FuelMe experience of the month: "More energy, more time, more vegetables"

Every month we take an admirer of our meals on the side and have a short chat with them. For June that was Maria, whom has been enjoying FuelMe meals to the fullest. Though it’s not always the healthy meals she prefers: “I love candy, all kinds of candy! Sirkus Aakkooset is the best one!” We talked with her about her eating habits and her hostility towards mushrooms.

Hi Maria! Thanks for taking the time to have a chat with us. To start this off - where did you first hear about FuelMe?

M: “Hi guys! Pleasure to meet you. I read about FuelMe the first time in a Facebook group for clients of our box, where a coach posted about it somewhere in April. I started browsing through the pages and after seeing comments of other people and how they liked it, I decided to give it a go.”

How does your daily eating pattern look like, are you very strict with your eating habits?

M: *Laughs out loud* “No strict diet for me! I try to eat quite healthy though and in the weekends I let go and eat whatever I like. I do not calculate macros or base my eating on any scientific measurements, even though it would be nice to know.

With FuelMe I am learning more about food and educating myself at the same time what I am putting exactly into my body. The calories of the meals are shown, which is quite fun and sometimes we choose our meals based on those calories. So we have become more interested in the topic.”

How often do you do sports or train?

M: “During the year I mainly do CrossFit at CrossFit Basement Kurvi. During summer I take it a bit easier and get in some golf sessions. Let’s say that 5 times per week of training is the average before holidays, 4-5 times per week during.”

Quite active! How do you support that with eating?

M: “I actually eat a FuelMe meal before training. I eat lunch so early so I would have a FuelMe meal at 5 o’clock and then train later at 7 o’clock. After class I would get a snack in like a smoothie.

The meals are quite big, so it makes sure I have two proper meals per day when I am training.” *Boyfriend yelling from across the room: the portions are really big!*

Alright, seems quite clear! Your days seem busy, how does FuelMe fit in the bigger picture?

M: “I eat lunch at my workplace and then for dinner I have a FuelMe meal. On Sundays we still prepare dinner for Monday already, but from Tuesday onwards it’s FuelMe for dinner for me and my boyfriend until Thursday-Friday.

We order between 6-8 meals per week, depending if we are going out of town. A few weeks on, one week off creates a nice balance. We have ordered together with my sister as well, who has liked the meals.”

Would you add anything to the meals yourself before you dig in?

M: “I would add fresh herbs myself if I have some. In the beginning when I just ordered for the first times, I would add some salt but the last few weeks the taste has improved and the meals are spicier. We have lived in Asia for some time, so we are big fans of spicy food. Now I basically add chili and garlic to everything. But overall going into the more spicy direction for the meals has been good.”

Have you noticed any difference in your eating patterns, before and after ordering?

M: “I eat better now, I have more energy. What has really changed as well is that we eat more vegetables now compared to when we are doing food on our own. Way more vegetables actually. Which is great, because we realized as well it is such an important source of nutrition and FuelMe makes it easy to give you that. It has also had an impact on my lunch eating behaviour, as I now shifted to eating more vegetables there too.”

Something that has changed as well is that we eat more fish during the week. As Sundays are not the best days to buy fresh fish, it’s better to order them from FuelMe and not having to go and buy them during the week. Plus it adds more variation to our eating habits.”

What’s your favorite meal?

M: “The Mexican beef bowl is superb, my boyfriend loves the chicken with sweet potato fries. On the other side, one thing I would never eat are mushrooms. Nooo mushrooooms! Or olives I would take out of the meals as well.”

What has been your biggest struggle to have a productive day and still eat healthy?

M: “Time, definitely. Both finding and making it. We both work in the financial industry and we have quite hectic days. So having ready-made healthy meals waiting for us takes a lot of worries away. So for us the most valuable is the time we win when we don’t have to go the shop and buy the food. I don’t want to go to the shop when I am hungry and buy unhealthy frozen rice and curry bowls.”  

What’s your favorite cheat meal or snack?

M: “Candy, all kinds of candy! Sirkus Aakkoset is the best one! I would at least try to save them for Saturday - with an emphasis on try.”  

In terms of your food budget, has it changed a lot?

M: “I haven’t noticed a big change, it has remained quite the same. We tried to shop once per week, but you end up going more often and you buy a lot of things you don’t need. So overall it has been quite the same, definitely if you start calculating the time factor.”  

What is FuelMe in a nutshell for you?

M: “It makes my life easier, it saves me time and I definitely eat healthier food.”

Thanks, Maria!

Our meals are fueling Maria's active lifestyle.