Sarah Mattison Berndt: “We want to make sure we’re bringing really good quality ingredients to the table.”
Options for healthy eating continue to expand. Madison’s Fit Fresh Cuisine, now entering its ninth year, is emerging from its status as “well-kept secret” after opening a new, larger cafe at Princeton Club West last summer and preparing to open a second cafe at the new Princeton Club at 2920 Hardrock Road in Fitchburg.
Owned by registered dietician Sarah Mattison Berndt and her husband, physical trainer Ryan Berndt, Fit Fresh Cuisine began in 2009 as an offshoot of the Berndt’s Hybrid Athletic Club in Fitchburg. The location, in a commercial park behind the New Vision Fitchburg cinema in Fitchburg, offered little visibility for the small Fit Fresh Cafe next door to the gym. But the heart of the food business was cooking healthy, ready-to-eat meals for subscribers to its meal plans.
A second cafe location on South Park Street at St. Mary’s Hospital opened in 2010 but was used mostly for catering jobs and closed within the year.
Last year, as it became evident that Fit Fresh had outgrown its its production capabilities at Hybrid, the couple sold the athletic club to concentrate on the food business. In July, the Berndts opened a larger cafe with increased kitchen capabilities at 8066 Watts Road, inside Princeton Club West. They also took the opportunity to tweak the cafe menu, emphasizing panini and flatbreads made with sprouted breads. There are also smoothies, fresh juices and acai bowls.
Fit Fresh emphasizes nutritionally balanced meals made from scratch, using local and organic produce and natural proteins. All food is free of added hormones, antibiotics, fillers and trans fats.
Sarah Berndt, a Verona native with a master’s degree in nutritional science from Boston University and a former sports dietician to the UW Athletic Department, focuses on providing good quality food that “emphasizes calorie control and macro-nutrient composition.” These foods promote lean body mass and fight disease, she says. “We want to make sure we’re bringing really good quality ingredients to the table.”
In addition to the cafe, the company currently makes between 4,000 and 5,000 meals per week for its meal plans, still the core business for Fit Fresh. Plan subscribers can pick up their meals at several locations: Princeton Club East and West, Hybrid Athletic and Harbor Athletic Club. The company also delivers to some businesses, including Raven Software and J.H. Findorff & Son. Delivery fees are waived for corporations with 10 or more participating; otherwise delivery is $20/week (three deliveries) to either private homes or to businesses.
Cleanse dishes include Vietnamese chicken with rice noodles (left), and Indian meatballs and lentil salad.
The five-to-seven-day meal plans are delivered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to assure that all the food fresh. Calorie amounts fall into three different categories depending on the subscriber’s weight loss and workout goals. Prices range from $55 for one meal per day for one week to $615 for three meals a day for four weeks.
Twice a month, Fit Fresh offers a seven-day gluten-free food cleanse designed to level hormones, banish bloat, reduce inflammation and boost energy.
“The cleanse will help you bring your body back to optimal functioning,” says Berndt. “People don’t normally do this long enough to set themselves on a good path. This is an all-encompassing week to refocus and reset.” The 21-meal week-long plan costs $209.
“The biggest mistake people make is to under-fuel during the day when they need the energy and over-fuel at night when the food is more likely to turn to fat,” Berndt says. “It’s a hard habit to break, but it makes a big difference when you finally do.”