Cook-Off Competition gives winning team chance to talk “healthy”
Published 1:07 pm Saturday, March 24, 2018
To The Leader
The Fresh Prep team walked away with two trophies on Saturday, March 17, but it wasn’t the awards that caused a celebration. It was the opportunity to educate people about choosing healthy ingredients for their favorite meals.
They won First Place in the Judges’ Choice category and were selected as winners of the People’s Choice Award at Nederland Heritage Festival’s Chili Cook-off.
“This was our first chili cook-off and it has been a rewarding experience for us. I especially enjoyed the incredible opportunity to talk about eating healthy with so many neighbors and friends. People at the festival really enjoyed our chili, plus they were thrilled to learn that it was healthy and good for them,” said Maddison Bouget of Fresh Prep. “We were honored that they voted for Fresh Prep chili.”
The winning chili, Black Bean and Sausage Chili, was cooked from scratch by Bouget and her husband, Blake, using 100% gluten free, all natural, unprocessed ingredients. They chose to serve this recipe because they wanted to demonstrate that eating healthy can apply to eating just about anything, including flavorful chili.
One serving of Fresh Prep’s chili has 95% ground beef, nitrate-free sausage, organic tomato sauce, organic black beans, organic pinto beans, organic green onions, and homemade seasonings with only natural herbs and spices (34 grams of protein, 13 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbohydrates, and 433 calories). It is most notable for what it lacks: there are no preservatives, no cholesterol, no sodium and no sugars.
Bouget is part of the four-woman cooking team that prepares a weekly menu of healthy, clean and gluten free meals for the residents of Orange County and surrounding areas. A concept that Fresh Prep owner Carrie Richard started nearly three years ago with 14 customers has exploded into a growing number of area families enjoying hundreds of meals each week.
“More individuals and families are choosing Fresh Prep and trying to eat well. They know it’s important to choose foods that are whole and natural, and they like the convenience of our meals because we’ve done all the work for them—the meals are ready to heat and eat,” Richard said.
Fresh Prep, Clean Food to Go, located at 2467 W Roundbunch Road in Bridge City, offers a weekly menu of ready-made tasty, clean, and healthy meals for today’s busy families. For more information, go to FreshPrepLLC on Facebook or freshpreptogo.com.