Calories Cooked Up, Counted and Delivered

A growing number of people are trying the calorie-counted meals offered by Irvine-based Healthy Gourmet, a food service business that now serves Orange and Los Angeles counties.

The company, which opened almost three years ago, is carving

its niche by offering freshly prepared meals to health- and waistline-conscious customers, many of whom are just too busy to cook.

Healthy Gourmet prepares the meals at its 4,000-square-foot Irvine kitchen and ships them twice weekly to the customer’s home or office, or to a pickup site.

On average, a full day’s meals cost about $15, not counting the pickup or delivery fee, which ranges from $4 to $7. The price is based on which meal the customer selects (specials are an option) and on the size of the meal, which reflects the number of calories it contains. The calorie levels are 1,000, 1,500 and 1,800 per day.

Owner Susan Johnson started the business after moving to California from Texas, where a similar service was available.

“To me, it was such a nice alternative,” the Newport Beach resident said. “Everybody knows you need to eat healthy, and it’s just not easy sometimes.”

Johnson spent her first two years in business developing an Orange County customer base of more than 1,000 before opening a Los Angeles outlet in January. In September, the company opened new pickup sites in Encino, Pasadena and Redondo Beach.

Healthy Gourmet’s computer lists 2,400 Orange County residents who have placed orders in the past 17 months. On average, they ordered six meals a week.

Johnson expects sales to double this year to about $1.2 million.

She clearly takes a personal interest in her product, tasting the sauces and salad dressings, and making sure the meals look pretty. With the lemon chicken dish, for example, the capers must be sprinkled over the artichoke heart halves, which are positioned on both sides of the chicken, which rests on orzo pasta and wild rice. A thin, curled lemon slice tops it off.

“We actually take pictures of each plate,” she said, to remind workers how each one should be designed.

By next summer, Johnson plans to open in San Diego. And then she may head north.

“At that point we’ll start looking at Santa Barbara and heading up the coast,” she said.