By Molly Lovell
Editor
     Putting a healthy meal on the table can be a difficult task for working parents and single professionals. Due to time constraints these people end up turning to fast food restaurants or popping in microwave dinners – an unhealthy option for feeding their families.
     A more nutritious and easy alternative for people on the go is to visit a place such as Entrée Vous in Scarborough. Entrée Vous is a kitchen where everything one needs to prepare a healthy meal is provided including recipes, pans, labels and packaging. A person orders meals of their choice online and they have the option to either assemble the meals themselves or pick them up already prepared.
     Owner of the Scarborough franchise Eileen Larrabee said this fairly new culinary concept is something that’s “sweeping the country.”
     A year ago she visited her college roommate in Connecticut where she was introduced to the idea. “I saw how helpful it was to the women,” she said. Shortly after she flew to Lexington, Kentucky where the company is headquartered and went on her way of getting the company’s 15th franchise on its feet.
     Scarborough’s Entrée Vous has been open for a month. After its opening Larrabee held a fundraiser for Project G.R.A.C.E.
     Larrabee calls the company unique among others of its kind because of the “freshness factor,” she said. All meats, herbs and other ingredients are fresh and everything is chopped and prepared on-site.
     Each meal serves four to six people and they can also be split up into smaller serving sizes. Larrabee has one chef on-site, Jason Billings, as well as four part-time employees in her kitchen located in the Little Dolphin Plaza on Rte. One.
     “It’s filling a real niche in the community,” she said of the kitchen.
     Laura Bly recently moved to Scarborough and said she and her family were eating take-out every day during their moving process. “It was just making us sick,” she said, while participating in an assembly session last Saturday, April 7. Instead of continuing on down the road of unhealthy eating, Bly began stocking her freezer full of meals from Entrée Vous.
     Bly described herself as a “foody,” and said the meals meet the standards that both her and her husband expect. “This is like your own home cooking,” she said, adding that her husband wants to come with her to a session and make a date night out of it.
     Bly said the process of preparing a meal is very simple and takes only minutes to complete. “Literally, you don’t have to think at all . . . Eileen has thought of everything for you,” she said. She also said the meal takes less than 30 minutes to cook.
     “It’s so stressful trying to provide healthy food. Nutrition is so important these days and this is such a good alternative,” she said.
     Bly came to Saturday’s session with her friend and co-worker Stephanie Freedman. The two work at the Little Dolphin Day Care Center where Larrabee often delivers meals.
     Freedman had her second child six weeks ago and before the birth stocked up on meals which she stored in the freezer. Freedman said she likes the fact that she doesn’t have to spend her free time in the kitchen preparing dinner, time she now spends with her husband and children.
     Freedman pointed out that this would be a good alternative for people in college or recently graduated. “It’s really affordable and it’s healthier and cheaper than take out,” she said, adding, “Life is too busy for people, it’s nice to have this option.”
     With menu items such as raspberry pork chops and salmon croquettes, Bly said this service is also an opportunity for people to try meals they might not attempt to make at home. “It’s a big compliment to everyone’s way of life,” she said.
     Larrabee pointed out that Entrée Vous isn’t just attracting women. “It amazes me how many men do the cooking in their families,” she said.
     Timothy Braun popped in on Saturday to make a pan of sticky buns and said he and wife are big fans of the service. Both are local architects and are very busy with work and raising their 4-year-old daughter. He joked that he and his wife used to eat like 4-year-olds – a diet of chicken nuggets, their daughter’s favorite.
     “This is a much healthier alternative,” he said.
     Larrabee said she’s had customers who prepare meals for elderly relatives. She has also heard of people at other franchises around the country who are realtors and after selling a house, stock the refrigerators in the homes they sell.
     As Saturday’s session wound down, Bly and Freedman chatted with Larrabee over some cinnamon buns and talked about their next session. The women said they would like to rent the kitchen for a private party at some point and invite their girlfriends for a night out. They also wondered if they could bring their children sometime and use the experience as a learning tool in healthy eating.
     For more information about the service visit www.entreevous.com.