Fresh Start for diet-conscious
My Food Bag expands into weight-loss menus
Sumac sesame chicken, cumin spiced beef and Moroccan baked fish are just some of the dishes on Nadia Lim’s new menu, designed specifically for Kiwis wanting to lose weight.
Lim and her business partners are expanding the My Food Bag empire once again, launching the new Fresh Start programme, with a specific focus on weight management.
“It stemmed from what people were asking for,” explains Lim. “There’s a lot of people that want to lose weight. We thought, ‘Well, we can help these people do that’.”
The range, developed by Lim and her team of My Food Bag nutritionists, will combine portion control and healthier cooking techniques to deliver meals that are 450 calories or less.
“The whole world of weight loss is a complicated one and so many people have differing opinions on it. There’s so many fad diets out there and lots of confusing information,” says Lim.
“What we thought was really going to help people was to pare that back and make it as simple as possible. The actual truth is when you boil it all down, weight loss can be simple.”
The secret, she says, is making it convenient, which is what Fresh Start aims to do. “Everyone knows what they should be doing to lose weight. But it’s having the tools and putting it into practice that counts.”
Fresh Start allows users to choose from one of three plans, ranging from 1200 calories a day to 1800 calories a day, depending on their level of daily activity. You can also choose between a 10-meal plan (providing five dinners for two people) or a 20-meal plan (providing five days of dinner and lunch for two people).
“When I was working as a dietitian, lunch was a major pain point,” Lim explains. “If you’re serious about losing weight, you have to do dinners properly and think about lunch as well.”
Priced from $159.99 per week, the range features more vegetables and lean proteins than other My Food Bag offerings and lower levels of carbohydrates. It also excludes all refined sugar. The website also includes tips on how to get moving and recipes for healthier meals.
The Fresh Start range is the latest in the My Food Bag empire, founded by Lim and entrepreneur Cecilia Robinson in 2012, and now worth more than $100 million. It comes a year after the launch of Bargain Box, designed for more budget-conscious families.