Ok, I’m going to admit to being a little bit of a traitor here, but I had a very good reason…
I’m relatively new to the world of Huel and rave over the berry/mint-choc flavours. I desperately wanted to try the U/U Huel, but didn’t want to spend the full amount without knowing whether I’d like it. So I took to an online auction site, where I purchased some gluten free U/U. It was sealed and unopened, but rather quite old - went out of date in November ‘17, though due to the nature of Huel, I assumed it’d be ok.
I find the U/U’s lack of flavour to be extremely overpowering. It seems to work well with boosts (except cacao/caramel where I can’t taste a thing), but I’ve tried mixing it with soups and can’t seem to do anything decent with it.
It’s really difficult to describe the taste of something unflavoured, but I’d compare the smell to that of the caramel boost, and the taste to resemble mixing flour and water - quite a bitter but pronounced taste.
My question is - is this just the way the U/U Huel is, or could some of the other factors (v2.2, gluten free, out of date) play a part in my dislike for it? I don’t want to give up and am tempted to not be a cheapskate and buy the full price stuff, but would love to hear others thoughts on the matter.
You’re brave… buying something opened and out of date…
You have no way of knowing how long it’s been open and how it’s been stored.
It could well be spoiled.
I can see the temptation tho, in order to try it.
But it’s £20 for a fresh and sealed bag (you could buy one of another flavour that you know you like, to make up the order) - and if you don’t like it, it’s easy to flavour with boosts or other recipes.
I am a regular with the UU gluten free and it definitely doesn’t normally smell like caramel boost. To me, it tastes like plain porridge, and pea protein. I really like it, but I know lots of people find it unpalatable.
Don’t forget tho, that all the other flavours are the UU plus sucralose plus flavourings, so there’s no reason why you can’t flavour UU up yourself with sucralose and flavourings or mix it in with other flavoured pre-mixes if you really don’t like it.
I’d just buy a bag of the real stuff and chuck the dodgy opened out of date one in the bin
Thanks for your input, Christina. Just to confirm, the bag wasn’t open - it was sealed and unopened, else I wouldn’t have bought it (I used the wrong word on my original post, sorry about that). I may well go for a full bag of U/U in my next order. Tastes nice with the mint-choc boost so maybe it’s just a bit out of date.
Hi Bee, I erroneously wrote “unsealed” in my post, when I, in fact, meant “unopened”. Apologies for that one.
I believe the date on the packet is “best before” rather than “use by”, meaning that the Huel will be safe to consume, however I’m happy to stand corrected.
It’s still over a year out of date. It’s probably not bad for you, but like most things the nutrients and flavour will change and deteriorate over time.
I ate out of date oatcakes once. They didn’t make me ill but they tasted pretty foul
Fair enough. It was just to sample and see whether it suited me and was usable. Turns out it was a plan that backfired as I’m still none the wiser.
That said, I’d just made some porridge using 1.5scp vanilla, 0.5scp U/U and 200ml heated almond milk and it was absolutely to die for. Ready-Brek-esque. Gorgeous stuff!
UU works really well mixed with the other pre-mixes to tone down the sweetness.
I can understand your gamble!
I’m sure, because it was sealed, it’s still safe to eat, it just probably tastes a bit wierd.
I’d say it’s worth buying a ‘proper’ bag. You will definitely be able to use it, even if you decide not to make it a regular order. It’s so versatile. The forum can give you loads of ideas on recipes and flavours too.
I had UU as my first Huel. I couldn’t stand it. Like you I couldn’t find anything to flavour it enough. The overpowering bitter oatyness was all I could ever get. I can’t imagine it being 1year out of date could make it any worse (my opinion only!) How you describe it was exactly as it was for me!
I had U/U for the first time today as breakfast (1.5 scoops in 300ml water). I didn’t add anything because I wanted to see (taste) what the fuzz was about.
I don’t get it tbh. Yes, it doesn’t taste great, like “hmmmmmm this is sooooo good give me more”, but it also doesn’t taste revolting I think. It just tastes bland and clean. Nothing to love, nothing to hate.
For lunch I’m going to have 3scoops U/U with one sachet of banana flavour boost (so only half the dose that’s recomended when using U/U). Let’s see
