New to Huel, need advice

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Hi everyone,

I decided to make the investment into Huel and purchased 2 packs of Huel Vanilla.
Now I have tried them and would like to share my experience, my background and would therefore like some advice.

I’m currently 21 years old and studying at university, Being a student, money is a bit of a difficulty and especially this semester I have spent a lot on various things which I still think why and how. I remember reading about Huel a few months ago but thought nothing of it, saw it more as a gimmick. I say this because from being a person who has studied sciences and seen what modern day diets and “cures” I sensed a lot of things popping on the internet were a waste of money.

I came across Huel again about a week ago again, I researched into it again and realised that this seems genuine. I took the plunge and splashed out £45.00 for two bags, a shirt and a shaker… (Interest free overdraft woo!). Anyways, here’s what I’ve tried so far:

Did the recommended recipe of 500ml of water and 100g of Huel, when I consumed it, it was okay… Couldn’t stand the chalky aftertaste… but I could bare it.

Tried leaving it overnight after reading some views, made it thicker and more bareable. So far was getting better.

Then I tried their recommended coffee recipe. So 2 teaspoons of instant coffee, ice cubes and 400ml of water, was blended and then attempted to consume. FIrst few gulps I thought was delicious. But then all of a sudden my gag reflexs were being “odd”, as much as I did enjoy the shake I made, my body started saying no. And each sip I took was hell. I got down to probably 100-200 ml before I threw it away. I don’t understand why this happened.

I have also tried it with blueberries, 50/50 water and milk ratio which was okay but the chalky aftertaste kept ruining it.

I splurged another £15.00 for flavour systems after reading about them on the forum, I tiried the strawberry one today with 500ml of water and 2.5 scoops of Huel. I added a bit of frozen rasberries to give it some colour and some more taste. The 1/2 a teaspoon does not work at all as a recommendation, it takes atleast 1 teaspoon to taste the strawberry flavouring, even then it’s very weak. But the difference this made was significant, no more chalky after taste, it did however have a bitter aftertaste, which I presume is due to the sweetners used in the flavouring. I much rather have the bitterness than the chalk!

So here I am asking for advice, I have looked around the forums and have been reading peoples views and opinions. I want to enjoy Huel and hopefully transition onto a 100 percent huel diet. However so far it isn’t going well at all.

I am not interested in calorie intake at the moment, I am currently training in boxing hoping to compete for the university this coming March, one thing I have noticed with Huel is that it gives me higher energy levels and allows me to jog and exercise for a longer duration, this is one thing I’ve noticed with Huel and is pushing me to continue consuming it!

So please fellow Huelers guide me to enjoyment!

Sorry if this was a long read.

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I don’t get a chalky aftertaste from Huel, although I think some of the early unflavoured versions were more chalky.

You have tried all of the things I would suggest:

refrigeration overnight - check
50/50 milk (I use almond or oat not dairy) - check
coffee granules - check
flavour sachet - check
frozen fruit - check

There’s one other thing I tried which is nice, adds protein and is vegan, and you can buy it from Sainsbury’s…it blends well in shaker with Huel…but does contain (coconut) sugar. Dunno that I’d want to use it in every Huel meal tho:

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/pb-fit-peanut-butter-powder-225g?langId=44&storeId=10151&krypto=efA89H1L1DulF8Xoa24Gdy0vReKy0t6%2Be%2F4rWPpHKgwIo176XtTaKP9z3AXumsHCBLxNt0RDis%2F6g9GPShN3dxY5j0MSeRUdxholgQCzrmIjjbUMhLL8ggi8zYFzVXpZ&ddkey=http%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Fpb-fit-peanut-butter-powder-225g

Other than that I dunno.

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Thanks for the reply, I’ve been meaning to try peanut butter, I’ll head down to my local Sainsbury’s soon and try and get hold of that. I’ll have a try with Almond milk, had it a long time ago and it was actually nice, expensive but nice.

I’m using the latest Huel version, it’s very chalky to me, which makes me think it could potentially be a bad batch.

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They sell similar ones in other places (Holland and Barrett/Amazon etc), but not all vegan…guess that doesn’t concern you, but just in case…

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I’m trying to go down a Vegan route, slowly but surely ;). But thanks for the information!

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I don’t get the chalkiness, but I do find sometimes that little bits of bran or whatever have a go at making me cough. A sure-fire way for me to stop that is to add a pribiotic drink to the water. Sainsbury’s do a very good multifruit soya based one,but it’s pricey at £4 for six. If cost is a problem (I find I have to use two bottles), maybe the flavour sachets could help. Or a fruit cordial, though that’s going to be high in sucrose…

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Try less water than recommended. I prefer it thicker.

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Huel tasted chalky to me too at first, but then I bought a trial pack of Joylent, and that was massively more chalky, and after consuming the Joylent, Huel no longer tastes chalky at all.
I think you put in way too much coffee, which triggered your gag reflex. I also throw up if I have coffee too strong, and always have to remember to tell them at Starbucks or somewhere to put a quarter of the usual amount of coffee in. I drink gallons of coffee, but I use only half a teaspoon leveled per cup.
I suggest you give coffee another chance, maybe, but in order not to waste, try making up a smaller 500g serving of Huel (half a meal) and put half a teaspoon of very good quality coffee in, and a teaspoon of sugar or the equivalent in substitute sweetener. I use Stevia and never buy sugar, but you say you not watching your weight, so sugar will do.

I like applesauce and cinnamon too, as flavoring. Half a jar of apple sauce and half a teaspoon of cinnamon.

I also found the flavouring packets pointless, as I need two heaped teaspoons before I can taste it, but that makes the mixture way too sweet then.

Hope my ideas help.