Hi Folks. I am very new to Huel and thought I would share my own genuine feedback around some of the Huel H+S Meals.
I went with Huel as the reputation is excellent. For context, I am trying these to assist me in improving my eating habits, lose some lockdown weight and trying to generally get a bit healthier (I started a PT based training course).
Also, this is not a diss on Huel, I genuinely just expected something different.
I recently ordered 3 meal packs (chicken and Mushroom, sweet and sour and Tomato +Herb).
I am genuinely so disappointed. Does anyone have any tips on how to make these taste better? I am actually hesitant to open the Chicken and Mushroom.
I would really like to enjoy these (not least as I spent a fair whack of money on them) expecting them to be at least tasty. I genuinely find them to be really bland and unappetising. At this point I basically have 3 bags of meal replacement that I will just throw away once I get over my buyers remorse.
I also got the meal replacement shakes (Chocolate and banana flavours), . The chocolate is dreadful. I had to add some Nesquik and milk to make it taste ok. The banana was reasonable, but I will definitely try adding some honey.
To jazz up T&H simply adding some salt, black/white pepper or hot sauce can help. Also maybe play around with how thick or thin you make it as it may make it more appetising that way? Chickn & Mushroom actually makes me heave, no way to improve on that flavour IMO.
As we keep mentioning, taste is really subjective. What one person loves, another might hate.
Chick’n & Mushroom is a firm favourite with me, that and Thai Green Curry. No great fan of Tomato & Herb or Sweet and Sour but mixing either of them 50/50 with Madras or Thai Green Curry spices them up nicely.
From that, your palate is similar to mine, but yeah taste is subjective which makes it hard to recommend one thing over another. I’ve not tried Sweet and sour with Thai Green but did with Madras and it was nice, but won’t buy it again just to try the two together.
I don’t actually dislike tomato and herb but when lined up with everything else from the H&S range it ranks second from bottom.
Taste change too much from one to another, Chick’n & Mushroom is top 3 for me and my daughter and bottom 3 for my wife… Sweet and sour haven’t tried, and tomato and herb gets a LOT better with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Then as other have said, play with the water quantities and the time you leave it, as example, Korma is one of my faves and it need 30ml less of water, and Thai green curry needs salt and more time, is all about get the point of each flavour.
I add a dash of superhot chilli sauce to spice up the tomato and herb. Never tried Garlic, salt of pepper, might give them a shot.
I quite like sweet and sour
Chickn and mushroom is really nice, it might even be my favourite
Hey @themacingb, welcome to Huel and the forum, so stoked you’ve already received a ton of great tips for your Hot & Savoury! Also really happy that you chose Huel based on our reputation, that’s lovely to hear, thanks for sharing.
Tomato and Herb is probably our least flavourful H&S (intentionally), great if you like to keep it simple and aren’t big on spices. For me it’s one to be mixed around with our H&S. To echo the advice above, basically take your favourite condiment(s) and get a dollop in there. Super simple. I had Thai Green Curry for lunch with a tablespoon of hot sauce today.
For the powders, what you’ve tweaked them with is totally OK! You don’t need to just have Huel on its own, mix it up and make it your own! Based on the ways you’ve adjusted them, you love sweetness. If you come back for more Huel Powder (really hope you do) then Salted Caramel is a good shout. I think it’s our sweetest flavour (do you guys agree?).
To help you with your current batch, I think some sugar-free syrups or flavours would be great choice for low effort, and you might already have some lying around (anyone else get a Monin syrup gift set for christmas?!). That will help. But also blending with fruit and ice and flavours will help too (if you have the time).
Black salted caramel is delicious. Not just “this is ok for a meal replacement” I think it’s genuinely really tasty.
For the shakes, try making them with 50/50 oat milk and water. Make it the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight. I’m not that keen on the shakes until they’ve had some time in the fridge, then I love them. They get much smoother and they taste better cold. If you’re still not a fan, try adding some peanut butter and blending it?
For h&s, I add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to basically all of them. I also add a little bit of ketchup to tomato and herb and mix it in with the water, it’s probably my favourite. I never really do anything fancy with them, usually salt and garlic powder is enough.
I’m a big fan of Lao Gan Ma Crispy Chili Oil. I generally add a teaspoon or two of it to all H&S, including/especially the Mac and Cheese (my favourite). For the other flavours I also like a chopped up pickled lemon or even some store bought lime pickle.
I tried the Chicken Mushroom and while I liked the cream, I prefer my (fake) meat to not be so small and grainy.
Aw @hunzas that looks amazing. A few years since weve been to Austria and Vienna due to covid but we are going once again in September to the Tirol. Did you travel with any Huel and if so is there any change now were not in the EU regarding taking food in ur luggage. Hope ur having a great time.
I’m a fan of the cajun pasta, it was initially a bit on the bland side but a dash of salt made it really enjoyable for me. Experiment with herbs and spices, and most if not all of these meals would probably go quite well with a protein of choice, like bacon or chicken etc.
That’s exactly it. Obviously we want our range to be delicious right off the bat for everyone, but realistically we’re all different and it’s not hard to add a few flavours of your own to mix it up! Some good tips here!
