Questions about Hot and Savory

#1

I noticed that when I eat H&S the whole flaxseeds are mostly passed undigested I was wondering how much this affects the amounts of ALA my body actually absorbs. Would H&S benefit from the flax seeds being crushed or ground? I would certainly feel better about it if Huel switched to ground flaxseeds in future versions. Maybe while they’re at it they could crush those black eyed peas in half or something. Those beans like to stay crunchy, at least the way I have been preparing it lately.

I would also like to know how H&S is made into an ‘instant’ food. Is it all boiled and then freeze dried? Are a significant amount of micronutrients lost during the dehydration process?

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#2

Out of curiosity, how long do you let it sit before consuming? I find that filling it halfway with water, stirring, letting it sit for 5 min then filling up the rest and letting it sit for another 5 min works better in terms of getting it nice and soft.

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#3

Lately, I’ve been bringing my water to a full boil, pouring the water on the huel, stirring the huel/water mixture thoroughly, covering the mixture, and letting it sit for 10 minutes before I eat it. I noticed if I add a little more water than the bag suggests the beans are a little softer, but then the mixture is more like a soup. I prefer it to be a little more firm. I think if the beans were crushed into halves or quarters they would absorb the water much more quickly. I also think if the flax seeds were ground/crushed they would be more likely to be digested instead of passed whole. I suspect we’re missing out on a lot of omega 3s due to the flax seed issue but I could be wrong.

#4

Just tagged you on another post. What kind of cup/bowl are you using? And to your point, yes, the flax doesn’t fully break down from what I’ve noticed.

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#5

Thanks, I’ve been using a glass/ceramic bowl. I will probably keep doing it this way because I’d rather eat out of a bowl than a cup. I’ll definitely keep that in mind though. I don’t think the cup that came with my first order is big enough for me. I use 150g of huel for a ~600 calorie meal. Also, he was having a problem with the thai green curry being too crunchy. I never had any issues with green curry or the tomato flavor being crunchy. I only had a slight crunchiness problem with the black eyed peas in the chilli flavor. They basically feel like beans that aren’t quite done cooking.

#6

Haven’t tried the chili yet, that’s next on my list. I’m assuming it’s a little trickier in a bowl especially when you’re prepping more. I it’d take me 3-4 times to get i the water ratio right. It’s always the worst when it comes out too crunchy!

#7

I just started with the instructions on the bag and calculated water/huel, then huel x that number. I use a kitchen scale and assume 1ml water is 1g. Each flavor has the exact same instructions though. I think the water amounts should be different for each flavor. The thai needs a little less water IMO. But once I found the right ratio I was able to replicate the desired texture regardless of the serving size.

#8

Hey @Cellcubed!

Great question! The reason for the choice of whole flaxseed was because you can get both nutrients and texture, which was important for H&S. However, adding flaxseed in the ground form (in addition to the whole form) could be a great idea to ensure we are getting as much of the wonderful benefits of flaxseed as we can. You want to be sure you chew thoroughly to assist in breaking down some of the flaxseed too! :raised_hands:

Here you can find a bit more about the ingredients in H&S. To briefly explain, all veggies and grains are pre-cooked and freeze-dried. There is no significant loss of micronutrients during the process and this actually helps to retain nutrients! :tada:

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#9

Thank you for replying. I guess I will have to add fish/fish oil to my diet or switch from H&S to regular huel to ease my mind. No reasonable amount of chewing will get all these seeds to release the ala they contain. The only way I could see this working nutritionally is if H&S huel has enough ALA to compensate for all the ALA that gets passed in the undigested seeds. Maybe you guys could do an experiment and test the blood of somebody that eats only H&S to see the omega 3 absorption. @Justin_Keikhlasan Maybe you could test for this during your year of huel, maybe a week/month of H&S and an omega 3 test compared to an omega 3 test after a week/month of black edition. I don’t know how long it takes omega 3 blood levels to drop after cessation. I slightly suspect a diet of only H&S would leave a person with an omega 3 deficiency. I would love to be wrong and I hope I am because I really like H&S.

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#10

I too was hoping to hear Huel might consider transitioning to cracked or ground flaxseed to help ensure nutritional absorption.

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#11

I have ground flax with my greens daily and a vegan epa/dha supplement… Probably overkill but, oh well… In addition to two Huel servings a day.

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#12

I went ahead and ordered some fish oil just in case. I was hoping for a more technical response from huel. Some sort of evidence that whole flax seed provides enough ALA despite being indigestible. Being told to chew my food better was not reassuring in the least lol. That response actually reinforced my previous suspicions. Sucks because one of the main reasons I started buying huel was because it had everything in one meal and seemed pretty scientifically solid. Now with H&S it seems they are more concerned with flavor and texture than nutrition. Oh well, I’ll either keep buying epa/dha or stop buying H&S even though it is delicious.

Flaxseed remains undigested: Huel Hot&Spicy
#13

Hey @cellcubed, I should have clarified this a bit more! While some flaxseed may pass through undigested, there is more than enough flaxseed in Huel H&S for the conversion of ALA to DHA and EPA in sufficient amounts.

The adequate intake (AI) for omega 3s is 1.1g and 1.6g for women and men, respectively who are 14 years of age or older (these recommendations do not include pregnancy and lactation as it is a bit higher) (#1). There is about 3-4.5g of omega 3s per serving of H&S (depending on flavor) and 3-4g per serving of Huel v3.0 powder (depending on flavor). We note that most of this would be ALA from flaxseed (#2).

We explain on the link above (#2) an example of Huel powder with ALA and conversion to DHA and EPA. Not only is it above the AI for omega 3s, but Huel powder was actually slightly above the recommended guidelines (which can vary) for DHA/EPA when consumed at 2000 calories, and this was using the more cautious conversion rate. So Huel H&S also provides more than enough ALA for conversion to DHA and EPA per 2000 calories. Sorry for any worry or confusion I may have caused there. :sweat_smile:

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#14

Thank you again. This made me feel a lot better about it. As long as I manage to chew at least half of the seeds I should be good lol. I would feel even better about it if half of the flax seeds were ground though. I won’t be checking to see what percentage of seeds pass through undigested so I’ll keep taking a supplement lol.

#15

Hello, is Huel Hot and Savory suited for reheating in the microwave? I would like to pour hot water before going to work and when I’m ready I can heat it in the microwave.

#16

I think that should be ok. You could also just add cold water at work and then microwave it.

#17

Was very excited to hear about Hot & Savory today!

Unfortunately, I’m one of the unlucky vegans who was born with a diverticulum and suffer from diverticulitis when eating flaxseeds in its natural form.

When Huel considers the ground version, I’d be more than happy to try this out. Thank you!

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#18

Hey Mike! Oh no, so sorry I missed replying to you here. I will be sure to pass this along to the team with regard to future product development.

#19

I’d like to add a +1 to this. The texture and digestibility of whole flax seeds are not ideal in my opinion. And with regard to the digestibility issue, I too find it concerning that flax seeds seem to be such a significant component of the nutrient profile and wonder if it is really working as intended. I think if you are compelled to encourage people to make effort to chew seeds thoroughly when they’re eating their curry there is cause to improve the recipe.

Now when it comes to flavor, I think the new Yellow Coconut, Spicy Indian, and the Mexican Chili are excellent. Great work on that.

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