Everybody say hello to our brand new Goodness Guy - Scotty!

  For his first Green Goodness blog, we've put him to the test sampling some of Perth's meal delivery services, so he can bring you his honest review of whether or not it's worth it to get all your meals delivered to you!  Gee, tough gig you've got there, Scotty - all those meals being delivered to your door.... ;)

A healthy mind starts with a healthy body… or is it the other way around? I love food. There it is. It’s the reason I don’t have a six pack. I also love to exercise (to try and get that mythical six pack), but sometimes my life is so hectic, that by the time I realise that I need to eat something – it’s too late to shop or I’m too tired to care what processed nonsense the latest fast food delivery kid has just dropped off. Calories? Pfft doesn't matter, just shut up and feed me.

Newsflash Perth: Your local Chinese restaurant isn’t the only place in town to get a tasty meal delivered to your door. In fact - believe it or not - there are delivery companies out there that want you to eat healthy, tasty, local produce… shocking, I know. Now, I can hear what you’re thinking or saying out loud (admit it, you talk to yourself) – “Scotty, we know there are businesses that specialise in delivering “diet menus” and they have been controlling how many calories/carbs I can eat for years”. Well, dear reader, I'm not talking about these franchised diet companies - they have their place in the market. I'm talking about the local companies which have services offering to find, buy, pack and sometimes even prepare your meals with locally-sourced produce from W.A. and then deliver it your home, or office, or home office etc. Paleo delivered meals in Perth? Check.  Fitness Meals delivered in Perth? Check. Organic/Free Range/Local produce + cooking instructions delivered in Perth? Check and mate! In fact, it works out to be, in most cases, cheaper* (and in this case - far, far healthier) to let a third party worry about my eating habits. And they make it so easy for you as well. It’s not like having a supermarket delivery service send you items you need and then you have to figure out how many teaspoons of turmeric you need in your Moroccan Lamb shanks. *Let me just clarify something: When I say cheaper, I’m not just taking into account the purchase price of the groceries. Think about it: Fuel; Gas; Electricity; Food Waste and most importantly to a 30 something, father to be: Time. Those of you who know of Timothy Farris will understand that my time is better spent being productive and earning an income than it is wandering down Ailse 4 looking for the gluten free turmeric. There are numerous businesses around Perth that want to help you eat better and save time. You can find most of them listed here: http://greengoodnessco.com.au/cat/meal-delivery/ They are all awesome companies and offer something unique for all your diet clinic dietary requirements, whether thats Gluten Free, Paleo, Organic or vegetarian - just to name a few. So here is where all my 'hard' work came in. I've spent the last few weeks putting these companies to the test and getting my meals and ingredients delivered straight to my door. Yeah yeah, so hard I know. To break it down for my review, I've classified them into two categories - Ready to Eat and Minimal Input Required.

Ready to Eat

Perfect for when you are busier than a mosquito at a nudist colony (side note - the rest of the Goodness Patrol would like to jump in here and say sorry for the visuals that may have created)...

My Fit Lunchbox is a prepared meal delivery business that service most of Perth (check their website to see if they come to you). Healthy and wholesome meals that are made and delivered DAILY to your front door. Did you read that right?  Delivered DAILY - no frozen meal tubs here. They use no white sugars or flours and no preservatives or trans-fats. Just unbelievably tasty meals all prepared and delivered. They can do either 5 or 10 meals per week, meaning you can either just get lunch for just you, lunch for you and your partner or you can get lunch and dinner. And you can increase your order to include healthy snacks - which means that you can eat better throughout your whole day, not just at lunch time. The menu is extensive but not excessive, and it gives you plenty of delicious options, so you won't get bored with having the same meal delivered everyday. There are also plenty of vegetarian options to choose from. The price reflects the service but in my opinion – it's well worth it if you are constantly on the go and want to steer clear of the processed consumerism. I was blown away at how tasty healthy food could be. Momentum Lifestyles are personal training and bootcamp gurus who also have a home delivery service for their Lean or Monsta meal plans. These guys will shred you with a workout and before you can say: “quarter chicken and chips”, have a fresh piece of Barramundi and vegetables delivered to your home for you to enjoy. They don’t mention if they use organic or local produce on their site but the thought of having your workouts and meals sorted in one place is great. It's to aspects of your life that someone is there to lend a hand with. Paleo Meals Direct have an extensive range of deliciously sounding gluten/grain/sugar free meals which they will have delivered to your door. The website is still under construction, but you can still contact these guys through email to organise your delivery. They cook the meals on a Monday, deliver them on a Tuesday and the meals will last for 7 days in the fridge.

Minimal Input Required

For when you want to showcase your culinary expertise with minimum experience. 

You Plate It deliver their meal kits on a Sunday and you can choose between 2 and 4 meals per week. The produce is deliciously fresh and clean, and comes in managed portions so you don’t need to measure anything. The menu is constantly evolving and the instructions on how to cook are so easy that it actually made me look like a Michelin rated chef as opposed to the Michelin Man (seriously I followed the instructions and there was a photo of how it should look – nailed it… just saying). Loved the dish and I got so many (gluten free) brownie points for making a home cooked meal that I’m still spending them. This Little Pig Went to Market are another local Perth company who source the very best West Australian produce. They package it up into the portions you need (minus the wine girls?) and send it to your door, with a recipe and some seriously simple cooking instructions. So simple in fact, that you could put one of their meals together after a few beers at your best mates’ bucks party… not that this happened, but it was an awesome night capped off by an even better meal. The menu changes from week to week and the produce is so fresh that a 90’s Rap artist could make an award winning album about it. Great food, awesome menu. Dinner Twist are a Swedish inspired local family who plan, source and deliver your produce box and a recipe booklet with all the instructions on how to cook (the bit you do) the meals planned. Each meal takes between 20-45 minutes to prepare and recipes suit all skill levels. Each box comes with a new set of delicious recipes. They can customise your delivery in case you don’t want Gluten, or replace the Fish because you don’t like fish (don’t be a sissy and eat the fish – it’s good for you).

So there you go! Scotty's guide to healthy and tasty meal delivery services in Perth! If you've tried out any of these services, let us know what you think in the comments below! Stay tuned for the Organic Produce Blog which is all about supporting our local farmers’ and avoiding pesticides and preservatives.