Exercising more, eating less treats, eating fewer ready-made meals and increasing fruit and veg intake amongst the most common better choices we intend to make in 2022 according to SPAR
- New study places a spotlight on Ireland’s most popular foods and exercise habits as the nation gets set to make better choices for healthier lifestyles
- The nation’s favourite breakfast foods have been revealed, with porridge taking first place
- A soup and sandwich combination is our ‘go-to’ lunch this year
- The traditional roast dinner is Ireland’s most treasured meal out of all homemade dinners
- When opting for a take-away, the country’s favourite choice is a Chinese
Olympic gold medallist and SPAR ambassador Kellie Harrington, who has risen to the top of her game by making better choices day after day, today helped launch SPAR’s Better Choices 2022 campaign, with a wide range of healthy choices available now in SPAR stores nationwide.
SPAR Better Choices was designed to help the nation choose the best foods for a healthy and balanced lifestyle. SPAR has also carried out research to find out what better choices Irish shoppers are planning to make this year as well as revealing the nation’s favourite foods.
Reasons For Making Better Choices Revealed
The study has found that 98% of Irish people plan to make better choices when it comes to looking after themselves in 2022. The main reason for wanting to make better choices was to improve overall health and quality of life, with 44% saying they will prioritise making changes to their diet and eating habits, while a further 44% plan to increase physical activity levels and 12% say they will prioritise their mental health.
The better choices that people intend to make this year include, exercising more (73%), eating less treats and snacks (61%), eating more fresh food (54%) and eating more fruit and vegetables (53%).
Plans to Turn Vegetarian or Vegan?
A quarter of all adults plan to eat less meat in 2022 but only 2% intend on turning vegan and 1% will go vegetarian this year.
The Nation’s Favourite Foods
New research released by SPAR has also revealed the nation’s favourite foods. Porridge has been voted as our favourite breakfast (31%) ahead of eggs (20%), toast (17%) and cereal (17%). The classic soup and sandwich combo is the nation’s favourite lunch, with half of respondents choosing it over a salad (22%) or toastie (31%). Ireland’s treasured roast dinner was voted the favourite homemade dinner of choice according to over a third of the population ahead of lasagne (16%), chicken curry (14%), spaghetti bolognese (11%) or fish (11%).
And finally, the much-loved Chinese (32%) is Ireland’s most popular takeaway treat ahead of a chipper (20%), an Indian (18%) as well as Thai and pizza (both 15%).
Created in partnership with dietitian Ellen Roche in 2016, SPAR’s Better Choices programme has evolved year on year to carefully select the finest products and give customers guidance on choosing the best foods for their lifestyle while on the move. Available now in more than 400 SPAR stores across Ireland, the range of Better Choices products are easily identifiable by its in store signage.
SPAR ambassador Kellie Harrington is a busy athlete who appreciates the importance of a healthy balanced diet. Speaking at the campaign launch, she said; ‘I am someone who is always on the move and I know that it can sometimes feel hard to make healthy choices when life feels so busy. SPAR’s Better Choices range is the perfect solution to this, making healthier food and favourite snack choices available across Ireland, without sacrificing on flavour and taste. Look for the Better Choices signage in SPAR stores and this will help you choose nourishing and healthy foods for yourself and your family.’
SPAR Sales Director, Colin Donnelly, added: “At SPAR we are committed to providing our customers with the best product offerings across our stores. Our aim is to provide healthy and nourishing food choices to our customers and to give peace of mind in knowing that they can always rely on SPAR to have a great choice of healthier options in store.”
