The idea behind Heather Amalaha's business, Gourmet By Numbers, started with the struggle of the time it took to plan and prepare home-cooked meals.

Amalaha, who cooks almost daily at home, sells chef-inspired meal kits that include all the ingredients, even spices, in premeasured and prepacked kits. Customers will have what they need to cook a meal in fewer than 30 minutes. Kits come in servings sizes for one, two or four people.

"It reduces waste and saves time," she said. "You're only getting exactly what you need."

The kits cost about $12 per serving and come in options such as roasted Cornish hen with creamed spinach and wild rice or tortellini salad with asparagus and basil vinaigrette, Amalaha said.

Customers also have the option to customize the kits because of dietary restrictions or food preferences. Amalaha said she can even create meal kits from submitted recipes so a customer could purchase a kit and create a family favorite.

Gourmet By Numbers has been in the works for eight years, and began when Amalaha was studying nutrition and food studies at New York University where she looked into emerging food trends.

To start her business, Amalaha consulted with the Business and Community Lenders of Texas, which is a nonprofit that promotes the growth and development of small businesses. Amalaha launched a 40-day crowd funding campaign April 15 through Indiegogo to raise $22,000 for her business.

"It's good to see there are other options outside of traditional loans," she said.

Once the business is fully up and running, Amalaha, who worked as a financial analyst at Dell Inc. for three years, said customers may order meals online and have them delivered. She is also looking for retail space in Northwest Austin at which customers could pick up meal kits.

For more information on Gourmet By Numbers, visit the website at www.gourmetbynumbers.com. Information about the crowd funding campaign may be found on Amalaha's Indiegogo website.