How Kettlebell Kitchen Is Solving Your Post-Gym Hunger Problems

With summer right around the corner, many people have been on their grind to get the perfect body. The gyms are packed. But what happens when you’ve finished that super-intense two-hour workout and you’re hungry? You’re craving pizza and wings, but you don’t want to indulge after putting so much effort into your workout. So instead, you force yourself to eat a bland salad, miserably, just to stay disciplined, with the ultimate goal of flourishing in the sun and becoming the eye candy you see yourself as.

But what if there were a healthy option that you could enjoy the taste of without cheating on your diet? Well, look no further. A group of talented chefs and meal planners have solved the problem for the hungry healthy eater in all of us. Introducing Kettlebell Kitchen, the macro meal-planning service that creates tasty meals to fill you up while you stay healthy and fit. Their mission revolves around making sure you will not feel hungry after an intense workout session. Cofounders Greg Grossman (who is the head chef) and brothers Joe and Andy Lopez-Gallego have teamed up with nutritionists and other chefs to prepare low-carb meals that are free of dairy, gluten and soy.

Grossman—who has already achieved notoriety thanks to his inclusion on this year’s Forbes “30 Under 30” list, as well as his appearance on Chopped at the age of 13—used his culinary expertise to prepare meals for Kettlebell Kitchen’s service. Meanwhile, the Lopez-Gallego brothers are Army vets and seasoned problem solvers.

As the business continues to excel for these three entrepreneurs, we caught up with Greg and Joe to discuss their recent success and how the service has changed their lives.

Can I get a little background on how this cool idea came about?

Greg Grossman: About five years ago, we started Kettlebell Kitchen with the goal of providing healthy, macro-calculated meals for gym-goers. So the idea came about because we thought, Where are these people going so we can most positively impact their routine?. So we started with the concept of producing food twice weekly in a small shared kitchen in the Bronx, placing refrigerators in five gyms and allowing customers to place orders online by two weekly cutoffs. Then we freshly prepared and delivered the meals to their gym location for pickup.

Joe Lopez-Gallego:  The service was built all around convenience. It’s about giving people access to the right nutrition in a convenient way. We have a lot of entrepreneurs who eat our food, a lot of busy athletes, and they want to know that they’re putting the right things in their body. We can deliver meals to people’s homes. We deliver to their gyms. We deliver to their offices. So it’s a really convenient and easy way to take care of your nutrition. And all the meals are designed by dietitians and nutritionists to be specific for your goal, so you know the meals are appropriate for you.

I was wondering how you guys were able to come up with such a fit diet. It seems like it’s very, very strict and straight to the point—you know, only low carbs. How were you able to make sure that the person who’s on the run is getting the nutrition they need to be productive on their daily grind?

Greg Grossman: Everybody is different. We do have a standard plan, but we also offer nutrition counseling with a team of dietitians or nutritionists who can listen to you as an individual and craft the right plan for you. So some people are looking to lose a little weight. They probably will do well on a low-carb diet. But then if you try it and you’re not seeing the results, our nutritionists can help you change your diet and find something that will work really well for you. So part of it is giving people things that we think will work well, but then refining that based on the experience with dietitians and nutritionist after listening to you about your specific goals.

What would you guys consider a perfect cheat-day meal?

Joe Lopez-Gallego: A perfect meal, huh? That’s a great question. I actually like to go out and get a good steak frites, usually with a side salad and potentially some sweet potato baked fries. I think that is a fun cheat meal that’s not going to wreak havoc on your diet.

If you had to choose any food or beverage to compare your hustle and grind to, what would it be and why?

Joe Lopez-Gallego: I would say our beef sliders are a good representation of what’s made us successful. We like to take foods that are fun, that are comfort foods, but we like to make them healthy, right? So, for example, we don’t fry anything in a deep fryer. We take the sliders and we bake them, and then we bake sweet potato wedges with it, and then we have the nice roasted cabbage to pair alongside it.

What’s your ultimate goal for 2019?

Greg Grossman: The ultimate goal in 2019 is to have a gym partnership in all 50 states. Right now, we’re in about 20 states and growing very rapidly with new partnerships. Of course, we do ship nationwide, but we’re also quickly signing gym and office partnerships all over the country. And by the end of 2019, we should be in almost all of them.