Mealworms For Meal Prep: Why I've Been Eating Insects For The Last 4 Months

If you are what you eat, call me "the future."

Crickets, mealworms, ants. Over the past eight years, the Aussie media industry has taken a keen interest in these insects. Why? Well, because they believe that such beasties could soon be your go-to snack.

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Back in 2015, Broadsheet called these critters, "The future of food." Meanwhile, three years later, SBS Food asked, "Are Australians ready yet to embrace ants, crickets and locusts for dinner?" What’s more, the likes of ABC Everyday, The New Daily, and The Daily Mail have also grappled with this subject.  

Yet, despite the fact that gobbling up insects has been lauded by the media, this source of protein hasn’t taken off. The average Aussie isn’t having a big bowl of crickets each and every breakfast.

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With all of this in mind, why does the media love the idea of us eating insects? And why is "the future of food" still a lifetime away?

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Well, from March until November, I made a few types of insects a part of my regular diet. I wanted to get down to the bottom of these two mysteries.

Joel Burrows

G’day, I’m Joel Burrows. Let’s recap of a buckwild couple of months.

Smash cut: August 14. The first day of my insect-eating escapade. I had just received a fresh box of insects from the good people at Circle Harvest. And I was ready to dive the heck in.

Joel Burrows

Who’s Circle Harvest? Oh, just a company that’s been leading the insect farming charge since 2007. When it comes to this practice in Australia, they have the most skin the game.

Which brings us to my first meal — Circle Harvest’s Saltbush and Rosemary Mealworms. No, I didn't chow down on handfuls of these survivalist-style. Instead, I incorporated them into a fried rice dish.

Joel Burrows

After all, the point of these meals isn't to inspire shock and awe. The point of these meals is to learn if I could incorporate eating these critters into my everyday life.  

So, how was my first bite? Well, to be honest, it was scrumptious. The mealworms were salted up with an earthy aftertaste.

Joel Burrows

This insect balanced well against the simplicity of the rice, the fresh spring onion, and the crunch of some carrots. What’s more, they had a texture akin to a bag of chips, which was a surprise and delight. 

According to Skye Blackburn, an Entomologist and Food Scientist who created Circle Harvest, these mealworms aren’t just delicious. They are also a sustainable form of protein, compared to traditional types of meats.

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"From the very beginning of our journey, we knew that we wanted to make farming our mini-livestock as sustainable as possible," Blackburn told me in an interview. "We circle fruit and vegetable waste from food production processing back into our food system as feed for our insects."

"Because we are using fruit and vegetable waste as feed for our insects, we are saving lots of resources in our food chain, including water. By replacing just one meat-based meal a week with a meal that uses crickets as your source of protein, you can save over 100,000 litres of water every year."

After this convo with Blackburn wrapped up, a culinary whirlwind took place. A whirlwind that lasted for months.

Joel Burrows

We’re talking salted cricket corn chips. We’re talking cricket granola with Froot Loops. We’re talking insect-based cookies. We’re talking meals of mealworms. The list goes on and on.  

However, this adventure wasn’t all fun and games. Tragically, Circle Harvet’s Cricket Protein Powder was feral.

Joel Burrows

When I blended it with some milk and blueberries, I somehow created a cesspit of despair. It wasn’t creamy, it wasn’t fresh, it was an avalanche of mud. If you’re a fan of loving your life, I cannot recommend such a product.

Fortunately though, my insect adventure ended on a peak. ‘Cause the last meal I had was tyrant ants covered in lemon-lime lollies.

Joel Burrows

They were sweet but also a tad peppery. I basically ate this bag in one sitting. What a moment to be alive.  

Smash cut: November 22. It’s now been a week since I’ve wrapped up my insect-eating escapade. So, would I do something like this again? Will I make insects a regular part of my diet?

Joel Burrows

Spoilers: Yes, 1000% yes. I’m still enjoying cricket protein cookies to this very day.

Joel Burrows

Let me get real, the Australian media landscape has been correct to laud our insect farming practices. Not only are most of these feeds delicious, they’re environmentally sustainable to create.

What’s more, most Aussies that I’ve chatted to about this experience also seem to be interested in dining on insects themselves.

Joel Burrows

The reason that they haven’t tasted crickets isn’t because there’s an ick factor, they haven’t tasted crickets because they didn’t know you could buy them ready-to-eat.

Apparently, a dozen or so insect-based articles isn’t enough to solidify mealworms as "the future of food." If we want such feeds to go mainstream, then more advocacy work must be done.

It’s worth noting though that there are several other challenges that our insect biz still has to overcome. For instance, despite the fact that the price of insects has remained relatively stable over the past few years, these feeds are still rather pricey.

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On Circle Harvest’s website, a 50-gram packet of cricket corn chips is $5.00. Likewise, a 20-gram satchel of mealworms is $15.00. At these prices, Circle Harvest’s products verge on being luxury goods. A luxury that some Aussies just can’t afford, especially during the cost of living crisis that’s munted the past few years.

Therefore, if you’re going to order some Circle Harvest products, I’d recommend getting a value pack. Not only do these deals give you a variety of meals, they’ll save you anywhere between $3.00 and $22.00, which is such a slay.

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If you want to review some Circle Harvest products for yourself, click the link here. Farewell, and good luck.