NATCHEZ — Patrick Biglane has been passionate about fitness and healthy eating for most of his adult life.

He studied kinesiology in college and considers his 5 a.m. workout time sacrosanct — it’s his time to himself to get his mind and body right before he begins the day as a busy working single father of three children.

Likewise, Brooke Cangemi’s life is based on similar fitness principles. She, too, is a single parent with three children. Interestingly, they both independently developed businesses preparing and selling meals for others, in addition to their full-time jobs.

Biglane loves to cook. At one time, he considered going to culinary school. However, he married and had his children and life got in the way of those plans. Still, cooking for himself and others has always been a source of enjoyment for him. His side hustle — which was called Pat’s Preps — began because of his enjoyment of preparing food for others.

“I was meal prepping healthy meals for myself and a couple of people I work out with asked if I could do it for them. That’s how it started,” Biglane said.

For a year and a half, Biglane’s meal prep business grew rapidly by word of mouth. He would put out a list of what he was making for the next week to his Facebook friends. They would choose what they wanted and pick up meals from his home beginning on Sundays.

“I was making two different entrees, then added a couple more, and then I added a breakfast and a dessert and the protein balls,” he said.

Biglane has become famous for his protein balls — known as PPP, Protein Power Peanut Butter Balls — packed with 12 grams of protein each and are 150 calories. “Customers really love them. They are great for a snack,” he said.

Soon, Biglane had more than 300 friends who were ordering meals routinely and it became more than he could handle on his own.

Across the river in Vidalia, Cangemi was preparing food for others, but it wasn’t always healthy. Her business was Cangemi + Fork.

“I was making Southern-style food,” she said. “Patrick had to kind of train me up on this. I didn’t even use recipes.”

When it reached a tipping point for Biglane, he reached out to Cangemi and asked if she wanted to collaborate. The two cooked out of Biglane’s kitchen for a number of months until they launched The Little Green Fork, located at 312 Main St.

The meals Biglane and Cangemi make are a step beyond those others offer in the area in that they are rooted in healthy, freshly-prepared foods all made from scratch.

The Little Green Fork customers know not only the calories in each meal, but the macros, too. Macros refer to macronutrients — carbohydrates, proteins and fats — important information for many who are working to lose weight, build muscle or who are dealing with a number of illnesses, such as Type 2 Diabetes. All of this information is available for each meal offered on their website at The Little Green Fork. And the menu of dishes changes weekly.