From Meal Prep to Healthy Habits: Making Better Choices Easier

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is gonna be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor Baumeyer Coaching. Multiply profits, magnify impact executive coaching to elevate individual and team performance. To learn more, go to baumeyercoaching.com. BAUMEYER coaching.com. Today on the show we have the owner of Smart Meals®, Sharon Reitman. Welcome.

Sharon Reitman: Hi there.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Smart Meals®. How you serving folks?

Sharon Reitman: Well, we meal company we’ve been serving since 1994. That’s when I started my company before meal prep was even called meal prep. I don’t know how familiar you are with the industry, but it’s getting quite popular throughout the United States. Almost every city now has different businesses that prepare and make foods on an individual basis that people can purchase and have for at home, you know, for dinners or to have lunches at work that are healthy or kind of within the diet genre that they’re they’re in. So that’s kind of the basic basics of it all.

Lee Kantor: So now what was kind of the genesis of that idea for you? You were so early on in this trend.

Sharon Reitman: It’s a it’s a good story. I was actually went back to college a little late in life in my late 20s, and I could not afford my personal trainer any longer. And I had said to him, hey, how about if I make you some meals in exchange for training and I am not the best cook? So it was kind of an interesting endeavor. But what happened was he was like, well, I have a client that would like to get some meals and so on and so forth. And it just kind of dawned on me like, there’s a business opportunity here. At that time in Houston, there was one major company doing like diet meals. And she had a great business and there’s really nobody else doing it. So I thought, I’m going to try this. And that’s how it all started.

Lee Kantor: So now what makes a kind of your Smart Meals® different than some of the other folks doing this?

Sharon Reitman: Well, our focus, our genre has always been to make meals that are a little bit lower in fat. We really pay close attention to the fat content of our meals. So now with all the different companies that are out there making meals, you know, internet, I mean that ship and also local, the focus is high, high protein, especially with the GLP one community, which is what we do as well. But we still keep our fat relatively low, around the 20% mark. There are a few meals that will be 25% fat, and that’s kind of our little niche. It works well in fitness, especially depending how lean you know or what someone’s goals are in the fitness world.

Lee Kantor: Now, is your business kind of still referral based and working with trainers and other fitness professionals?

Sharon Reitman: Absolutely. I think, you know, I’ve been in business for so long. We we have a name here in the Houston area. So yes, trainers definitely will refer dieticians, nutritionists. And now I think because meal prep has become such a industry, more and more people just on their own are looking for the big thing in meal prep is convenience more than even the fitness element. And that’s what I’m realizing after all these years in business. It’s so much about convenience. People just don’t have time to cook or prepare meals. And when you don’t have time to cook and prepare, you end up making poor choices. And that’s kind of the the way it goes. So having these meals available can eliminate that from happening.

Lee Kantor: Now, does do your are your clients kind of individual like single folks or are they families like, or does it work for both.

Sharon Reitman: Across the board? I have families, I have husband and wives. I have young, um, you know, students. I have people just right out of college getting their first jobs. It’s really about convenience. If you think of your own schedule and what you do on a daily basis, how much time do you have to go grocery shopping, preparing, cooking, cleaning. So some people have the time and they enjoy doing it, and that’s great. But the majority of people nowadays just don’t have that kind of time, and they at least need to have some healthy meals available for when you know, they don’t have time to cook and they can weave it in with all their own good cooking. And that’s a long term, uh, plan for success.

Lee Kantor: And it’s one of those things where it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You don’t have to replace every single meal, but you can replace some of the meals with healthy choices like you’re delivering, right?

Sharon Reitman: Yeah. And it’s funny that you say that because back in the old days, that’s how I always promoted my foods. Like I, I didn’t, I mean, of course we love big sales, but the minute you sell someone breakfast, lunch, dinner, you know, seven days a week for 21 days, you know, they’re going to be tired and burned out. I don’t care how great the food is. So I always tell my customers, think about what meal or meals are the hardest for you to do during the day. And once you have that, that’s what you need to prepare for. So for example, let’s say breakfast is easy. People make their own breakfast, they can make breakfast for the kids, this and that, and then they go to work and it’s just lunches and maybe a mid-afternoon snack that’s hard for them to plan because when they get home for dinner, maybe the husband likes to cook or they like to grill. You know, most of the week or whatever they like to do. So they really don’t need dinner. So I tell customers and just buy lunches and snacks for the week. You have that at work. It helps you stay on track and it’s economical. You don’t waste food.

Lee Kantor: And it’s one of those things where, uh, if you, if you can eliminate going out to eat even a few times a week, you’re going to have there’s, I believe it has to be kind of monetary savings there, but it’s also the hidden calories that are in a lot of these restaurant meals that you can’t even, you can’t even tell how many calories are in any given meal. Yeah.

Sharon Reitman: That, that is so true. You’re absolutely right. First of all, depending on what, uh, what someone’s goal is. Yeah, it’s very hard to know what’s in the foods that excuse me, that, that you’re purchasing and you end up eating a lot worse and a lot more. And it really can throw your, your plan off. But besides that, especially nowadays. I mean, it is so expensive. I mean, I personally went and had Vietnamese lunch because I love Vietnamese food and just spring rolls in and um, seafood pho. I ended up spending with tip $35 for myself. And I’m like, this is crazy. So it really is economical and it saves you money and you have a lot less waste, even if you do your own grocery shopping and cook. You’d be surprised how much people do throw out that they end up not using. So your point, right?

Lee Kantor: And if you’re even trying to meal prep on your own, like you said, if the recipe requires some weird ingredient that now you have to go out and you have a jar of something that you’re going to use one time, and now you’re going to throw it away in two months, um, because you’re never going to use it again. To me, it’s such a better way to kind of manage your eating is through a service that you’re guaranteeing you’re getting healthy choices at every meal. It’s not one of these kind of, oh, I’m starving. Oh, why don’t we just drive through somewhere or get something, you know, a quick service restaurant or something like that. It just eliminates all of that temptation. And that’s the best way to quiet the food noise is by not having the food in the house.

Sharon Reitman: That that’s very true. And the thing now with meal prep, since it’s so popular and almost every city has a business or two in some of the big cities, like in Houston, there’s a lot of companies that provide different types of meals, and everyone has their own kind of flair about what they sell and what they do it. There’s so much variety for people out there, so and it’s comparable price rise, even with fast food, like when you if you went to, you know, any of the burger places and got a sandwich and, you know, a coke or iced tea with tax, by the time you do that, you could almost be spending money, you know, on having a healthy meal and you just heat it in your microwave or in your oven if you prefer, and you’re good to go and you’re eating something healthy and definitely higher in protein for sure. Most likely. I just encourage people that, you know, whatever meal prep they are purchasing to really read, you know, what they’re buying, what the ingredients are, what the macros are. And what I mean by macros, I mean the calories, the fat, carbohydrate and protein in each meal. So they understand what they’re getting. You know, that’s an important thing. And especially if they have any kind of health and fitness goals.

Lee Kantor: So now how does it work with Smart Meals®? Like what is the commitment and how does someone get started?

Sharon Reitman: Well, for, for us, it’s pretty simple. People can go to our website, they can they can create an order online, they can preorder twice a week. They can also do weekly subscriptions where they just pause and reactivate and save a little money. Or we have a storefront so they don’t have to preorder. They can always come shop anytime they want. The only risk with doing it that way is we could be potentially sold out of an item that they prefer. And so we tell everyone if you’re really, you know, particular and you want certain things, it’s, it’s best to do a preorder. They can do a preorder for pick up at my store or for local delivery.

Lee Kantor: Now how does it work when it comes to selection? Is it a set menu every week or do I have some, um, latitude in what the choices are in a given week?

Sharon Reitman: There’s some latitude. We have our main items that kind of stay on the menu because they’re popular. The minute I try to change things, I get complaints. It’s so funny. So we try to rotate and do new menu items each week or every two weeks. A few menu items, just, you know, for variety. But we have a huge menu. And I think what we do best is we take all the different food genres. We have Mexican food, we have Asian food, we have American food, we have fast food categories, but we take the popular meals from those categories and make them healthy. So we have right now a summer burger that’s on the menu. It’s delicious. It’s made with our 98% grass fed beef, and it comes with yam fries or potato fries. Now those fries aren’t fried. They’re baked. And they’re so good in the air fryer, you’ll never need to eat a real, you know, fried French fry. They just totally satisfy your craving. Delicious. But I think that’s one of the best things that we do. We make every day regular food healthy now.

Lee Kantor: Um, does it require me to have an air fryer or a microwave or some combination or.

Sharon Reitman: I mean, you got to warm the food up. I mean, it’s better warmed up for sure. You can do a lot of things in the microwave. Some people don’t like a microwave, so they want to use their oven. Um, you don’t have to have an air fryer, but to me, the air fryers are a great gift idea for the holidays. They’re not expensive and they’re so easy to use and fast. It’s just kind of like a glorified toaster oven. We have artesian style macro friendly pizzas and those just eight minutes in the air fryer and you’re good to go. And they’re amazing. Our quesadillas, great in the airfryer are burritos, will crisp up the tortilla in the air fryer, the French fries, the potato fries, the yam fries. So much better in the air fryer. And it’s the second. They’re super easy to use. So I tell everyone, invest in an air fryer. They’re anywhere from 50 to $100, you know, for a decent one. And it’s a great appliance to have for sure.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about people with food allergies? Are there ways to kind of work around that?

Sharon Reitman: We do work with people with food allergies. We list the ingredients on the on the label, you know, however, we do just have one kitchen. So I always worry that God forbid, of, you know, cross contamination. So someone that has a very serious celiac or seafood kind of allergy, you know, we tell people that we are not, you know, our kitchen is a single kitchen. I don’t can’t guarantee with 100% certainty because of that. It’s just like a catering kitchen. It’s similar to if they went to a restaurant to eat.

Lee Kantor: Now what about, um, specific diets like vegan or keto or things like that?

Sharon Reitman: Most of our foods will work with any of the diets. We don’t have a lot of vegetarian or vegan options. I tried, I wish I would love it, but we just for some reason did not have the people enough people that wanted it. And believe me, I, I wish we did because I like so many aspects of the vegan diet, um, or vegetarian. So that’s how any of the other um, genres though we can, we can accommodate because one of the other things that we do that’s very helpful is you can order items in bulk. So for example, instead of ordering the meal, you can order a pound of the protein, uh, or a pound of the carbohydrate. And there’s several on there. So some people can, they can put together their own meals or they can make their own carbohydrate and just order the protein from us. So it gives them a lot of flexibility. And that is another way to order where you can save a little money. It’s a little more economical to do it that way.

Lee Kantor: So like you could order like a week’s worth of chicken tenders if you know, your kid likes chicken tenders.

Sharon Reitman: Absolutely. We have people that do that all the time. I have a lot of people that do that.

Lee Kantor: Now what?

Sharon Reitman: What? I’m sorry.

Lee Kantor: What about desserts? Do you have desserts as well?

Sharon Reitman: We do have some desserts. The desserts are always a little trickier to make macro friendly. We have a line of protein muffins that I think are delicious. It’s a Kodiak cake bake mix, uh, base with a lot of other ingredients that we put together for our own custom recipe. And they’re delicious. They’re really delicious. We have a chocolate chip, a blueberry, pumpkin, and a dark chocolate chip. We also have a Hershey Kiss cookie. That’s fun. We have some protein puddings. We’re working on some cheesecakes. We have a healthy version of our carrot cake. That’s that’s pretty good to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Lee Kantor: Now, when, uh, sometimes so a person can get it delivered to their house as well as pick it up at the location, it’s either or.

Sharon Reitman: Yeah. Either way, they can save the money and come shop at our store. Or a lot of people opt for delivery. And the charge is dependent upon the area that they’re in. And we now just started with Uber Eats within a ten mile radius of our store. Uh, so people could order from a selected menu items and get their men get their food, you know, in 45 minutes. And that’s really geared for people that just want something to eat.

Lee Kantor: Now that’s like for a meal, like one meal, I want dinner or something.

Sharon Reitman: Yeah, exactly.

Lee Kantor: So now, um, when you started this, is it what you imagined? Is it going in the, the way that you imagined it was going to go?

Sharon Reitman: Um, it’s a good question. Uh, yes. Yes and no. I mean, when I started, I just fell into it. I had no plans. This was, you know, my area’s exercise science. I’m more of the front of the house, so to speak. I love dealing with customers, talking to customers, customer service, making sure everything’s running smoothly in retail. The kitchen is my least favorite, uh, part of the whole process. And I always like to joke with people that I really am my own best customer. I use my food and just like a customer of not more. And so I can I really get a good idea of what’s convenient, what’s not, what needs to be better because there’s always room for improvement. Always. And times have changed. I mean, a lot of things have changed since the mid 90s. Since I started.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, when a person is working with you at the let’s go to the beginning when you first started and that trainer said, hey, can you make this for my clients? When did you kind of, when was the aha moment? Was it just that action by the trainer saying, hey, will you make this for my client where you’re like, okay, I could be on to something or did something happen later on after you got a few clients that you were like, okay, this thing has legs.

Sharon Reitman: Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t immediate and I almost didn’t want to do it, but at that time, I had just finished and got my degree. I was, uh, waiting tables at a steak restaurant and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my degree. And, um, so when he said, hey, I have a client, I said, okay, I’ll do it. And then so I ended up with like three, four people and I’m doing it out of my house, which that’s how most people start and very limited just grilling chicken and very basic, like very, very basic. And I’m like, there could be a business here. And that’s the kind that’s when it kind of happened within the first few months. And within six months, I, through my network of friends, I was introduced to a girl who I took in immediately as a partner. It was, you know, we were so small business, it wasn’t going to lawyers and figuring all this stuff out, hey, you want to be partners and do this thing with me? It was that’s kind of how it started. And she’s a very talented, self-made chef who is actually now in the Georgia area. And she private chefs for some well-known people over there. But she’s very, very good. And we’ve remained in contact through the years. So that’s kind of how it started. And she helped develop some recipes and one thing led to another.

Lee Kantor: And then how long did it take for you to kind of find a commercial kitchen?

Sharon Reitman: We got into a kitchen right away after six months because you really can’t cook properly. That’s that’s something I would tell customers. Um, you know, if they buy from individuals, I apologize. My dog is barking downstairs. Um, I, uh, so give me one second, I apologize. Okay. Sorry. Um, so I would tell people to make sure that when they buy from a company, they know where their food is being cooked because in a home, it’s hard to cool it up, cool it properly and keep it at temperature, at the proper temperature and follow all the health safety laws. So that’s, that’s just something a lot of people don’t think about, especially when you’re cooking for the masses.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about the folks who maybe are just trying meal prep for the first time on their own? Are there some do’s and don’ts when it comes to that? Like you mentioned that a lot of times just people do a protein, some rice and, uh, and, you know, throw some vegetables and call it a day. Is there some do’s and don’ts for the, the home meal prepper?

Sharon Reitman: I mean, the whole meal prepper, I would tell them to kind of think what they want for the week ahead And then on the weekend, if that’s their time to do it, is when to do it. Like I would get some rice cookers to do the rice’s and do it in bulk and cook their their carbs and bark. They. And in bulk they could do their sweet potatoes and even potatoes. They could just do those in the oven in bulk. Everything’s kind of in bulk. And just to pick some, maybe like 3 or 4 proteins that they like, they don’t have to make creative meals for every meal. Most people eat the same thing. And this is just like a staple during the week. Save your, you know, um, going out to eat or your salads or your sushi and things for the, for what you can’t meal prep. I would be consistent with the foods that you like and just make those.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story that you can share about kind of the impact that this type of, uh, getting meals delivered or, or picked up from Smart Meals®, the impact it can make on a person or a family is there. Don’t name the individual, but maybe share the challenge they had when they started. They found out about you and how you were able to help them, maybe lose some weight or get healthier.

Sharon Reitman: Well, I mean, there’s quite a few different people that come for different reasons that are they’re going to be doing a show and they need help. But one of the people, um, I and it’s funny because she remembers the story better than I do, but, you know, she, she was traveling and she really serious on eating healthy. And this was when I first started. And you know, I, when she told me that I was like, here, this is what you need to do. And I kind of gave her the one, two, three. And I think I even lent lended her a, uh, cooler to use and just kind of went through the whole routine and that that whole story kind of stayed with her. And it made me smile when she told me years later, like, even like we were talking about it this year, 25 years later. And I’m like, really? I’m like, you know, I’m so glad that that had such a positive impact because it’s just something that I had done for myself prior to having my business, because I was very much into fitness in my 20s and 30s that I wanted to eat, you know, that was kind of the 80s and 90s. So there you go on age.

Sharon Reitman: But it, it was something that I knew well. And there’s so many ways to stay on track, so many ways. And so I think, you know, a lot of people already know how to eat. They just need to know some of the tricks. You know, uh, one of the nutritionists that I’ve worked with for almost the entirety of my business, very well known person here in Houston, Texas. He’s retired now. Wonderful guy. He, he used to I went to him before I even had my business. And one of the things I learned from him, and this is a great tip for everybody is he’s like, just carry around a little cooler in your car, bring your food with you and you’ll have it wherever you are. If you, if you, if you, if you’re driving and doing sales, you can always stop at a stop and go and use the microwave or you just take it to work, have it with you so you’re not without and it doesn’t force you to go get the bag of chips or the junk food. I think that’s some of the best advice. It’s basic, very basic because I think most people already know how to eat. They know by now how to eat.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. But so many people, it’s like they get surprised that they get hungry at 3:00 when they get hungry every day at 3:00, and it’s like, oh, I’m hungry. And then they go and make a bad choice at a vending machine or, or junk food. And it just like you said, if you just kind of have a little self-awareness to go, you know what? I usually get hungry in mid-afternoon. Why don’t I, you know, have a bag of nuts in my pocket or something that is going to alleviate some of that, just to take the edge off until we get to dinner.

Sharon Reitman: And you should like people should have a little snack so they’re not starving when they get to dinner. Now, of course, if they’re, you know, skipping and not eating anything until like 1:00. You know, that’s not ideal either. But if people are eating consciously and they’re having, you know, breakfast and lunch, they should definitely if they’re at work, they should have a snack, you know, maybe a Greek yogurt snack, a few nuts, you know, you have to watch how many nuts you do eat. Nuts are good, but nuts can build add up very quickly. Uh, you know, in terms of fat. Um, so, you know, there’s things that they can have, they can make a half a sandwich and have to work or we have snack burritos people love to take to work or even the mob. There’s so many options now. And you’re absolutely right. People just need to think a little bit ahead and they’ll feel better. They’ll feel better in the long run. The healthier you eat, the better you feel.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you noticing anything, um, happening in your business because of so many people on these, uh, kind of GLP ones?

Sharon Reitman: I definitely think so. I mean, I noticed it, I think, um, I think the GLP one, uh, is, is good for people that need to have that initial push. And apparently there’s some other health benefits that are coming out. I don’t know much about those, but I think for the people that really need to quiet what you like, you brought up earlier that food noise, but the key, the whole key, once they’re on it is so critical. They’ve got to eat enough protein and they got, they, they must change their eating habits because otherwise they’re going to be on it forever. And if they don’t, you know, if they get off of it, they’re going to go back to the old habits. It’s kind of like, you know, the, the yo yo dieting type of thing. But furthermore, it’s just, it’s, uh, it has caused people to, to probably not eat as much. So they’re not necessarily looking for meal, healthy meals for their weight loss, but they may be. I’m hoping it’ll translate more into having healthy meals for their maintenance and getting the protein that they need. Because like I said earlier, when we first started, the number one thing with meal prep, even more than health is the convenience of it all. It’s all about convenience. All about convenience, right?

Lee Kantor: But you also want to make sure that your nutrition is there. Just because you’re not hungry, you still need the nutrition you do.

Sharon Reitman: And you’re absolutely right. Some of the people that are doing the GLP that are not eating at all, they’re, you know, losing their hard earned lean body mass. They’re just lowering their metabolic rate. And it’s, it’s a recipe for disaster. So if anyone is on a GLP one, it’s critical they work with their doctor, not have more than, I don’t know what the percentage. I think it’s like 10% lean body mass and really don’t do it fast. And, and I would also say it’s a good idea to track your macros so you know where you’re at. That’s been a big game changer for me personally, as I put myself on a get back in good shape. I just turned 63 and I was like, mm, it’s time to get a little more serious. Uh, right now, because I’ve been a little slack the last few years and I started tracking my macros. Uh, and it’s, it’s just a major, major difference when you know what you’re taking in, what you have left, where you’re at, it really makes a difference.

Lee Kantor: And with Smart Meals®, it makes it easy.

Sharon Reitman: It does make it easy. You just scan the barcode. But you know, for those people that I encourage everyone to try to get as much variety in your diet. Try to cook the things you like, you know, use meal prep and you may buy meal prep from, you know, a few different companies. Everyone does it a little differently. But, you know, it’s kind of like it should be a habit, a staple in your weekly diet to have some backup, you’ve got to have the backup because the minute you don’t have that backup is when you reach for stuff you should not be eating because you’re hungry or go through a drive thru because it’s just right there in too easy. And that costs a lot of money that you end up spending so much money doing it that way too.

Lee Kantor: Right. And you get a worse product, like you’re getting less nutrition. All you’re doing is, is, is having convenience. That’s the only thing you’re gaining.

Sharon Reitman: Yeah. It’s, uh, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s an interesting puzzle, but the people that do the best are the ones that you just have to put a little bit of thought. You don’t have to put a lot of thought, just a little bit of thought into it. And it really can make a difference in, in someone’s life, their overall energy. And just, you know, the, the time it takes for everything.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. So if somebody wants to learn more about Smart Meals®, uh, in the Houston area, that’s right. Now you’re exclusively in Houston right now.

Sharon Reitman: We are working on franchising and that’s something that should hopefully be available next year. I’d love to see Smart Meals® in other states and other cities across the country. It would be. It’s kind of like a little dream of mine. We’ll see what happens. I’m working hard towards that. Um, but currently, uh, we are in the Houston area. It’s smartmeals.com and we also operate old school. So people are welcome to call us at (713)868-9800 anytime or text and we will get back, you know, as quickly as possible.

Lee Kantor: Well, Sharon, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Sharon Reitman: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate your time.

Lee Kantor: All right. This Lee Kantor we’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.