I can always try this myself but just thought I’d get some feedback anyway.
I like really cold drinks but with protein powders in the past the ice clumped it together.
Really looking forward to starting this, the idea of having all the nutrients in a simple tasty milk shake type of shake, without any cooking with an exact calorie count, automatically delivered to my door, is really appealing right now.
It’s personal preference really. I use chilled water myself. Sometimes hemp milk. It’s definitely creamier if you use cows milk, which I tried once. If you let it sit over night or in fridge for a few hours it thickens up well.
Many swear by the blender, adding fruit is easier, I’ll eventually get one.
Experimenting is the way to go to find what suit you best.
Objectively… Ice along with chilled water and a proper blender is going to give you the best experience. Especially if you’re adding fruits.
I mix most of my shakes just using cold water and Promixx blender bottle though. Not as great, but works fine.
To add to Tristan’s point if you’re going to use a blender- adding frozen fruit or ice will both make it smoother and also mean it doesn’t really matter if you use ambient or chilled temperature water as it will all come out cold and smooth. Blenders do make it quite foamy though so if you’re not keen on that you’ll have to let it stand a bit for the air to escape.
If you do not want to add milk but still want a creamier thicker drink, I have found that adding a few pieces of dried fruits (figs, apricots etc) into the blender thickens the drink a lot without the need to adjust fluid/powder quantities.
I usually prepare the shakes in advance and let them “soak” in the fridge for a few hours. The bits inside the shake soften up and it makes the texture smoother. If you use a shaker, the soaking process gets rid of any remaining clumps. There’s nothing quite like having a chilled smooth Huel sitting in the fridge, ready for when you need it.
The only time I use ice (has to be blended) is when I want a Huel immediately. It won’t have that soaked texture but that’s no big deal. You can also chuck in fruits as others have mentioned.
So for your answer, I’d say ice if you don’t have time, and regular tap water if you do have time to let it soak in the fridge. Do try both and see what works best for you.
Like you I enjoy really cold drinks. I also like it thicker so don’t use as much liquid as some others do.
My go to mix is
200ml almond milk (I like to use Alpro as the gum in it gives a thicker consistency)
120ml cold water
90-100g black vanilla huel
3/4 ice cubes.
I have a nutri ninja so all the ingredients go in the cup then blitz it for 20 seconds. Neck it and rinse the cup as well as the lid with the blade on it and you are ready to go for your next one. I prefer nutri ninja/nutri bullet as the washing up is essentially the same as for a shaker.
A proper kitchen blender needs more washing up but some people prefer those as they make more than one serving at a time. The above works perfectly for me and is so easy though.
Ait arrived this morning so my first shake today, I shook for 10 seconds then another solid 30 seconds in the Huel Shaker and it was still clumpy, so had to stick it in the Nutri Bullet for several seconds.
Was very smooth after being in the blender.
So once we we are out of lockdown it maybe a case of mixing it before leaving the house but ideally would be better to mix it just as I am about to drink it so I think I am going to buy some mixer balls.
Very happy with the taste though and felt satiated after, felt really good after, felt like my body was genuinely getting some needed vitamins and minerals.
I eat fairly well but I don’t analyse and count all the vitamins I am getting so no doubt I was lacking the odd one or few.
Gonna order some cacoa nibs and blend it in that to give it some crunch I think too.
Yeah man I might add some cashews to cream it up.
Gonna give the soak in the fridge method a try!
Yeah man I have a nutri bullet I just had the water and powder so was blended in about 3 seconds, gonna add a few ingredients I like though that I usually add to smoothies like maybe some chia seeds.
I think this is me now and lunchtime cooking efforts could well be a thing of the past.
Hi – if you are going to add chia seeds, I wouldn’t use the fridge method as well – as they are naturally hydrophilic and have a mucilaginous coating – your drink will get very gloopy very fast.
Blending it really makes a huge difference for me. I started without blending it but after I tried it I couldn’t go back.
I also did a fridge experiment with the blended huel: I poured it into about 5 shot glasses, put all of them in the fridge, and tried one each hour. It became unpalatable real quick, like after one or two hours. The huel thickens and becomes slimy.
dont be afraid to experiment.
Thanks for all the comments guys!!
