Fully Fit Meals: Health and Flavor in Louisiana

Drenching the brown brick building tucked away on the western edge of Prairieville, Louisiana is experiencing a torrential spring afternoon rainstorm, the kind that would keep anyone from stomping through the slosh just to get to the grocery. A lot of people would say, “Let’s just order a pizza,” on a day like today.

There’s always an excuse to put convenience over health, which is why Chef Amanda Vinet is inside doing what she does best — staying prepared.

Her spacious kitchen is bordered by stainless steel fridges, banquet-length work tables and a large rolling whiteboard with a weekly list of menu items so eclectic, it would make Gordon Ramsey double take: garlic butter steak bites, veggie lasagna, Vietnamese sticky chicken, shrimp crunchy roll bowls, and more.

This is the headquarters for Fully Fit Meals, Vinet’s expanding food prep and delivery service focused on fresh, macro-balanced meals featuring locally sourced vegetables and proteins, sauces made in-house from whole foods and packaged in calorie and portion-controlled servings.

The energetic 37-year-old entrepreneur talks about her upcoming menu with the kind of glow only a chef whose brand-new 40-gallon tilt skillet just allowed her to cook marsala with 200 chicken breasts at one time could possibly have.

“This’ll change my life,” Vinet says. “I could have fit 400 in there, which is insane and surreal because I did start this in my little apartment kitchen 10 years ago. I can’t even believe that it’s gotten as big as it has, but I feel like I’ve been excited through every milestone.”

Though her focus is fitness, flavor is nonnegotiable. Vinet’s Cajun and Creole roots, and her love for Asian cooking, are obvious in every bite.

The Louisiana native grew up not only watching her mother, Amber, spend hours in the kitchen perfecting meals, but sitting on the counter and asking a thousand questions along the way.

“She’s such a good cook, I wanted to know the ‘why’ for everything she was doing,” Vinet says. “And now she works for me, she runs our quality control, and I couldn’t do any of this without her.”

From cooking in her apartment for a dozen clients to now operating out of a professional kitchen and staffed with 16 employees, Fully Fit Meals has gone from a fitness fanatic’s passion project to a real player in the Baton Rouge region’s food space.

New menus are posted every Saturday — Vinet stays inventive with her inspirations and won’t repeat a dish within a three-month period, unless she gets a lot of requests — and deliveries for the week roll out Mondays.

“There have definitely been times where I felt pressure to follow diet fads or change my meals to fit whatever trend was popular at the moment, but staying consistent with what I believe in is what’s carried me through,” Vinet says.

Her mother isn’t the only family member on the team. Their legacy continues with Vinet’s young daughter Fiona, who explores new restaurants with her mom and likes giving crucial feedback on her recipes.

“She’s actually one of my favorite people to share culinary experiences with — she just gets it and already has her own appreciation for food,” Vinet says. “She’ll even introduce me to things I didn’t know about that she discovered on YouTube. In the kitchen, she’s going to be a beast.”

This passion for thoughtful food choices is a pattern Vinet hopes is repeated in families across South Louisiana with the help of Fully Fit Meals.

As a registered nurse working in Baton Rouge, and a barre studio manager in Prairieville, mother-of-two Macy Ott’s lifestyle can be as busy as busy gets. She’s often eating on the go or literally in her car. But with fitness a priority, Ott sidesteps fast food and mindless snacking for Fully Fit Meals.

“I love that they offer so many options, so it’s easy for my family and for me no matter what,” says Ott, a long-time devotee of Vinet’s chimichurri steak, and the detail put into her sauces and sides. “It doesn’t look like takeout, you open it and it’s gorgeous. It’s convenient and healthy, and that sparks other opportunities for change in your life. Because having a healthy relationship to food — and the mindset of eating to live, not living to eat — is so important, especially here in South Louisiana.”

Always consistent with her weight training, Vinet felt she had delegated enough at her company last summer to explore new ways of exercising. She became a certified yoga instructor and now leads a class at Yoga Studio 90 in Baton Rouge.

“Consistency is everything, for my business and my fitness, and for anyone who wants to make healthier food choices,” Vinet says. “People know what to expect from Fully Fit Meals, and I like that. I want to be a trustworthy person and a brand that people know they can always rely on.”

Reliability is built on more than creativity and quality, though. People need access, too. And that meant expanding to seven delivery drivers last year. Fully Fit Meals now offers fresh food far across the greater Capital Region, from St. Francisville to Sorrento, and Denham Springs to downtown Baton Rouge and across the river to Plaquemines. 

To serve exercisers making last-minute decisions when they are hungriest, Vinet positioned two Fully Fit Meals coolers in local gyms, each continually stocked with healthy grab-and-go meals. After tracking those sales for a few months, more may roll out, she says.

If Vinet can bring calm and assurance to someone’s health journey, that is her ultimate reward.

With so much noise on social media, and conflicting advice from too many directions, feeds can be stacked with influencers pushing products, unproven diets and misleading workout methods. Vinet wants Fully Fit Meals to cut through all that like a knife.

“I just want it to be easier for people to stop overthinking what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle,” Vinet says. “I want to make it convenient for them. And most of all, I want them to really look forward to eating their next meal.”

For the latest weekly menus, ingredients information, and ordering details, visit fullyfitmeals.com.

Q&A

If you could cook a meal for anyone famous, who would it be, and what’s going to be on your menu? I love music, and Fiona Apple has always been one of my favorite artists. I actually named my daughter Fiona because of how much I admire her. If I could cook for her, I would make something true to my roots like chicken & dumplings. It was my favorite dish my grandmother made, and sharing that would be really cool.

What’s one dish or ingredient that you think is very underrated, and what do you personally love about it? The way limes can elevate so many dishes and sauces is kind of insane. I recently ate at Moon Rabbit, a Vietnamese restaurant in Houston, and they served a dipping sauce with their shaken beef that was just lime juice, salt, and pepper. I was mind blown. It was so simple, but absolutely delicious. If there’s a lime on my plate, I’m using it.

When you have time off, what do you love to do? I love exploring restaurants and sharing food experiences with friends. It’s not just about eating to get full — it’s about being in an environment where you know someone has poured their heart into creating dishes and building their dream. BLDG 5 in the Garden District Baton Rouge is one of my favorites. Also, Sazon Latin Grill on O’Neal Lane. I’ve been really into Cuban food lately. And I always love working out and spending time with my daughter.