Latest news with #DinnerHeroes
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Death of the dining table: Why Aussies are choosing to eat elsewhere
The dining table has become a point of contention as more Aussies choose to eat their meals in other places around the home. Only 54 per cent of Australians eat at the dining table most often, Dinner Heroes survey found. Of that, Boomers were most likely to participate in more formal dining, closely followed by families with both young and older children. The survey conducted for Australia's number one online cooking resource found 27 per cent of people eat their dinner while seated on the couch, while 10 per cent don't make it past the kitchen bench. A quarter of people living in share houses, and 19 per cent of those living at home with family, choose to eat in their bedrooms. Senior Lecturer in Public Health Dr Catharine Flemming said young people eating in their bedrooms is a product of their addiction to devices, but also the stage of life they are in where 'independence and autonomy starts to creep in'. 'But then it almost becomes an important teachable moment for parents to say 'hey devices away, this is dinner time, we are all going to have dinner together, we're all going to sit down',' Dr Flemming told 'Because evidence also shows just reaching out from a wellbeing perspective to children in that mealtime is really important to see their mental health, as well as their nutrition. 'It's a moment where we can pause (and say), 'hey, how's your day?' 'We are all busy. It's no one's fault, we are all busy and it's just hard but it might be good for families to say 'not every night but at least three times a week, we are going to have a family meal and sit down together'.' Dr Flemming, from Western Sydney University, said while eating dinner together at a dining table is optimal, reality is not everyone these days has room for a dining table. 'With downsizing, everything is shrinking, so we are losing that connectivity of that family meal time, which is best around a table if possible,' Dr Flemming said. 'But even if you don't have that space, you might be in a small inner-city apartment – at least turn the TV the off. 'You might be sat on the lounge or at the bench … even sit on the floor with cushions if you don't have a space for a table but that coming together is what is important'. Screens have become second nature at dinner, with 76 per cent of respondents watching television or a streaming service while eating. Those who eat alone are the most regular TV watchers at 45 per cent closely followed by Boomers at 43 per cent. One in five young people are the most likely to be scrolling on an electronic device while eating dinner. Leading renovation expert Cherie Barber said the results come as no surprise. 'The dining room is on life support – if not six foot under already,' Ms Barber told '(It) has now become like a museum piece for a couple of reasons: first of all, we just all lead super busy, digital lives these days. 'A lot of people spend a large portion of their time each day on all of those various channels,' she said. 'If you're working a full-time job and then you go home, most people are scrolling, they're checking out what their friends are doing, they might be watching Netflix or looking at the latest thing on TikTok – so this old tradition of sitting around the table with your family has almost died because of the busy digital lives that we lead.' With many Aussies living in smaller homes now due to housing affordability, there has been a rise in multifunctional spaces, Ms Barber said. 'It is a real luxury to have a formal dining room, and so people are not okay to have a dining table sitting in a room that's only used once a week, or potentially never,' she said. 'Those dining room rooms are now being converted for the most part to home offices with a lot more people working from home these days. 'Space is at a premium.' The Space Invaders star believes furniture is another driving force behind the switch. 'The reality is our couches are comfier these days (and) a lot of people have big screen TVs in almost every room,' she said. 'Before we used to sit at the dining table as a family and eat, but these days, because our furniture is so comfortable and more multifunctional it's made the dining table a very redundant piece of furniture in your house. 'A formal dining chair just doesn't compete with a really plush couch or a bed in a lot of cases.' Ms Barber said it was at least 15 to 20 years ago since she last designed a formal dining room in one of her projects. 'There's big design shifts going on as well … it's not unusual to see a big island bench now that has six dining chairs or six stools built under the kitchen island bench,' she added. 'We're definitely a nation that is leaning more towards casual dining rather than formal dining.' Wherever you are eating your dinner, the dinner experts at have teamed up Coles to create 20 brand-new, flavour-packed Dinner Heroes recipes that are quick, simple and delicious.
NZ Herald
30-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Fresh produce tops survey as Australia's favourite supermarket aisle
Australians have revealed their go-to aisle in the supermarket, and the results may surprise you. It's a place every shopper knows all too well – the aisles of their local supermarket. But which one is Australia's favourite? According to Dinner Heroes survey, the fresh fruit and vegetable aisle has
News.com.au
16-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Great gender divide playing out in kitchens across the country
It's the great gender divide playing out in kitchens across the country. When it comes to cooking dinner – the burden of preparing the nightly meal still overwhelmingly falls on women. The Dinner Heroes survey conducted by the Growth Intelligence Centre (GIC) found 72 per cent of women said they are solely responsible for cooking family dinners, compared with 49 per cent of men who said it fell on them. But it's Aussie dads who are rising to the occasion – with two in five saying they are solely responsible, and almost the same amount saying they share nightly cooking duties. And for Senior Lecturer in Public Health Dr Catherine Fleming, that is music to her ears. 'The family unity and the family dynamic are so important to having children learn to eat well and grow well,' Dr Fleming from Western Sydney University told 'There is so much evidence to show that that modelling (of children seeing their parents cooking) and especially coming from the dads is so important in helping a really healthy wellbeing environment within the home, which can contribute to lots of long-term health outcomes for these families that cook together, eat together, nourish together. 'For me, that's a fundamental part of learning and modelling those healthy skills,' Dr Fleming said. 'And young boys can see that 'hey Dad can cook really well, he is cooking great food that we can all eat and all share'. 'It doesn't just sit on the mum to then also choose a meal prep,' Dr Fleming said. 'I think it's a really important thing they get involved. If the dad's cooking he's probably planned what they're going to eat, shopped in the shops and got something on the way home. 'So seeing that whole process and understanding that process is really important for young girls and boys alike to see that dad's contributing and it's a family unit that's really sitting down to eat that meal. 'Food isn't just something that we eat that has no purpose in life. it plays a major role for all of us in the family,' she said. While an overwhelming number of Australians (85 per cent) agreed sharing meals is important, the survey found just over half eat at the dining table, while more than a quarter said the couch was where they ate dinner most often. One in five Gen Zers – those aged between 13 and 28 – who lived at home with their parents said they often ate their dinner in their bedrooms, with one in four living in four living in a share house said they did the same. Social researcher, author and Gen Z expert Dr Claire Madden said where families once gathered around the TV, technology now is so individualised. 'Gen Z is that one generation that has grown up on individualised devices and are accustomed to being in their own virtual world 24/7,' Dr Madden told 'It's the shift from when the TV was at the centre of the family home. 'But what we need to be aware of is that young people are craving connection and meaningful connection, and being on their devices is not satisfying deeper human connections,' Dr Madden said. Dr Madden said it was up to all of us to 'help shape the family culture' that we want, and can do this by encouraging putting away devices at meal times. 'What we need to consider is actually healthy disconnecting because these young people may not be aware of the process of what it took to make that meal,' she said. 'We can change these patterns in our households. We can say no devices during dinner. You can have it before and after dinner. 'You can take it in turns cooking and participating in the preparation … create an offline experience that is more fulfilling and engaging'. She said cooking and meal prepping are a great way to build connections between generations and give Gen Zers the deeper connections they crave. Dr Madden said young Australians like 'tactile, hands-on learning and cooking is an excellent way that produces results they can measure and see'. 'They can then take pictures of what they've cooked and share it online and on social media and show their achievement'. And when it came to time spent in the kitchen, the survey found one in four Aussies spent one to two hours cooking dinner each week, with a third (29 per cent) of Gen Z and Millennials admitting to spending between three and four hours a week cooking. The survey of 2083 Australians found Aussies have three or four go-to meals they cook each week, with one in five Gen Zers and Millennials more likely to cook something new for dinner two times a week, compared with 13 per cent of Gen Xers and 15 per cent of Boomers. The dinner experts at have teamed up with Coles to create 20 brand-new, flavour-packed Dinner Heroes recipes that are quick, simple and delicious. 'Some meals actually taste better the next day once the flavours mellow … think curries, stews, tomato-based sauces and soups,' Digital Food Director Amira Georgy told 'There are so many benefits to freezing meals, the biggest is that it saves you so much time and effort. On busy weeknights, having a ready-made meal to pull from the freezer is a godsend. It eliminates the need for last-minute cooking or resorting to expensive (and often less healthy) takeaway,' Ms Georgy said. One in four women and almost one in five men said they spent less than 15 minutes eating dinner, while unsurprisingly families with children under 12 said they spend between 30 and 45 minutes.
