Luvo meals and their 3-2-None approach

Disclaimer: I received a set of Luvo meals to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews! All opinions are my own. 

I don’t always have a lot of time to prepare my meals during marathon training season. I dedicate over 6+ hours a week to running and after running and work, I’m often just too tired to prep meals. So when BibRave asked me if I wanted to try out Luvo meals again, I of course said yes.

You can read about my previous experience with Luvo meals here. To make this review more different than the last, I made more of an effort to try out their other meals and I succeeded. Here is my review of them below:

First off, Luvo’s main goal is create wholesome, delicious meals using their 3-2-None approach. They have crafted the right balance of three types of ingredients: protein, whole grains, and veggies (3). They don’t have too much of sodium or added sugar (2) and no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners (none).

Second, Luvo has meals in three different formats – burritos, pouches, and bowls. All meals can be easily microwaved and only the pouches require a plate for the meal to be put on. I was able to try out both pouches and bowls and have listed them below from least favorite to absolute favorite.

My Top 5 Luvo Meals 

5. Roasted Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (with brown rice noodles in a creamy with panko style topping) – This vegetarian dish let me down a bit. I had heard so many good things about this one that I actually drove way out of the way to find this meal. When I eat mac and cheese, I expect cheesy goodness. I didn’t really get that in this meal. Maybe it was too healthy for me. LOL.

4. Orange Mango Chicken (with brown jasmine rice, white chicken, kale, and broccoli) – Since the orange mango chicken was my favorite the last time around, I had to try it again this time. The meal didn’t disappoint, but it has since been replaced with a new favorite.

3. Turkey Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes (with collard greens, butternut squash, and cranberries) – I actually tried a slightly different version of this 6 months ago. The brussel sprouts were replaced with collard greens and I actually love this version way more. Again, the meatloaf wasn’t dried out after heating and I would never have been able to tell that the gravy was previously frozen. Delicious.

Nom nom nom

2. Chicken and Corn Chowder (with white chicken, kale, sweet potato and white beans in a savory Dijon-herb base) – This dish came was also VERY CLOSE to being my favorite. I am a big fan of chowder and the Dijon sauce went very well with the corn.

1. Thai-style Green Curry Chicken aka my FAVORITE (with white chicken, brown rice noodles, carrots, red bell peppers, and yellow squash) – I was super surprised by this meal. I will note that this dish is not at all reminiscent of anything I tried in Thailand, but the curry sauce was still rather tasty. I admit that I actually licked the bowl. LOL. Don’t judge me. 😛 The chicken wasn’t dry and was still really moist after microwaving too. Yay!

Tastes way better than it looks

Final thoughts: I really enjoy the healthy meals that they have and I will continue to try out more as they come out when I’m in need of a quick healthy alternative. My only concern with these meals is that for someone training for a marathon, one of these meals will not be enough. I ate two meals in one sitting after a 10 mile run. LOL.

If you questions, feel free to ask me about them. In addition, we’ll be having a #bibchat on Twitter Tuesday, September 26th at 6 pm PST where you can ask Luvo and other runners what they thought about the meals.

Question for you: Have you tried these meals? What’s your favorite healthy frozen meals? 

 

Luvo Comes To Save The Day

Disclaimer: I received some Luvo frozen meals to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been able to try a variety of Luvo frozen meals and honestly, they couldn’t have come at a better time. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been sick with what I can only describe as an inconvenience to breathing. Having to spit out phlegm every hour or so has not been fun, but it’s okay, I’m getting better. With the Luvo meals, I was able to easily pop one into the microwave and within minutes, I had a healthy meal that was piping hot, smelled delicious, and tasted great.

Here’s an excerpt from Luvo’s website:

“Where your food comes from makes a big difference—not just to your body, but to the world as well. So we’re making every effort to support farmers and suppliers by sourcing responsibly. We use antibiotic-free meat and poultry, and non-GMO, organic ingredients whenever possible. Of course it’s a work in progress, but we’re constantly working to bring you the highest quality, most delicious, nutrient-dense food at the best price. Learn more about our practices in our FAQ.”

Without further ado, my review of the Luvo frozen meals I got to try out in order from least favorite to OMG, PLEASE GIVE ME MORE. 🙂

5. Chicken Enchiladas – This meal also comes with black beans and brown jasmine rice. On the front of each of the packages, it will usually indicate how flavorful it is. I’ve found that what they say pretty much rings true. The chicken enchiladas were marked as “on the mild side,” and this was right on. I love spice and personally do not prefer mild tasting food. However, as someone who had a really sore throat two weeks ago, this was actually pretty good for me. The chicken was moist and the flavor didn’t worsen my throat. Woo!

4. Kale Ricotta Ravioli – This comes in a fire roasted tomato sauce, which I really appreciated. I found the ravioli to be a bit on the blander side, but the sauce totally made up for it. It was really flavorful and I am a little ashamed to admit this, but I licked the plate clean. 

3. Turkey Meatloaf – This comes with mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, butternut squash, and cranberries. Do the ingredients sound familiar? If it doesn’t, you clearly don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. This meal is practically Thanksgiving in a box. The mash potatoes tasted fresh and the gravy was so rich in flavor that I forgot for a second that these meals were actually healthy. The meatloaf was moist and not dried out at all even after 7 minutes in the microwave. 

2. Turkey Vegetable Lasagna – The lasagna consists of whole wheat noodles, kale, and spinach. This was my very first Luvo meal and I was over the moon with this dish. I kept telling my boyfriend that he had to try it and after some skepticism, I got him to try it and he liked it too. I’m not even a huge fan of kale, but this lasagna mix was delicious – extremely savory. 

1. Orange Mango Chicken – This one was my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. It comes with whole grains, broccoli and kale and is smothered in a delicious orange mango sauce. Think regular orange chicken but healthier because it’s not deep fried. I really didn’t think I could like orange chicken that wasn’t deep fried, but I was wrong. The chicken soaked the sauces in. The whole grains and veggies were a bit on the blander side, but just dip those into the sauce and you’re good to go. 

Too long? Didn’t read? In that case, here’s a pros and cons list for you. 🙂

Pros 

Healthy – Their meals consist of antibiotic-free meat and poultry, and non-GMO, organic ingredients whenever possible. Their meals have a full serving of fruits and veggies. This is HUGE for me since I’m a terrible eater. In N Out anyone? 🙂

Smells – The meals, once cooked, SMELL INCREDIBLE. Seriously, my colleagues always wondered what I was eating because it would always smell really good.

Taste – I’m a person that loves to eat. I mean, I live to eat. That means that taste is really important to me. Out of the 5 that I tried, I really liked 3 of them. Even with the other two, I could have added a little more salt or spice to it and it would been just great to eat.

Environment friendly – Their packaging comes from recycled paper! Woo. Every step towards being more environmentally friendly helps, right?

Cons

Portion size – This one is not actually a con for me, but may be a con for others. I have a tendency to overeat so I love just taking one of these to work with me and eating just that and nothing else. Their portions are perfect for me, but may not be for you.

Variety – Luvo actually has quite a bit of variety (boxed meals, burritos, bowls, vegetarian, non-vegetarian), but since they are still starting out, it’s sometimes difficult to find the meal you want. A lot of the stores around my neighborhood would only carry three different meals so I went around to different stores hoping to find some new ones to try.

If you’re interested in trying any of Luvo’s meals, they have this little search engine that tells you where to find specific meals. They also have some promotions on their site if you want to save a few dollars. 🙂  I would definitely recommend the Orange Mango Chicken, Turkey Lasagna, and the Roasted Cauliflower Mac and Cheese. Stores in my neighborhood didn’t carry the Mac and Cheese meal, but fellow BibRave Pros raved about it.

And finally, here’s what fellow Bib Rave Pros thought about Luvo:  Jeannine, Lindsey, Angie, and Jeremy