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Takeout, Meal Kit, and Frozen Food Guide

We can’t say this enough. Calibrate is here to work with your life, not against it. This program isn’t about deprivation. Instead, it’s intended to help you do all the things you want to do in a way that supports, rather than sabotages, your metabolic health. 

Takeout, meal kits, and frozen food can all be game-changers for getting food on the table during a busy week. Here, we’ve listed some general ordering in tips (no surprise here, you’ll see some parallels with our ordering out list), followed by a portion refresher, and lastly a rundown of pre-cooked meals, meal kits, and frozen food that work well with our philosophy. 

Note that these are just shortlists. Just because something isn’t here, doesn’t mean it’s bad. You can always refer to the Calibrate Food Triangle to help guide you to the best choices for you.

Takeout guidelines

  • Don’t be afraid to ask how something is prepared! Remember that chefs are taught to pile on the butter, cream, and oil to make their food taste good. While we encourage some fat, this can often amount to several servings, so stick with dishes that have been cooked in olive oil. 
  • Words to look for: grilled, baked, broiled, poached, steamed, spice rubbed, boiled, roasted, braised, seasoned. 
  • Words to avoid: fried, battered, bisque, crispy, refried, au gratin, smothered, crunchy, breaded, sauteed, pan-fried.
  • For salads or other choices where sauces can easily be separated, ask for the sauce on the side.
  • Try to stick with one course, but if you want two, consider getting two appetizers instead of an appetizer and an entree, or choose one appetizer and share an entree with a friend. 
  • Include a salad or a vegetable-based soup and seasonal vegetable with your meal to boost nutrients and fiber. 
  • Plate your food, and do so with everything you plan to eat (no seconds). And never eat out of the box.
  • Eat slowly, it takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you’re full! 

Portions

Here’s a quick breakdown of how to divide things up (for visuals, click here): Use at least 1/2 of the plate for veggies, use 1/4 of the plate for protein, and split the remaining 1/4 of the plate between complex carbohydrates (like quinoa) and a 1-2 tablespoon serving of healthy fats (such as olive oil, tahini, almonds, shredded cheese, etc.). 

Another way to visualize portions is by referencing your hand. Veggies should be at least the size of your fist measuring to the farthest knuckle, protein should span the inside of your palm, complex carbohydrates should fit into your palm when you shrink it by cupping your hand, and fat should be the size of your thumb.

Throughout the Calibrate program, we’re going to be encouraging you to minimize your carbohydrate intake, so for the 1/4 plate and cupped palm of carbs, think of these portions as your maximum and whenever possible aim to shrink them by increasing your veggie, protein, and fat intake.

Pre-cooked meals, meal kits, and frozen meals 

The companies below all offer meals that are closely aligned with the Calibrate food program. However, not every single option will automatically be Calibrate-friendly. As with anything, it’s always a good idea to read the label, check the ingredients for any refined grains or white potatoes, and use the carb:fiber ratio before ordering. 

If you're doing the Metabolic Jumpstart, also be on the lookout for added sugars and processed whole grains, too. During the Jumpstart, we also recommend keeping your intact whole grains (think quinoa, farro, amaranth) to one serving (about ½ cup cooked) per day. 

A great tip for when you’re plating these meal kits at home: Just because the meal came packaged with a refined or processed grain doesn’t mean you have to eat it. You can always swap it out for something else, like an extra veggie or a cooked sweet potato.

Factor_ (pre-cooked meals by mail)

Green Chef (meal kits by mail)

Hello Fresh (meal kits by mail)

Hungry Root (groceries by mail)

Plantable (frozen pre-cooked meals by mail)

Primal Kitchen (frozen meals, available online)

Sakara Life (pre-cooked meals by mail)

Sun Basket (meal kits and pre-cooked meals by mail)

Territory (pre-cooked meals by mail)