What began as a supplement store for gym rats has become a culinary giant in prepared meals.

Back in the early 2000s, Kris Spencer was at the gym all the time. He worked out twice a day, mostly lifting weights. Food for him was all about fueling his exercise routine, with simple main courses like yams and chicken breasts, supplemented by power bars and protein shakes. He started selling supplements and protein powders out of a 400-square-foot area in the back of a North Salinas gym. Early on, most of his customers were like him: single men who spent a lot of time at the gym.

Since then, two things happened: His business, MaxFit Meals, proved to be wildly popular. And second, Spencer’s life changed and with it, his ideas about food as nourishment. He got married (to a health professional, a nurse-turned-supervisor at Salinas Valley Health) and had two kids, now 13 and 11.

“I evolved, and the whole business evolved,” Spencer says. “We are trying to make a faster, healthier, more convenient meal for everybody. You will see grandparents to high school students, working professionals – the demographic is wide open.”

While he kept the name MaxFit, and still sells protein powders and bars, he’s expanded into two other realms: smoothies and pre-cooked meals, sold in single-serving plastic trays, that are ready to eat after two minutes in the microwave. These days, powders and bars account for about one-third of sales, smoothies another third, and the rest is the meals, which are available a la carte in stores or by subscription (which reduces the per-meal price). MaxFit has two locations, in Salinas and Monterey, and will open a third in The Dunes shopping center in Marina this month. During the pandemic, they began shipping to customers all over the western U.S.

The meals are prepped, cooked and packaged in a kitchen in Oldtown Salinas, and recipes are developed by Chef Jose Zuniga. Unlike many food business executives, Spencer is not a foodie – he views food as a tool for health, energy and weight control, more than an indulgence. And early recipes reflected that, with a lot of lean chicken, broccoli and brown rice plates. Calorie counts expanded – at the request of CrossFitters, who needed more energy – and so did flavors, with menu inspiration from Mexican, Italian and Korean cuisine.

Not everything on offer is “healthy,” strictly speaking. One of MaxFit’s best-sellers is chicken-and-bacon carbonara, which after two minutes in the microwave gets melty, like an augmented mac-and-cheese plate. At 880 calories and with 46 grams of fat (and 24 grams of saturated fat), it’s likely not part of most diet plans, and contains 93 percent of recommended daily cholesterol intake in one serving. But Spencer says MaxFit offers customers what they like – that includes not just meals for gym rats, but also comfort food for busy people – and he sees his offerings as healthy alternatives. This recipe uses whole wheat rotini, and portion control is key – Spencer estimates many restaurants serve as much as triple the pasta, along with bread and butter.

“Our standard is to find dishes people love and make them healthier,” Spencer says. That happens by trimming more fat from meat, using brown rice and whole wheat tortillas, or yams instead of white potatoes.

“We do the best we can to maintain a balanced menu and not get bored,” Spencer adds. (Vegetarian options did not sell well, so the focus remains on meat offerings, for breakfast as well as lunch/dinner items. The most popular breakfast is the chicken chile verde burrito, at 670 calories.)

The chicken pad thai salad, at 560 calories with the peanut dressing, is a flavorful, crunchy medley of zucchini, scallions and cabbage, topped with fresh cilantro. For a plastic-wrapped salad, it’s impressively fresh and bright.

While Spencer still eats with an eye toward health first and foremost, he’s changed in his own habits. “Now, I’m almost 50 years old, and my personal choice is to fuel my body – but also enjoy flavorful food without gaining way too much weight,” he says.

Enough customers share that vision that MaxFit employs about 25 people. “It’s been an amazing journey,” Spencer says. “Sometimes I have to pinch myself.”

MaxFit Meals is located at 520 Fremont St., Monterey and 341 Monterey St., Salinas. 221-6060, maxfitmeals.com.