We Put To The Test If You Really Can Live On Ready-Made Meals For A Week

Let’s face it: we’ve all had those nights where we’ve avoided the fresh fruit and vegetable section of Woolies and trawled through the pre-made or frozen meal section instead, because the idea of zapping a meal for four minutes in the microwave was definitely easier than trying to cook something yourself.

There are plenty of options out there these days from your Lean Cuisine to your Super Nature bowls, and most supermarkets now have their own take on pre-made meals ready to be consumed within mere minutes. But as we know by now, not all ready-made meals are created equal and many are filled with secret nasties we don’t think about. Sure they may brag about being low carb but they could be packed with salt or saturated fat, especially ones that come with sauces.

So if you’re time-poor, sick of cooking, and still want to make nutritionally sound choices, the good news is there are still good options out there where you can get the added benefits of knowing you’re hitting the right nutritional intake.

One food brand that has risen in popularity over the last couple of years has been My Muscle Chef. Created by two brothers who wanted quality nutrition to fuel their workouts, My Muscle Chef has a range of dishes from high protein, low carb, keto, and vegan choices. On site, you can subscribe to meal plans, but supermarkets including Woolies metro, IGA, and other independent grocers also stock the meals.

So what makes My Muscle Chef one of the most popular ready-made meal services out right now? We chatted to head nutritionist Ryan Pinto.

“Our meals are firstly made and delivered fresh, not frozen, which locks in all the goodness and nutrients to help deliver a great tasting product which mimics home-cooked meals without the time it takes to cook and clean up after a great tasting meal,” Ryan said. “Our whole range is additionally high in protein which research has shown to help regulate hunger levels, reduce sugar cravings and importantly support your training and exercise.”

But can you really live on the one meal service for a week and not get sick of it? We put My Muscle Chef to the test:

For the purpose of this article, we trialled the lunch and dinner options which meant breakfast and snacks weren’t counted.

The benefits of My Muscle Chef:

All that protein

Hands up who thinks they’re getting an adequate amount of protein but really aren’t? Anyone? Anyone with me? A while ago I roughly calculated the protein I was having each meal and added it up to realise I was still falling about 15 grams short of what my PT recommended for me – and this was on a good protein day, where I felt like I was doing everything I could to incorporate it into my diet. Honestly, how many eggs can one girl eat in one day?

“Some key fundamental tips to get your healthy diet and lifestyle started is to consistently consume 20-25g of protein per main meal. This guideline is something most people don’t achieve at breakfast and lunch especially when buying a sandwich sitting in the window at the local cafe,” Ryan told us. OK, @ me next time, Ryan.

The My Muscle Chef meals have actually helped me gauge how much protein really is adequate in a meal, and the benefits were obvious – I stayed fuller for longer, but I didn’t feel bloated or like I had consumed too much like you sometimes do with more carby meals.

Perfectly portioned meals.

The meal portions for My Muscle Chef are excellent. There have been so many times I’ve dug deep into the frozen meal aisles at Coles or Woolies and finished one Lean Cuisine only to eat another one straight after. Because My Muscle Chef is big on protein, the meals are hearty and won’t leave you reaching for a snack to fill you up more later. In fact, sometimes if I added some fresh veg as a side to my meal, I wouldn’t even be able to finish it and this is a rare occurrence for me.

They actually taste really, really good.

I’m all about convenience so there’s been many a time I’ve consumed an average ready-made meal just to get me by, but to actually look forward to your ready-made meal is a whole new feeling. The My Muscle Chef meals are nourishing and don’t skimp out on any flavour. It feels wrong for a ready-made meal with fish in it to taste so good, but they really achieved the impossible with the poached barramundi and for that I am forever thankful.

She’s got the range!

Try planing a week’s meal plan on My Muscle Chef without buying a couple of extra meals just to try. From low carb, to high protein, My Muscle Chef has it all – and they also have some excellent vegetarian and vegan options. As someone who is currently dairy-free, it ruled out some choices for me but it didn’t matter at all because there were still so many other delicious dishes to choose from and the vegan choices didn’t skimp on flavour at all.

For any vego or vegan friends out there, Ryan had this to say: “For those who follow a plant-based or vegan diet, protein is generally a key focus area as many don’t tend to reach their daily recommended requirements. Ideally, each main meal should contain 15-20g of protein per meal to assist with sufficiently satisfy hunger levels.”

The cons of My Muscle Chef:

Some meals felt like they lacked veggies, so if you’re like me and trying to hit 5-6 cups of veg per day you’ll probably want to add your own (which of course, is an extra cost).

Most days I am pretty good with my veg intake, but on the days I don’t have a green smoothie or omelette for breakfast, I may not hit my first veg intake until lunch. I also like a lot of variety with my vegetables so having one My Muscle Chef meal that may only have corn and capsicum isn’t something I feel like gives me the adequate amount I need for the day.

There were a few times I added a bag of steamed vegetables to my dinner: mainly the ones that involved chicken and rice. It does make it quite a big meal, so the days I did it for dinner, if I started to get full I focused on making sure I finished my protein/veg instead of whatever carb was added to the dish (in my case, most of my dishes were quite rice heavy).

On the plus side, it’s still so convenient. I used Birds Eye’s steamed vegetables and just defrosted it along with my meal, and then mixed it all together. Just call me a MasterChef. I also got the tick of approval from Ryan for using this hack to make the meal last for two portions instead of just one (just a frugal hack for you!).

“Adding extra veg is a great idea and a wholesome dose of freshly cut veg is always recommended! If you’re going to be consuming the other half within 24 hours of ‘breaking the seal’ on our patented sealing technology then it won’t compromise the nutritional value and more importantly the taste,” Ryan said.

It can be an expensive way to live your life.

I’ve used My Muscle Chef previously but never as a regular ongoing thing. For most intakes to get through the week of dinners you’re looking at spending at least $90, plus delivery. While this is cheaper than eating out or ordering takeaway, I’m a fairly frugal person – I bulk cook a lot so every time I make a stir fry, curry, tacos, etc. for dinner I’m making it like I’m feeding a family of four and I’ll eat the leftovers as the week progresses. Normally this means my grocery bill in total doesn’t often hit over $100 a week and that’s with breakfast and lunch included.

However when I am time poor, My Muscle Chef has been my choice of ready-made meal deliveries. It started last year when I was in peak-Bachelor recapping season and found I didn’t have the time or mental capacity to meal plan for myself. I now always like to have one or two My Muscle Chef meals in the freezer for emergencies or even as a backup hangover cure. As it turns out, I do NOT need to go up the road to Domino’s when I could just demolish MYMC’s Nasi Goreng.

I don’t have any new muscles:

OK fine, My Muscle Chef never promised me I’d get new muscles.

Favourite My Muscle Chef meal:

It’s actually pretty hard to pick a favourite — and while I’m not usually a fan of microwaved fish, the poached barramundi with tomato, kaffir, and vegetables was up there for me because it felt like a perfectly balanced meal. The dukkah chicken salad was another fave – great flavour and great amount of veg in the dish.

Yes, I am telling you steamed, microwaved fish can taste good.

Least favourite My Muscle Chef meal:

Sorry to the lemongrass turkey mince with cauliflower rice. It’s a no from me. It felt like all I was doing was eating mince with not much else going on. It’s not so much the flavour was bad, I think my body just… maybe kinda hates eating that much mince. Each to their own!

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Editor’s note: My Muscle Chef sent through meals to the author of this article free of charge. If you’d like to check out their range and order yourself, head here.