I’m an RD Who Cooks Daily, and I Tried 1 Week of Nutrisystem’s Frozen Meals

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As a dietitian and an avid home cook, I was curious about how Nutrisystem’s meals fare in terms of their nutritional value, taste, and satiety, so I was excited to try the service for myself. Nutrisystem sent me a box of five days' worth of meals so I could get a taste (literally) of the Nutrisystem experience. Full disclosure: This was a huge departure from the way I normally eat. But I was game to give it a try. Here are my honest thoughts on five days’ worth of Nutrisystem meals.

To sign up for Nutrisystem, I first had to choose a plan from the Plans & Pricing menu on the homepage. The plans are divided into three groups: Signature Programs, New Plans, and Club Advantage. Here’s a quick rundown of each.

The Signature Programs are based on Nutrisystem’s classic program, with five to six small, convenient meals and snacks provided by Nutrisystem per day. With all these plans, customers are encouraged to add healthy sides such as fruit, vegetables, and lean protein sources like nonfat yogurt. But there isn’t just one signature program; you choose the one designed to meet your needs based on your assigned gender at birth, age, family size, and protein needs. The options include:

• Women Three meals and one snack per day.
• Women 50 and Over This plan includes more calories and carbs earlier in the day and lighter meals at night. According to some research, this may help reduce inflammation and stress and improve sleep patterns.

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   I know several people assigned female at birth of this age who say eating lighter meals at night does indeed help them feel better, so this is a strategy I would recommend.
• Men Three meals and two snacks daily. People assigned male at birth typically are larger and have more muscle mass, so their calorie needs are higher even when trying to lose weight.

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• Men 50 and Over This plan includes protein shakes in addition to meals and snacks for added protein. Muscle losses accelerate with aging, and extra protein may help prevent these losses.

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• Partners A two-person plan at a slight discount compared with ordering two programs separately. Partner plans can be used by couples, roommates, family members, or anyone living in the same household.
• Partners 50 and Over Food for two people, following the 50 and Over nutrition guidelines.
• High Protein The High Protein option can be added to any Signature Program. It replaces your standard Nutrisystem dinners with Hearty Inspirations meals, which are larger and provide more protein than standard Nutrisystem meals, up to 30 grams (g) per serving.

Nutrisystem also has New Plans, which allow you to choose meals from curated menus based on two different evidence-based eating patterns for weight loss, including:

• High Protein This plan is designed to optimize protein intake while keeping calories low. With this plan, foods come from a menu that only contains Nutrisystem’s higher protein meals and snacks. High-protein diets for weight loss offer several advantages, like reducing hunger, improving blood sugar control, and preserving muscle mass.

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• Low Carb This plan is a “carb-conscious” menu that limits carbohydrates and puts more emphasis on proteins and healthy fats. Low-carb diets can assist with weight loss by helping people feel fuller, reducing intake of high-calorie processed foods, and increasing protein intake.

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The New Plans also provide access to Nutrisystem’s Club Advantage program, which is a flexible Nutrisystem program that allows you to order as much or as little Nutrisystem food as you want while still having access to Nutrisystem’s app, personalized meal plans that provide inspiration for home-cooked meals or Nutrisystem meals, and dietitian coaching. With this option, you can get expert guidance for a diet of your choice for weight loss, weight gain, weight maintenance, or general health.

After choosing my plan, I could choose to either receive the Chef’s Picks (Nutrisystem-selected meals) or pick my own meals. I could also choose between five or seven days of food, upgrade to the Signature High Protein plan for an extra fee, or add protein shakes to my shipment for an extra charge. I signed up for the Signature Women’s High Protein plan.

Next, I was asked to provide my contact details and address. Then I could either select my own meals or opt for Chef’s Picks to have my meals chosen for me. Either way, my card would be charged right away and my food boxes would continue to be shipped automatically every 28 days until I canceled or skipped.

Choosing the Meals

I choose to get Chef’s Picks so Nutrisystem chose my meals for me, but had I wanted to choose, I was free to select from the full menu of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. It’s worth noting that the meals you select stay the same for all future orders unless you log into your account and change them before each 28-day shipment.

Because the meals are frozen or shelf-stable, you can’t customize by swapping out proteins or ingredients as you can with meal delivery kits. The menu is also static, so it stays the same from week to week and month to month.

The meals include a few basic protein options, like beef, chicken, beans, cheese, eggs, turkey, and fish. They feature “Americanized” takes on Chinese, Italian, and Mexican food, and several classic American dishes.

All of Nutrisystem’s foods are highly processed. They are specifically designed to be low in calories and require the use of preservatives and additives to maintain their quality when frozen or stored in the pantry.

My shipment contained the following:

• Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito, Turkey Sausage and Egg Muffin, Buttermilk Waffles, Double Chocolate Muffin, Blueberry Muffin
• Lunch: Cafe-Style Creamy Tomato Soup, Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Classic Hamburger, Southwest Fiesta Melt, Three Cheese Chicken
• Dinner: Grain Crusted Pollock With Vegetables, Merlot Beef with Root Vegetables, Chicken Bianca Pizza, Bourbon-Style Chicken, Artichoke and Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breast
• Snack: Lemon Zest Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich, Orange Cream Bar, Carrot Cake Cupcake, Chocolate Cupcake

My Nutrisystem meals arrived in two separate shipments, one day apart. The first shipment was a large styrofoam cooler containing all the frozen food. The food was frozen solid beneath a piece of dry ice and a cardboard divider. The cooler is extremely thick and very insulating. (In fact, it’s so good, I’m holding on to it to reuse for camping or picnics.)

The next day, the shelf-stable foods arrived. I received only three shelf-stable foods, so this was a small cardboard box with some plastic packing material to keep the food from tumbling around. Both the box and the plastic packing material were labeled recyclable.

Cooking and Preparing the Meals

Nutrisystem’s meals were very easy to prepare. The snacks, ice cream, and breakfast muffins required no prep at all and could be eaten straight out of the package.

I was particularly impressed with the amount of cream filling in the Carrot Cake Cupcake.

Most of my meals just needed to be microwaved. Each item had its microwave instructions printed on the package. The Grain Crusted Pollock featured a crisping tray that could be used in the microwave, and it turned out well. The crust on the fish had some light crispness and even some browning.

The “Hearty Inspirations” meals had oven or stovetop instructions. I made the Chicken Bianca Pizza in the oven and the Bourbon-Style Chicken on my stove. These meals were winners: I liked the texture and they left me feeling like I had eaten a really wholesome, filling meal.

All the food looked pretty true to the pictures on the packaging and website, especially when I took the time to plate it.

Tasting the Meals

I’ll be honest: I had low expectations for this food. I make probably 80 percent of the food in our home completely from scratch, so Nutrisystem meals were way out of my comfort zone because they were fully pre-prepared.

All in all, the food was okay. I’m not sure if I’d purchase it again myself, but it certainly was convenient. The best-tasting items were the Grain Crusted Pollock, the Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken Breast, and the Bourbon-Style Chicken. These foods were well-seasoned and had a nice texture.

But the portion sizes were incredibly small, and I think someone trying to lose weight would find them unsatisfying. The sandwiches were slider-size, and all the meals could have used more protein to improve the satiety factor.

For example, I added extra cheese to the Chicken Bianca Pizza for protein and then dipped it in the Cafe-Style Creamy Tomato Soup. I also added a slice of cheese to the Turkey Sausage and Egg Breakfast Sandwich and ate it with some Greek yogurt with honey, chia seeds, and blueberries.

There were a handful of meal items that I outright disliked, including the Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Zest Cake, Breakfast Burrito, and Grilled Chicken Sandwich. The burrito was very wet and needed more firm ingredients to give it some body. The chicken patty on the sandwich had a strange texture, and I couldn’t finish it. All the sweet items had a slightly artificial taste, although it was most noticeable in the muffin and cake. And the savory items were on the bland side and benefited greatly from a sprinkle of salt.

As a registered dietitian, I found the overall nutritional value of these meals to be Nutrisystem's biggest drawback.

First and foremost, the meals and snacks were all highly processed and made using industrial ingredients. The only food item I received from Nutrisystem that had a simple recipe that could be reproduced in a home kitchen was the Cafe-Style Creamy Tomato Soup.

On the other hand, the Blueberry Muffin had an ingredients list that took up half the wrapper.

According to Nutrisystem, all its plans were developed to contain 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium or less (in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans).

Nutrisystem offers more personalized weight loss support than many similar meal delivery services. In this regard, Jenny Craig is Nutrisystem’s biggest competitor. Jenny Craig has a very similar model, offering diet support alongside convenient, low-calorie packaged foods.

Nutrisystem is less expensive per meal than many other competitors, although brands such as Factor, BistroMD, and Diet-to-Go use better ingredients and have fewer processed meals. For this reason, I would recommend Factor, BistroMD, or Diet-to-Go over Nutrisystem if you need the convenience of premade meals.

Nutrisystem now also offers Club Advantage plans, which are similar to weight loss apps and programs like Noom or Nourish. These plans include expert support and are designed to work with any diet you choose, including one that doesn’t contain daily Nutrisystem meals. Additionally, like Noom and Nourish, Club Advantage plans focus more on developing healthy and sustainable lifestyle habits rather than rapid weight loss.

I wouldn’t personally use Nutrisystem and I wouldn’t recommend it as a tool for weight loss. I’m not a fan of how highly processed the food is and I don’t think low-protein foods should be marketed as weight loss foods. I also believe Nutrisystem’s high-protein Hearty Inspirations meals should be part of the part of the standard program — not something you have to pay extra for.

In addition, for many households, I think Nutrisystem is too expensive to be a realistic option. For example, in my household of five, there’s no way we could take $300–$400 per month from the family grocery budget just for one person’s food. On the other hand, it could be a cost-saving option for people who are already eating takeout or convenience foods regularly, or people who live alone and wouldn’t need to also buy groceries for other household members.

Overall, I appreciate that Nutrisystem encourages users to add healthy foods like fruits and vegetables to their meals. I wonder, though, how many people who choose Nutrisystem meals as a convenient weight loss option are taking the time (and the added grocery expense) to add other components to these meals to make them more nutritious and filling, which I would recommend they do.

That said, I do like that Nutrisystem offers plans that come with the Club Advantage subscription because I think this plan could help people learn to build a better relationship with food and better understand how to use Nutrisystem as a tool to help them achieve their goals without relying on it 100 percent. I also think because the plan helps you learn to use your own food from home, it could be a good long-term tool for anyone on a weight loss or wellness journey to eat more nutritious foods. In general, a slower rate of weight loss achieved with a more sustainable, enjoyable eating plan is a better idea than quick weight loss that doesn’t last — and Club Advantage could help with that.

In the end, I think it is possible that Nutrisystem could be a worthwhile springboard to start losing weight or to change your diet to eat more healthy meals. But I do not recommend using the meal plan alone or forever — and if you do sign up, I recommend you make use of their Club Advantage to ensure you’re developing healthy and sustainable eating habits you can maintain in the long term if you want to see lasting change.

Everyday Health and its team of registered dietitians and health journalists are testing more than 50 different meal delivery services to help you choose the best one for your goals, budget, and lifestyle. To do so, they’re signing up to test the meals and evaluate them for taste, nutritional value, ease of cooking, price, and more.

To test Nutrisystem, I tried all the meals I received in my sample box, tasted and photographed them, and kept detailed notes. I’m a registered dietitian who is passionate about food, and I’ve tested several meal kits and meal delivery services. It’s important to me to be honest and upfront about food from a quality, taste, and nutrition standpoint so you can consider all these factors before you buy.