Fitlife Foods Prepares Healthy Meals-to-Go

David Osterweil opened in Carrollwood on Nov. 1. The business, at 14407 N. Dale Mabry Highway near Ehrlich Road, specializes in healthy, prepared meals-to-go.

Fitlife also boasts that its meals are tasty and nutritious, offering everything from pad thai to steak and eggs.

Patch recently talked to officials at Fitlife about their company and what it offers the Carrollwood community.

Patch: What is the purpose of Fitlife?

Fitlife: Fitlife Foods helps people save time, manage their weight and gain energy with indulgently healthy prepared meals.  We focus on real food and flavor first, and then make sure our meals are well balanced to give people optimal energy to do more throughout their day.   It’s not about “diet food." It’s about balance, great flavor and calculating the right blend of nutritional value for our customers so they have more time doing the things they love.

Our customers range from ultimate athletes - including many of Tampa's professional sports players to people who are overweight and are trying to make a change to the busy Mom and Dad or the young single professional just trying to juggle everything in their lives but want to eat delicious and nutritious meals.

Patch: What services does Fitlife provide customers?

Fitlife: We have three different ways people use Fitlife Foods for themselves. First, customers can come in and grab one meal.  Secondly, they can pre-pay for a group of meals in a “Member Meal Account Program” which provides a 10 percent discount.  Finally, they can opt to join a seven, 14 or 21-day challenge if they have a weight loss, muscle-building or training goal in mind. 

Additionally, all of our meals list the calories, carbs, protein, fat and fiber and most meals come in three sizes: small, medium and large.  We have one-size meals for most breakfast meals and snacks as well as items like Fitlife Food’s salads and tacos.

Patch: Where are your other locations, and how did you choose Carrollwood for the most recent store?

Fitlife: We simply listened to our customers.  Our flagship location opened in February in Palma Ceia.  A significant percent of our customers were coming from north Tampa.  We chose the location in Carrollwood because it is centrally located for our north Tampa customers and other surrounding communities.  In south Tampa, we serve customers from as far east as Lakeland and as far south as Sarasota on a regular basis.  

With the Carrollwood store, we can more conveniently service customers from Westchase, Citrus Park, Trinity, Lutz and Wesley Chappel as well. Grand Plaza (where Fitlife Foods resides in Carrollwood) is part of a community of stores, so people can run multiple errands in one place with one visit.  Our Fitlife Foods store is easily accessible and with a front and rear entrance, it’s very easy for customers to come in.

Patch: How did the company begin?

Fitlife: I combined my passions with my professional experiences in life – essentially running and eating delicious, nutritious food.  I worked for a decade in the restaurant business – most recently as an executive with Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s and Roy’s. 

Personally, I was often overwhelmed reading all the conflicting and various “health tips” in magazines – eat your colors, lower your sodium, add good fiber, get enough carbs, etc.  I created the Fitlife Foods business concept to help other people not have to “think” or “journal” about the food they eat.  Fitlife Foods also partners with dozens of local personal trainers who appreciate us doing the “food part of the work” for their clients.

Patch: What will the new location in Carrollwood offer the north Tampa community? 

Fitlife: Fitlife Foods Carrollwood will offer people a quick and convenient location to grab fresh - never-frozen - prepared meals to help them save time, gain energy, lose weight and achieve their goals.  With over 45 menu items, there’s something for everyone. 

We also make eating fresh, made-from-scratch, organic and local food affordable. 

As part of our commitment to contributing to the “green movement”, we recently we introduced an "up-cycling" program so the plastic containers which the meals are packed in may be returned and later converted into hard permanent plastics. When customers bring back 20 used containers, they get a free meal.