New business offers healthy prepared meals for customers
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IDAHO FALLS – The owners of a local business are on a mission to make it easy and convenient for customers to eat healthy.
Christopher and Lauren Parrett, Brianne Clark and Dalin Bernard opened Prepp’d, a meal prep delivery service, on July 4 at 3102 South 25th East in Idaho Falls. It’s a subscription-based model that allows customers to buy nutritious, ready-to-eat meals each week.
“There is no (other place) in town (where) you can go get a clean, 500-calorie meal that tastes good,” Chris tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The menu includes a rotation of 30 different meals, such as Asian cashew chicken, cheesesteak and potatoes, red curry tacos, butter chicken meatballs, chicken tinga and curry taco skillet.
Each meal is between 500 and 600 calories and includes a clean carb, a clean protein and clean vegetables — meaning there is no added butter, oil or fat.
“There (are some) little shortcuts I’ve learned in healthy cooking without sacrificing taste,” says Clark, who is the head chef.
For example, Clark often uses Greek yogurt as a topping instead of sour cream.
“Most people don’t notice (when they taste it). I’ve told a lot of people that it’s Greek yogurt, and they’re shocked,” says Clark.
A typical meal usually provides 20 to 30 grams of protein, Chris says, but Prepp’d meals offer 40 to 60 grams. Giving customers a strong dose of clean protein is another aspect that sets it apart from other restaurants, he says.
Though the cost of ingredients for each meal is cheaper if you buy it yourself at the grocery store, Chris says the time it takes to take them home, put them away and prepare them is something many people don’t want to do. The convenience of purchasing a pre-cooked meal is what’s appealing to customers, he says.
Prepp’d during a pandemic
Providing ready-to-eat meals during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed like a tailor-made model for customers.
“Everyone says it’s a great idea during the pandemic, but I don’t have a single-use case where that was a cause for (customers) to buy. In every instance, it’s been ease of access and a desire to eat healthy,” Chris says.
The idea for Prepp’d stemmed from Chris’ love of cooking and his desire to improve his health.
“When I was younger, I was just a very overweight, unhealthy kid. I loved cooking and the experience that people got (from) eating my food … but what I was eating, cooking and sharing was about as unhealthy as possible.”
To gain control of his diet, he and Bernard started prepping their own meals several years ago. It turned out to be a monumental task. Chris was spending half his weekend cooking, and he knew he couldn’t keep it up.
Clark was his personal trainer at the time, and he discovered she was also prepping meals.
“I was meal prepping for my husband, myself and some of our neighbors … who wanted some help eating healthy, so I was doing that out of a tiny, one-bedroom apartment,” Clark says.
But the difference in Clark’s method was that she had figured out how to streamline the process. After giving her meals a try, Chris approached Bernard, and the three of them decided to open a business.
Since beginning this journey three years ago, Chris says he’s lost 80 pounds.
Prepp’d celebrated its grand opening last week with the launch of a new website. It serves hundreds of customers throughout eastern Idaho and continues to grow.
Chris says he’d like to open another location with additional services in the near future.
“The next thing for us is … offering everything but the gym (where) you’ll be able to come in for a nutrition consultation,” he says. “We focus really hard on having dishes that everyone enjoys. If you’re curious about it, come and try a meal out of our fridge.”
Prepp’d is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Meals can be picked up in person or delivered to your home. Prices vary depending on the plan you choose. To sign up or learn more, visit the website.
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