Selling ‘clean’ eating, new meal prep restaurant opens in Meridian. It’s Idaho’s first.

Idahoans with busy lifestyles and healthy food preferences have a new restaurant to check out.

LeanFeast opened Monday at 2830 N. Eagle Road, near Trader Joe’s. A locally owned franchise location, LeanFeast is “an exciting new clean eating/meal prep restaurant,” according to an email from the company. Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, LeanFeast has thousands of “fresh, healthy, and affordable meal combinations available daily.”

There are 15 LeanFeast franchises in the United States. This is the first one in Idaho. “We are revolutionizing the modern meal market,” the Meridian restaurant declares on its website.

“Looking to clean up your diet to lose weight, lean out, get strong, or just plain feel amazing? Your experience with healthy eating can be made easier with LeanFeast. We make healthy eating easier through a fully customizable and fully personalized plan that fits almost all of your dietary needs or restrictions. With more than 4,500 meal prep combinations available, you’ll never get sick of our delicious food. You can order online for next-day grab-and-go pickup for your convenience, or you can stop by the store and build one or 20 meals. We are a great choice for those who are too busy to cook, want to eat healthier, or have specific meal requirements.”

“Clean eating” is a diet that focuses on whole foods and steering clear of convenience and processed foods. LeanFeast says that its meal preparation service also offers portion control, keto, paleo, gluten-free and low-carb options.

But aside from catering to specific dietary needs, LeanFeast is really all about convenience. “Can you imagine spending 5 minutes on your computer one evening and having ALL your healthy meals for the next week prepared for you and waiting for pickup the next morning?” it asked followers on Facebook.

Ordering from the LeanFeast menu follows a “choose your protein,” “choose your carb,” “choose your vegetable” path. The restaurant sells “daily crush packs” such as a 4-ounce meal, protein bar and drink for $14.50. Or you can buy bulk-quantity “prep packs.” A stack of five 4-ounce chicken and five 4-ounce steak meals goes for $80. Got family members with serious appetites? For $100 instead of $80, that prep pack can include 8-ounce meals.

Portions shouldn’t ever be smaller or bigger than expected. “We weigh and measure every ingredient in every meal,” LeanFeast says, “with precision and exactly as you order it ... .”

Interested in the macronutrients — aka fat, protein, sugars and the like? LeanFeast includes a macro chart on its website.

For a certain type of customer, LeanFeast definitely has strong appeal. A Yelp review of LeanFeast in San Jose, California, gave the restaurant five out of five stars. With so many choices, the reviewer encouraged diners to try different meats, vegetables and sauces to find out what they might prefer.

“If you’re looking for a quick, highly optimizable meal plan, this is the way to go,” the reviewer wrote. “... For the price, you get a great way to customize meals and eat healthy.”

LeanFeast in Meridian is open seven days a week. Online: leanfeastmeridian.com. Phone: (208) 261-2484.