Sunday, March 26, 2017

quick, healthy meals: luvo review

Disclaimer: I received Luvo meals to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Mac and Cheese! Yum.

One of my biggest problems is eating healthy and feeling full. Marathon training usually means I'm hungry NON STOP! I want to eat all day, and sometimes (often) my cravings are for something that's not good for me (cheetoh puffs, fast food). Life is sometimes quite busy, too, which makes stopping for fast food a quick and easy option. Luckily, there is Luvo, a quick and healthy option for people needing something to eat without the time to cook. 

Luvo sent us coupons which we redeemed at the store.


You can find Luvo at most local grocery stores. Around me, both Jewel-Osco and Mariano's carries them. Jewel surprisingly had more options to choose from. I'm an extremely picky eater, and to be honest with you, I'm not into veggies. There's a few I enjoy, but mostly, they just aren't my thing. I'd much prefer to be eating fruits. I can eat veggies when they are, we'll say, 'snuck' into the meal. By that I mean the flavor isn't too strong and I barely notice them haha. I have a weak pallet – I can't eat anything spicy (lots of mild BBQ sauces are too hot for me haha). I don't enjoy peppers of beans... and I could continue, but let's just say I often eat like a kid.

A pretty good set of options to choose from at Jewel-Osco.
Hard to get a full photo without a bunch of other brands in there.

Lucky for me, even though Luvo contains an entire serving of veggies in their meals (along with whole grains and quality protein), there were quite a few options that I could eat and I enjoyed. I doubled up on a few that sounded like they'd be up my alley – I tried the Roasted Cauliflower Mac & Cheese (bowl), Kale Ricotta Ravioli (bowl), Orange Mango Chicken (steam pouch), and the Red Wine Braised Beef & Polenta. I was searching high and low for the breakfast foods, mostly the Steel Cut Oatmeal with quinoa and mixed fruits, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I was a little nervous about the Ravioli, as it mentions fire roasted tomato sauce, but it wasn't spicy, so I was good.

The Mac & Cheese cooked, but before mixing it up.

I think my favorite was the Mac & Cheese. The rest were all about the same – I don't think I could pick one over the other. And that's a good thing. I loved how quick they were to heat up. I've been spending a lot of time out of the house lately, which used to mean just stopping for dinner on the way home, but knowing I had some Luvo in the freezer meant I came home, popped one in the microwave for about 5 minutes, and dinner was served. 

After a 'quick' post-work run, Luvo came
in handy so I could eat before 9pm.

The bowls were covered with a plastic sheet like a lot of frozen meals, and then after 4-6.5 minutes in the microwave, you let it sit 1 minute, then peel off the plastic, mix and eat. For the steam pouches, you place on a microwaveable plate, microwave about the same time as the bowls, and then when finished you cut open the pouch with scissors (carefully as the steam is HOT), and then grab the closed corners and shimmy out the food. It comes out looking pretty close to the photo on the packaging, which makes you feel like a good chef (which I am far from ha). They also make planted power bowls, which didn't appeal to me, but I know it would to most other runners.

The ravioli before going in the microwave. Love the ease of
cooking and eating out of the paperboard bowls.

Other than the convenience, it's nice to know you're getting some healthy food into your system. I am in the heart of marathon training right now, so knowing that I'm eating something with nutritional value, fueling my body properly, means a lot. And I am actually noticing a difference in how I feel during my runs, which is huge. Also of note – the chicken and beef were raised without antibiotics. 

The two sides of the pouch. They make it easy for you to k
now which side is up and which side is down.


Here's a few nutritional info on a few of the meals so you can get a feel of what's in them:





If you are looking to stock your freezer up with some quick, easy, healthy meals to make when you are in a pinch (or even when you aren't – they are great for lunches at work, or just a regular meal when you don't feel like cooking), I would suggest looking at your grocery store freezer aisle for these entrees. There are a lot of options, and it's a nice change of pace from a PB&J sandwich that someone (read: me) eats everyday. They are reasonably priced, and I often see them on sale, so stock up then. You can go here to see if they sell them at a store near you. They also have an online store with $9.99 flat rate shipping on orders over $28.99. 

Orange Chicken Mango. Mango with chicken is an awesome combo!

Red Wine Braised Beef & Polenta.

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What the other BibRave Pros had to say:
Mai | Lindsey | Jeannine | Ang | Sam

1 comment:

  1. These meals look very tasty and honestly not at all what I would expect from a pre-packaged meal! I want to try the cauliflower mac and cheese.

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