Has anyone used this before? I’ve been playing with it for the last couple of weeks, replacing anywhere from 1 to 3 feedings per day with it. I add a scoop of Whey to it to increase the protein, and I have to say it’s been a good experience for me so far. Makes it easy to have a good meal replacement on the go when necessary.
Personally, I think it’s mainly just your typical supplement marketing ploy. Just like whey, I don’t think it has any benefits above normal food. If someone is unable for one reason or another to eat a proper diet without it, then it could be used to “supplement” the diet. But I wouldn’t go crazy with it and make it a dietary staple. There are cheaper ways to meet your nutrition goals with real food, and the micro-nutrients in real food are likely going to be better absorbed (supplemental micro-nutrients are notorious for having extremely poor absorption rates).
I definitely don’t think it has benefits above normal food, other than convenience and cost. Getting 500 calories from Huel (16g fat, 47g carb, 37g protein) cost about $2.10. It’s hard to get a meal with that kind of macro profile for that cheap, much less that convenient. With a scoop of Whey added to it that adds another 25g of protein and another $1 in cost if that. Still super cheap given the macro breakdown.
I can see the ease of having a shake with protein and carbs in it. I was sucked in as a kiddo about weight gainer 5000 or complete meal in a packet. This seems essentially the same thing but for hipsters. But it has micro nutrients! Well, so does a multi vitamin, and as PWard states, they are not well absorbed. Soylent is the US precursor, ingested by hipster coders in Silicon Valley. It is the whole “bio-hacking” malarkey going around, which is repackaging what bodybuilders have been doing for decades (not that it was right to do in the first place).
I find it easier, and personally more enjoyable, to put my meat and carbs and veggies in a tub (two tubs, one for each of the two meals I have at work out of a total of four for the day) and enjoy a nice, warm (quick zap in the microwave), home cooked meal. Today was chicken breast chunks in a tomato based sauce with basil, parsley, and balsamic vinegar on rice. There is still taco seasoned meat mince (equal parts beef, pork, and venison) on rice to go (in about 40 minutes). My mum would be proud, Greek mum that she is. Yummier and much, much cheaper than the crap on the UK high street (although there are some good food markets close to work but servings are huge, thus uncontrollable, and the cost still adds up). Food is to be enjoyed - enjoy it.
I weigh and portion out the tubs the night before (from bulked cooked stuff over the weekend) 200g meat + 100g rice + 100g veggies (at the moment while on a slow cut). Yeah it takes a bit of discipline, but it is really 5 minutes weight and putting stuff in tubs and then in the fridge on a daily basis. The weekend cooking could take between and hour or two, but the time it takes, I more than save during the week. BBQing the food speeds up the process (usually steaks, chicken thighs, and sometimes chicken breasts), but at the moment with zero degree Celsius weather, I do it on occasion, but a multi hour slow cook beef chunks kokinisto (Greek tomato based stew) is a winner or even just using the oven grill to do what I could do on the BBQ, or making a pasta type sauce with mince or meat chunks works.
I’m with you both essentially. I’ve cooked and meal prepped quite a bit over the years. It gets old at times. I’ve only been doing Huel for a few weeks, and I can definitely see it getting old also…probably sooner rather than later. But I do think I’m going to keep it around for those go-to times when I’m not prepared with anything else.
Soylent 2.0? I love the default greenwashed blurbs with products like this. From their site.
Huel is 100% vegan (better for the environment and animals) Guess you just have to take their word for it…
I think I’ll pass…
Yeah, the environment talk is laughable. But it does seem to digest easily.
Not to start an argument about this on a lifting forum … but I think a pretty good case can be made that a pure vegan diet is more environmentally sustainable 
As for Huel… I reiterate what everyone else said. Hipster marketing. I’ll pass, but it’s probably fine to drink for a meal a day.
I don’t buy into the marketing BS of most any supplement, so all of their claims about bio-hacking, sustainability, enviro mumbo jumbo to me is really missing the forrest for the trees. I also don’t care whether hipsters thinks it’s cool or not. I live a very busy life where I’m constantly having to make compromises on a daily basis. As such, I’m asking myself questions, like how can a product like Huel fit into my overall nutrition goals? Is it a tool that I can use to have a quality nutritional alternative, especially when life is hectic? Does it provide what it says it will provide? How do I feel when I consume it? What’s the cost to benefit comparison? That’s what I’m concerned with. So far I have a highly favorable view of the product. It’s worth checking out I think.