Locals focused on healthy food, nutrition and convenient meals are in luck: New meal prep service Eat Smart Meals has them covered.
The new service offers farm-fresh meal prep from Ben Fischer, a Jefferson City native who went to culinary school in St. Louis. When he returned to the Capital City a few years ago, he set out to open a food truck in town, though the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic shelved those plans.
When he offered to help a friend who owns Capital Fitness with meal prep to save time in the kitchen, the idea quickly gained steam with other gym-goers.
"I wasn't really expecting much to come out of it -- I was just doing what I normally do when I meal prep for myself," he said. "Within a week, I had people coming up to talk to me about joining, and I really started thinking about it."
He said through working at Lincoln Univerisity's Culinary Incubator, he got the opportunity to go around the state and talk with other kitchens about how they handled their own programs. Then, he decided to offer his healthier version of meal prep to the community at large.
The business makes use of food from local farmers' markets as much as possible and labels each meal with the number of macronutrients to ensure customers have the ideal fresh meal for them. It also allows users to create a profile with dietary information, such as gluten intolerance, that automatically carries over to future orders.
The business partners with the Moreau Meat Market, which also houses its kitchen, where shoppers can watch the meal prep process firsthand. The market also presents a venue for the business to hold monthly classes, which Fischer said would begin in the coming months. It's also partnering with Capital Fitness for grab-and-go meals for its members.
The menu rotates every two weeks to keep pace with the seasons and availability of ingredients. Other items beyond prepared meals are also on their way, including all-natural jerkies and other healthy snacks.
Fischer also launched a website for customers to check out the menus in advance and order online. The site will also allow folks to communicate with each other and the business, a community element he said was a cornerstone of the service.
"We've got a lot of things planned," he said. "We're going to keep listening to what Jefferson City wants to see from us and evolve in that way. Being able to communicate and listen to the community like this makes it feel like this is where this is all supposed to go."
Visit eatsmartmeals.net for the menu and ordering options.
Know of any business happenings around Jefferson City? Let us know at [email protected] or 573-761-0243.