Can meal kits help solve the health industry’s fibre intake crisis?
- New World Health Organisation study reveals importance of consuming 30g fibre per day for long-term health benefits
- Data shows HelloFresh customers achieve up to 60% of their recommended daily veggie intake in one meal
- Meal kits remove stress around weekly meal planning and the need for Aussies to become overnight nutrition experts
- Data shows HelloFresh customers achieve up to 60% of their recommended daily veggie intake in one meal
- Meal kits remove stress around weekly meal planning and the need for Aussies to become overnight nutrition experts
Sydney, January 2019
It’s being described as a landmark health study - and after 40 years of clinical trials and 185 observational studies, it’s easy to see why everyone is suddenly talking about fibre.
The study commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, reveals how researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand found a strong link between a high fibre, balanced diet and the positive benefits it can have on our long-term health.
The team of researchers reported up to 30% fewer overall deaths, and cases of coronary heart disease, bowel cancer, stroke and type-2 diabetes fell by as much as 24% among those studied. Scientists also saw significant improvements in participants’ weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure, while calling out trendy, low-carb diets that many people subscribe to.
The recommendations suggest we should be eating a minimum of 25g to 29g of fibre a day - with the research highlighting that more than 30g daily would be even more beneficial. Today, most people are eating less than 20g, highlighting the challenge home cooks face in consistently achieving nutritional targets.
The study commissioned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, reveals how researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand found a strong link between a high fibre, balanced diet and the positive benefits it can have on our long-term health.
The team of researchers reported up to 30% fewer overall deaths, and cases of coronary heart disease, bowel cancer, stroke and type-2 diabetes fell by as much as 24% among those studied. Scientists also saw significant improvements in participants’ weight, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure, while calling out trendy, low-carb diets that many people subscribe to.
The recommendations suggest we should be eating a minimum of 25g to 29g of fibre a day - with the research highlighting that more than 30g daily would be even more beneficial. Today, most people are eating less than 20g, highlighting the challenge home cooks face in consistently achieving nutritional targets.
Fibre, balanced diets and the reality for home cooks
While this study symbolises a pivotal moment in the nutrition and health industry reaffirming fibre’s status as an essential part of a healthy diet, the reality of navigating nutritional advice for home cooks can be an uphill battle.
Tom Rutledge, HelloFresh Australia founder and CEO, says translating the findings from the fibre study into nutritionally balanced dinners for the family every night is a difficult challenge for home cooks.
“Australians understand the importance of good health - we all know it’s something you can’t put a price on. However, meeting the recommended daily intakes of fruits, vegetables, and wholegrains is a genuine struggle for most people. There’s confusion around the complex wording some experts use and most people are so time poor they haven’t got spare hours in the day to become overnight experts in nutrition.”
Tom, a former Masterchef finalist and father of three, believes meal kit providers can help home cooks deliver wholesome, balanced meals for the whole family: “Relieving the pressure of delivering something delicious at dinnertime is what services like HelloFresh are all about. You can cook nutritious, veggie-packed meals every night of the week without being a boffin. HelloFresh frees its customers from the stress and hassle by doing all the planning and shopping.”
HelloFresh employs a team of cooks and recipe planners, including in-house dietitians, who keep each meal as wholesome, tasty and balanced as possible when creating them. Each meal contains a minimum of two to three vegetables, a source of protein (meat, fish, legumes or tofu) and fibre. HelloFresh customers receive a box containing the ingredients to prepare at least three meals every week.
“It’s this team of culinary experts that give our customers the peace of mind they’re looking for,” says Tom. “HelloFresh customers know that in choosing our meals they’re getting the support and expertise from our recipe creators and editors who produce our menus 10 weeks in advance. Planning has always been the key to having a well-balanced diet. Solutions like HelloFresh make that easy and our customers tell us that every week.”
Tom says his culinary team wholeheartedly back the findings of the study too: “We don’t cut out any major food groups and so the World Health Organisation report was widely welcomed by our team of recipe experts. We set ourselves apart from other meal kits because our menus don’t overwhelm customers with choices they don’t need. There’s a classic, veggie and family plan each week - that’s it. We do the work for you and keep it simple. We don’t pander to trendy fad diets that send mixed messages to consumers. You won’t see chakra-aligned tumeric on our menus any time soon. Every HelloFresh meal has protein, carbohydrate and vegetable elements to them - it’s crucial we keep that consistent.”
Rebecca Gawthorne, a Sydney-based dietitian and 2018’s BUPA Blogger of the Year for her website Nourish Naturally, echoes the importance of getting more fibre into our diets. “There are three main types of fibre in foods - soluble, which helps lower cholesterol and controls our blood sugar levels; insoluble, which helps with regular healthy bowel motions and keeping us feeling full; and fermentable, which feeds all the good bacteria living in our intestines and helps to protect our bowels. Foods such as vegetables, fruits, lentils, beans, wholegrain breads and cereals, nuts, and seeds are all good sources of fibre. We should aim to include these regularly in our diets to keep our guts healthy.”
Tom Rutledge, HelloFresh Australia founder and CEO, says translating the findings from the fibre study into nutritionally balanced dinners for the family every night is a difficult challenge for home cooks.
“Australians understand the importance of good health - we all know it’s something you can’t put a price on. However, meeting the recommended daily intakes of fruits, vegetables, and wholegrains is a genuine struggle for most people. There’s confusion around the complex wording some experts use and most people are so time poor they haven’t got spare hours in the day to become overnight experts in nutrition.”
Tom, a former Masterchef finalist and father of three, believes meal kit providers can help home cooks deliver wholesome, balanced meals for the whole family: “Relieving the pressure of delivering something delicious at dinnertime is what services like HelloFresh are all about. You can cook nutritious, veggie-packed meals every night of the week without being a boffin. HelloFresh frees its customers from the stress and hassle by doing all the planning and shopping.”
HelloFresh employs a team of cooks and recipe planners, including in-house dietitians, who keep each meal as wholesome, tasty and balanced as possible when creating them. Each meal contains a minimum of two to three vegetables, a source of protein (meat, fish, legumes or tofu) and fibre. HelloFresh customers receive a box containing the ingredients to prepare at least three meals every week.
“It’s this team of culinary experts that give our customers the peace of mind they’re looking for,” says Tom. “HelloFresh customers know that in choosing our meals they’re getting the support and expertise from our recipe creators and editors who produce our menus 10 weeks in advance. Planning has always been the key to having a well-balanced diet. Solutions like HelloFresh make that easy and our customers tell us that every week.”
Tom says his culinary team wholeheartedly back the findings of the study too: “We don’t cut out any major food groups and so the World Health Organisation report was widely welcomed by our team of recipe experts. We set ourselves apart from other meal kits because our menus don’t overwhelm customers with choices they don’t need. There’s a classic, veggie and family plan each week - that’s it. We do the work for you and keep it simple. We don’t pander to trendy fad diets that send mixed messages to consumers. You won’t see chakra-aligned tumeric on our menus any time soon. Every HelloFresh meal has protein, carbohydrate and vegetable elements to them - it’s crucial we keep that consistent.”
Rebecca Gawthorne, a Sydney-based dietitian and 2018’s BUPA Blogger of the Year for her website Nourish Naturally, echoes the importance of getting more fibre into our diets. “There are three main types of fibre in foods - soluble, which helps lower cholesterol and controls our blood sugar levels; insoluble, which helps with regular healthy bowel motions and keeping us feeling full; and fermentable, which feeds all the good bacteria living in our intestines and helps to protect our bowels. Foods such as vegetables, fruits, lentils, beans, wholegrain breads and cereals, nuts, and seeds are all good sources of fibre. We should aim to include these regularly in our diets to keep our guts healthy.”
Year in Food: HelloFresh delivers balance for Australians
The WHO report into the health benefits of fibre comes as HelloFresh Australia released new data all about vegetable consumption.
Figures show the average intake of vegetables per Australian sits at 2.4 serves per day. Compare that with people who eat HelloFresh meals and there’s a marked difference with customers reaching up to three serves of veggies in one meal - up to 60% of their daily recommended intake.
Hannah Gilbert, head of culinary for HelloFresh Australia and an Accredited Practising Dietitian, agrees that being organised is the only way to get ahead of your nutrition goals: “Researchers estimate only 7% of Australian adults meet the recommended intake for vegetables, so it’s reassuring to learn that HelloFresh customers are two thirds of the way there with our meals. Planning your meals ahead is the best way to increase vegetable consumption - my team loves helping Australians manage that every week.”
In 2018, HelloFresh delivered more than 62 million vegetables to households across Australia and customers cooked 685 different recipes from 26 different cuisines.
The most cooked vegetables across HelloFresh Australia were:
●7.1 million onions
●7.1 million carrots
●4.5 million zucchinis
●3.6 million sweet potatoes
See the full information in the infographic included here.
Figures show the average intake of vegetables per Australian sits at 2.4 serves per day. Compare that with people who eat HelloFresh meals and there’s a marked difference with customers reaching up to three serves of veggies in one meal - up to 60% of their daily recommended intake.
Hannah Gilbert, head of culinary for HelloFresh Australia and an Accredited Practising Dietitian, agrees that being organised is the only way to get ahead of your nutrition goals: “Researchers estimate only 7% of Australian adults meet the recommended intake for vegetables, so it’s reassuring to learn that HelloFresh customers are two thirds of the way there with our meals. Planning your meals ahead is the best way to increase vegetable consumption - my team loves helping Australians manage that every week.”
In 2018, HelloFresh delivered more than 62 million vegetables to households across Australia and customers cooked 685 different recipes from 26 different cuisines.
The most cooked vegetables across HelloFresh Australia were:
●7.1 million onions
●7.1 million carrots
●4.5 million zucchinis
●3.6 million sweet potatoes
See the full information in the infographic included here.
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About HelloFresh
Every week HelloFresh delivers fresh locally-sourced ingredients and inspiring recipes to over 2 million active customers worldwide. Customers can choose from a great variety of recipes and plan their meals several weeks ahead by ordering through desktop or mobile app. The company operates with local food suppliers in 11 markets, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand with offices in 8 cities and employs a team of over 4,500 people. HelloFresh delivered 54.7 million meals to 2.04 million active customers worldwide in Q4 2018 (October 1 - December 31, 2018). HelloFresh was founded in Berlin in November 2011 and went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in November 2017. Visit www.hellofresh.com.au for more information.