Frequently asked questions

We deliver fresh meal prep to Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, and Los Angeles County, California. Enter your ZIP code on our homepage or visit our delivery areas page to check if we deliver to your city.

All meal prep deliveries are made on Mondays. You choose a delivery time window at checkout (e.g., morning, afternoon, or evening) so your healthy meals arrive when it works for you.

Orders close every Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET. Any order placed after the cutoff will be delivered the following Monday. This keeps our meal prep fresh and our delivery routes efficient.

Yes. The minimum order is 5 bowls per delivery (our Solo plan). This helps us deliver fresh, chef-prepared meals efficiently and keep pricing reasonable for healthy meal prep in Orange County and across Southern California.

Delivery is a flat $9.99 per order anywhere in our service area—Orange County, San Diego County, LA County, and Riverside County. No surge pricing or distance fees.

Meals arrive in insulated packaging with ice packs so everything stays cold and fresh. Each bowl is individually sealed with full nutrition labeling. Our packaging is designed to keep your meal prep safe until you refrigerate it.

Yes! We deliver fresh meal prep across San Diego County including San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, El Cajon, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, and more. Enter your ZIP code to check availability and start building your bowls today.

We deliver meal prep to cities across Orange County including Irvine, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Mission Viejo, Tustin, Fullerton, Laguna Beach, and more. Check our delivery areas page for the full list and your ZIP code.

Yes. Our meal prep is chef-prepared with fresh ingredients, precise portions, and full macro and nutrition info. We use no preservatives and no seed oils. You choose your proteins, bases, and veggies so every bowl fits your health and fitness goals.

Clean eating meal prep means whole, minimally processed ingredients—no preservatives, no seed oils, and clear nutrition labels. Our build-your-own bowls let you control exactly what goes in, so you get clean eating delivered weekly without the hassle.

No. Our meals are never frozen. Our chefs cook your exact order fresh on Sunday and we deliver it chilled on Monday—so your food is a day old, not weeks old. That is why we use a weekly delivery schedule: you get fresh meal prep, not frozen dinners.

When refrigerated, our bowls stay fresh for 4–5 days. We recommend eating them within that window for the best taste and quality. They are dated so you always know how fresh they are.

Most bowls heat in about 2 minutes in the microwave. Remove the sauce cup first (sauces are meant to be cold or room temperature). You can also reheat in a pan for 3–4 minutes if you prefer.

Yes. Sauces are always packaged separately so you can control the amount and keep your bowl from getting soggy. Add as much or as little as you like.

Every bowl shows allergens clearly. You can filter out ingredients in the bowl builder. Our kitchen does handle common allergens, so we cannot guarantee zero cross-contamination. If you have severe allergies, contact us before ordering.

You pick a base (e.g., rice, quinoa, greens), a protein dialed to the exact ounce (1–14 oz cooked), your veggies, and a sauce on the side. Macros and price update in real time so you can build a meal that fits your diet and budget.

Proteins and bases use a stepper you set to any whole ounce from 1 to 14 oz cooked—not a few fixed sizes. Every bowl includes 4 oz of protein and a 4 oz base; above that, protein is $1.25/oz and bases are $0.50/oz. (Ordering under 4 oz still bills the 4 oz minimum, but the macros scale down.) Veggies: 4 free per bowl (5 on Family, unlimited on Performance), $0.50 each beyond that. Sauces are free, always on the side. Macros update live as you change any portion.

All protein weights are cooked weight. When we say 6 oz chicken, that is 6 oz on your plate after cooking, not before. This makes it easier to track macros accurately.

Right now customization is limited to the options in the builder. This helps us keep portions accurate and operations smooth. We add new ingredients regularly.

Yes. Premium proteins like grass-fed steak, wild salmon, and shrimp have a small upcharge. The exact price appears in the bowl builder as you build, so there are no surprises at checkout.

Yes—meet Chef Sage, our in-house AI meal-plan guide. Open the Chef Sage chat on themealpreps.com, tell him your goal, taste preferences, and delivery ZIP, and he will draft a full week (5, 8, 12, or 16 bowls) with real macros and price from the live menu. He treats allergies and dislikes as hard filters, checks whether we deliver to your ZIP, and adds the plan to your cart in one tap—so you can review or tweak anything before you order. It is free, and you never have to use it: you can always build every bowl yourself.

You choose a plan size: 5, 8, 12, or 16 bowls per week. Each week you build or adjust your bowls before the Wednesday cutoff. Payment is charged weekly after the cutoff. You can skip, pause, or cancel anytime.

Yes. You can skip any week before the Wednesday cutoff. There is no limit on how many weeks you can skip. Your subscription stays active; you just do not get charged or delivered that week.

Yes. You can cancel your subscription anytime from your account. No fees, no hassle. Your last delivery will be the last week you were charged for.

If you do not select bowls by the Wednesday cutoff, we automatically repeat your previous week’s order. You can still change it before the cutoff if you log in.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan anytime. The change applies to your next delivery. There are no long-term contracts.

Very accurate. Every ingredient has precise nutrition data per gram. We calculate totals from your exact portions. The macros in the builder match what is on the printed label on each bowl.

High Protein = 40 g or more of protein per bowl. Under 500 Cal = fewer than 500 calories. Low Carb = 30 g of carbs or less (keto-friendly bowls are included here). We also filter by Mediterranean, Veg / Vegan, and Pescatarian, plus Gut-Friendly, Performance, and Recovery under "More filters". Filters are calculated automatically from each bowl's real macros, so what you see is what you get.

Our build-your-own system works for almost any diet. You can filter by preference (e.g., keto, low carb, high protein) or build completely custom bowls to hit your macros. We add new bases and proteins regularly.

Full nutrition (calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sodium) is shown live in the bowl builder and printed on every bowl label. You always know exactly what you are eating.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) through Stripe, our secure payment processor. Apple Pay is supported on eligible Apple devices, and any other wallets your browser or device offers will appear automatically at checkout. Payment is required at the time you place or lock in your weekly order.

Subscriptions are charged weekly after the Wednesday cutoff, once your order is locked in. You are only charged for the weeks you receive delivery (skipped weeks are not charged).

If there is an issue with your order—missing items, quality concerns, or wrong items—contact us within 24 hours of delivery. We will make it right with a refund or account credit. See our refund policy page for full details.

Yes. New customers get 25% off their first order on 8 or more bowls. There is no code to hunt for—it applies automatically at checkout once your cart has 8+ bowls, and you will see the discount on the order summary before you pay. It is a one-time first-order offer, so weeks 2 and on bill at your normal plan price.