This won’t be news to many but I wanted to share how much more I’m enjoying Huel from my electric blender.
I was struggling a bit with the texture of Huel when drinking it from a blender bottle with blender ball. It got better as I got used to it but occasionally I was still gettting a bit caught on my throat.
Anyway, I’m now working from home for 3 months so decided to invest in a electric blender. I wanted one that would handle ice (as i prefer huel cold) and made the least washing up possible. It also needed to be able to mix the max amount that I would want for one meal or more potentially.
I ended up getting a great deal on Nutri Ninja Duo for £99 from John Lewis. This is normally £170 but it’s on offer at the moment. Now that’s still a lot for a blender but it met my requirements perfectly. Very few have a 900ml bottle you can then drink from. Some of the highlights for me are:
900ml cup that’s used for the mixing and then drinking (ideal for lunch)
650ml cup for breakfast if i want to prepare along side the 900ml for lunch.
2.1 L Jug for batch preparation and other non-huel food.
able to handle ice
makes Huel thicker, creamier and more aerated - more like a smoothy.
On a negative side
Air holes on the cup lids are not big enough so it’s slow to drink (fix below)
the cups have vertical ribs from top to bottom which can get huel caught
So overall I’m really happy with this setup and enjoying Huel more for it. I drilled the air hole bigger in one of the cup lids which made a massive improvement to the flow rate when drinking. This obviously means it will now leak if layed down but this doesn’t bother me,
My typical lunch now consists of.
place 900ml cup on the scales
add ice as required
top up with cold water to 500ml
add 100ml huel (currently vanilla but plain arrives today)
add 100ml fruit smoothie for taste (Currently using Innocent seriously strawberry) (Huel flavors arriving today also)
Add the mixing top and then place on the mixer
Run ‘Auto-IQ Extract’ mode on the mixer (60s)
take off the mixing top and rince
add the drinking top and back to my desk to enjoy
then rinse the bottle and lid as soon as finished ready for tomorrow
This has taken me from “I’m having huel and will finish my two bags but do i want to buy more” to “I’ve just ordered more huel along with some flavors to try… full convert now”.
When I make some tomorrow i’ll take a picture and share how frothy it is.
I’ve been looking for a larger capacity blender as most are only 1500ml max and mine struggles a little making 1250ml of water and 400g of Huel in one. Plus as it’s thicker there’s more chance of lumps sticking near the lid and I often need to scrape the top with a fork and give it a second blast… plus it’s more hassle in general as the mix is so thick it doesn’t pour out as well so I end up filling and blasting with a little more water after the main blend is done, and using that to topup into the decanted bottles, otherwise there’s too much ‘waste’ from what’s left in the blender to simply go down the drain.
But… £170?! Heck, even at £100 that’s still hard to swallow (no pun intended! ) I mean I’m only using a £20 Russell Hobbes job here! haha
Plus I’d never use the smaller bullet jugs as I’m totally a batch maker in the evening for the next day, so it kinda feels wasteful buying something which wouldn’t be used, or just to recycle (as I don’t believe in keeping what I don’t need).
I have a nutribullet blender and have been using it every day since starting Huel which was around May last year. I’ve never had lumps, never noticed a change in taste from versions 1.2 to 2.0 to 2.1, never had a variation in thickness. Always a perfect velvety smooth meal every time, made in seconds.
I used to use a blender - a massive Vitamix thing, and enjoyed my Huel…but one day I didn’t have it and used a shaker…and realised I prefer it that way. Only needs a few seconds shaking and that’s it.
I haven’t tried the larger mix yet but am anticipating that it won’t be as blended as the smaller bottles. Taking a close look at it the gearing is different/slower but then maybe it will adapt for that and it’s geared down to be able to cope with more liquid.
£100 was a bit much but I got a bit carried away I think. The £50 version with the £10 900ml cup would almost certainly be just as good for this but i got drawn into the deal on John Lewis.
I should have also said that I wanted to experiment with different flavors by adding fresh or frozen fruit. The smoothie i’ve started with is just the start of trying different options so i can mix it up throughout the week. This was another reason for going blender over mixer bottle alone.
Will be interested to see how you get on @Tubby_Graver. Do you leave it in the fridge overnight for a reason or is it just a grab and go convenience thing?
When I started with Huel I was adding berries etc to mask the taste. After reading suggestions on the forum, many people recommended a spoonful of instant coffe, and leaving in the fridge overnight ready for the morning.
In my opinion it tastes much nicer after being left to stand a few hours in a fridge. It seems to thicken to a creamy texture and tastes much smoother. Coffee Huel is now my favourite meal
So just had a ‘shaken’ Huel. Tasted the same, but texture wise it was way too thin, think I added too much water. 3 scoops, 400ml, then topped up with another 100ml.
Out of interest I have just measured the amount of water I add to the small NutriBullet cups that are provided with the blender. I fill to just below the fill line. I’ve never measured how much water I use before. I always add three scoops Huel
The amount of water is 300ml - So I therefore conclude I like my Huel thick
Hmm, I used the same amount of liquid (I use a 50/50 ratio of water and almond mainly) in both shaker and blender. 500ml and 100g of Huel. I don’t use a scoop. The Huel is quite thick.
I always leave in fridge overnight, and it is thick. There are small lumps which I actually like, but I don’t shake it every much…
I always refrigerate, and on Julian’s advice I tried it with Millicano instant coffee…and that’s definitely damn good. I also tried the coffee in the Christmas pudding one and that is really great too.
@Tubby_Graver - I also forgot to mention (although I have elsewhere) I use a 50/50 blend of vanilla and U/U as I found vanilla a little too sweet on its own.
If anyone can be arsed here’s a way to determine the viscosity of a liquid - I know I can’t be bothered
It would be interesting to know what the average Huel users viscosity is, I think mine will be quite high. If I put a straw or a spoon in my Huel it will stand vertical for hours !!
Aaaaah I didnt realise Millicano was Kenco! That’s fine then, Kenco have an impeccable ethical track record!
As it happens I’m also vegan! Vegan Bros! I just love the phrase bees knees… I’m bringing it back! I think it’s safe to use too as it’s a similie for them, and everyone knows bees are lovely critters, and have very cute knees.
) I mean I’m only using a £20 Russell Hobbes job here! haha
