Business Monday: Meals in a HeartBeet opens storefront in Kona

Big Island native Jasmine Silverstein was pursuing an environmental studies degree at Pacific University in Oregon when she was diagnosed with severe health issues, which led her to use food as medicine — and a change in her career path.

“I started cooking a lot for myself, cooking everything from scratch and sort of learning about how we can use food as medicine and actually went through a program called the Institute for Integrative Nutrition for health coaching,” she said.

The 34-year-old who was born and raised on a tropical fruit farm in the Puna District now is Chef Silverstein.

After moving back to the Big Island after college in 2012, she started a small catering business for retreats, weddings and private dinner parties. She was looking at ways she could serve her community by working with local farmers to use their meat and produce in her made-from-scratch meals. It evolved into Meals in a HeartBeet, a delivery meal-prep business that she operated for five years out of a commercial kitchen space in Honokaʻa.

But in February, the 34-year-old “took a leap of faith” and opened a store in Kona for grab-and-go meals. Her clients still include busy professionals, expectant mothers, seniors and people into health and fitness.

“For the right person, we are a godsend,” Silverstein said. “People are looking for this kind of thing. But it is such a new concept, what we’re offering here, where it’s really healthy, quality meals made from scratch, at a somewhat affordable price for what you’re getting.”

Her production kitchen and store is located next to the Club in Kona, at 75-5699 Kopiko St. It features a rotating weekly menu of fully prepared, made-from-scratch meals using locally sourced meats and produce.

Meals in a HeartBeet offers two options for purchasing meals: subscription or à la carte. Both are available for pickup or delivery in Kailua-Kona, Hilo, Waimea and Waikōloa.

With 20 to 30 households doing a weekly subscription to meal service, Silverstein realized she needed to be more centrally located if she wanted to grow the business.

Silverstein said she put about $50,000 into the 600- to 700-square-foot space in Kona, including labor, materials and renovations that include painting, knocking down walls and putting in new ones, installing shelving, and buying a refrigerator and convection oven.

“We really care about the quality of the ingredients that we’re starting with, primarily using as much as possible local ingredients, so wild-caught fish, local tuna chicks, chickens, the grass-fed beef that’s all over Hāmākua Coast,” Silverstein said. “I have a connection with a great rancher up there and then, of course, all the local produce and ulu and kalo and sweet potato, as much as possible.”

The Kona location is open Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the menu changes each week with three different meal options priced at $25 per meal. Weekly or monthly subscriptions are available.

While Meals in a HeartBeet continues to deliver weekly to subscribers, the Kona location has become an official pickup location for customers. Silverstein said most of her customers are working professionals who are busy, want to be healthy, and don’t have time to cook at home.

One customer is Winona Chen, a foodie and a fitness enthusiast who has been getting meals from the delivery service for more than a year. She got connected with Silverstein through social media.

The 35-year-old Chen appreciates that each meal comes with all its macro information.

“Last year, I started working with a nutritionist to track my fueling in my marathon prep, and so having these meals that were already packaged and had the calorie count, the carbohydrates, the fat, the protein, the sodium, and like the full ingredient list was super helpful for my nutrition tracking,” Chen said.

Some of Chen’s favorite meals by Silverstein’s team are the Indian butter chicken and pork chili verde.

“I have so many favorite meals that they do, it’s really hard to choose just a couple,” Chen said. “I haven’t had a bad meal from them.”

Chen also praised Silverstein’s meals for being balanced and having good portions, noting for some of them, it’s easy to get two meals out of them.

“If you value your time and your health, she’s providing a service that really takes care of supporting those things,” Chen said. “Her meals are healthy and nutritious, and they 100% save you so much time.”

While Chen still likes to cook at home when her schedule allows, she does find that the meal delivery service saves her money from $50 to $120.

For more information, to view weekly menus, or to place an order at order.heartbeetfoods.com.