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Paleo Meals

Paleo Meals

We compare Australia’s best offerings on Paleo prepared meal services and allow consumers insight into which companies to look out for. You can make decisions based on your individual needs and decide if paleo meal services are suitable for you!

By
Rose Fenasse

Written by

Rose Fenasse
Clinical Nutritionist

Rose is a nutritionist who believes nutritional approaches should be flexible and sustainable for the long-term. Rose’s approach to nutrition is evidence-based and integrative, as she understands her scope of practice and sees value in working alongside other health professionals to compliment her clients most effectively. Rose is passionate about ditching diet cultures and focusing on label-free living, whilst educating clients on how to create healthy and flavour-packed meals. She has a comprehensive understanding of shaping nutritional interventions, meal plans, dietary analysis, whilst coaching clients around ditching diet cultures and embracing all foods without the associated emotional fears often seen with dietary changes. Rose stays up to date with current research looking to science and evidence-based nutritional medicine whilst continually studying to broaden her scope.

Updated February 25, 2021
Fact checked Fully qualified and expert nutritionists have reviewed and checked this content to ensure it is as accurate as possible at the time of writing.

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What is a Paleo Diet?

Many versions have evolved following paleo-style eating, supporters of a paleolithic diet argue that intakes should follow a typical ancient hunter and gatherers’ diet excluding grains (particularly gluten), dairy, legumes and processed foods and any products from farming practices that would have emerged within the last 10,000 years (Zopf, Reljic et al. 2018). The diet aims to focus on whole foods particularly lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, root vegetables, eggs and nuts (Giovanni Tarantino 2021).

Some modifications of the diet opt for high intakes of animal products and saturated fats, whilst others recommend a higher intake of healthy fats. Regardless, over the last 10 years of high popularity, the diet has still upheld focus on whole foods and eliminating processed foods (Warchalowski 2020).

When selecting individual meal kits and individual products to support your paleo diet, use our “How to read a food label in Australia” guide to help you identify if your chosen kit or product contains the right ingredients to support your paleo journey.

 

Which is the best Paleo meal delivery providers?

1. Macros – Cater dietitian designed meals prepared by chefs to consumers wanting to eat a paleo-style diet. The menus are continually rotated and allow for an ‘everyday menu’ and a ‘fitness menu’ selection. They have a no-lock in contract and offer delivery to most areas including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.

2. Activate Foods – Offer paleo meals to Central Coast, Sydney & Newcastle. Meals and Snacks are offered to consumers for individual portions and family sizes. Meals start as low as $9.

3. Feed Me – Offer a paleo pack starting at $101.00, which a 10-meal-pack offering grass-fed and free-range options. This service is only available to the Perth Metro area, South West region (WA), and Geraldton (WA)

4. Nourishd – Offer chef-prepared fresh Paleo meal delivery services with no lock-in contracts. Meals are nutritionist-approved and have no added sugar, preservatives, or gluten. You can arrange one-off meals or re-occurring meal services, an on-off meal selection for a 5-pack ranges from $68.75, with options ranging up to 28-meal packs. They deliver to QLD, NSW, ACT and VIC currently.

5. A Life Plus – Offers over 50+ meals, and are prepared and cooked fresh using local ingredients, without using any added preservatives, chemicals or sugars. They cater to restrictions or preferences and are available to use without any lock-in contracts or commitments. They offer 3-day, 5-day and 7-day meal plans for lunch and dinner options starting at $78.00 for a 3-day plan. They offer delivery within NSW, VIC, ACT, QLD, SA.

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What are the Pros & Cons of Paleo Meals?

pros and cons of paleo meals

Pros

  • Gluten Free Safe – Paleo meal services are an alternative for those that are restricted and need to stick to a gluten-free diet.
  • Encourages Wholefoods – The Paleo diet encourages whole foods and limits processed foods which can be a great inclusion to those that struggle to eat enough within their regular diets.

Cons

  • Eliminating food groups are harmful – Eliminating entire food groups such as dairy or wholegrains is restrictive and can be harmful leading to a lack of essential nutrients and vitamins. This can create health issues such as nutrient deficiencies and create a poor relationship and understanding around health and nutritional needs.
  • Portion may not be suitable - food portion allowances may exceed the recommended daily allowances.
  • May not meet multiple dietary requirements – Often having one dietary restriction can be tough, let alone a few requirements needing to be catered to. Some companies cater to just gluten-free, however, there are many more emerging companies tailoring to more diets and restrictions under the one site.
  • It can become expensive – eating without flexibility can become expensive especially seeking out particular food standards such as grass-fed or organic.
  • Restrictive – Paleo may not be suitable to several population groups, including individuals that are vegan or vegetarian considering the restrictions on food groups and meat reliance. Some athletes may not see benefit with a lowered carbohydrate intake, and those with health requirements who are needing to consume less meat may struggle on this diet. The diet itself can be restrictive socially, especially when eating out – restaurants, cafes don’t commonly cater to Paleo like they do vegetarian, vegan, or dairy-free.
  • No long-term studies – There is still no long-term, reliable studies to suggest the benefits and risks of sustaining a Paleo diet.

Key factors when comparing Paleo meal delivery companies

It’s important to do your research before picking a Paleo meal delivery provider, here are some key factors to consider:

Energy (Calories/ KJ per meal)

his type of diet is typically observed as energy-dense, with high- glycemic loads, high fat and meat intakes and increased fruit consumption (Giovanni Tarantino 2021).

It is important to be aware of the high-calorie nature and to make comparisons between meals to meet your energy requirements or specific goals if necessary.

Nutritional Balance

Due to the restrictive nature of the paleo diet and depending on which modification of the diet the consumer follows, there are specific nutrients that can lack such as calcium, water-soluble vitamins, dietary fibre etc.

It’s important to be aware of the nutrient breakdowns of meals where possible to track specific nutrients of interest.

 

Volume of the meal

Paleo based diets can be calorie-dense, which can lead to lower volumes in meals. Compare meals by the size of quantities, and work out if the cost and suitability of the meal are right for your individual needs.

Ingredients

Depending on how strict you are being on your Paleo journey; you may want to consider investigating ingredients. Strict paleo diets exclude Avoid all processed foods and ingredients such as sugar, certain vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners etc. 

Some strict versions of Paleo also only eat grass-fed, pasture-raised and organic products. Use our “How to Read a Food Label in Australia” guide to help you identify exactly what ingredients you are eating.

Paleo Meal Delivery FAQs

Paleo diets can be very restrictive with noticeable low compliancy from dieters. There are many cons in a paleo-based diet, however, it ultimately comes down to the knowledge and application of the dieter. Any diet that restricts whole food groups come at the risk of nutritional imbalances including deficiencies, gut microbiota alterations, gastro-intestinal complaints, low-energy and many more affects (Zopf, Reljic et al. 2018).

Research still shows that a healthy well-balanced diet is inclusive and abundant in fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, lean meat and healthy fats.

In the US, Hellofresh is bringing out Paleo meal options. However, there are no obvious signs of introducing this option to Australia at the moment. There are some ‘naturally gluten-free’ meal options available, however, they do not restrict food groups in their meals like Paleo meals do.

For those that live within Central Coast, Sydney & Newcastle. Activate foods have cheap meals and snacks options starting as low as $9 for an individual portion. Otherwise, alternatively for those that live within QLD, NSW, ACT and VIC currently, Nourishd have packs that are cost-competitive starting with a 5-pack for $68.75.

It wouldn’t be suggested to adapt to a paleo-based diet due to its restrictive nature. As vegan/vegetarian diets are already restricted for animal products this may not be the right choice for you. It is important to always seek guidance from a health professional or doctor before making changes to your diet.

Keto is a high-fat, moderate-protein and low-carbohydrate diet introduced in the 1920s to treat epilepsy/ seizures. Keto limits carbohydrates, whereas paleo diet eliminates specific food groups. The paleo diet has been around since the 1970’s however gained massive interest in the 2000s following the ideologies of following the food intakes of what a caveman would typically have eaten during hunter-gatherer days.

One of the main differences is paleo diets allow for whole-food sources of carbohydrates, so long as they don’t fall outside the specific foods groups of choice.

The paleo diet has multiple names such as paleolithic, stone age, hunter-gatherer or caveman diet. It essentially refers to eating like our ancestors did in attempts to lose weight, be healthier and lower disease progressions.
At this stage, there are no obvious Paleo meal delivery kits on the market in Australia, only meal delivery services.

Search and compare wellness and health delivery services in Australia including meal kits, ready to eat meal delivery, vitamin subscriptions and much more at Wellhub. All content and information on this site is provided by qualified Australian nutritionists to ensure accurate representation of all products reviewed. Learn more about our expert team here.