A Week or Two In - My Takeaways

First off, I do not have a lot of expertise to work off here. I was using a bit of Soylent off and on before trying Huel. I’ve been fairly consistent this last week, having half a Huel meal in the morning for breakfast, and then a full one for lunch before dinner at home (sometimes I flip the last two depending on whether we have leftovers available for lunch or my wife is cooking). Compared to Soylent, the Huel is grittier, but more filling. It took me a while to get the hang of getting it mixed. I had difficulties with the first bottle they sent me leaking (they sent me another one), although I think some of it might be because I was removing the cap to add more water (protip: After you’ve added water, added Huel, and shook it up, you can just pour the remaining water in), so I was initially eating mine as a sort of porridge although the lumps were difficult to get to break up.

I like it. It fills me up (particularly when I refill the bottle (again, not removing the cap) with water to rinse it out and finish the last bits of it. You definitely do need to add some water first, because the powder very easily develops a protective layer, resulting in a clump at the bottom that just will not mix. I accidentally ordered only the Vanilla (I’d meant to get a mix). I’ll be trying to unflavored in December when my subscription renews. The vanilla doesn’t taste bad, but the sweetener left a bad aftertaste at first, although I think that might have been a water of the clumps concentrating it. One con with this compared to the Soylent is that, despite the grittiness of the shake, the powder clings to everything, meaning the area where I keep the bag and scoop always has a light dusting around it that has fallen off of the scoop. I had some minor bloating and gas at first, but they went away readily enough, probably a matter of my body adapting to a higher proportion of plant proteins and maybe a bit more fiber than I’m used to.

Still trying to convince myself on the price-point. I’m sure that $2 per meal is probably not far from the cost to make and ship the powder, and it’s peanuts compared to the $5+ for even a cheap lunch eating out, but well… I never really eat out much, so it still seems like a lot, particularly re-upping for multiple bags. I’m cheap. I know it.

Overall, very satisfied, not only with the product, but the prompt customer support.

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Oh, and by the by, the scoop/dust situation is ameliorated if you use metal scoops. Maybe the adhesion is the result of static electricity.

Food cost may depend on where you live. I could probably budget a month’s food for cheaper than a month of Huel. However, I think I would find it quite difficult to come up with comparable nutrition while undercutting their cost.

When looking to make a single meal for one, it is also not easy to beat Huel’s cost.

That all said, if you have have specific ideas for cheap eating, I’d be interested to hear them.

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:slight_smile: More along the lines of that my wife has a food budget. Items outside of it are paid for out of discretionary money that we set aside from our paychecks. Add to that that, if I don’t eat the leftovers, they wind up molding because she quickly tires of the same food…

My unflavored Huel shipment came in. I first used it as a mix with that and the vanilla and it’s just about right. This morning, I did the completely unflavored and it is very bland. I had already made my brewed coffee, so I didn’t try adding instant so I might try that next time. Otherwise, I’ll probably move forward with half-and-half orders.

I still have a bag and a half from my original orders because my breakfast consumption was down (stressful times at work… I felt less inclined to eat something in the morning) and because we’ve had a lot of leftovers that I need to consume for lunch (it’s a bit easier for my wife to cook larger recipes which are typically built for four people, but she’s not great at eating the leftovers). :slight_smile: Too much isn’t always a bad problem.

Glad to hear you’re finding a Huel concoction that works for you! Nothing wrong with sticking to 50/50 if that’s the best for your taste. Keep it up, Sean and don’t let the work stress keep you from taking care of yourself. :blush:

Just to update, instant coffee makes the unflavored taste just fine, so that’s how I’m doing most mornings.

One other thing I’m encountering in the winter months, I’m one of those people who’s easily chilled if they drink cold drinks. Because the Huel only seems to blend properly with cold water (I’ve experimented a bit with heating the water first to closer to body temperature and it clumps and clots), I’m left with the situation where I’m shivering by the time I’ve finished my bottle, necessitating an immediate warm drink to bring me back to normal.

Oh, and I received a Blender Bottle ™ for Christmas. That little metal ball thing does seem to help a lot for mixing things up, although it still does nothing if you absent-mindedly add the Huel before you add the water.

I’ve had success doing the first mix with cold/cool/tap water then adding hot to top it off to result in a warm mixture.

I my case that means 400ml water + 3 scoops, shake, then add another 100+ ml of hot water. Convenient when you have a coffee maker with a hot-water spout or some other easy source of hot water. If you don’t have that then microwaving is probably easier tbh.

While mixing with hot is disadvantaged, I have had plenty of success with room temperature water which could help over “cold” water.