Our move to an entirely Plant-based meal range is a step forward in our journey to develop nutritional products of the highest quality. At Radix, our priority is to create products that optimise metabolic health and performance. In order to achieve this, we’ve worked through an extensive development process, taking into consideration the quality, nutrient density, flavour, texture, and convenience of every meal. During this development phase, we realised our plant-based products were outperforming our meat-based products in almost all key areas. This presented a dilemma, as we know that meat is considered a staple to many people’s diets and is included in some of our meals that are enjoyed by many customers. As a company, we have always created products that enhance health and performance as much as possible. We’re not against meat, but we had a decision to make when it came to letting it stand in the way of achieving a superior product range. After all, if you can have a plant-based meal that has higher nutritional quality, better taste, better texture, and is better for the environment, why would you still want meat included?

Using plant-based ingredients to optimise nutrient density

Here at Radix, we’re focused on making our meals as nutrient-dense and nutritionally complete as possible. This ensures we can reach our goal of optimising metabolic performance. To help us achieve this, we developed our RNA nutrient index to guide our product development. This represents a product’s overall nutritional value and ingredient diversity across a broad spectrum of 80+ nutrients, from macronutrients, micronutrients, pre and post biotics to a wide range of phytonutrients. During the development stage of version 8, we found that our plant-based meals were scoring far higher than our meat-based meals on the RNA nutrient index. This means for every calorie; you’re getting more of the essential nutrients that your body needs to perform. Plants naturally tend to be lower in calories and higher in nutrients, making them an obvious choice for achieving the highest possible nutrient density. We didn’t rule out meat as an ingredient to start with, we simply selected the best possible ingredients for version 8 meals based on their nutritional diversity and completeness.

The search for higher quality protein

Our focus on achieving the highest possible quality extends to all areas of nutrition, and protein is no exception. This was a major consideration for us when we were designing our new meal range. We wanted to find the highest quality protein source we could incorporate into our meals. To drive up the protein content of our meals, we use our Plant Protein DIAAS Complex 1.30 as a key ingredient. Made from precisely defined concentrations of yellow pea protein isolate and brown rice protein isolate, our Plant Protein Complex provides a complete amino acid profile with exceptionally high digestibility, scoring 1.30 on the DIAAS quality scale. This actually scores higher than meat protein sources and even traditional pure whey isolate, providing your body with uncompromised ingredients for muscle building and recovery. From a design standpoint, this was the best quality protein source we could find to use in our meals, meat-based or otherwise.

Better taste and texture from plants

One of our key design goals is to make our meals as tasty as possible, without sacrificing nutritional value or convenience. We use our advanced freeze-drying process to seal in nutrients and allow meals to be prepared in 5 minutes – just by adding water. Plant-based products tend to rehydrate a lot better than meat. Because of this, our plant-based meals can achieve a better texture and flavour profile, making each bite an even more enjoyable experience.

Our bold decision

With all this in mind, we felt we were facing a dilemma. Meat is considered by many as essential to their diet, whether it be due to habit, preference, or cultural or family norms.

However, during the development stage of version 8, we realised that our plant-based meals were higher in quality, more nutrient-dense, and better tasting, whilst simultaneously adhering to a broader range of dietary needs and sustainability/environmental practices. There was technically little reason to include meat-based meals in our new range, aside from adhering to what may be considered as “normal” practice. As a company, we’re not willing to let “normal” stand in the way of achieving excellence.

We’re not asking anyone to stop eating meat, we’re even meat-eaters ourselves. However, in the pursuit of absolutely maximising the quality of the meals we produce, meat is no longer an ingredient of choice.

This was a big decision, but as a result, our version 8 meals are our most technologically advanced and nutritionally complete meals yet. We stand by this decision with utmost confidence, but for the time being, you can still find our meat-based v7 meals on our website. Click here to shop this range.