Iso-chef star on fresh Aussie food crusade

Growcom, the peak industry body for Queensland horticulture, has announced a new collaboration with iso-chef internet sensation Nat’s What I Reckon, as a part of its national healthy eating campaign, Eat Yourself to Health.

Endless research has shown us that a varied diet with lots of high-fibre, plant-based foods can boost our gut health and help to prevent disease. But recent dietary surveys have revealed that the majority of Australians are still eating less than half of the recommended intake of at least five serves of vegetable and two serves of fruit per day.

The Eat Yourself to Health campaign encourages all Australians to “eat up” and “branch out” by increasing their consumption of fresh foods and start introducing into their diet fruits, vegetables and nuts they wouldn’t normally eat.

Richard Shannon, Growcom’s Manager Policy & Advocacy, says that Nat’s What I Reckon’s war against processed food and love of fresh Australian produce makes him the perfect match for the Eat Yourself to Health campaign.

“Queensland is fortunate to have an abundance of amazing, high-quality fresh produce that’s packed with vitamins and nutrients that can aid in naturally boosting your immune system,” Shannon says. “Looking after our health has never been more important, which is why we’re encouraging all Australians to eat up and branch out.

“We look forward to bringing the Australian public some fantastic content through this collaboration as we work to establish real dietary behaviour changes among Australians, well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Nat says that when he saw that fresh produce was being left on shelves during COVID-19 panic buying, he declared a war on packaged food and began challenging people to get back into cooking fresh produce. His expletive-laden videos that rail against processed and packaged foods while demonstrating easy ways to cook fresh meals has made him a social media star, with more than 260,000 YouTube followers, 390,000 Instagram followers and almost 1.5 million Facebook followers to date.

“We’re super happy to be working with the champions at Growcom to encourage people to eat more fruit, vegies and nuts – it’s bloody good gear, so I reckon get it into ya,” he says.

Since the initial launch of the campaign, Australians have been connecting via Facebook and Instagram and branching out by cooking with a wide variety of produce.

You can join the conversation today via social media on Facebook and Instagram or use the hashtag #EatYourselfToHealth. A website has also been established with a variety of resources and information for consumers on how to boost their health through increased intake of fruits, vegetables and nuts. The Eat Yourself to Health campaign is funded by the Queensland Government under the #eatqld initiative.