Grandcestors Review
Grandcestors is a Paleo meal delivery service based in Colorado. It was formed by Doug Michaels, who was inspired by the caveman diet and wanted to bring glory back to prehistoric cuisine. The company has just one mission – to make simple, delicious, convenient pre-made meals for people who want to pay attention to what they are eating on a daily basis but don’t have the time to shop for groceries and prepare dishes. Read this Grandcesors review to find out whether it is worth your time and money.
How Grandcestors Works
The guys at Grandcestors like to keep things simple, which is why ordering from them is as easy as it can be. There are no special programs, as each meal is ordered individually. The point of Grandcestors is not to have a standardized shipment each and every day but rather to order meals in advance on those occasions when you know that you won’t have enough time to cook or when you simply don’t feel like preparing your own meal.
The menu adheres to the Paleo principles, which basically means eating only those foods our ancestors ate. Therefore, by opting for Grandcestors meals, you get naturally delicious meals devoid of any milk, grains, legumes, soy artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Only top-notch natural ingredients are used, as well as expertly balanced macronutrient contents that provide an ideal proportion of all the fats, carbohydrates, and protein the human body needs.
If you are on the Paleo diet or want to give it a shot, you can shop at Grandcesors carefree, as every dish is 100% Paleo as well as Whole30-approved. Just pick the ones you like most, choose how many you wish to order, and that’s it! It is that simple and convenient.
What Makes Grandcestors Different
Grandcestors is not your average meal delivery service. Most companies, even Paleo ones, like to claim that there is great science behind what they do and make it seem like only a pro chef/nutritionist/magician can make their meals. With Grandcestors, it is exactly the opposite. They want to give you a glimpse of what real food used to taste like, before the rise of all the artificial additions and complex preparation procedures.
The only kind of culinary science Grandcestors believe in is the one related to the optimal balance of nutrients in the meal. It’s not uncommon for people on the Paleo diet to consume too much protein, which can also have negative effects on the body. That is why Grandcestors chefs make it their prime goal to get this problem out of the way and strike the perfect balance of macronutrients (40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat) in every single meal.
You can find only the highest-quality ingredients in Grandcestors’ dishes – no grains, gluten, dairy, soy, added sugars or any of the foods that cause harm to your body. Their canned coconut milk doesn’t have any stabilizers, their canned tomatoes don’t have any citric acid, and basically, everything they use is good for your body. It might seem like the range of ingredients they use is consequently rather limited, but Grandcestors are bent on delivering only the healthiest meals available to their clients.
However, although their food is the definition of quality, they do lack in variety. Namely, they feature just 7 meals on their menu. This may come as a disappointment to those who like to have more options and a more varied diet.
Meals And Recipes
You can easily sum up Grandcestors’ dishes into two words: “delicate” and “intricate.” All of its meals come in the same plain-looking package, but once you open them, your eyes feast on fantastic, tasty dishes.
Some of the meals you can order are more complex, like sautéed chicken breasts and turkey andouille sausage with chicken and sweet potatoes. However, the service also offers simpler dishes like cottage pie, meatloaf or Thanksgiving stuffing.
At all times, you can choose from 9 meals. The menu features 7 standard items along with 2 test kitchen items that the company may introduce into its standard offer if you happen to like them. Test kitchen items are sold at lower prices to encourage you to give them a try and let the service know how you feel about them.
What we love about Grandecestors is that there are no minimal order amounts or any ordering rules whatsoever. If you wish, you can order just one meal or you can order dozens. You can order one portion of every dish or order 50 portions of the same dish. It is completely up to you. However, the company does make limited amounts of every meal. If it is running low on something, it displays a warning stating how many of the meal packages are left in stock, so you can order before it runs out of your favorite dish.
Although it offers meals that do not contain any artificial substances or ingredients that may be bad for you, it does not offer meals for any special diets apart from Paleo and Whole30. However, its meals are gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free, so it can accommodate some of the most common food allergies.
Portion Size And Nutrition Facts
The meals come in portions weighing 12, 13, and 14 ounces, which is enough food to satisfy a person with a healthy appetite. The calorie count per single-serving meal ranges from 280 to 500 calories. The meals are rather rich in protein, containing 24 to 38 grams of protein on average. In terms of carb content, they contain between 25 and 58 grams of carbs per serving. The average fat content is 6 to 17 grams per single-serving meal.
Heating And Storage Tips
Grandcestors meals are shipped frozen, but may arrive cool, which is alright. You should simply make sure you pop them into your freezer or your fridge as soon as you can. In a freezer, they can last for a year, although we do recommend enjoying them within a month or two, before they start losing flavor and nutrients. If you choose to store your meals in your fridge, you should eat them within 7 days. Since the containers feature a vacuum seal, they can be refrozen after refrigeration. However, keep in mind that refreezing prepared meals multiple times is not highly advisable.
The meals are microwave-ready and you can heat them frozen or thawed. It is always wise to thaw in your fridge overnight before heating. However, if you forgot to take your meal out of the freezer the night before, that is fine. You should just heat it for a few extra minutes.
When heating in a microwave, you should remove your meal from the box but leave the protective film intact. There is no need to pierce it or peel it off. If your meal is frozen, you should microwave it for 4-6 minutes. Thawed meals take just 2-3 minutes to reheat. You should let the meal sit for a minute before digging in.
Grandcestor meals can also be reheated on a stovetop. You just need to transfer your meal into a skillet and heat it at a low temperature, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the desired temperature.
Pricing
Unlike most other meal delivery services, Grandcestors has the same price for all its standard dishes – $9.99. Test kitchen meals come at the price of $8.00. While the service may not be the cheapest option around, but definitely charges significantly less than the majority of its competitors. Plus, it offers a 10% discount on orders including 25 or more meals.
As far as shipping is concerned, it depends on the state and the number of meals. Once you select the meals you want to order, you can check the shipping costs by entering your zip code. The calculator will give you a quote. The costs are usually around $22 for orders of up to 20 meals, but they go up for larger orders. However, since you get a 10% discount on the entire order when ordering 25+ meals, you save $25 on an order of 25 dishes, which basically covers the cost of shipping. That means that if you order 25 or more meals, the price you end up paying is nearly the same as if you ordered meals at the standard price with free shipping.
Individual meals | |
---|---|
Meal | Price per meal |
Standard meals | $9.99 |
Test kitchen meals | $8.00 |
Delivery Areas
Grandcestors ships to all 48 states in the continental US. Unfortunately, they do not ship to Alaska and Hawaii at the moment. They ship once a week and the shipping normally takes up to 3 days. If your shipment cannot arrive by Friday, it is sent out on the following Monday.
If you live in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, you can save money on shipping by purchasing their meals at Whole Foods. They are constantly working on making their meals available at Whole Foods stores around the country, so feel free to email them your city and state in order to get a notification when their meals become available at your local Whole Foods store.
Grandcestors Pros And Cons
To make sure Grandcestors meets all your standards and expectations, it is important to know its biggest advantages and disadvantages. With a short overview of its pros and cons, you can easily decide if Grandcestors is the right meal delivery service for you.
- 100% Paleo dishes
- Whole30-approved
- Clean meals with no artificial substances
- No grains, gluten, dairy, soy or added sugars
- Optimal balance of nutrients
- 10% discount on 25 or more meals
- Only 9 options on the menu
- No meal customization options
- Few special diet options
- Frozen, not fresh
Sample Dishes
With Grandcestors, you get delicious meals prepared by pro chefs at affordable prices. To find out what kinds of delights you will receive in your delivery, we have chosen a couple of sample dishes that accurately represents its offer and can help you decide if it is the right service for you.
Bottom Line
To conclude this Grandcestors review, the company can best be described as a good Paleo solution when you know you won’t have the time or desire to cook the following week. While the lack of variety does not make it a good choice for busy people who like to have ready-made meals every day, the quality of the ingredients is certainly a good reason to try it out. They do charge for shipping but offer a 10% discount on 25 or more meals. Unfortunately, they do not cater to people with special dietary needs and there are no customization options whatsoever. Still, if you are on the Paleo diet and want to stock your freezer with healthy, ready-made meals, Grandcestors may be a good choice for you.
Chicken Tikki Masala: Very mild flavor and a sodium content of 930 mgm/serving. Won’t buy it or other products again.
The meals are pretty bland, not worth the cash.
I like the food and it is really convenient, but there is literally no variety, same meals over and over again.
I’m in college and can’t cook, so I occasionally buy Grandcestors meals, just so I have something in the freezer. Not that bad, but not that good either .