I love food. I may be a picky eater but after I’ve had my meal, I rarely have any bad things to say about it. “How’s the meal?” one might ask me after I’ve devoured it. “Okay lah, not bad,” would be my reply even in situations when the general consensus around the table is nowhere near a full star rating. This is because simply put, I’m almost always satisfied with just the idea of having something to fill my tummy with.
However, the one thing that I will pick at, is the health aspect of it. I’m a big advocate for healthy meals, or at least healthier versions of an unhealthy one. Here’s not to say that I don’t have the occasional treat, in fact I limit myself to one treat a day and it could be anything from a blueberry cheese tart or some fries.
No, I haven’t always been a healthy eater and if I were to meet myself back in my teens, I would probably cringe. I would never think twice about what goes into my body then. It wasn’t until I came across a quote that altered my perspective, did I really make a change. The quote goes, “My body isn’t a trash can, so why would I throw garbage into it?”
Sparked A Food-volution
That’s when I resolved to prepping and cooking my own meals. My sole purpose was so I could eat healthier meals while I was at school, and now work. The bonus aspect of it was that I lost several pounds from doing this as well. However, I realised soon enough that the lifestyle of prepping meals wasn’t sustainable (for me at least).
I don’t know about you but as soon as I get home, the last thing I want to do is prep meals for the next day. A Sunday week-long meal prep wasn’t conducive either as I preferred eating warm meals and bottom line is, I don’t want to have to think about my meals. I just want to have it.
That is why even whilst I could spend 50% less when I prepped my own meals, I chose a Malaysian food delivery service which doubled my weekly meal expenditure. And I did it out of sheer will.
Something Worth Investing In
I’m not going to lie. It does hurt to shell out twice the amount I would normally pay, but I have no regrets whatsoever. My colleague gets the same meal plan too, and we often gush about our food when it arrives on our desk at lunch time. Having a healthy warm meal to look forward to whilst I’m at work is a luxury. I’m a big fan of little things that make me happy, and this is my little thing.
The meals that I choose from my food delivery service are often hearty ones and I probably would not have the skills to recreate them at home. The protein in my meal prep would normally be as simple as a can of tuna and that was my idea of budgeting my meals while still having protein which fills me up. However, the only problem was that even with my tuna, I wasn’t really full, and I would often find myself grabbing a bunch of snacks shortly after just to feel full.
With the food delivery service, I’m getting real slices of grilled fish and hearty chicken, and that not only makes me feel more satisfied when I’m eating, but also happier. I was getting more bang for my buck and I wasn’t left hungry after the meal. At the end of the day, I felt like I was winning. I was winning back my health, and there’s no price tag attached to that.
Sustainability In The Long Run
What I learnt ever since I started eating more healthfully and heartily is that this isn’t a sprint but a long marathon. I can’t eat healthily for 2-3 years and then let loose for the remainder of my life. That is why it’s important for me to find for something which I know I’m willing to sustain over a long period of time.
Yes, I am paying more but I think of it this way. If I felt satisfied with freshly made grilled chicken and a side of long beans, instead of some salad and tuna that I hastily threw together a couple of days ago, then that is something that I’m willing to pay for.
Will I go back to meal prepping again someday? Yes, I probably will…occasionally. I still very much enjoy the process of putting a meal together from scratch. It might be the hours I spent indulging in shows like Masterchef, Top Chef, and Chuck’s Day Off that made me fall in love with cooking in the first place, but the effort spent labouring over preparing a meal is something that I won’t consider as work. I love it.
What I also love though is the convenience and having a peace of mind over my lunches everyday at work. I’m about to indulge in a healthy, warm, pre-ordered meal now and all I can think about is that I’m happy, I really am.
Cover image by Trisha Toh.
