I’m still having problems trying to convince people to try Huel.
My parents still won’t go near it. Won’t touch it at all. It’s totally against everything they know about food.
But a couple of months ago I was on a walk with two friends. We were sat having a break, and we were talking about healthy nutrition. One of my friends then said something like, “I suppose if you could get a nutritionist to tell you exactly what foods to eat for a totally balanced diet, you would be totally healthy and never get ill.” I had already told this person about Huel months earlier, and even let him try some.
Then the other friend emailed me a few weeks back asking for advice on what to eat for healthy snacks while out walking. I told him about Huel. Then a few weeks later he emailed me again asking for my advice on what to eat to get the best balance of nutrients. I told him again about Huel.
Then the two of us were out for a walk yesterday. I was sat in his car on the way to the start of the walk, drinking from a Huel shaker. He was telling me again how he was having trouble figuring out what to eat for a balanced diet. I told him about Huel again. His only response was, “I’ve not really looked into Huel to be honest.”
Then when we were changing into our walking shoes, I was drinking some more Huel and the topic of nutrition came up again. I was explaining to him about how protein is made up of amino acids, but some foods have a better balance of amino acids than others. I said that lentils and rice are a good combination because their amino acid profiles compliment each other. I said that nuts are a bad source of protein on their own because they don’t have a complete amino acid profile.
His reply?
“Well, I suppose if you were to only eat one food all the time then you would have problems…unless someone was to invent a food that provided everything you needed.” To which I replied: “THAT’S WHAT HUEL IS!”
His only other contributions on the topic later in the day were to keep saying the name “Huel” in a mocking way, and then to ask me things like “So is this all you need to bring with you then?” and “So don’t you get hungry then?”
I replied something like:, “No…well, yes, I do eventually get hungry, so then I have some more Huel and I no longer feel hungry. But it’s not just flavoured water, it’s a complete meal containing everything you need.”
This seems to be a real blind spot for some people. It’s like their brain can’t understand it or cope with the concept. I mean, they’re perfectly happy to eat processed foods like bread, cheese, or even Quorn. But the concept of mixing a nutritionally complete powder with some water and drinking it, it’s like it goes against everything they understand about what food actually is.
It was almost like I’d just told him to urinate in his car’s fuel tank…
It is quite strange how people react to Huel. My mum for example, she will lambaste Huel in one breath, then the next she will insist I eat donuts or cake. Because it takes up more space than powder it must be better!
“Afternoon tea” on Sundays (actually, probably every night) at my mum’s consists of various cakes, biscuits, chocolate bars, maybe some scones with a thick layer of jam (clotted cream optional). Just about every ingredient is packed full of sugar and the conversation usually includes at least one reference to the diet that is going to start this week.
She recently asked me if she could try some Huel so I gave her some with toffee flavour added. Absolutely no go. “Huel-face” ensued. It’s unfortunately difficult to reason with people with serious sugar addictions. Maybe Huel should do a high-sugar version topped with bright artificial coloured icing that can be used to wean sugar addicts slowly off of their teatime crack.
It’s the same here. My other half is the Huel target market exhibit A! Hugely busy job, 10-12 hour days occasionally, no time for breakfast, sometimes no time for lunch. But for her the idea of eating the same thing everyday is difficult, she likes all her meals to be different. If I could just get her to try the strawberry flavour then maybe she could get involved with having strawberry “milkshakes” everyday!
I bet you Huel coated with squirty cream topped with sugar strand / multi-colour sprinkles in a glass with a straw would go down a treat with everyone you offered it to.
Serve it in a Huel shaker on it’s jack jones and the world thinks you’ve gone mad.
@HarryTuttle - “Huel-face”, love it. My mother was the same…
I suppose you can’t force it down people’s throats, either literally or metaphorically. I’m not always trying to persuade my parents. I only argue the case for it if they comment on it when they see me drinking it. And with my friend, it was only because he was asking me for advice.
I don’t go round wearing a sandwich board advertising Huel and shouting about it with a megaphone. Although I would if I was paid, hey Julian?
But I suppose it would be similar if someone suddenly invented things like bread and cheese. People would be like, “What? So you take the baby food from another species, churn it up until it’s solid, leave it sat around until it kind of goes a bit mouldy, then slice it up and put it between slices of this dry, rather tasteless stuff that’s made by grinding a plant into a powder, adding yeast to it, then baking it in an oven? Are you mental? Why can’t you eat normal food like normal people instead of this processed rubbish?”
Just wanted to add, I gave / sold some of the Huel I won last month to my friends and collegues. At least 6 of them have placed orders themselves now!
The main selling point seems to be that I am so healthy now that I need about an hour less sleep. I will literally wake up brimming with energy an hour or more before my alarm goes off
I’m having Huel for the last two month now every day in the office for lunch. I have “converted” 6 people to Huel so far, but most of them are not using it as regularly as me. Still, every single day I get comments about it from someone else. As most people have already heard my response they start rolling their eyes as soon as someone else is asking me about it / challenging Huel. So I hold back trying to explain it.
Still, I am am seriously surprised. Two month down the line people are still not believing that I am actually drinking my lunch. It really goes against something very fundamental in their mind.
Yes, this is it. It seems to be such an alien concept for many people. Maybe they associate it with things like slimming shakes or bodybuilding supplements.
100% Huel is just over twice my usual food budget, without a subscription anyway. But, I am not losing weight now because its easy for me to consume enough calories, I don’t constantly struggle to find something vegan, I am not constantly aware that my diet is nutritionally inadequate and somehow I’m going to need to find EVEN MORE time to plan, and it saves me so much time (looking for recipes, planning the weeks, doing the shopping, cooking, and cleaning up), I’m not having a mental breakdown trying to resist sources of sugar, and to be blunt pooping has been great this week. It is well worth the cost per meal for me, as long as I can not get sick of it.
But despite aaaaaaaaaall that, I do refer to it as my powdered alien food and probably will continue to do so, because for some reason I can’t put my finger on, it is definitely pretty weird!
A couple years ago I spent £65 in one month just at the boost juice bar on healthy smoothies… they tasted so good. Huel doesn’t taste as good but they are definitely cheaper and healthier, and I can have one smoothie every so often instead ad a treat.
But I digress, just do what Julian says, tell them that it’s a miracle, 1 minute prep time, no mess, waste or cooking time, has everything your body needs.
You don’t need to waterboard your family, friends and colleagues with the obvious on-the-box benefits;
How it’s cheaper, faster and more nutritious than 99% of all food on the market.
How it frees up several of your precious hours every day.
How you don’t need to manually balance each meal to make sure it’s healthy.
How 20 reasons later
Just sit back, and quietly and smugly reap the benefits
I’m really lucky, my dh hasn’t uttered one negative comment about Huel but neither has he expressed any interest in trying any (although he’s always moaned that my cooking is “too healthy” )
Regarding the cost, my father in law is renowned for being tight with money. He’d eat a packet of asda basics biscuits for lunch because its cheaper than buying a sandwich (yes his heart is knackered). He lives alone and spends £45-50 a week on food. Pretty much exactly the cost of huel but guaranteed to be less nutritionally complete.
It is well worth the cost per meal for me, as long as I can not get sick of it.