Latest news with #plantbased
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Simple diet change could improve your cholesterol levels, research finds
Research from King's College London indicates that consuming a diverse range of 11 different plant-based foods daily is associated with improved health. The study found that a varied plant diet, including fruits, vegetables, pulses, herbs, spices, and oils, led to better cholesterol levels, blood sugar markers, and overall diet quality. Current UK dietary guidance often emphasises quantity, such as 'five-a-day', but the findings suggest that variety across all plant food groups is equally crucial for health. Participants with higher plant diversity in their diets also exhibited healthier lifestyles, including lower smoking rates, compared to those with less diverse diets. Experts advise incorporating a wider array of plant foods like legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices to enhance dietary diversity beyond just fruits and vegetables.
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- The Guardian
Picnic-perfect: Georgina Hayden's greek salad tart
Everything about this tart screams summer, from the cheery lines of sliced tomato to the ribbons of lemony cucumber. Eat a slice, shut your eyes and you will instantly be transported to the Aegean. Bake the tart ahead of time, because it's perfect served at room temperature. If I am taking it on a picnic, I like to tub up the cucumber ribbons separately, then squeeze over the lemon and crumble in the feta just before serving. Prep 10 min Cook 50 min Serves 6-8 If you have any plant-based eaters in the mix, use a non-dairy puff pastry and omit the feta. 400g ripe vine tomatoes Sea salt and black pepper500g puff pastry1 large egg, beaten1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced3 tbsp capers50g black olives, pitted and chopped1 tsp dried oregano Olive oil ½ cucumber, trimmed½ lemon, juiced 75g feta Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½ and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Finely slice the tomatoes with a sharp knife, so they are less than 5mm thick. Put them in a large colander, toss with a half-teaspoon of sea salt, and leave in the sink. Roll the puff pastry into a roughly 32cm × 25cm rectangle and score a border 2cm from the edge. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and brush the border with the beaten egg. Lay three or four rows of the sliced tomatoes inside the pastry border, and nestle in the slices of onion as you go. Scatter over the capers and chopped olives, sprinkle over half the dried oregano and drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the border is golden all over and nicely risen, then remove and leave to cool. To make the topping, peel the cucumber into ribbons with a vegetable peeler and put in a bowl. Season generously, squeeze over the lemon juice, then sprinkle in the remaining half-teaspoon of dried oregano, crumble in the feta, add a tablespoon of olive oil and toss well. Scatter the cucumber mix over the top of the cooled tart just before serving.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Beyond Meat (BYND) Shares Are Falling Today
What Happened? Shares of plant-based protein company Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) fell 3.9% in the morning session after the recent "meme stock" rally that had propelled its shares higher appeared to lose momentum. The stock had previously surged more than 20% in the prior week as part of a broader "meme stock" rally, where retail investors targeted highly shorted companies. However, that momentum appeared to reverse, bringing the company's fundamental challenges back into focus. Beyond Meat had been struggling with significant revenue declines, negative gross profit margins, and a heavy debt burden. Analysts had maintained a bearish outlook, with a consensus "Moderate Sell" rating on the stock. Adding to investor concerns, the company had previously withdrawn its financial forecasts for 2025, citing an "elevated level of uncertainty" about its business. The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Beyond Meat? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. What Is The Market Telling Us Beyond Meat's shares are extremely volatile and have had 49 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today's move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 5 days ago when the stock gained 5.1% as the company was caught up in a revival of the "meme stock" phenomenon, where retail investors coordinated on social media to buy heavily shorted stocks. Beyond Meat was one of several companies with high short interest that experienced a surge in buying activity. Short interest refers to the number of shares that have been sold short—a bet that the stock's price will fall—but have not yet been covered or closed out. The stock's move was attributed to speculative trading and social media hype rather than any new company-specific fundamentals. According to data analytics firm Ortex, about 38% of Beyond Meat's publicly available shares were in a short position, making it a prime target for a "short squeeze." A short squeeze happens when a rising stock price forces short sellers to buy back shares to limit their losses, which in turn pushes the stock price even higher. Beyond Meat is down 10% since the beginning of the year, and at $3.47 per share, it is trading 53.2% below its 52-week high of $7.40 from September 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Beyond Meat's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $27.62. Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
McDonald's India launches plant-based Protein Plus range
McDonald's India (West & South), managed by Westlife Foodworld, has unveiled a new offering, the Protein Plus range. It includes a 100% vegetarian, plant-based Protein Plus Slice, which adds 5g of protein to any burger. Its development has involved collaboration with the CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), part of the Ministry of Science and Technology, as reported by The Hindu. The slice is vegetarian, formed from soy and pea, and does not contain artificial colours or flavours. It is also free from onion and garlic, making it suitable for various dietary needs. Westlife Foodworld CEO Akshay Jatia stated: 'We have always believed in giving our customers more choice, and this time, we are giving them the power to personalise their protein intake. 'The Protein Plus range allows them to enjoy their favourite McDonald's burgers without compromising on their protein needs or the taste.' In conjunction with this launch, Swiggy has formed a partnership with McDonald's India (West & South) to offer the Protein Plus range of burgers exclusively on its platform from 24 July to 11 August 2025, as reported by Afaqs. Customers will be able to find these items in the high-protein section of the Swiggy app. The new burger range will be available in 58 cities across Western and Southern India, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Mysore. "McDonald's India launches plant-based Protein Plus range" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
I was inspired to lead by story of how under-performing submarine turned into best in show
Mark Cuddigan has been in his office for five hours and has yet to eat as he finally tucks into a lunchtime vegan sandwich. Eighteen months into his role as CEO at This, the plant-based alternative meat producer, Cuddigan, who is neither vegan nor vegetarian, sees himself as the ideal customer. 'I am passionate about people using business as a force for good,' he says. 'If we want to change what we eat for the benefit of animals and the environment, it's the flexitarians like me. And I've completely changed what I eat since I joined.' We are speaking following the launch of This's new plant-based 'Super Superfood' range, with more protein than tofu, high in fibre, minimally processed and one of your five a day. Read More: 'In our workplace, we look for passionate, slightly unhinged mountain climbers' Cuddigan hails the product as 'a genuine, huge innovation' following successful trials to 500 scientists, plant-based specialists and nutritionists in The Hague. It was several years in the making and Cuddigan is quick to point to the marketing nous of Andy Shovel for the trailblazing. Cuddigan was previously CEO of kids food brand Ella's Kitchen for six years and drove revenue from £41m to £100m before replacing dynamic co-founders Shovel and Pete Sharman at This, who had been co-CEOs since they launched the business in 2019. In an interview with Yahoo Finance UK in 2023, Shovel said that This had built its community 'by entertaining and surprising' thanks to guerilla marketing stunts. That philosophy shows no sign of abating with Cuddigan at the helm. 'We're quite a cheeky brand, but we want to be authentic at the same time,' he says. 'What we're doing is quite a serious subject, especially for Pete and Andy who were both vegans, but we try to do it in a funny way which no one else is doing.' Read More: 'I returned to my old office to sell ties after being made redundant' Cuddigan had been at Ella's Kitchen for 12 years in all, winning 50 awards during his time and, four years running, a Sunday Times top 100 company to work for. He says his move to the food tech innovator was three-fold: the one mile walk with his dog from home to office across London's Ravenscourt Park, the need to become a B Corp and creating a culture 'where people absolutely love coming to work.' 'When people leave here for whatever reason I want them to leave changed and demand more from wherever they're going," he adds. This stems from his time at Ella's Kitchen where he made a vow to himself and his team that he wouldn't make another single decision. It's also clear that best-selling leadership book Turn the Ship Around, which tells the story of a naval officer in charge of a US nuclear submarine, changed his outlook. 'I was inspired by David Marquet, who I got to know really quite well,' says Cuddigan. 'He'd never set foot on this type of submarine before. So he ripped up the naval rule book and did things differently. He turned the lowest-performing sub in the entire US Navy to the best. 'He talks about how in every other submarine there was one person making every single decision. All of his sailors who were experts in all of their areas were actively making their own decisions every day with each other. So he goes, 'I didn't have to tell them when we were up close to the enemy because they knew.'' I ask Cuddigan whether he would have read the book when he left university as a qualified tennis coach and semi-professional DJ, before investing in a nuts and snacks brand. 'I didn't know what I was capable of and didn't believe in myself,' he admits. Cuddigan is now setting his sights on turning a profit at a company which employs over 50 staff and has been historically loss-making. This has now reduced its product offering from over 100 to more than 40 and has stopped selling in the Netherlands to focus on its margins in the UK. Last year, This achieved its first positive gross profit of £2.2m, turnover grew to £18.3m and halved its operating losses. Read More: Meet Britain's 'king of billboards' who sold his business for £1bn Cuddigan, who is still nibbling on his vegan sandwich, then returns to Marquet's turnaround story at the helm of his submarine. 'If you've got one person making all these decisions, you're just going to make a mistake and forget something. In essence, he had created a whole generation of leaders,' he says. 'I came to This to build up this culture where everybody's making these decisions. It's the single biggest thing that will determine whether we're going to be successful as a business.' View from the top: Mark Cuddigan on… Leadership "Growing up, we used to go skiing as our one holiday abroad every year. I remember one day we got to the end of the day and I said to my dad, 'I'm so pleased, I'm the only person in the family who didn't fall over today.' Without missing a beat, he just turned and simply said, 'That's because you didn't try harder.' I remember being absolutely crestfallen, but much later I understood that by falling over and getting back up I learned more. I've taken that into my management style, by taking a step back, and realising that we're never going to be successful if we don't allow people to make mistakes." Read more: The boss who has found 'nature's answer to plastic' 'I had one good idea and turned it into a £3m voiceover and talent success' The life lesson behind a 335-year-old funeral business? 'Never sleep on an argument'
