Diet catering is an alternative to home cooking and a recent discovery. More and more people order ready-made meals for the whole day with delivery to their home or work. What are the pros and cons of this type of diet?
Box diet: who uses it?
Contrary to appearances, box diets are used not only by those who struggle with extra kilos. Slimming people account for about 60% of all contracting parties. He althy eating is becoming important for an increasing number of Poles, but they simply do not have time to take care of it. In addition, they lack the knowledge about proper diet balancing. Others, due to he alth problems, must follow an elimination diet with different proportions of nutrients than those in the general nutritional recommendations.
In such a situation it is difficult to become an expert on the border of dietetics and medicine at the same time. The last group that reaches for a boxed diet are those who want to become vegetarians or vegans, but are afraid that composing the menu on their own will result in a shortage of important ingredients, especially proteins and vitamins.
And so the overworked, sick and seekers of new flavors become clients of catering companies that have taken over large cities in Poland (there are about 130 companies in Warsaw, over 50 in Kraków and Poznań), and recently they are launching deliveries to these smaller. How to choose the right one in this thicket of offers?
Box diet: general assumptions
The Food and Nutrition Institute (IŻŻ) recommends that fruit and vegetables should be the basis of everyday nutrition. They should constitute at least 50% of what we eat during the day (in the proportions: 3/4 vegetables, 1/4 fruit). Next, he recommends cereal products, dairy products, and finally meat, fish and fats.
Such proportions are included in the Pyramid of He althy Nutrition and Physical Activity created by experts. However, hardly anyone has time to follow these rules and prepare fresh salads every day, when there is a vending machine with bars and s alty snacks nearby, or there is a fast food restaurant.
By choosing a box diet, you will get meals for the whole day at dawn. They are delivered to the address indicated - homeor to work. Prepared, measured out, just open the box and eat; some need to be reheated, e.g. in a microwave oven. It saves a lot of time and the biggest advantage of catering.
Sometimes dietitians also offer a box diet, but in this case it usually consists in the fact that meals described in detail in the diet by a dietitian have to be made on your own, and then you can pack them conveniently in boxes and take them for work or university.
Box diet: surprise effect
What palate delights await amateurs of ready-made meals in boxes? There is no point in looking for an ordinary broth or pork chop, although some companies also prepare home-made dishes. As a rule, these are meals of various flavors, interesting texture and many colors. The point is for the dish to be appetizing and expressive in taste, even when there is little of it.
Green avocado paste, roasted turkey roll stuffed with spinach, pumpkin muffins or a salad of rocket, cherry tomatoes and black sesame look fabulously colorful. Much more enticing than a homemade cheese sandwich or plain porridge.
For some people, dietary catering is an opportunity to try things that they do not reach for on a daily basis or did not even know about their existence. Not everyone knows how to prepare Jerusalem artichoke (a vegetable that resembles potatoes), or with what to serve tempeh (fermented soybeans that can be a meat substitute). Supporters of the box diet often say they like this element of surprise when they discover in the morning what they will eat during the day.
They consciously do not check the menu for the coming days, although catering companies publish them on their websites. Some even believe that posting the menu one month in advance means that the company does not try to save by using discounted promotions, but has a pre-planned meal schedule, which makes them better balanced and thoughtful.
Box diet: pre-selection
For many people, the downside of boxed diets is the high price. That is why they first look for the cheapest offer (e.g. in the cateromarket.pl comparison engine). However, it is better to start your search with other parameters. If you suffer from any disease (diabetes, celiac disease, Hashimoto's, SIBO, ZJD - irritable bowel syndrome, heart disease) or food intolerances (gluten, lactose), the choice is simple.
Browse he alth diet offers and choose the one that takes into account your ailments. Pay attention to whether the menu has been prepared by a dietitian, look for information about this person. Mostly catering companiesone test day can be ordered at a slightly lower price. Use this option and check how the body will react, whether the meals will be filling, how they will be packed (better vacuum-packed ones).
If you need to control the caloric content and nutrient proportions of your meals due to medication or lifestyle (e.g. sports training), choose a company that lists this information on each box rather than in bulk on a website or a loose piece of paper included to the package. You'll know how much protein, carbohydrate and fat you eat with each dish.
Examine photos of meals carefully. Not only those posted on the catering company's website, but also those posted by customers. You can serve 300 kcal in the form of a fresh salad, a he althy red bean cake or a thick smoothie, but you can also serve ham rolls filled with cheese.
If you know that it will be difficult for you to persevere without your favorite dishes, look for catering that serves he althier versions of them - pizza with wholemeal bottom, burgers in rye roll, buckwheat pancakes. Perhaps you will find that they are just as tasty.
Some catering companies have started professional athletes who know best that a balanced diet helps control body weight.
Box diet: different variants
Catering companies usually offer from several to several dozen variants of a diet with different calorific value (1000-4000 kcal). It is worth paying attention to how many meals this portion is spread over. Better if there are five of them, but then they will be smaller.
The customer is responsible for choosing the calorific value and type of diet. Some companies offer consultation with a dietitian (in person, online, by phone) in order to choose the best variant of the menu and caloric value. Sometimes there is a short questionnaire on the website, thanks to which you can determine the daily requirement based on age, weight, height, gender and clarify expectations - for example, someone wants to lose weight, but at the same time work on their muscles.
Here are some of the options on offer:
- Standard.Basic diet, i.e. based on classic guidelines and valuable products, called optimal, model, varied, varied, etc. Sometimes these are simply popular he althy diets recommended by experts , i.e. Mediterranean or DASH.
- Slimorreduction . This is an option for those who want to lose weight. It is worth remembering that the use of a low-energy 1000 kcal diet should be monitored by a dietitian!
- Fit ,activeorsport . Made forvery active people. Amateurs and professionals. These are usually meals with a high caloric value of 1,800 kcal upwards.
- Vegetarian . In order to start the adventure with a vegetarian diet in a safe way and eliminate animal products from the menu, it is not enough to exclude meat and fish, you have to replace them with something. The menu lists them for legumes, tofu, tempeh and dairy products.
- Vegan . The program completely excludes products of animal origin (meat, fish, eggs, dairy, honey). The menu is based on 5 product groups: whole grains, pulses, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.
- Detox . Most often, this type of diet is based on fresh juices and smoothies.
- Elimination . This could be a lactose-free (plant-based milk), gluten-free (if you have celiac disease, make sure that meals are prepared properly), no fish.
- For diabetics . The menu is often dry, with occasional sweet meals. The diet contains foods with a low glycemic index (GI).
- For pregnant women . A properly balanced diet, rich in e.g. in folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for the baby.
Box diet: who won't work?
Why go to the store, buy all the ingredients, cook, wash when you can get it all ready, brought straight home or to work. Ordering catering seems to have many advantages, but it doesn't work for everyone.
- You can't help but snack. As a rule, you shouldn't eat anything more than what is delivered in the catering package.
- You have your favorite flavors. The meals in catering are delicately seasoned, and for many people they may be uns alty, not very expressive in taste. They are often sprinkled with parsley, dill, black cumin and sesame seeds. If you don't eat such additives and have favorite versions of the dishes, don't experiment.
- You travel a lot. If your boss assigns you business trips overnight, it will be difficult to adjust the dates of catering deliveries so that nothing is wasted.
Box diet: estimated cost
As a rule, the price depends on how long we order the diet and what calorific value we have chosen. The higher it is, the more expensive it is. The average price of full board for one day is PLN 40-90. When ordering for a month, it may be lower by approx. PLN 3 per day. So for the whole month of ready meals we will pay PLN 1,200-2800.
It is worth checking in the price list if transport is included in this price. Some companies add it separately depending ondistance or only if the delivery is not within the city limits. Companies are happy to give discounts for ordering at least two sets to the same address.
People who like to start their day with a family breakfast or often eat business dinners can order the menu "reduced" by one meal. Less popular diets, which require the modification of meals or their proper preparation, and therefore additional workload, are more expensive.
Diet can also be personalized depending on food preferences and he alth. You have to pay extra for excluding a product, such as allergenic nuts. In such a situation, it is worth checking if any of the companies already offers a diet without the given ingredient
Klaudia Wiśniewska, clinical dietitian, expert of the "Interactive for he alth" campaign
Choose wisely
Increasing the consumption of highly processed, high-energy and high-fat products, additionally rich in simple sugars, is recognized by the World He alth Organization as one of the causes of obesity. The increase in the consumption of highly processed products with low nutritional value - containing a small amount of vitamins, nutrients and dietary fiber important for our he alth - leads to an increase in adipose tissue, and this also plays a significant role in the development of civilization diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, some cancers, atherosclerosis or arterial hypertension. Busy people often reach for such meals because they are cheap, readily available, but not necessarily he althy.
A well-chosen catering diet (caloric content consulted with a dietitian) can be a good solution not only for people who are slimming or busy, but also for athletes. However, it should not be based on various types of elimination diets (e.g. juice diet) or sports diets (e.g. ketogenic or paleo diets), but rationally composed and wholesome, based on all groups of food products. Eliminations of individual products should only be made if there are he alth indications (e.g. celiac disease or lactose intolerance).
Box diet: tricks in the regulations
Take a moment to read it completely. Check if the company offers deliveries at specific times, or if you have a chance to specify only the preferred delivery time, e.g. between 6 and 7. It may turn out that, for example, after holidays, when customers arrive, you will get your parcel, but only before 10 am according to the regulations, there will be a limit for the acceptable delivery time.
Pay attention to whether you have meal swapping options - some companies give severaloptions to choose from. Determine whether you can change the delivery address during your purchased period. Will you receive meals for the entire weekend on Friday or are they delivered seven days a week.