Even after 8 months of consuming Huel, my parents won’t even consider trying it.
My mum was still shocked recently when I told her how much it costs. I had to explain to her, “Look, this isn’t just vanilla flavoured water. It’s a full meal.”
I still can’t get my head round why someone would happily eat porridge with flax seeds, but somehow seems to think Huel is some new chemical element discovered by aliens or something.
I remain hopeful. I think as more people hear about it, Huel will become more understood.
£1.50 per serving isn’t particularly good, but it’s certainly not bad either considering all of the nutrients you’re getting.
I think lots of people don’t quite see the point in it. I have desperately tried to give a good explanation when people have asked. My mum keeps saying it’s like the stuff they give people in hospitals, she likes eating vegetables and things like that. I’m very happy with it and that’s the main thing for me
People need to get over the retail price, which is excellent when you consider the benefits. They need to realise they are making an investment in their long-term health. Besides, even though Huel costs more than individual ingredients, it saves money over time due to less wastage. My food bill is about 40% less now than pre-Huel.
Try this:
Huel costs from £1.34 (including free delivery) per 500 cal meal. For nutritionally complete (contains all essential amino acids, essential fatty acids and all 26 essential vitamins and minerals.), balanced, healthy food, which saves time, requires no cooking, minimum washing, minimal packaging, zero food waste.
If that is not you can add… Huel is high in protein (150g per 2000 calories) and fibre (33g), very low in sugar (less than a teaspoon of sugar per 2000 calories), is made from sustainable ingredients (oats, peas, rice, flaxseed, sunflower, coconut, plus a vitamin and mineral blend), 100% vegan (better for the environment and animals), and has a shelf-life of 12 months (so zero food waste), and is satiating.
I’ve found it to be too satiating! Ive literally force fed myself on my meal breaks because its too delicious and too filling ha ha.
I’ve decided to split my scoops into 2x2 scoop meals.
Another advert for Huel… it is flexible and allows you to titrate your meal consumption… its like eating half a sandwich and finishing it later, except Huel still tastes great (when a spoiled sandwich doesn’t!)
As someone who really didn’t cook (always travelling for work or out for dinner with friends) and wanted to eat healthily I’ve gone from an average spend of £6-10 a meal for two meals a day plus coffee and snacks to £1.50 a meal for four meals a day and I add coffee granules to some of my Huel, couldn’t be happier!
I thought it sounded a bit expensive when I first looked into it but I was spending about £5 on lunch every weekday and what I was eating wasn’t that healthy. Monthly I was spending over £100+ just for lunch. By comparison Huel’s a far better option.
My mum was positive about Huel when I mentioned it to her but I later overheard her saying to my brother that it was just a fad diet. I’m sure she thinks it’s some kind of temporary Slimfast plan.
After 3 months or so my fitness has improved to the point where people have started commenting on it. I’m down a couple of belt notches and my BMI is in the ideal range for the first time in while.
I’ve been told it must be pretty boring and miserable drinking the same beige shakes all the time. I quite like them and I really wasn’t enjoying the same limited sandwich range day after day. I still enjoy a nice meal in the evening when I have time to cook.
Marcus, is there any reason that you need people to get it? Maybe if you think the health benefits would help someone close to you then yeah it may be good to talk them into replacing a few meals with huel, but I mean if someone is criticising you for using it, why be bothered? It’s a choice that you have made to fit in with your lifestyle and that’s it.
I have just started huel, the reasons behind my why are another story but for me have done the research, I like the taste and thought yeah, I can do this long term, it fits with my lifestyle, I’m not about to try and get anyone else to do it too, I don’t care if they approve or get it either.
I think the biggest problem with powdered meal replacements are quite simply that the market has been saturated with dead end plans that promise weight loss for years, the difference with huel is that it doesn’t promise weight loss it promises all the nutrition the body needs, just for most people weight loss will be a pleasant side affect.
Look after yourself, and live your life the way you want.
Well, yes, these two particular people, definitely. They have health problems, and my dad’s diet is quite bad, being quite heavy on cakes, biscuits, bread and jam. He has an enormous belly. He would definitely benefit from Huel. If he could get his appetite satisfied and get the nutrients into him, he would be in a lot better shape I’m sure.
As for other people, well, of course I want the Huel business to take off so that I can know for sure that I can keep having it in the future.
Not that I aggressively push it onto people, though.
Ah,
I understand completely that it’s important for you to get your parents to get it then. It’s not easy trying to get other people to eat healthy though, let alone get them to try and eat huel. The thing with changing diet is that it is a personal choice and when times get tough it takes personal mental focus to get over those tough moments, what I mean is that if you personally choose to go on a healthy eating lifestyle you will persevere with the lows, the sugar withdrawals, the feeling of why am I doing this when I could just eat cake or junk food, but if the choice is made for you by someone else you will cheat when that person is not around.
Something I would suggest asking them to try would be to exchange the porrage and flaxseed you mentioned for this, I have this every morning.
I mix 3 scoops of plain huel 1 scoop of porrage oats 1 apple (cored) and a few dashes of cinnimin powder. I make it in a nutrabullet with boiling water right out the kettle then it is such a thick consistency I put it in a bowl and eat like porrage, ( for people on the go this, don’t put the scoop of oats in and this is a drink). Maybe you could get them to exchange this one meal for a start.
Just a thought.
I definitely relate to this. My dad has kidney failure and while he doesn’t know about Huel yet, I know he would be closed to trying it. I think someone has to be willing to take the steps of a normal, healthy diet (a mainly plant-based diet, with fresh fruit/veg, low GI carbs, good fats, and some lean protein) before they realise how much of a blessing and a time-saver Huel is. The only people I know who have shown an interest are those who are already eating healthily and know how time-consuming it is. But yes, some people are their own worst enemy when it comes to diet.
@Sputnik: I am a counter example. I have been eating pretty much anything. Given the amount of time I spend at work I considered eating one of the few highlights during the day and just couldn’t bring myself to nibble leafs for lunch. However, I find Huel a tremendous time saver and, as important, it cuts down tremendously on choice fatique. I do not have to go out, battle myself in the supermarket whether to buy a healthy salad or rather something tasty. It is simply my only food option at work, which allows me to focus on getting stuff done and it does not weaken my resolve through having to take an active decision.
It’s extremely good for a nutritionally balanced meal you don’t have to make yourself.
It’s good, but not particularly good like I said. I can make a nutritious sandwich or salad for about the same price for my lunch. Considering the Huel meal is only for my lunch (I can see why the Huel price would be fantastic if it replaced a dinner / cooked meal) I find it not particularly cheap. Nor is it expensive.
yes, many times my relatives also think, its a juice or something like that. But i explained them many times about huel. Still they are not believing, its a full meal.
But will that salad have all of the macronutrient goodness that Huel has? As well as contributing to daily fibre, vitamin and mineral content?
I’ve tried balancing things. Being coeliac i don’t really enjoy eating at the moment. It’s more a chore whilst my gut is healing. So for me, Huel is ideal!
I still mix in one solid meal per day.
I’m basically selling Huel to colleagues as an oat based drink with all the goodness you need daily, without the unnecessary bulking agents and artificial crap. One doubter was amazed at how substantive the powder appeared and said ‘my protein shake doesn’t look as substantive as that’.
But yeah, I find it works fine for me. Cost wise I’m using one bag a week. Gluten free Huel is 25£ per 1.71kg bag… 25£ a week plus about a tenner to get rice, chicken and veg from my local farm… myshopping is dramatically cheaper! And I’m consuming daily 2200 cals.
That’s interesting. I’m willing to be proven wrong, but in my immediate circle, absolutely no-one who isn’t already on the healthy eating/fitness train has shown the slightest interest. By contrast, those already going to the gym, doing yoga, or cycling, or doing anything of note have shown some curiosity about how Huel could fit into their lives. This is, however, a sample size of about 10.
I’m kind of with @JosRoot - when I first started with this, I really wasn’t that bothered about health and fitness. A typical lunch might be a shop sandwich with some cakes or cookies, a choccy bar or two on the way home, and so on. I just had a vague sense that my body would thank me if I ate better, but never enough to really care that much - messing about with vegetables and worrying about nutrients was never my thing. So when I saw the launch of Soylent, I though ‘ah hah - that’s for me!’. Perfect nutrition without having to think about it or so much as look at a courgette or a banana. 
After waiting for the UK launch of Soylent, I found that Joylent was a thing, so started on that (in fact I’m still running down my stocks of that), then discovered Huel. I figured with all else being equal, I might as well pick the one that was healthier, and now here I am.
Funnily enough, now I’m getting decent nutrition with no effort, I’m finding I’m taking much more of an interest in health and fitness - I’ve lost about 16kg since I started, and now I’ve even gone so far as to buy a treadmill! 