I first came to know about Caveman Cafeteria from their mobile food stand at 16th and Larimer back in May. I was on my way to the Market Street Station to ride a bus to DIA and saw the stand firmly anchored on that corner of the 16th Street Mall. I took a kale and wagyu beef dish with me to Market Street Station; satisfyingly much tastier than any food I could grab n’ go at the airport.
Since then, I have been following the Twitter account, @DenverCaveman (now @FeedARevolution) and have learned a lot about the Paleo Diet through the business. When they first announced their meal plans, I was intrigued: Monday thru Friday lunch and dinner for a full month? Sign me up (because I am lazy, ha). However, I did not want to commit to a full month without trying out some of the meals first. So, I waited…
And then, Caveman Cafeteria announced 1-week trials of their meal plans. I immediately signed up, justifying the cost as almost equivalent to a week’s worth of groceries (the meal plans cost a little more than my usual grocery trip).
I tried the Cavemean Meal Plans out during the week of October 14-18. First things first: pick up my lunchbox for my Monday and Tuesday meals (then I went back for my second lunchbox on Wednesday for Wed-Fri meals). Members have a choice of where to pick up their meal boxes at several Crossfit and other locations in the Denver area. I opted for pick-up at the Corepower Yoga on Grant/13th.
From the first bite, I was definitely enamored with Caveman’s meal preparation. I went with the 3-block medium portions and that was just the right amount of food for me that week. Grass-fed, organic meat with steamed vegetables was on the menu for the week; of course, various meat and vegetables were in each separate meal. My most favorite offerings that week were the wagyu beef (so tender! so juicy!), lamb, and the roasted yams and radishes. Yum yum.
Also, during my trial week, I had two delicious paleo salads–so many delicious nutrients with a light dressing. With the hot dishes, all I had to do was microwave them (or I had the option of baking the dishes, too) for a few minutes and voila~ meal, complete!
Alas, during my one-week trial, I forgot each time to take a photo of my meals for this post; instead, I contacted Will White, the Founder of Caveman Cafeteria, to get me some photos from his own collection.
After my trial week, I had the option of signing up for my monthly fill of meal plans. The smallest (medium portions) option is $499 for four weeks of meals during weekdays. This is the plan recommended for most women. There are also options of 4-block (large) portions for $599/month or 5-block (XL) portions for $699/month. The fees vary depending on how you pay for the plan. There are also options for couples and families.
Now here’s a disclaimer: I myself do not subscribe to Paleo principles, but I thoroughly enjoyed my meals from Caveman Cafeteria. Their meals are well-balanced and filling, no matter the size and no matter which diet (outside of Paleo) you work with. I would like to sign up for monthly meals sometime in early 2014; as of now, my funds are tight so I have to forgo the monthly option for the rest of this year.
My interactions with Will have been nothing but kindness and accommodating; Will built Caveman Cafeteria with the philosophy of being a YES company: whatever the customer wants or needs in meals, the business will get that request fulfilled. For example, with the meal plans, Caveman Cafeteria is willing to work around travel schedules. Don’t see many businesses like that doing the same thing. Will is very approachable and always willing to help and answer questions.
I highly recommend Caveman Cafeteria meal plans for those of you who have busy weeks/no time to cook! My weekdays are usually not too busy, but I admit that I usually avoid cooking meat for myself as the process always seems too laborious for just myself.