I feel healthy just watching Becky Troelstra prepare this meal! As the chef for Sliced Tomatoes, it is her job to create not only delicious recipes, but to ensure that each package meets the guidelines set forth by their nutritionist. In this video, she shares a very popular choice for Vancouver clients so now you can follow her concise directions to impress your dinner guests. I don’t know about you, but that squash looks mouthwatering! I never thought I’d say that about a gourd.

Another option would be to have the Japanese-inspired company drop it off at your doorstep to save precious time that could be spent doing more important things than shoppin’ and choppin’. Since they take care of all that, the only thing you have left to do is pop the food into a pot or an oven. It is a rare alternative for those that are more health conscious, and if you have the environment in mind, they’ll also get a plus in your books.

There are several things that Sliced Tomatoes has done since it launched a year ago to ensure that they leave as small a carbon footprint as possible. This is no small task for a meal delivery service, so I asked Co-Founder Greg Lam to explain:

* They use reusable Coleman Coolers for the deliveries and reusable gel ice packs to refrigerate it (yes, they have a mountain of those coolers!)

* You may think that using plastic bags is a big no-no, but that is actually for a very good reason. Greg considered incorporating Tupperware, but since food gets left in the containers for quite some time before they’re returned, the sanitation issue was an unavoidable one. What they do offer though, is minimal packaging by using the thinnest bags possible

* They are part the Ocean Wise program, which was created by the Vancouver Aquarium to help restaurants and their customers make environmentally friendly seafood choices

* They downgraded (or upgraded in my view) from a Chevy Astro Cargo Van to a Toyota Matrix and as a result, have reduced their exhaust output by half. To make an even bigger difference, they are also looking into doing carbon offsets for their deliveries (now that‘s a commendable effort)

* They make menus that use not only whole foods, but local in-season ingredients as much as possible and only branch out when necessary

* They go organic on items that contain the most pesticides when conventionally grown, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and red peppers

I’m always told that it’s cheaper to cook at home than to order in but that has certainly not been my experience. I don’t know how you guys do it. Buying healthy foods and then preparing them at home just takes so much time and money that I’d rather spend a fraction of it getting a burger (I’ve tried many a time). Sliced Tomatoes doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket though. Meals cost between $7.50 and $12 for one serving (and you can see how big those servings are in the video). This doesn’t include dessert but that’s because not everyone likes dessert (the reason eludes me).

According to the Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association, 60.7% of all meal and snack occasions sourced from restaurants are now eaten off-premise in an attempt to find convenient alternatives to cooking at home. If you’re part of that percentage, here’s another option to add to your list. Sliced Tomatoes is available for residents and businesses in Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Burnaby with plans to expand throughout the Lower Mainland and even Seattle.

For more info, visit www.slicedtomatoes.ca.