Muscle Fuel Meals product reviews

"I want tasty, I want healthy, I want calorie-controlled and I want it ready to eat in under 2 minutes." Until now, you may as well have been demanding a miracle. However, with the advent of "Muscle Fuel" meals, you can now have it all... and in a wide variety of flavours covering all the protein options including meat-free meals!

The two biggest "impossibles" for years were "healthy calorie-controlled" and "gluten-free" - both had people thinking of bland, pasty foods that came in packaging that had more appeal than the meals themselves. However, once some clever cooks started to experiment, and add sound scientific research to their recipes, we got foods that came with all the benefits without losing any of the taste... and in some cases, were even better than the 'regular' versions.

Now, I am no health nut, and I am not afraid to face down a wild bolognese loaded with beef mince and buried under enough parmesan cheese to choke an elephant, but I have to say that the Muscle Fuel version was pretty good for a healthy, light version. Yes, I could easily have eaten two of them in a single sitting, but the point of having portion control built in to the meal is to help one lose weight by avoiding more energy going in than you are burning up... so on that score alone these meals are a winner.

Add to that the convenience of having a meal ready to go in under 2 minutes, but not being a typical 'microwave meal' of plastic cheese, chewy pasta elbows, wilted and pale vegetables, and meat that feels like it was taken off the soles of the farmer's boots rather than some animal. These meals, even the steak and roast veges, were a delight to eat after being brought back to temp in the nuke-box. Quick, simple and no need for wasting a tonne of electricity heating up the oven to avoid chewy meat. Pricing in at around $11 per meal, give or take depending on the number ordered at once - these are no more pricey than a burger combo but far, far better for your body.

They are nutritionist-approved, manually prepared fresh when you order them - so nothing is mass-produced - and arrive on your doorstep within a few days, individually sealed in a chilled box. Pop them into the fridge, then pick and choose as you see fit. Over 20 different dishes to choose from in Maxi or Lite sizes. They are well-worth exploring if you want to lose weight, not your will to live because of cardboard-food.

Overall, these are a winner in my book, and if my weekly food budget would allow it I would eat these exclusively. Instead, they have inspired me to cook healthier meals by adjusting my favourite recipes so that there are less of the 'bad' ingredients and seek healthier substitutes, and also eat smaller portions while increasing my exercise. Long-term goals from a short-term trial!