Travelling with Huel during hot weather

I’m making a long train journey on Thursday and would like to take some Huel with me.

As the weather is extremely hot in Europe now, will the quality of the product be affected? I plan on taking a few unopened packages in my suitcase.

The nutritional values are only affected if you add boiling water (from the cooking with huel post) so in that regard I’d assume it would be fine.

Thanks - I was just asking because they say to store Huel in a cool place, away from direct sunlight, so I thought it might be affected.

If Huel is kept out of direct sunlight/heat in your bags, it should be okay. If you leave the bags in direct sunlight for hours at a time this could affect them, but I doubt that you’ll be doing that as you’re on a train!

Cool, thanks!

What about when Huel is made up with water and kept in bottles throughout the day when out? I like to take bottles of Huel out for day’s walking.

If it’s hot weather, then it’s best to only add Huel when you’re about to consume it. It depends on the environment they’re kept in, if you can keep them relatively cool in a bag or whatnot with ice cubes or whatever it is, then that’s fine, but in very hot weather like we’re having recently, it doesn’t last all too long.

From past experience I can say that leaving prepared Huel for several hours in a car on a hot day is a VERY bad idea.

Take an empty shaker with you, and ask a coffee shop to fill it up with cold tap water for you when you order a coffee. Or just grab a nice cold bottle of water from a shop

1 Like

When you say it doesn’t last long, do you just mean it will lose the nutrients? Or will it actually become dangerous to drink?

Would it last longer if I put ice cubes into the actual bottles?

I’m trying to think of the best way to use it while out for the day. Making it up fresh while out isn’t really that convenient.

Err, you don’t live in the countryside, do you :wink:
No coffee shops in the middle of the woods I’m afraid.

1 Like

If you’ve already mixed it with water, then I’d imagine that eventually bacteria will start building up, wouldn’t it?

The NHS advises to consume food kept at room temperature within 2 hours of cooking it (or 24 hours, if refrigerated) - I guess Huel will behave in a similar way.

2 Likes

If you have a cool bag, with an ice brick thing, problem solved. That’s how I’ve done it in the past. Basically if it stays cool will last longer. Quantifying that as to Y temperature giving you X hours would be challenging though!

2 Likes

Thanks for your replies.

What about using a thermos flask instead of a standard bottle?

Bacteria will build up much faster in hotter temperatures, so that’s why we don’t recommend it. Also, just from personal experience, it really doesn’t taste good. Putting it in a thermos with some ice cubes or like pookey says with the ice brick should keep it cool and fine to consume.

1 Like

Great, thanks.

I think I’m going to head to Go Outdoors on Saturday and get several thermos flasks (other outdoor gear shops are also available, as one might say if this were a TV discussion). I have a day out in the Welsh mountains planned for Sunday, so I’m trying to be prepared…

By the way, the only time I have ever noticed a problem with the taste when taking Huel out for the day was when I attended a funeral back in October. It was a long day out in which I shared a car with my brother. I left my rucksack in the car all day, and in the evening on the way home I drank the remainder of a bottle of Huel. It did taste quite weird. It was drinkable, and I didn’t come down ill or anything, but still, it didn’t taste right.

I’ve never noticed a problem with taste when just taking it out for the day in my rucksack, though. Of course, it could start going off before I notice a change in taste, so better to be safe.

It looks like thermos flasks and ice cubes are the best way forward.

By the way, surely this must also be true when people take sandwiches out for the day? Surely a cheese sandwich can’t be all that great after being in a rucksack for several hours?

The main difference is the water.

Water allows bacteria to dissolve their food and get it into their cells. A sandwich has water in it, but not as much as Huel. So the bacteria can grow much faster in Huel that’s made up than it can a sandwich.

A cheese sandwich also isn’t great after being in a rucksack for a few hours, it’s just likely better than Huel!

1 Like

What if I make my Huel really thick and put it in a sandwich?

3 Likes

This is the reason I bought Huel in the first place.

Travelling around Europe between meetings I wanted something easy to eat on the road which was fine when it was cold overseas but I just got from Belgium, Holland and France, and although I kept Huel inside the car where it is air conditioned it tasted real funky yuk!

Defo need a cool bag for your trip or a fridge for the boot of the car which I just ordered as it wont fit in the fridge under the armrest grrrr!

This changes everything…

I keep my pre made Huel in bottles in the car everyday for hours and not noticed a change in taste. I have one sat in a hot NCP car park right now which I made at 7am and am looking forward to drinking it on my way home around 3pm

Been doing this for weeks and I haven’t been poisoned or killed yet !!!

1 Like