Green — fresh, lean — protein, clean — starch.

Those three components are part of a new restaurant, Green Lean Clean at Ashlan Plaza in Washington, run by business partners Christian Brown and Jaryd Acheson, focusing on healthy eating in a convenient, affordable way.

Brown has an extensive culinary background — running a restaurant in Lake Gaston and appearing on the Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” — and uses his expertise to create options for his customers.

The idea of healthy meals grew out of his interest in fitness, helping people achieve their ideal bodies, but it grew further into people who just wanted to eat better food. Interchanging vegetable, meat and starchy options allows Brown to provide different meals with the same core ingredients, packaging them fresh and ready to eat.

“People are getting full range for a full week,” he said. “That’s why it’s grown in popularity so much. … Now, it’s a lot easier because they have something to look forward to.”

Brown said he was asked to teach in the culinary program at East Carolina University in January, and decided a business in the area would give him a little more income.

On a slow day, Green Lean Clean might prep 200 meals, but on one of their busiest days, that number has increased to 1,000, according to Brown.

It’s a lot of work, especially for a new business, but Brown said he refuses to sell frozen products.

“That’s how we differentiate ourselves,” Acheson said.

Acheson, the self-professed “numbers type of guy,” said he and Brown come in at 4 a.m. every day to prepare the meals. They also try to use local products from around eastern North Carolina.

Most of the meals are made to order, so as to avoid waste, and Green Lean Clean also caters events.

Brown and Acheson want to offer healthier options to residents of Pitt and Beaufort counties, and hope to continue building a customer base in the area.

“There may be more of us across the country, but they are few and far between,” Brown said.