If you're busy, tired, stressed, want a break from cooking, etc., THIS IS FOR YOU! BistroMD gives the diabetic diet an autopilot.
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Jump to...
1. Video review
2. Meal delivery for diabetics
3. BistroMD for diabetics
4. What I love about BistroMD
5. Coupon Code
6. Snacks
7. Negatives
8. FAQs
9. BistroMD options
10. Cost
11. How to order
12. How to skip a week
13. How to cancel
14. BistroMD vs Nutrisystem
15. BistroMD vs Freshly
Video Review
Meal Delivery for Diabetics
Meal delivery is popular these days because it helps you save time and brain power (to meal plan) while giving you chef made and dietitian certified recipes with fresh ingredients.
But not all services cater to diabetics. So I did some searching and found BistroMD.
BistroMD has meals for specific diets - they started with the mission to help others lose weight - the food has good flavor, the quality is high, pricier proteins don't increase the price of the meal and the variety is excellent (the best I've seen).
It was such a relief to receive a package of all my meals cooked for the week!
BistroMD for Diabetics
First and foremost, BistroMD is the only diabetic meal delivery service that specifically states that every meal is 25 net carbs or less. That's vital information, especially if you have a strict carb allowance.
Other meal delivery services have a wide range of carbs - even though they are still within the guidelines of the American Diabetes Association - and that's why they can't specify on their site the number of carbs their meals have.
Those other services are calorie driven, but BistroMD is carb focused.
This is why BistroMD is a fantastic option for gestational diabetics.
What I Love about BistroMD
Of all the companies I've tried, BistroMD is the best for diabetic meal delivery for a few reasons.
1. The meals are already cooked and delivered frozen. They microwave in 5 minutes or less, and they have great flavor.
2. The diabetic meals are portioned controlled, under 25g of net carbs, and dietitian-balanced to promote healthy blood sugars. The portions are the perfect size to fill you up and make you ready for a snack in a few hours.
3. There's a large variety (30+ options) to pick from each week. Plenty of seafood options are included (which is especially great for pregnant moms due to the nutritional benefits).
4. You can add snacks to your package!
5. You can get breakfast as well.
6. Access to a dietitian by phone, text or email.
BistroMD Coupon Code
Get 25% off + Free shipping your 1st week!
Diabetic Snacks!
One of the few delivery services to offer diabetic friendly snacks!
But to order snacks, you first have to order meals, then add the snacks to the package.
The snacks are sweet and savory and made to be low carb with protein.
They've made their own version of pretzels and chex mix (various flavors), protein bars, miniature cheesecakes, juices and other things.
I chose a variety the first time, but I enjoyed the juices and protein bars most!
The protein bars were yummy and chewy, and the juices were yummy and had 15g of protein!
I loved every protein bar and juice (especially the cocoa juice that tasted like chilled hot chocolate). I had no idea you could make a juice with protein!
That was totally worth it for me since diabetics are advised to avoid juices.
Unfortunately, the price for snacks was steep in my opinion; however, I'm still glad I tried it. If ever I have a week that I need my diet to be completely on autopilot, I'll order the juices and protein bars again.
Negatives to BistroMD
I think for the majority of people, the things listed below aren't negatives, but some do look for them.
1. I saw no vegetarian, plant based, or vegan options, except a few breakfasts.
2. The meals are processed in a facility that contains common allergens like eggs, soy, nuts, gluten, etc. (However gluten free meals are offered, but this is a separate plan from the diabetic plan.)
3. Organic, free range, grass fed, and other such qualities are not guaranteed.
FAQs
I really enjoyed the meals! I chose meals that I knew would pack a lot of flavor, like meals with sauces and southwestern, creole, Caribbean, Asian, etc. flavors. They were great. There were a couple of meals that I added salt to, but everything had good or great flavor.
Yes. According to their site, when you make your selection of meals for the week, the meals are prepared, then frozen, then shipped to you. They arrive frozen and they need to be warmed in the microwave or oven before eating.
Delivery time depends on the destination. I live in a small city and I received my package 3 days after ordering.
Depending on the number of meals per week you choose, the cost per meal ranges from $7 to $10. The price is determined only by volume, not what type of meal you choose. That's comparable to other services, and considering the meals are cooked for you, it's an excellent value. You can get 25% off + free shipping the first week (applied at checkout). The snacks cost about $2 each.
BistroMD Options
When you sign up you can pick to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, or just lunch and dinner, and you pick if you want 5 days a week or 7 days.
Each week meals are pre-chosen for you (like every other meal delivery) and you can easily swap them for something else. There are plenty of meals to choose from.
BistroMD Cost
The cost varies depending on which program you choose and how many meals you get. All in all, the meals range from $7 to $10 each, and you pay per week.
For the diabetic program with here's how the math works:
Option 1 - 7 days of breakfast, lunch and dinner = $7.15 per meal
One night/dinner is on your own.
Option 2 - 5 days of breakfast, lunch and dinner = $8.00 per meal
Option 3 - 7 days of lunch and dinner = $8.60 per meal
Option 4 - 5 days of lunch and dinner = $9.80 per meal
Get 25% off + Free shipping your 1st week!
How to Order
After you choose the number of days you want, which meal times you want, and submit your payment information, you must go into your account and customize your meals immediately.
Like all meal delivery, you are automatically subscribed to receive meals each week until you cancel your subscription, so be sure to skip the next few weeks (or cancel) if you just want to try it for one week with the discount.
Selections are automatically generated for you, and you can easily change the meal if you don't like it. Each meal has a picture, description and nutrition information.
From there you can add snacks to the package. They offer 2 snacks per day, at about $2 per snack.
How to Skip a Week in BistroMD
If you want to skip a week of your subscription, you must do so by your specific cut off date. If you miss the date, you won't be able to skip, and you'll be charged and receive meals for that week. You can view your cut off date for each week in your account.
To skip a week or more, you'll have to go into your account and Manage My Deliveries to hit the Skip button for each week you want to skip. If you're just trying the service to see if you like it, immediately go in and skip the next couple of weeks after ordering your first week.
How to Cancel BistroMD
To cancel your BistroMD subscription you'll have to call their customer service at 1-866-401-3438, or email them at customerservice@bistromd[dot]com.
BistroMD vs Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem is very similar to BistroMD in its offerings, but here are the differences.
Nutriysystem:
1. requires that you order by the month, not the week.
2. ranges from $8.57 to $12.50 a day (not meal), depending on the package you purchase.
3. offers online and phone support with certified diabetes educators and dietitians every day of the week, depending on the package.
4. gives both fresh and frozen foods, depending on the package.
Full Nutrisystem review coming soon!
BistroMD vs Freshly
OFFERINGS: Freshly doesn't cater to diabetics or any type of diet, and looking at their meals, they appear to be carb heavy with staples/fillers like rice, pasta and potatoes. BUT since their meals are pre-cooked and you just reheat them, those starchy foods will have a much lesser effect on your glucose. To read more about this take a look at this article of the ultimate diabetic hack with science to back it.
Freshly doesn't offer breakfast, so BistroMD has a leg up there.
FLAVOR: Their meals look great but I haven't tried them.
PRICE: Freshly is a bit more expensive. You can get 4, 6, 9 or 12 meals a week, and they range from $7.99 to $11.50 per meal.
Overall, I think BistroMD is an excellent choice for diabetic meal delivery, if not the best! For me, it's most helpful in reducing meal planning and shopping stress, and to avoid binge eating or going too long without food (all of which affect my blood sugar).
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