Compare Plant-based Meals Delivered in Australia

Compare Plant-based Meals

What is a Plant-Based diet?

The use of plant-based diet within the health and fitness industry has become one of the most popularly used terms with often a lot of blurred direction to consumers. For many, the term plant-based is often very closely paired to vegan or vegetarian based diets and assume restriction of animal products is necessary to follow the diet. Instead, the focus of a plant-based diet is focusing intakes to predominately derive from plant-based sources such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and so on.

This diet doesn’t restrict the total consumption of animal products such as meat, eggs, dairy it promotes leveraging plant-based options as a staple within the diet. It’s important to emphasise the focus on plant-based eating is that the diet is based mostly around the consumption of plants, meaning yes you can technically be both a vegan and plant-based or a vegetarian and plant-based.

Diets don’t always equal healthy, often labelling can be quite misleading as an overall representation of someone’s dietary intake. If a plant-based diet is of interest to you, looking into a plant-based meal kit or food delivery service may be the perfect starting point for you.

Which are the best plant-based meal providers in Australia?

Here is a list of our recommended best plant based meal delivery services currently in Australia.

1. Macros

This meal provider is developed by dietitians and prepared by chefs and has menus that are regularly updated and offer plant-based plans starting at a 7-meals per week up until the 24-meals per week selection. They have a no-lock in contract and offer delivery to most areas including Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.

2. My Muscle Chef

One of the more popular food services available, and they now offer a plant-based vegan range. They offer protein-focused meals for fitness and everyday related goals. They are Main Meals and Snacks with packs starting from $99.95. Delivery is available Australia wide.

3. Chef Good

Chef Good are developed and prepared meals made fresh using locally sourced ingredients in Melbourne by in-house chefs. They don’t bulk prepare meals and instead focus on ‘restaurant’ style meals delivered straight to the consumer. They have an extensive range of options on their menu including a plant-based vegan meal delivery option. They offer meal plans including a 5-day, 7-day and 10-day option with no lock-in contracts. They currently offer delivery to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra.

4. Soulara

Provides ready-made meals, snacks and drinks developed from nutritionist and chefs. An extensive menu is offered with over 50+ rotating recipes for the consumer to add to their selected meal plan. Soulara offer plans starting from 7-meals up to 24-meals per week, with incentivised reductions on cost per meal with the higher volume orders. Delivery options are available to most areas in Australia.

5. Fast Fuel Meals

Fast Fuel Meals offer prepared meals that are refined sugar-free, no preservatives, calorie-controlled with a focus on macro-nutrient breakdowns. Delivery is available for QLD, NSW and Victoria with free delivery available for orders over $89. There is a big menu with meals starting from $9.95 catering to plant-based preferences.

6. Garden of Vegan

Markets their services as a ‘whole food plant-based meal delivery service’, all their meals are organic, gluten-free, oil-free and vegan. They offer free delivery on meals over $200, with meals starting from $14.95. All meals are delivered fresh (no freezing at all), and all meals are developed and prepared with a team of nutritionists and chefs.

7. Herbi Door

Offers a large vegan menu created by chefs using local Australian only ingredients. Each serving is 400g with a minimum of 25g of protein per serve. Consumers can choose from a subscription-based order, or simply choose a one-off order. Meals start from $12.50, with snack options available. Currently, there is free shipping available for orders over $150, with deliveries accessible to QLD, NSW & ACT, VIC, SA, TAS and NT.

What are the Pros & Cons of Plant-Based Meals?

Plant Based Pros

Plant-based meals encourage eating more vegetables within the diet, which often can be missed as the focal point in diets
The diet is well-researched and has proven health benefits with eating a well-balanced plant-based diet
The focus isn’t around typical dietary measures such as calorie counting, food weighing or measuring which takes away focus around weight.
This diet is achievable and can be incorporated as a long-term sustainable change due to its non-restrictive nature.

Plant Based Cons

Some may struggle with the transition to eating a plant-based diet in comparison to their previous intakes. The change in increasing vegetables and finding protein in other sources may be challenging at first.
If the diet isn’t well-balanced or the consumer hasn’t organised in their intakes or meal preparations, they may encounter nutrient deficiencies. It’s important to always work with a trusted health professional before making any dietary changes.
With any dietary changes a transition to a new diet requires some organisation and planning to ensure meals a nutritionally balanced and satiating.
Eating out or take-away options may be limiting.

How do Plant-Based Meal Services work?

Like all meal delivery services, there are options for a one-off order which usually will include a delivery charge due to the smaller order portion. Otherwise, alternatively, you can choose a higher quantity of meals for a smaller cost per meal incentive with often a free delivery motivation too. On the other hand, some businesses will include meal options for a lunch or dinner selection only – whilst others include breakfast and snack options too to cater to the entire day of intake. This service option could be more suitable to those with a highly demanding work schedule that can’t account for shopping and food preparation times and need a quick, reliable food option. Once your order has been processed often there is no obligation to continue for another week of orders, it’s often left in the consumer’s discretion to reorder when needed.

Key factors when comparing Plant-Based Meals companies

When choosing the right plant based meal delivery service, consider the following factors:

Is the meal is inclusive of animal products or vegan/vegetarian

Depending on your diet preferences, not all plant-based food options are restrictive. If you are looking for a plant-based diet excluding animal products you may need to refine your search.

Protein

It is important to ensure meals contain adequate protein throughout meals. Where there may be typically an animal product for protein, ensure there is a plant-based source. This will ensure you meet recommended daily intakes and keep satiated between meals.

Energy vs quantity

Often vegetables and fruits are naturally lower in calories which can equate to bigger portion allowances also known as volume eating. However, it is important to consider some plant-based sources can be quite energy-dense such as oils, avocados, nuts when consumed in larger portions. Always check the labels to understand and compare requirements that are best suited for you i.e. If you require larger calorie intakes due to increased exercise loads you may need to add to meals to meet your individual needs.

Are you paying more for a plant-based meal?

Just because a meal is labelled plant-based doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be paying more for it. Often enough plant-based meals are less costly in comparison to those with animal products. Compare companies on their price per product to get the best deals for you.

Plant-Based Meals FAQs

What are the most important nutrients to consider when transitioning to a plant-based diet?

A few nutrients to consider when eliminating or limiting animal products such as dairy, eggs at meat in the diet include iron, calcium, vitamin D and b12 {Tuso, 2013}. It is still very possible to avoid nutrient deficiencies when following a well-balanced plant-based diet, before making any changes it’s important to always consult with a trusted health professional before implementing any dietary or health changes.

What is some animal-free protein sources?

Despite popular belief protein deficiency in plant-based diets aren’t as common as they are talked about. Protein is made up of amino acids which are found incomplete structures within animal products, they are also in plant-based foods such as whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes – however, they aren’t structurally complete {Hoffman and Falvo 2004}. Adequate protein is available among plant-based proteins and often comes down to the distribution and variety of different sources of foods within a day’s dietary intake (Tuso, 2013). The inclusion of a variety of plant-based proteins in the diet are important due to the range of different nutrients that are beneficial to the body, but also due to the amino acid profile of plants. As plants don’t have the whole amino acid profile like an animal-based protein has, the body relies on several sources throughout the day to receive the essential amino acids needed {Hoffman and Falvo 2004}. As far as the availability on the market there is a huge demand for plant-based protein sources such as soy-based protein sources such as tempeh, tofu and edamame. These soy-based protein sources are not only a great source of protein but provide iron and calcium to meals too. Newer to shelves are ‘mock meat’ products, these have become popular but not without a little push and shove in the industry. This can be due to marketing efforts trumping it as the ‘healthier’ option – like all food products consumers need to check the nutritional information before buying. Some concerns with consumers lie in the extensive ingredient lists and often a high sodium content in the mock meat products {Ishamri et al. 2020}.

Are there any plant-based meal kits in Australia?

Currently, there aren’t any meal kits marketed as plant-based but considering the flexibility of the diets nature you can lean into a vegetarian meal kit from HelloFresh. The vegetarian box highlights seasonal vegetables in their recipes to still bring consumers options that meat eater would enjoy such as tacos, burgers and curries with plant-based protein options. The vegetarian kit is $4.40/serving with flexible meal subscriptions available.

Are plant-based meal delivery subscriptions worth it?

The worthiness of meal delivery subscriptions can lie within a few considerable aspects:

Time – There is the bonus of eliminating time shopping and planning meals out. Consumers jump online browse menus and select food options they wish to eat throughout the week. If there is a recipe that is a family favourite, there are favourited options that allow for easy reordering too.

Convenience – Like many busy Australians sometimes taking the thought out of meals and investing your time elsewhere is just the more convenient option.

Finance – Sometimes opting for a meal kit can be a more financially sound choice especially when feeding families. Prices per serve become lesser when buying for more due to the ability companies have to bulk prepare and buy.

Nutritionally-Sound Choices – And lastly, sometimes people just lack the ‘know how’. Putting together meals can be stressful, feeding multiple people can be hard and knowing how to make nutritionally balanced meals is challenging for the average person. With meal kits, companies like HelloFresh have a team of professionals who design and sculpt menus with the intent of building well-balanced nutritional meals.

What are some plant-based food delivery Sydney services?

All options mentioned above are inclusive of Sydney delivery

What are some plant-based food delivery Brisbane services?

All options mentioned above are inclusive of Brisbane delivery

Content References

Australia, S. D. (2021). “Plant-based diets – Sports Dietitians Australia (SDA).”
https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/factsheets/fuelling-recovery/plant-based-diets/

Falvo, M. and Hoffman, J. (2004). “Protein – Which is Best?” J Sports Sci Med. 2004 Sep; 3(3): 118–130.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905294/

Ishamri Ismail, Y.-H. H. a. S.-T. J. (2020). “Meat analog as future food: a review.” J Anim Sci Technol. 2020 Mar; 62(2): 111–120.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7142285/

Tuso, P. J. (2013). “Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets.” from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/

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