When choosing a healthy meal company, the choices can be confusing! Everyone says they offer healthy meals that will help you lose weight and improve your health but do all of the healthy meal delivery programs really follow through with meeting these goals? At Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating we have nothing to hide and are proud that we are the ONLY program that follows the strict nutrition standards and is owned and operated by a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist.

We decided to compare our meals to the other so-called “healthy” meal companies so you can see how we stack up. In this blog, we will look at Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating compared to four of the most popular plans on the market today: Home Chef, Trifecta, Freshly, and Factor_. You will see by looking through this why we are the RIGHT choice for convenient healthy eating!

For over 36 years, we have based our meal plans on the science of eating right, and not opinions, diet fads, or diet trends. When looking at the data, it was clear that many of the other companies cannot say the same. Our program philosophy focuses on balance, variety, and enjoyment. We leave behind strict rules, deprivation, and guilt.

NUTRITION STANDARDS

Every meal we create is designed to help you reach your goals – structured around 3 key sets of medically backed guidelines. By strictly adhering to these guidelines, our plans help you not only lose weight but also live a healthier life overall. Each of our meal plans follow the nutrition guidelines set by the AHA (American Heart Association), ADA (American Diabetes Association), and the DGA's (Dietary Guidelines for Americans).

Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating does not offer a specific meal plan for someone with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or heart issues. We create all of our meal plans to be suitable for all of those conditions by following these expert guidelines. Our plans are suitable for most health conditions. A healthy diet incorporates all of the food groups, limits sodium, saturated fats, added sugars and includes a wide variety of plant-based foods.

No other meal company on the market follows these medically-backed guidelines!

Health is more than calories in versus calories out. However, consuming the right amount of calories to reach and maintain a healthy weight for YOU helps you reach your goals. Research shows that a weight loss of just 10% of your current body weight if you are overweight or obese, can significantly improve your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugars, and reduce your risk for disease. Do you have questions about how many calories you need and how to lose weight? Check out our blog “Your Weight Loss Questions ANSWERED.”

We offer 3 different calorie levels to help our customers choose the appropriate meal plan for their goals, choose from 1200, 1500, or 2000 calories. Our 1200 calorie meal plan is our most popular plan and helps customers reduce their calories for a healthy weight loss. This meal plan averages fewer calories per meal than any of the competitors with an average of 400 calories per meal.

Since we prepare all 3 meals for the day, we also help you stay within your calorie goals for the entire day. No need to worry about what to have, counting calories, or preparing other meals and snacks for the rest of the day. We make it easy for you to reach your goals!

Our 1200 calorie meal plan is calculated with the addition of 2 glasses of non-fat milk, while our 1500 and 2000 calorie meal plans are calculated with 3 glasses per day. If you have more specific calorie goals, our plan can be adjusted with these added milk servings to customize your average calories per day. Looking for an 1800 calorie meal plan or want a 1200 calorie vegetarian plan, just decrease the amount of dairy you add to your meals per day.

With controlled calories and flexible options, our plan can help you meet your health and weight loss goals.

ADDED SUGARS

Americans are eating and drinking too many added sugars, which can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Foods that have too many added sugars offer no nutritional benefits and provide empty calories that lead to weight gain.

Many of our competitors have been slow to report or do not have the amount of added sugars in their meals available to review. At Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating, we have worked hard to ensure we are well below the guidance provided by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend less than 10% of calories should come from added sugars and our meal plans average 4%. While the American Heart Association recommends no more than 100 calories of added sugar for women and less than 150 calories for men per day. All of our plans average less than 100 calories per day.

The average added sugars in our meal plans for each plan are:

1200 calorie traditional plan: 52 calories per day
1500 calorie vegetarian plan: 68 calories per day
2000 calorie traditional plan: 84 calories per day

Our meals focus on including sources of naturally occurring sugars which are derived from fresh fruits and dairy products which help provide your body the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs to function properly. The way the body metabolizes naturally occurring sugar is different than how it metabolizes added sugars. Our bodies break down added sugars quickly, causing a quick spike in insulin and blood sugar. The fiber and nutrients in foods with naturally occurring sugar are digested much slower, leading to feeling fuller with fewer calories and slowing down the rise in blood sugar.

While comparing our meals to these competitors, we noticed that many of them leave out these healthy, natural sources of sugars such as fresh fruits and low-fat dairy as a way to follow the keto-diet craze and cut carbohydrates (even healthy ones). Experts suggest 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, which has been proven to contribute to good health. We are proud to offer a variety of fruit and dairy products in our meals to provide your body with appropriate amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

SODIUM

Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating was the big winner when looking at the sodium content in our meals compared to these 4 competitors. If you were to consume 3 of our meals per day on the 1200 calorie meal plan your average sodium would be around 1500 mg per day. Home Chef had close to that amount in the average of just 1 of their meals! If you ate three Home Chef meals per day, you would have over 4450 mg of sodium, which is significantly above the 2300 mg recommended per day. Three Freshly and Factor_ meals per day also puts you above the recommended sodium limit.

Diets high in sodium increase the risk for heart disease due to high blood pressure. The average American consumes 3,000 mg of sodium per day, but the American Heart Association recommends only 2,300 mg or less a day of sodium and 1500 mg per day for those at risk for heart disease. For the average person, sticking to an average sodium around of 770 mg per meal is a good goal. If you have high blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease a good goal is closer to 500 mg per meal.

According to the American Heart Association, eating less sodium can help reduce your risk of a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, and even headaches. One estimate found that if Americans cut their sodium to 1500 mg per day it would result in 500,000 to 1.2 million fewer cardiovascular disease-related deaths over the next 10 years. We are proud to be a healthy meal company that is taking the steps to lower the salt in our foods for the health of our customers.

DIETARY FAT

Our meals average lower in dietary fat than any of our competitors. While we understand that it is important, and healthy, to include fat in our diets it is still important to focus on the right amount.

At Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating we follow the American Heart Association and the Dietary Guidelines for American’s recommendations for the amount of fat in our meals. They recommend limiting to less than 35% of daily calories from fat. If you were following a 1200 calorie diet, that would equate to 15.5 grams of fat per meal. All of the other meal plans averaged higher grams of fat per meal than 15.5 grams per day.

Fats are nutrients in food that the body uses to build nerve tissue and hormones and getting adequate amounts is essential to growth and development. Healthy unsaturated fat can help remove LDL (bad) cholesterol from arteries and promote a healthier heart. Additionally, fat supplies fuel for the body and helps with the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Too much of a good thing is not always good! Fat is a great source of energy, but it also has twice the amount of calories compared with the same amount of carbohydrates and protein. If fats eaten are not burned as energy or used as building blocks, then the fat is stored in the body. Consuming too many calories, regardless of where it comes from, will cause weight gain, making portion control especially important when it comes to fat.

Another important point to consider is that if your diet has a higher amount of fat in it, you may be eating a less balanced diet and missing out on important nutrients for good health. Many sources of fat are not a good source of fiber and lack essential vitamins and minerals. By focusing on getting the correct percentage of fat in your diet, you are ensuring you have room for a variety of other healthy foods too, such as beans/legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains.

SATURATED FAT

The American Heart Association recommends aiming for less than 10% of calories from saturated fats and avoiding all trans fats. This means eating less high-fat animal products and processed foods. Saturated fats have been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and raise bad cholesterol levels. One study by the American Heart Association found that reducing saturated fats in favor of unsaturated fats reduced heart disease by 30%, which is similar to statin drugs. Too much saturated fats and trans fat has also been associated with increased inflammation, mood disorders, and mental decline.

If you are following a 1200 calorie diet, 10% of your calories would be 4.5 grams per meal if you are consuming 3 meals per day. Our meal plan is the only program that met this requirement for saturated fat amount. If you ate 3 Factor_ meals per day with an average of 14 grams per meal, your saturated fat intake would be close to 42 grams, more than double the dietary guideline recommendation of 20 grams per day.

CHOLESTEROL

Both the American Heart Association and the Dietary Guidelines for American’s recommend limiting dietary cholesterol to less than 300 milligrams per day. While we know that saturated fat and trans fat have more of an impact on blood cholesterol levels, it is still recommended to limit dietary cholesterol for overall health. Our meals average lower in cholesterol than Freshly and Factor_ with 44-63% less cholesterol than their meals. The other 2 companies did not report the amount of cholesterol in their meals. If you were advised to follow a heart-healthy diet, that includes a plan that is both low in sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol our meal plans are the right choice for you!

When it comes to serving more nutritious foods that offer less sodium, fat, cholesterol, and added sugars along with delicious flavors and convenience, Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating scores higher than other meal delivery program. Want to see our full infographic with this information? Check it out and share it with your friends and family with this link. Visit our website and check out our delicious menus and start your journey to a healthier you by ordering our fresh, healthy meals delivered straight to your home to see for yourself what we are all about.