I recently started on a new box of Huel. It was U&U version 2.0, batch #2495 - looks to be the first reduced salt batch.
It has now become way too thick and gloopy!
The previous box which I order on the 26 July 2016 was fine in its thickness - I believe this was version 1.2. I only had to use 450ml of water (with 121g Huel) to achieve a good consistency. For me, the 2.0 formula is undrinkable. I don’t want to put a load more water with it because that would make it impractical.
I’ve been using Huel for a year straight now, and the one issue I had with it was that you had to consume so much liquid for so few calories. My target is 2000 calories from Huel alone. I have 500 calories per shake but I am hardly ever able to drink four of these in a day. Each one can take around 2 hours for me to drink them and can leave me feeling ill if I try to force-down them. 2000 calories equates to around 2 litres+ of water which I think is way too much. So what I was secretly hoping for is that you’d actually reduce the amount I am required to consume, not thicken it!
I’ve had to halt my Huel consumption for a week now, so hopefully I can come to some kind of resolution with it. If there’s no chance of a thinner / higher calorie Huel then I may be forced to switch to an alternative (which I definitely don’t want to do!).
I for one gladly shoot a 400ml, 100g bottle in about a minute.
In any case, you are correct. 2.0 was introduced with a new gum blend that is significantly thicker than 1.2. I’m personally of the opinion that a smoother mouthfeel without such a drastic increase in viscosity is perfectly possible at lower than 400ml of water. Mixing ratios of 1.2 and 2.0 has yielded me a lot of fairly pleasant results. Trying bit by bit to empty my last bag of 2.0… in favor of my 40+ bags of 1.2…
There’s a lighter version in the works, as hinted by Julian in another thread. Until then, you’re as fucked as the rest of us.
Check the label on the back, it has recommended levels of water. I think it’s 550. If you find that too thick the usual response from people who find it perfectly fine, is “use more water to make it thinner”.
On the label it just says: “Add 5 parts water first, then 1 part Huel”, doesn’t mention the unit of measurement or give an example. I’ve done some googling though and it looks to be 100g to 500ml.
I’ve just made up a new shake with the recommended ratio: 121g of Huel and 605ml of water. I’d say it’s now drinkable but the thickness is still not pleasant at all. BUT THEN I DISCOVERED SOMETHING…
My whole year of drinking Huel, I’ve basically been doing it on hardmode. I have U&U without any kind of sweetener or flavouring added to it.
When I added some strawberry Nesquik powder to the shake as a test, it completely changed my perception of it. With the sweet strawberry flavouring I actually liked it, even though it was exactly the same consistency. It became like a thick milkshake. It was quite surreal to me how much my perception of it changed, just because it was a little sweeter.
In conclusion: I think that when having U&U on its own, it is much more pleasant as a thinner consistency. Whereas when it does have a flavouring added to it, a thicker consistency doesn’t bother me.
I’m going to purchase the official Huel strawberry flavouring, and see how I go throughout next week. I will report back with my experience.
I’ll add my findings here as couldn’t immediately find a thread relating to v1.2 vs. v2.0 thickness.
I started on v1.2 only recently as on offer. I was mixing 100g vanilla with 500ml of water and liked it being a thick-ish smoothie.
I’m now on v2.0 vanilla and found the same quantities isn’t as thick. However, using 400ml of water instead does give a similar result to v1.2 with 500ml.
My girlfriend and I also slightly prefer the taste of v1.2.
I make mine (using 50/50 blend of regular and U&U) at a ratio of 1000ml water to 300g Huel. It’s a bit thicker but I find that keeps me from getting hungry for longer.
I make mine in a blender, blender for around 30s, and then leave to stand overnight in a fridge.
Blending, standing and temperature all have an effect on the texture and thickness. So it might be worht experimenting with those to find a thickness that suits.
So, I’ve been trying Huel with a variety of the different flavourings over the past couple of weeks… It has been a great success.
With the flavourings, I now find the thickness is spot-on.
v2.0’s thickness also has major advantages over 2.1: it now doesn’t separate (no need to keep swirling the Huel around), and it’s slightly easier to clean (because it keeps together it doesn’t get left on the shaker as much). With the flavourings I am now able to consume Huel much faster than I was previously which has made a huge difference in reaching my daily calorie goal.
I consider this issue now solved. The solution was flavouring, and a bit of getting used to .
.