WASHINGTON — It’s no secret that eating restaurant-prepared meals and eating healthy don’t always go hand in hand, but one local business is working to change that by giving customers access to local chefs and nutritious food all with a click of the mouse.
In the past three years, Power Supply has prepared more than 600,000 Paleo-inspired and vegetarian meals for time-strapped and health-conscious Washingtonians. And business isn’t the only thing growing for the Alexandria-based company — its list of local chefs tasked with preparing the meals keeps getting longer as well.
Now, chefs such as Alison Swope from Teaism, Peter He from People’s Bao and Sara Polon from Soupergirl are whipping up meals that fit the standards of a predominately nutritionally-mindful and fitness-obsessed crowd.
Robert Morton, a partner with Power Supply, says one of the biggest challenges to juggling a busy schedule and eating healthy is avoiding boredom with food.
“It doesn’t matter how hard you try or how great a resource is. Think about it in your own life — if you found a lunch place near you that serves the kind of food that you want, after a while you go, ‘I just can’t eat it anymore. I love it, but I just can’t do it,’” he says.
Morton knows that challenge first-hand. Several years ago, he started working out with CrossFit, changed his diet and lost 40 pounds. Starting Power Supply was a way for him to help others who don’t like to cook, don’t have time to cook but don’t want to eat the same thing day in and day out.
“How do you get around the natural problem we all have, which is boredom from a single food source?” Morton asks.
Power Supply’s answer was to work with local chefs — some who already feature healthy dishes on their standard menus, others who wanted to make something that deviates from their traditional fare.
“What’s great is they’re bringing their approach to food to related dishes that might not be exactly what they do in another venue,” Morton says.
Power Supply’s online menus change weekly and options include everything from Cuban pulled pork with Mexican spiced carrots and parsnips (prepared by Anna Bran Leis of DC Empanadas) to Asian marinated pork tenderloin with brown rice and Korean cabbage (prepared by Allison Swope of Teaism) to charmoula hake with kale, harissa and tomato salsa (from Tony Avirgan of Sunnyside Gourmet).
All meals are made without gluten and dairy, and a variety of soups and sweet treats are also available for order.
“I’ve got something like a restaurant crawl in my living room because I’m getting a feel of all of these talented chefs through one relationship,” Morton says.
The chefs prepare the meals out of their own commercially licensed kitchens, and the meals are delivered to more than 90 gyms and fitness facilities in the area, where they are picked up by customers. Power Supply recently added home and office delivery to its services as well.
Customers can order three days of meals or five days of meals, and have the option to choose a small ($9 per meal), medium ($12 per meal) or large ($15 a meal) portion size.
Nutrition information is available for all of the meals, and the company recently received REAL certification from the U.S. Healthful Food Council, a national certification similar to LEED awarded to companies that meet nutritional and environmental standards. Power Supply is the first prepared-meal company to earn the designation.
“If we can help you with all-day real food, that’s a good thing,” Morton says.
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