While I tried Hello Fresh because I was looking for new and interesting meals, I chose My Muscle Chef because I was looking for fast lunch replacements. I get so bored with the same sandwich every day and often found myself getting fast-food, which isn’t the healthiest or most financially sensible option. My Muscle Chef proved to be a great alternative – I could eat something tasty and not blow my budget.
Its best feature over other pre-packaged meals I have tried, such as Lite N Easy, is that My Muscle Chef’s serving sizes are large and actually fill you up.
- Cost: 5/10 - $10.40 for 20 meals
- Choice: 10/10 - Over 70 different pre-packaged meals to choose from
- Quality: 7/10 - I prefer the quality of cooking fresh ingredients myself, but the convenience of pre-packaged meals is significant
- Taste: 8/10 - The taste is good but they appear to use lemon as a preservative so they are all lemon flavoured.
- Flexibility: Skip, pause, or cancel any time, as well as one-off orders
- Organic: No
- Allergy Safe: Allergy safe options
Summary
In summary, I really enjoyed the taste and serving size of My Muscle Chef. They have quickly become my go-to prepackaged meal instead of fast food. I did find a tinge of lemon as they use that as a natural preservative, but not in every meal.
Pros
- No cooking is required. Fast microwave ready.
- Large serving sizes – they filled me up easily.
- Widely available in grocery stores and some gyms.
Cons
- They use lemon as a preservative, so I did notice a tinge of lemon across many meals.
- The price per serving is much higher than the cook-yourself alternatives.
Getting Started
It couldn’t be simpler.
You can purchase a one-off meal selection with discounting as you order more and more.
- Order 13 Meals and Save 2.5%
- Order 16 Meals and Save 5%
- Order 21 Meals and Save 10%
- Order 25 Meals and Save 15%
The second option is selecting a subscription, which waives the $15 delivery fee.
Because the meals can last up to 12 weeks in the freezer, I found the most cost-effective option was to order 25+ meals in one-off purchases.
Finally, you can also find My Muscle Chef locally at either your local gym or service station. You can also find them at Coles and Woolworths. I find them a great, healthy alternative to fast food when I am in a hurry.
Recipe Choice
My Muscle Chef have over 70 recipes to choose from. Not all of the recipes are available locally, so if you find a particular meal that you really enjoy, you may need to order it online.
They also have soups, snacks, protein drinks, and breakfast options, however I didn’t try any of these in my test.
You can also choose protein only. This is just a package of meat without any vegetables. If you want to do some cooking yourself, this is a good option. Or, if you have ingredient sensitivities, this could also work.
Meal Customisation
All of the meals are pre-packaged, so there is no ability to customize individual recipes. They are as they are. However, you can pick from a wide range of options.
Cost
My Muscle Chef is one of the more expensive meal delivery services in Australia.
| Servings | Cost | Cost per Serve |
| 6 | $80.70 | $13.45 |
| 8 | $102.60 | $12.82 |
| 10 | $124.50 | $12.45 |
| 12 | $146.40 | $12.20 |
| 16 | $181.40 | $11.33 |
| 20 | $223.05 | $11.15 |
| 24 | $251.52 | $10.48 |
Choosing a subscription rather than making multiple one-off purchases means you get free shipping ($15) for orders over $99. This is a good option if you have a regular order, as it can reduce your costs by around $1.5/serve, depending on your order size.
Meals also last up to 12 weeks in the freezer, so you can save some money by purchasing in bulk on a lower frequency basis.
They also have a minimum order of $49 when purchasing online, but you can just buy a single package locally if you want to test it being investing in a larger quantity.
Delivery
The food is delivered in a large cardboard box with gel-filled ice packs. This means you can leave it at your front door for a few hours in case you are not at home. They will leave it at your front door. They claim you can leave it for up to 8 hours, but I would try to get it inside to the fridge much sooner than that.
You do get to select the date of delivery. They provide a 2-hour window the night before delivery via SMS, which isn’t soon enough to plan your day around their delivery. So it is nice that you can leave it for a few hours outside.
You can check the day and time options that are available for your local area here.
Meal Quality
The quality and taste of the meals is high. The serving size is also large. I have tried Lite n Easy in the past, and the main reason I stopped was the tiny size of the servings. My Muscle Chef is aimed at more athletic people, so provides more food in each package. As a larger male, I found their serving sizes to be acceptable.
They strive to create recipes that are more suitable for the macro-conscious. Their packaging and menu clearly show each meal’s protein, carbs, and fat. They are all high in protein, which is well suited for gym bros and weekend warriors.
I really enjoyed their Crumbed Chicken with Roast Potatoes. It is the kind of meal I could happily eat 3 to 4 times per week without getting bored.
Cooking Requirements
Non. Nil. Nada.
Throw it in the microwave and get stuck in.
- If Frozen, microwave each package for 3 to 6 minutes.
- If Fresh, microwave for 1 to 2.5 minutes, depending on the meal.
Just make sure you leave it for 30 seconds before you peel the plastic wrap away or you could get some hot steam on your fingertips (unfortunately, this did happen). You will notice the plastic wrap blow up, but it quickly shrinks as it cools.
Taste
In terms of taste, there is a constant tinge of lemon throughout most of their meals. If you are particularly sensitive to this, then it can be offputting.
There are also some meals that I didn’t enjoy, such as the Chimichurri Mayo in their Chicken and Pumpkin Mash meal.
On the whole though, I really enjoyed the My Muscle Chef meals. They offered a lot of flavour when compared to other alternatives I have tried. The fact that I continued using their services for 4 weeks showed how much I enjoyed them.
In reality, I did end up finding my favourite 4-5 meals and ordering them over and over again.
Subscription Flexibility
The subscription is flexible. You can change the recipes from any in the menu.
You can also cancel anytime, as long as it isn’t too close to your next delivery. There is a handy countdown timer in your account which shows how long you have to edit your upcoming order.
Alternative Comparison
Who Is My Muscle Chef Suited For?
My Muscle Chef is best suited for people who don’t want to cook, but are still interested in their health. If you are counting macros and want higher protein options, then give My Muscle Chef a try.
My advice would be to buy 4-5 different meals from your local gym or fuel station and seeing whether you like the taste and serving size. If that works, then put in a larger single order online and freeze them.
Conclusion
My Muscle Chef quickly became one of my favourite pre-packaged meals. I liked the flexibility of the ability to order online as well as locally. I also liked the serving size when compared to Lite n Easy. The taste was good, as long as you don’t mind the tinge of lemon as a healthy preservative. Overall, I really enjoyed My Muscle Chef and will certainly be purchasing more in the future.
I rate it 8 out of 10.