: 13g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Total carbohydrate: 19g
- Dietary Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 35g
Frequently Asked Questions About Nutrisystem and Freshly (FAQs)
1. How Is Their Customer Service?
I will not refute the truth that both Nutrisystem and Freshly have very responsive and helpful customer support service.
With Nutrisystem, you can contact them through email, phone, and live chat – between Monday and Friday and between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (EST) on weekdays. On weekends (Saturday and Sunday), the time is between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (EST).
For Freshly, you have to contact them via text, call, email, or chat. They offer 24/7 customer service, so there will always be a Freshly representative there to assist you and resolve any complaints or queries you might have.
Both have an incredibly useful support page in the form of Nutrisystem FAQs and Freshly FAQs.
2. What About the Nutrisystem and Freshly Mobile App?
Starting with Nutrisystem’s health app called NuMi, it provides meal planning guidance for weight loss. Basically, it has everything such as the following:
- Meal tracking/portioning for Nutrisystem and regular meals
- Monitoring your weight loss progress
- Daily reminders to encourage proper water consumption, meal logging, and physical exercise
- Free, extremely useful tips, recipes, and other informational articles
- Special Nutrisystem offers contests, discounts, and challenges
As for Freshly, their app consists of their weeklyrotating menu and shipment tracking. That said, the app here is not necessarily health-focused like Nutrisystem. The latter is way better since it has more features that help you stay on your weight loss or fitness journey.
3. Are the Meal Plans Diabetic-Friendly?
It has to be mentioned first and foremost that Nutrisystem rightfully wins the battle of who is more diabetic-friendly. If you check out Nutrisystem’s separate Diabetic Plans page, you’ll see how genuinely committed they are to helping you keep your diabetes under control:
- Basic Diabetes Plan ($9.99 per day)
- Uniquely Your Diabetes Plan ($12.14 per day)
- Uniquely Yours Ultimate Diabetes Plan ($13.93 per day)
These 4-week weightloss meal plans decrease your chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes. The meals improve blood sugar levels and minimize insulin. These are high-fiber, high-protein dishes without any artificial sweeteners and flavors.
Freshly, unfortunately, doesn’t offer any such plans. You’ll find the following dwon their menu categories:
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Calorie-conscious
- Carb-smart
- Plant-based
As for their meal plans:
- Purely Plant
- Signature Collection
- FreshlyFit
- Proteins & Sides
Clearly, there’s nothing specifically diabetic-friendly on Freshly, but you can view every recipe’s nutritional value to decide for yourself.
4. Is the Packaging Environment-Friendly?
Compared to other top meal delivery services, Freshly is just as good and responsible concerning the recyclability of its packaging materials. This includes cardboard boxes, plastic containers, reusable, biodegradable denim insulation, and ice packs. Here’s all of their Packaging & Recycling information.
Moving on to Nutrisystem, they also use eco-friendly packaging materials that are biodegradable as well.
Conclusion
If you’re living with your family and are looking for a foolproof and authentic way to lose weight and stay healthy on a budget, Freshly gives you plenty of options. It features a more straightforward menu which contain nutritionally balanced and delicious recipes.
However, Nutrisystem caters to a specific crowd in that their meals make meal customization and health concerns like diabetes, weight loss, and heart-healthy diets more accurate and realistic for people who don’t like cooking meals themselves.
If you fall into the second category of food and health enthusiasts, Nutrisystem features a 4-week-long program for you to follow and see results in a month when it comes to weight loss and improving your blood sugar and heart health!
Both Nutrisystem and Freshly offer cooked meals in every category, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Plus, they have plenty of macro-focused meals for serious dietary preferences.
