Take a Break and Order Up a Meal Kit

We may be closing the books on Omicron’s winter surge but the harsh toll that the pandemic has inflicted on society means we should all cut ourselves some slack.

Let’s call it a balm against winter’s bite. Simplify your time in the kitchen (and grocery stores and flipping through cooking websites and books — never mind the time you spend prepping at your butcher block) with a boxed-up, ready-to-make, meal kit.

One of the perks of being UCalgary alumni is this month’s discount with a Western Canadian-based meal-kit company called Fresh Prep. Operating out of two main production facilities (one in Vancouver, the other in Calgary), Fresh Prep has been around since 2015 and offers 10 meal options every week, with nearly half the menu catering to vegetarians and vegans as well as those with gluten and dairy sensitivities.

Enjoy three free meals if you sign up in March with Fresh Prep (worth $36.75) and you’ll be automatically entered to win a $50 Fresh Prep gift card (use the promo code UCALUMFP).

From a light and low-cal halloumi and chickpea salad (served with fluffy couscous and crunchy pita chips) to spicy Thai chicken nestled next to a peanut salad on a bed of crispy noodles — you’ll find March’s extensive lineup of dishes include ingredients from plenty of small, local partners.

While there are numerous meal-kit programs in the market, one of the differentiators behind Fresh Prep is its “zero-waste” practices. A Certified B Corporation, Fresh Prep delivers meal kits in reusable cooler bags that you leave outside your door — along with the plastic packaging — for pickup when you are expecting your next delivery. The single-use plastics get recycled through a soft-plastics recycle partnership with Urban Impact. The company also partners with Vancouver Food Runners, a nonprofit that redirects surplus food to communities that need it. In 2021, they launched an innovative new product, a Zero Waste Kit, which is Canada’s first reusable meal kit container.

Fresh Prep donated 57,415 pounds of food in 2021 to provide meals for the food insecure. Aside from the delivery of ingredients that will arrive on your doorstep, you’ll find each meal comes with an illustrated recipe card, enabling you to double the quantities or make the whole meal from scratch another time.

Here’s a sneak peek at two upcoming meals available in March:

Niçoise Salad with Goat Cheese & Buttermilk Vinaigrette

Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata

Want to save yourself some stress in the kitchen this month? Sign up with Fresh Prep in March and get three free meals (valued at $36.75) and a chance to win a $50 Fresh Prep gift card using the exclusive promo code UCALUMFP.