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I have a running joke with my partner that the hours between 5pm and 8pm don’t exist. Why? Because by the time I’ve wrapped up work, walked the dog and whipped up some dinner each evening, bedtime is never too far away. But for the last month, I’ve been reacquainted with 6pm courtesy of Calo – the meal delivery service formerly known as Fresh Fitness Food.
Each week, a new menu is available on the app, with more than 80 options to choose from across snacks, breakfasts, lunches, dinners and juices. Orders are scheduled through the Calo app, where you can decide the number of meals, type of meals and delivery times, as well as whether you want extras such as snacks and juices. Meal plan options start from £11 per day so my main question was: would this investment be worth it if I were to keep my nutrition goals on track and get my evenings back?
I’m a gym goer and I eat a mainly vegetarian diet so the personalisation options piqued my interest. For example, the app allows you to choose from different types of meals such as balanced, high protein, vegetarian or those with “custom macros”. The app also keeps tabs on the amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates and calories you are consuming. A suggested weekly delivery is created for you based on your selections, and personal factors such as your height, weight and fitness goals. You can then swap meals for other options to suit your dietary needs and personal preferences.
Calo sent me a couple of boxes containing breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and juices to fuel me through each day with fresh deliveries each week. When I felt peckish, I simply had to whack a meal in the microwave for a couple of minutes and, hey presto. As a fitness writer, nutritious dishes on tap sounded like a recipe for success. But did Calo live up to my lofty expectations?
How I tested the Calo meal delivery service
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There’s only one way to test a meal delivery service: use it, eat everything they give you, then report back. I ate Calo meals for a month, receiving a breakfast, lunch, dinner, a juice or smoothie and a snack each day. Throughout the month I scribbled down notes on my experiences, allowing me to deliver a post-test verdict based on the following factors:
- Taste: I judged based on seasoning, sauces, how well the flavours went together and whether I enjoyed the taste.
- Nutrition: I looked at the nutritional value of each meal and considered what I might have eaten had I cooked for myself.
- Variety: Calo prides itself on keeping things fresh and interesting so I judged the service on the diversity of dishes provided.
- Value for money: I assessed whether the spend was worth it based on the time I saved shopping, cooking and washing up, as well as how much I might have spent had I been shopping for my own ingredients and cooking them myself.
- Ease of use: I also awarded points for accessibility and whether the meals were easy to store and cook.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
The IndyBest team only ever recommends quality products and services. It ensures this by thoroughly testing hundreds of products each month spanning fashion, beauty, food, homes, tech and fitness. Harry Bullmore is The Independent’s senior fitness writer and as a fitness coach, avid gym-goer and fan of all things exercise-related, his lifestyle provides the perfect testing ground for all manner of health and fitness goods – healthy meal services and fitness fuel included.
Calo
Why we love it
- Delicious with excellent variety
- Saves hours of cooking each week
- Nutritious
Take note
- Expensive
- Slightly confusing app
- Doesn't cover all nutritional needs for larger appetites
I thoroughly enjoyed my month of Calo meals, taking plenty of positives from the experience. The best thing it gave me was more minutes in my day. Over the course of the month, the app estimated that it had saved me 75 hours of cooking time, and while this seemed a tad high, I definitely noticed the difference.
Each week I received deliveries on Mondays and Fridays containing four and three days’ worth of food respectively. Each day consisted of a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack and juice.
The breakfasts – usually protein-rich yoghurts with nuts and seeds or omelettes with greens – were a high point. Being a fitness writer, I know fuelling my workouts appropriately is critical for optimal results, but as someone who exercises before work there are some days I simply run out of time to make breakfast. Calo bypassed this problem, delivering a generous dose of protein and fibre before 9am.
Whether I was eating at my desk, out on a dog walk or on the gym floor after coaching, I didn’t miss a single breakfast all month, and enjoyed improved results during my regular strength training sessions as a result.
The lunches and dinners impressed me too; they were tasty, varied and took just two minutes to heat up. I tend to eat fairly intuitively, but the nutritional breakdown (calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein) on the front of the packet was handy to have, allowing me to make more informed choices in my wider diet.
However, the best part was having a hot, nutritious meal ready to eat in 120 seconds. At the end of a busy work and workout day, this felt like absolute bliss. Not only did it make my lunchtimes and evenings considerably more relaxing, but I also noticed a lift in my productivity levels. Without having to plan meals and snacks, I was able to get more done at work, and the extra hour or so each evening allowed me to get on top of life admin – my wash basket has rarely looked so empty.
Office days were a dream too. Who needs a soggy, unsatisfying sandwich when you have a yoghurt bowl, tofu cubes snack and a spicy salmon and quinoa lunch packed in advance? Between the time it took for me to put these in my bag, and the two minutes they needed in the microwave, these meals took me a few minutes to prep at most.
A few highlights included a tamarind sea bass noodle dish, bang bang shrimp and a greens and tofu bowl, but there wasn’t a single recipe in the line-up of meals I was sent that I didn’t find enjoyable.
There was also a surprising amount of variety, considering my often option-limiting pescatarian status. The ability to sub choices out up to 24 hours in advance on the app was handy, and every week there were enough fresh options to keep me excited for each new delivery.
My experience with Calo was largely positive, but there were a few personal teething issues here and there.
When I signed up for the Calo app, I almost ordered three rounds of snacks, juices, breakfasts, lunches and dinners for each day. This might be down to my technological shortcomings, but I found the app and the language it uses took a bit of acclimatising to – each “bag” was a day’s worth of food, rather than representing one of my twice-weekly deliveries.
While getting started, I was also asked for a series of details including my age and goals so the app could calculate a target daily calorie, protein, carb and fat targets for me – 3,693, 198g, 363g and 161g respectively.
The daily meals tended to take me two thirds of the way there – more on the protein front – but I had to fill in the gaps. I didn’t mind this as I actually came to miss my time in the kitchen on more relaxed days, but it’s worth noting that those with larger appetites or muscle gain goals might need to supplement their deliveries with other food throughout the day.
I also found the cold-pressed juices and smoothies were surplus to requirements. Some people may love them and the bottles say a lot of the right things – one of your five a day, no added sugar – but I found I would rather grab a piece of fruit than neck a juice. This is personal preference, however. You do you.
The only other negative I encountered was the lack of variety in the automatic meal selections. The Calo app allows you to switch selections out for alternative options with a few thumb taps, provided you do it at least 24 hours ahead of your delivery. However, I have to hold my hands up here and admit there were a couple of occasions where I forgot to do this.
Because I chose pescatarian, high-protein options, my choices were whittled down, and I wound up receiving three or four of the same meal. They were still delicious, although by the fourth round I wouldn’t have minded a departure from harissa salmon and quinoa.
This is easily solved by remembering to tinker with your choices in advance, and opening up your preferences beyond the high protein options – these contain roughly 60g of protein per serving, while other meals still usually offer a decent 20g-40g hit.
Buy now £11.00, Calo.app
Calo: The verdict
I’m going to miss my Calo deliveries so it’s safe to say the brand has earned my seal of approval. I sometimes struggle to balance a busy work and social life with my exercise goals and training, and Calo definitely helped tip the scales back in my favour. It also made sure I was eating something nutritious, even in a pinch when I might otherwise have grabbed a hastily-assembled sandwich.
However, it is expensive. While some will argue the time it buys back is priceless, I personally don’t have a few hundred quid to spare each month. For that reason, in the likely event I use Calo again, I will approach it more selectively: no juices or snacks, and only enough meals to cover me on busier weekdays.
That’s part of the appeal of the app, though – everything is customisable, and you can continue tweaking your subscription to suit your needs. There are also reward schemes and referral offers in place to save you a few pennies if you shop smart.
I’d recommend downloading the app and playing around to see if there’s an appropriate plan for you at a price point that works. If there is, deliciously efficient nutritious meals await.
