5 months of Huel - my honest experience

Experiences
1

Hello

I first decided to try Huel in January because I was fed up of eating terribly at lunch times and fed up of having to make sandwiches for work every evening. I would have a sandwich with some cold meat full of saturated fat and that was pretty much it. Not very nutritious hey?

I am completely and utterly 100% new to powdered foods. So here are some observations, tips and experiences from the last 5 months.

1. I mix 3 scoops of Huel with 500ml of water which keeps me full / ‘satisfied’ for about 2 hours

2. I found pure vanilla flavour to be too sweet and unnatural - I now mix 1 vanilla and 2 unflavoured - perfect

3. To make my Huel more interesting I add a tea spoonful of instant coffee for a kick at lunch or a tea spoon of cinnamon - I like these options because they’re healthy and pure - do you have any more suggestions?

4. The bags are a pain to keep closed - I haven’t tried the new ones yet but I will do when I order next

5. No matter how hard you try, Huel will leave a powdery mess behind, but I don’t make as much mess as I used to

6. Shake your bag of Huel now and again to ‘fluff’ it up to stop it condensing at the bottom of the bag and causing lumps

7. I have Huel to replace my lunch time meals. I eat ‘normal’ meals for breakfast and supper

8. I have lost 20lb / 9kg since January 2016 with Huel - I now have a healthy BMI of 24

9. I make my Huel the night before and store it in the fridge during summer which is refreshing

10. I was knocked off my motorbike and one of the casualties was my Huel shaker (you should have seen the Huel mess all over the road - quite funny). Luckily the guys at Huel were really helpful and sent me another shaker free of charge - thanks!

11. To reduce lumps, add 1.5 scoops to 500ml water, shake it vigorously for 10 seconds, add 1.5 more scoops and shake again. Just before you drink it, shake it gently.

12. Huel has more body and flavour when left overnight compared to ‘freshly’ made

13. Huel seperates and looks disgusting when left standing overnight - don’t be put off and give it a shake, it soon looks ‘normal’ again

14. My stomach cramps and wind after meals is better, but not completely gone using Huel - I put this down mainly to the fact I’m ‘drinking’ rather than eating solid food as opposed to Huel’s ingredients

15. My family hate the taste and it certainly took a few sessions for me to get used to it, but I quite enjoy it now especially with coffee or cinnamon

I think that’s all really. Hopefully one or two of them were insightful!

Mark

12 Likes
2

Agree with almost everything you say here, except I’ve never had a single lump in my Huel. 3 scoops straight into the shaker, 10 second shake and it’s ready. It does separate and sediment overnight and sometimes that can take more than a little shake to get back into a liquid but it’s fine. Perhaps you’re on an earlier version - I have heard that the vanilla flavoured version has mixing issues.

My only advice would be ditch the Vanila flavour, it really is just disgustingly sweet and ruins what is actually a great taste in natural Huel. Take it straight for a couple of days and you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with Vanila. My wife and ten year old both like the natural Huel - just has to be cold. The only thing i ever add is frozen fruit, for a treat and extra calories

1 Like
3

I had lumps when I put all 3 scoops in at once. But since using my new method I’ve never had them again. Saying that, it was purely with vanilla Huel so I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Unsweetened doesn’t seem to lump at all.

4

Thanks for sharing this Mark…
Ive just started with the intention to replace one to two meals a day with Huel.

Generally I’m a hungry guy and I eat every 4 hours. I notice you have said you feel full for around 2 hours, what do you do then? consume more Huel or have a snack?

5

I’m on my second week of Huel (replacing breakfast and lunch) I’m having 100g in 500ml of water and can honestly say it’s keeping me full for 4 hours +. There have been a few days where I have decided to only have 50g for lunch and a light snack mid afternoon instead as I have not been so hungry when it’s come to lunch time.

So far I’ve lost 12lb which is amazing.

I add coffee to it which is nice and have tried some sugar free coffee syrups with varying success.

So far so good.

p.s. I downloaded the myfitnesspal app which has been a huge help too.

6

I have a snack. Like a piece of fruit for example which will keep me going for another couple of hours.

7

Nice write up. Some tips in there I’ll use.

I find reducing the amount of water slightly makes the Huel thicker and keeps me full for slightly longer.

New bags are much easier to seal. My US&UF came in an old bag so not sure when they’re swapping over. If you run your finger nail or a knife down the middle of the double side of the seal to remove the powder in there it makes it slightly easier.

Making Huel with a blender the night before will improve the body and flavour even more and remover any issue with lumps.

:¬)

8

We just have a few more pouches of the unflavoured and unsweetened, but we should be switching over to the new pouches very shortly.

1 Like
9

Definitely agree with number 12