Weight Loss & Diet Plans

Tools & Resources

This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive

Font Size

Making Dinner Easier

The meal assembly industry aims to take the heat off for busy cooks.

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic-Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

The investment: About two hours of your time and $195. The idea: You assemble a batch of meals at a store that provides recipes, pre-prepared ingredients, and cooking facilities. The result: 12 entrees, ready to take home, freeze, and bake at your leisure.

Those are the basics behind the self-service, meal-assembly stores that are popping up all over the United States, both as franchises and as single-store businesses.

Recommended Related to Diet & Weight Management

Onions: Full of Nutrients

Peel away the skin of this vegetable to find whole layers of health benefits. Worshiped by the Egyptians as far back as 3500 B.C., the onion symbolized eternity because of its concentric-circle construction. Onions are rich in powerful sulfuric compounds, responsible for their pungent odor -- and for irritating our eyes. Studies also suggest that onions may lower high blood pressure, reduce heart attack risk, and even help protect against cancer (probably thanks to the presence of phytochemicals...

Read the Onions: Full of Nutrients article > >

Industry representatives say they offer an alternative to takeout, allowing customers to enjoy home-cooked-style meals and convenience, too. And you don't have to be a chef to prepare these "make, take, and bake" entrees.

"Most of our customers don't know how to cook or don't like to cook," says Sam Lee, owner of the Full Plate meal assembly store in Walnut Creek, Calif.

At most of these businesses, you select your preferred entrees and sign up for a time slot over the Internet. When you get to the store, there are stations set up to assemble each entrée. Instructions are spelled out step by step. Pre-cooked and pre-chopped ingredients, measuring cups and spoons, and freezer-friendly takeout containers are on hand.

You put your entrees together, adjusting the ingredients as you wish for your family's tastes. Then place them in the cooler you've brought along (for food safety's sake, do this as soon as you prepare them), and you're done! And here's the best part for many customers: There's no cleanup.

The concept seems to suit the busy lifestyles of many Americans. Consider the case of Dream Dinners, a franchise meal assembly business. In 2003, according to the company, there were six Dream Dinner outlets. By 2006, the number had increased to more than 195, including new stores in the works.

This dovetails with the findings of a study recently published in Food Technology, which showed that takeout and convenience foods have become increasingly common on our dinner tables. While most Americans eat their evening meal at home, only one in three actually makes it from scratch, the study found.

But are the entrees available at meal assembly stores really more wholesome than most takeout foods? The offerings vary from store to store, but many provide nutrition information about their dishes, and most have some healthier options. And since you assemble the dishes yourself, you can go lighter on high-calorie ingredients if you wish.

One member of the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic says she's had good experiences at her local meal-assembly store.

"The store I go to doesn't have nutritional information online for all of their items but does for quite a few, which helps when I'm ordering online," member kmsj0505 posted recently on the "Daily Journaling: Friends Talking" message board.

"Being able to assemble the meal myself means that I can choose to use less cheese or oil and sneak in a few more veggies," she wrote. But, she adds, "I would like it if more options were available for using low-fat sour cream instead of regular, for example."

To give you an idea of what's available here is some information on a few franchise meal assembly companies and two independent outfits:

1 | 2

Next Page >