KINGSLEY — Nevada Rector has worked in the hospitality field for more than 15 years.
The Kingsley resident said she initially wanted to start her own restaurant, so she took culinary courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I realized there wasn’t really macro-based meals,” she said. Macro meals highlight proteins and carbohydrates, particularly for people aiming to exercise daily.
To fill this gap, she launched Fresh Life Meal Prep in early December, after a couple years of planning. Rector said they built a commercial kitchen on their farm to accommodate their small business.
“All of our meals are fresh,” Rector said. “They’re never frozen. Everything is fully prepped — you can put it in the microwave or oven.”
People can choose a category: keto, low carb, high carb and high protein or plant-based dishes.
“You can set your macros for the week,” Rector said. “It [the meals] keeps you on track.”
She explained that if people want to stay under a certain amount of carbohydrates, they can with their low-carb dishes, such as salmon or pork tenderloin.
The opposite is also true: high carbohydrate options are available, like dishes with sweet potatoes, Rector said.
“The menu will be rotating seasonally,” she added. “It will be a fun experiment.”
One-week and one-month subscriptions are options for people who do not want to pick individual meals. Customers can select the same categories or a mixture of dishes for these boxes.
“You’re getting all healthy food across the board,” Rector said.
In the spring, Rector said, they hope to supplement the produce ingredients with what they can grow on the farm.
“We like to use a lot of herbs in our sauces instead of unhealthy salts,” she said.
Plus, she said, they compost and recycle as much as possible and feed “all vegetable matter back to the animals on our farm.”
Fresh Life Meal Prep also offers cooking classes for kids and adults, yoga sessions and catering services.
Kaylin Fall and her 8-year-old daughter Quinn Lautner participated in a recent Pasta 101 class. Fall said they both enjoyed making pasta and pesto on the Kingsley farm.
“It was very small and intimate,” Fall said. “You got the feel of the homestead. It was a cool experience to do with your kid.”
She said her daughter cooked and ate her own meal while learning about small farming and reusing materials.
Overall, Fall said it was a fun activity for them both and she would recommend it to others, especially during the winter. She added that she hopes to take an adult cooking class in the future.
Online ordering is available at freshlifemealprep.com. A portion of credit card sales go to climate change programs.
Customers can choose whether to pick up their meals at 3737 E. County Line Road in Kingsley or in Traverse City. The company also partners with Stocked, which provides delivery. Rector added that they may expand to Kalkaska and other areas later.
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