I take pride in being a gym rat, but when I’m deep into a consistent training routine, convenience often wins out over carefully cooked meals. When I’m already dedicating hours each week to the gym, the last thing I want to do with my downtime is spend more time prepping, cooking, and cleaning. As a result, I end up relying heavily on protein shakes and bars to hit my macro goals.
All of that is to say: I’m a fan of shortcuts. So when I was offered the chance to try a week’s worth of Factor meals to complement my training, I couldn’t pass it up. Factor is a prepared meal delivery service that promises “clean eating without the clean-up,” offering fully cooked, dietitian-approved meals designed around specific dietary goals. It sounded like exactly what I needed.
Here’s what a week of eating Factor’s high-protein meals was actually like.
The protein lineup I ordered
Factor lets you browse meals by dietary preference, and since I’m perpetually chasing my protein goals, choosing the High-Protein filter was a no-brainer. There’s a wide selection of recipes to choose from, featuring proteins such as chicken breast, shredded beef, burgers, salmon, meatballs, and shrimp. Some premium options, like steak and certain seafood dishes, are available for an extra cost.
While I went into the week planning to try a broad mix of proteins, I found myself gravitating toward the chicken dishes. I ordered eight meals total, including Honey Butter Chicken Breast, Parmesan & Garlic Cream Shredded Beef, Horseradish Crusted Chicken, Smoky Gouda Chicken, and Green Chile Chicken.
All of the meals I chose landed between 500 and 700 calories and contained at least 30 grams of protein. I aim for around 120 grams of protein per day, which can be difficult to hit with whole foods alone. What I liked immediately was that the Factor meals’ protein content is right in line with what I was getting from my usual post-workout shake (sometimes even more). The difference was that instead of just protein powder and milk, I was getting that protein alongside vegetables, healthy fats, and carbs, which meant I wasn’t hungry again an hour later like the way I sometimes was after just drinking my protein.
What I loved about Factor
Now, let’s get to the meat and potatoes (literally). Across the board, I found the meals balanced, filling, and tasty. Each came with a pretty sizable piece of protein, plus a carb and a veggie.
Chicken breast is one of my favorite proteins, but only when I fork into it a few minutes after it hits my plate from the pan. Reheated chicken can be dry and disappointing, so I was pleasantly surprised by how juicy and well-cooked the chicken breast was in every single Factor meal. Each piece was plump, and the chicken had that sous-vide thing going on: tender and evenly cooked throughout, though with that slightly soft, uniform bite.
Chicken breast is a very lean protein, so it was nice that many of the meals paired it with something creamy, like mashed potatoes or vegetables in a cream sauce. The Honey Butter Chicken Breast nailed this—the zucchini and caramelized onions were cooked in a broth and gave nice contrast to the creamy Yukon mash.
Each meal felt thoughtful without being overly complicated. Even though Factor is a prepared meal delivery service rather than a meal kit, many of the flavor combinations are easy to imagine recreating at home. For example, the Horseradish Crusted Chicken (one of my favorites) isn’t something I would typically think to cook, but it’s straightforward enough that I could see myself making a version of it from scratch if I wanted to.