I did Huel Black, until today. The cofounder was promoting an AMA for tomorrow. I was perusing the questions and came across an article from Consumer Reports saying to avoid it because of high lead values.
[Check It](https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein-powders-and-shakes-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a4206364640/)
Drinking is the easiest way to get food you don't love into you (or me at least).
I like some Orgain tubs that Costco sells. Pea protein based mostly. I react to a number of things, including peanuts which are a common cheap protein source.
Huel, a meal replacement aiming to be nutritionally complete has a higher protein version (black edition). Not amazing tasting, but could be more palatable to you. Not cheap, but if you buy a bunch each unit gets cheaper for you. And they have a number of flavors or varieties, even some "hot" stuff.
Personally texture is really important for me. Like how it feels to take a bite, and chew it. Notice it in my mouth as I do. That's part of why cooking meat at home is so hard for me (haven't done it often enough to figure it out).
Versus the basic tastes (sour, bitter, salty, sweet, umami, or spicy/hot). Or smells/aromas. Fake sugars sometimes can be combined to get closer to typical sugar sensations.
Some protein powders are gritty or chalky. Often sugar makes things easier for me to happily consume. And fat helps me feel full for longer (it isn't as evil as most people think, in fact we need some). Same with fiber, so maybe you'd want a low fiber option like a whey protein or milk based protein powder (Muscle milk was pretty palatable and cheaper than many).
First time poster but I’ve been lurking in the sub for a few months looking for any updates on Soylent stock.
Long story short, Soylent is a dumpster fire these days so I bought as many of the Soylent alternatives that I saw people suggesting here as I could find and I gave them all a try. I’m just a guy and these are just my opinions. I’m in no way affiliated with any of these companies and I paid full price for anything that I tried.
Sorry for the long read this ended up being but hopefully it helps some of you make a more informed decision if you decide to try alternatives.
**Huel (black and regular powder):**
**Consistency:** Thick but doable as far as getting it down without a huge struggle but don’t expect to chug these shakes in one go and they take some work to get down through a wide tumbler straw. About twice the consistency of Soylent’s powder shakes.
**Flavor:** The flavors are solid with the Huel powders but I do find them all to have a pretty noticeable “oats-forward” taste and feel to them.
**Cost:** $2.21 (original) - $2.65 (black) per shake (USD).
**Satiety:** 3.5 - 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post stomach feel:** These definitely give me the occasional stomach ache shortly (hour or so) after consuming a shake, especially if I drink them too quickly. These stomach aches ranged from minor to moderate discomfort but were mostly mitigated by sipping the shakes slowly over the course of 30 or so minutes.
**Worth mentioning:** I found no discernible difference in any of the listed categories between the original and black versions. Obviously there are differences in their nutritional value profiles but thought it worth mentioning.
**Huel (RTDs):**
**Consistency:** Consistency-wise, these things are a dream. Just as smooth, if not more so than Soylent’s RTDs.
**Flavor:** After trying half dozen flavors that they offer I can confirm that they are all great, including the coffee flavors. The strawberry banana was a personal favorite.
**Cost:** $4.83/shake (USD)
**Satiety:** 3.5 - 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post stomach feel:** Zero issues here. My stomach loves these.
**Worth mentioning:** Easily my favorite shakes on the list but that’s kind of expected given they’re RTDs vs powder and the premium you pay for them. For someone like me who regularly has three shakes each day, it’s hard to justify the additional cost when I like some of the available powders on the market just fine and at half the cost. I’ll likely keep a case or two of the coffee flavors on hand for the occasional morning shake but that’s it. Great shakes that are as good if not better than Soylent’s RTDs though and a no brainer if cost isn’t an issue for you.
**Huel (hot and savory meals):**
**Consistency:** As prepared, these are not great. Prepared any other way that I can think of… still not a great consistency. Like a mushy gruel. I am not a fan.
**Flavor:** I tried half dozen flavors and they all lacked in the flavor department. Even after adding plenty of salt/pepper/garlic/onion they were still not great.
**Cost:** $3.95/meal pouch (USD).
**Satiety:** 3.5 - 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post stomach feel:** Zero issues.
**Worth mentioning:** Point blank, these are not good. The seasonings, the pastas, animal proteins… all just mediocre at best and bad more often than not. If you are interested in these types of meals then go try some Backpacker’s Pantry meals which have similar macros, similar price point, but are actually very good.
**Plenny Shake Pro (powder):**
**Consistency:** Nice even consistency that is easy to get down through a wide tumbler straw. There’s an ever so slight presence of a very fine sediment/chalkiness to these shakes but overall they definitely go down smoothly.
**Flavor:** Pleasant but mild flavor. Could definitely use more punch here but still a very pleasant flavor as they are.
**Cost:** $2.19/shake (USD)
**Satiety:** 3.5 - 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post Stomach Feel:** Zero issues here. No stomach aches/pains/gas/etc.
**Worth mentioning:** The only value lost for me here is the mild flavors but overall they are a great option that I’ll definitely keep in my powder rotation moving forward.
**KetoChow (powder)**:
**Consistency:** Super smooth consistency with these shakes but I’d fully expect that when they are prepared with half cup of heavy cream. Incredibly easy to get these shakes down.
**Flavor:** All of the flavors that I tried were really good. Not overpowering and not underwhelming. They taste like what they’re supposed to.
**Cost:** $4.95/shake (USD)
**Satiety:** 3.5 to 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post stomach feel:** Zero issues here, which surprised me given the half cup of cream. Good to go.
**Worth mentioning:** Don’t get me wrong, aside from the high cost these shakes are great. From how silky smooth they are to the huge variety of flavors. Not to mention that they all come in single use packs so it’s easy to mix and match without getting tired of one specific flavor each month. That being said, these are only a viable option if you’re doing a keto diet. Otherwise these shakes obviously don’t have the right macros for a meal replacement no matter how you prepare them. Unsure why I’ve seen several people in this subreddit mention them as a viable Soylent replacement but it isn’t. That to say, I’ll use them moving forward when I run a keto diet for 30-60 days as they make it super easy to hit the necessary macros.
**Basically Food - Balance (powder):**
**Consistency:** Smooth consistency on these with a hint of fine grit but they go down easily through a wide tumbler straw.
**Flavor:** You taste more oats than anything else with these shakes. I got a sense of the flavor labeled on the container but more than anything it tastes like the milk left in your cereal bowl after breakfast type of thing.
**Cost:** $3.50/shake (USD)
**Satiety:** 3.5 - 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post stomach feel:** Zero issues.
**Worth mentioning:** I gave these a try because the founder of the company posts/comments in this subreddit sometimes so I wanted to include them. That being said the macros are confusing to me on these shakes. First off, to get the caloric values anywhere near what I would consider a meal replacement, you have to add fats, which then makes about half of the total calories from fat. It almost feels like they set out to make a keto meal replacement shake but forgot to take out the carbs. I’m struggling to see how nearly equal parts fat and carbs at fairly high values makes sense in these shakes but maybe the founder can shed some light here as I’m certainly not a nutritionist or subject matter expert.
**Hol Foods (powder):**
**Consistency:** The consistency/texture on these is incredibly smooth. As good or better than Soylent’s powders in this category.
**Flavor:** Big fan of both chocolate and vanilla flavors here but the chocolate specifically blew me away. I LOVE Soylent’s chocolate powder and for me, Hol Foods chocolate is even better.
**Cost:** $2.44/shake (USD)
**Satiety:** 3.5 - 4 hours until hungry again.
**Post stomach feel:** Zero issues here.
**Worth mentioning:** This is my favorite powder of all the brands that I tried and it isn’t even close. The chocolate will be a staple in my pantry moving forward.
**TLDR:**
\- Hol Foods was the clear winner for me in every category.
\- Plenny Shake Pro was a distant second but still an excellent choice. It’d be nice to see them boost the flavors a little.
\- Huel powders are a solid choice at a fair price but for me, the consistency is a bit too thick and the shakes do irritate my stomach often enough to be a factor.
\- Huel hot and savory meals are absolute trash. Don’t bother.
\- Huel RTDs are a dream if you can stomach the price point.
\- KetoChow is only relevant if you are on a keto diet and the cost is high but the shakes are delicious and silky smooth.
\- Basically foods macros didn’t make sense for me and the flavor was much too “oats forward” for my liking.
I started on the home page and then navigated to the products page. I was torn between trying Build or Balance based on the product descriptions on your site as well as Reddit users recommendations in this sub. Important to note that I was aiming for shakes to use on workdays specifically to see how I felt while working and my energy levels were solid I just wouldn’t want the Balance macros three times a day type of thing. I think I’ll try Build next as it seems more my speed.
As far as the layout goes on the product pages I’d recommend considering moving the nutritional values from the very bottom to a more visible spot up top of each page or even just adding a secondary picture to the top of each page to make it easier to find. Past that I think your layout is clean and easy to navigate. You could maybe add more specificity to each product description painting a clearer picture of the targeted demographic for each line of powders but that’s getting EXTRA nit-picky and it isn’t an obvious blocker that’s likely causing folks to abandon their carts, type of thing.
This might be a hot take but I really like Huel Black as a protein supplement. It’s a little higher in calories than other protein powders but I find that is a small price to pay for the balanced macronutrient and vitamin profiles and the “stick-to-your-ribs” feeling that keeps me full for a while.
I will sometimes throw in a scoop or two of Naked Pea protein powder with it to add more protein without adding a ton more calories.
If you’re interested in a breakdown of the macros for Huel Black salted caramel flavor, I made a 5 minute video (fyi YouTube link 🔗) here: https://youtu.be/sACU1EOzwn0?si=7UdDK6WqCJqwTWCI
burning-whisper
