Meal FAQs

Have some questions about our Meals before ordering? Check out our FAQs below!

Still have questions? Email us at hello@balancedbites.com

Things to know before you order Meals

Absolutely not! These meals are ready-made, chopped and cooked by our chefs and ready for you to simply heat and eat! Or, heat, garnish, and eat if you like!

You can microwave them in the containers they arrive in, or you can defrost them or partially defrost them to transfer to a glass or ceramic dish in which to microwave, or into an oven-safe pan to heat in an oven or toaster oven.Heating in the oven will be more successful if the meal is defrosted ahead of time versus attempting to bake it from frozen.

Each meal is one serving.

If you are a big eater (like my husband!), there are some meals you may find you need to bulk up a bit with extra olive oil or ghee, or you may want to add a side salad or something to it.

The total weight of food per container is just around 12 ounces.

The calories per meal range from 260 up to 550 and vary based on the type of ingredients in each meal. 

Protein ranges from about 25 - 50 grams per meal.

Fat ranges from about 15 - 40 grams per meal.

Net carbs range from about 8 to 12 grams (total carbs from 10 to 20g) per meal.

Net carbs = total grams of carbs - grams of fiber.

We strongly recommend simply adding a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or another type of garnish (sour cream, grated cheese, etc.) to a meal if you want to add some calories to one that is naturally lighter.

We intentionally created the meals in a range of calories to allow for your daily meals around these to be in a varying balance. In other words, a lighter BB Meal for lunch one day means you can have a heftier breakfast and dinner - or a heftier BB Meal means you may not need as big of a breakfast one day.

Each meal is labeled with both ingredients and nutrition facts/calories, so you can plan your day overall accordingly if you wish.

Yes! Select the Build-a-Box option to customize your box.

The meals are shipped frozen and will arrive to you frozen/partially-frozen or refrigerator-cold. If your meals are thawed or partially thawed, they are perfectly safe to freeze until whenever you decide to eat them. The texture and quality will be perfect no matter what thanks to our vacuum seal.

If you choose to defrost them in your refrigerator, you can do so for up to 3 days before heating to eat.Frozen, the meals will taste best within 90 days but will keep for up to 6 months.

Each meal is individually prepared packaged to feed one person. The portions are generous, so some who eat smaller meals may find them to be more than one serving.

The meals are all labeled whenever certain allergens are included in the ingredients such as EGGS, DAIRY, NUTS / SEEDS, or NIGHTSHADES.

Upon release, we will not initially have meals that are allergen-free across the board. The mix of meals released now are as listed.

The Paleo Meals box is dairy-free.

With demand, we will increase options that are allergen-free in different ways.

Yes, it is a 100% gluten-free kitchen!

No, they aren't, but keep reading...

You spoke, I listened!

When I polled my readers to ask if you all would prefer to have premium quality, all grass-fed/organic ingredients in these meals as well as premium pricing, OR, squeaky clean ingredients and antibiotic/hormone-free meats, the latter was the vote by a landslide.

You all told me that TASTY, more affordable meals alongside the convenience of being ready-made and without weird additives or preservatives was priority.

The meat in these meals are all 100% antibiotic and hormone-free. I still encourage you to shop and cook with grass-fed/organic ingredients as often as possible, but when it comes to convenience foods like this, getting squeaky clean, well balanced meals made by real people with no additives is a great trade-off. Remember that most restaurants won't be serving food that's perfect quality either, so what you're getting from BB Meals is going to beat any delivery or takeout more often than not.

The food you're eating in Balanced Bites Meals is all real food made from whole, fresh ingredients that are delivered to our kitchens weekly. Meals are made by real people (with ovens and equipment, of course), not giant machines. We cook the food each week from two locations across the United States so that you can get meals delivered to you as quickly as possible regardless of where you live. More on that in the FAQs on Shipping & Delivery.

You're paying for quality in healthy, whole food ingredients without preservatives - and for the time and effort it takes for the entire team of chefs to prepare the meals. Read the ingredients and notice no fillers, no additives, no preservatives, and nothing you wouldn't cook with at home.

Your order supports small business doing things right to help you be healthier every day.

To know after you order your Meals

1. From frozen: Place tray in microwave and use the auto defrost/frozen entree button, or heat for 4 to 5 minutes at 50% power until defrosted. Then heat at full-power for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until heated through to your liking.

2. From defrosted: heat for 2-2 1/2 minutes.

3. Carefully remove the film and enjoy!

Absolutely! Each meal just needs to be defrosted first to place into another container, as the container isn't oven safe! You can also place the container in warm water to loosen the food from the tray to pop it out and heat in another way.

Cut the protective film from the top, then place the contents into a skillet or oven-safe and heat until warmed-through.

I'm glad you asked!I think that the meals are excellent as-is, but there is always room for a pop of freshness to finish off a frozen, re-heated meal!

My favorite ways to garnish (or finish) the meals off once they're heated and either in the container or plated are:

- A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime over a Mexican-inspired dish like the Enchilada Bake or the Pork Carnitas, or a chili or soup.
- Fresh orange gives the Orange Olive Chicken a little extra fresh pop of flavor!
- Chopped fresh herbs like cilantro over a Mexican-inspired dish or chives or parsley over others.
- Chopped fresh parsley over either of the holiday dishes.
- A dollop of sour cream or freshly sliced avocado over a chili or soup.
- Add sesame seeds to any of the Asian-inspired dishes.
- Freshly grated cheese over a chili, soup, or Italian dish.
- A sprinkle of flake sea salt (after you taste the dish of course!), to give a pop!