As a woman-owned business, it is appropriate that Healthy Chef Meals was founded by Jennifer Gieseke, who was inspired to make significant dietary changes by her daughter becoming a vegetarian.

“When my daughter Lauren announced in 2009 that she was eating a vegetarian diet,” Gieseke said, “I had to do due diligence as a mother to make sure she was maintaining a diet that would not compromise her health. I started researching to see that she was still getting adequate protein, calcium and iron.”

What she learned convinced her not only to feel comfortable about her daughter’s diet but to alter her own as well.

“I was already concerned about the abundance of growth hormones in so much of the processed food, especially in fast food,” Gieseke said, “that it wasn’t long before I myself became a vegan and now follow a 100 percent plant-based diet.”

That transition led to the opening of Healthy Chef Meals in July of 2012. Located at 440 Olive Street in Shreveport, Healthy Chef offers a unique take on neighborhood eateries. Though not a restaurant in the truest sense, Healthy Chef offers vegan selections prepared fresh in their commercial kitchen and offered for take-out in Grab and Go and Heat and Eat options that can make a family’s weekly meal times less hectic and more manageable.

“As working wives and mothers know, it is often a real struggle to come in tired after work and scramble to get dinner ready for the family,” Gieseke said. “With our pre-prepared meals, it is much less stressful to simply pull a Healthy Chef meal out of the fridge or freezer and heat it up. Then all you have to do is make a salad.”

Healthy Chef menus rotate every six weeks, so a family can enjoy a variety of options.

The menus include not only American dishes, but Indian, Italian and Asian choices as well.

When she began her initial research into her daughter’s vegetarian diet, Gieseke began paying particular attention to the vegan information included in the books and Web sites she was perusing.

“The health benefit statistics were truly amazing,” Gieseke said. “And since starting the vegan diet, my weight has stabilized, and my energy level has greatly increased.”

“My husband has not yet transitioned to a plant-based diet,” Gieseke said, “so I do experiment with ways to replicate tastes and textures from other foods as well.”

For instance, the family enjoys dining out a local Indian restaurant where the husband really enjoys the Chicken Tikka Masala. Gieseke has been able to mimic the texture and taste of the popular Indian dish. Her vegan Tikka Masala will soon be added to the menu at Healthy Chef.

Some of the most popular dishes already on the menu include: eggplant parmesan, lasagna, enchilada casseroles, Carribean stew and cashew stir fry. The vegan philosophy is adhered to quite closely, so there are not only no animal products but there are no eggs, no dairy and not even honey.

The Healthy Chef system begins with Monday being a cooking day. Each week they prepare eight savory dishes and one dessert. The weekly menu is posted on the Web site every Wednesday so customers can make their selections and order by phone at or order online by 5 p.m. on Sunday. A la carte orders will be available for pick-up at 440 Olive Street on Tuesday from 3-6 p.m. There is a $55 minimum order for delivery. Healthy Chef Market is open Tuesday through Friday until 6 p.m.

“In addition to the obvious health rewards, knowing that I am contributing to a more humane and chemical-free world is tremendously satisfying,” Gieseke said.

Gieseke is quick to point out that one does not have to be a vegan to enjoy plant-based meals.

Healthy Chef Meals can be reached at 216-5691 or at their Web site at healthychefmeals.com.

– Karl Hasten

Photo by Marcus Mébes