Saving time to do “more important things” is a common motivation to use complete foods only.
So if this is also the case for you: What is it exactly that is “more important” to you? Work? Playing an instrument? Working out longer? Reading? Other hobbies?
Or even a family? Honestly all people I know who are on complete foods are single or in a distant relationship. Friends who are married and have kids keep telling me that having Huel (or the products of similar brands) only would not be compatible with familiy life; most people and therefore most partners would not tolerate that, and one has to be a good example for the kids. If someone here has made I different experience please write it here, that would be very encouraging.
And do you have the impression that you really use the additional time wisely or productively? Not everybody can perform on a high level all the time without a break. To be honest I don’t save “valuable” time - more time can also mean watching youtube videos or reading random articles. This is more often the case than I wish it would be…
It feels wrong to sit down for dinner with just a shake whilst others are eating normal meals, the sharing of experience at mealtimes is a big part of the occasion. …
As for what to do with the saved time… Parkinson’s law always takes care of that.
I don’t only have Huel in my diet. But I certainly love the extra time saved from prepping lunch, or making breakfast. What do I do? I guess I don’t always do something super wholesome, but having more time to wind down and relax in the week is great. Definitely read, but nothing wrong with a scroll on social media- or YouTube! Certainly fitting in fitness is easier, especially in the morning. I like using my lunch break to not be making food (apart from the 5 mins to make H&S!).
In my case I’ve started with Huel because the ease to count calories, as I want to lose weight. My wife was pregnant at the time and wasn’t sure about it. But once she gave a try to a shake or a H&S she’s more hueligan than me! My daughter was born a month ago, and now we both are counting calories to keep losing weight. And having a 5 years old kid plus a newborn, Huel saves you A LOT of time and, as we usually dinner H&S so we 3 sit and share a meal.
Sometimes we have a shake both and she eats her normal dinner and tells us that when she grow up she’ll eat a shake with us too. Note that she loves the “brown pasta”, she eats one scoop of Chick’n and mushrooms weekly and is her favourite dinner of the school days
Interesting question @mbs I actually use the time for using social media. When I’m actually consuming Huel I often used to sit at my desk and carry on working rather than head off to do something else. When I worked in an office I guess I went to the kitchen area less often, so a little less sociable, but now I work from home it’s more time for other things. I find I get more time for fitness activities first thing, as I don’t have to worry about “breakfast” prep as was done in 5 minutes previous evening.
I’ve been consuming Huel so long now I expect I’ve also learned how to waste the saved time on occasions.
This really depends on the culture you’re having that meal in! Not all cultures give the same importance to meals.
For me (single 27M), having H&S or a shake for lunch, gives me more time to spend, perhaps in the garden reading a book during my lunch break. I also drink Huel right before my morning workouts (1h before) - and that gives me the opportunity to not workout (strength & mass training) in a fasted state, without giving me the bloating and the continuous burping I’d get when eating food.
I’ve always felt it kind of disrespectful to spend less time eating a meal than it took to prepare. So if the cook spends an hour making dinner, the dining should be leisurely, ie for at least that long. Even once the eating’s finished, it’s good to stay at the table and do some talking, take time.
Huel’s great in that it takes almost no time to prepare, and just the same amount of time to consume. Maybe the saved time could be banked to be spent on taking longer over eating in company. I hate to rush, and eating fast always seems to mean eating more and/or feeling less satisfied.
One interesting thing to note re. eating is that many “families” in the UK now don’t actually eat together around a table - they eat off their laps while watching tv. Eating habits have changed. In restaurants and cafes you see people eating while scrolling through their phone. I’ve even been to restaurants myself and seen couples doing it, so eating or drinking Huel in many cases is no less sociable than what everyone else is doing.
On @epicure’s comment, I find it sad how quickly it takes to demolish a meal that has taken hours to cook. I’ve often spent a couple of hours making something for it to be eaten in half an hour, and I’m no elaborate masterchef by any stretch of the imagination.
That’s the reason I usually cook together with friends, and we take the entire lunch/afternoon during the weekends to enjoy what we cooked. When we’re out, I try to leave my phone in DND while at the table.
When I’m alone though, I don’t mind finishing in 10 minutes what took me 1h cooking, since I also enjoy cooking; plus, no one is there to judge me
When you see the epidemic growth of diabetes 2 and other diet related diseases it’s worth or actually a urgent need having a look at our eating routines and traditions (here’s where I’m trying to relate to @mbs). But it’s not that easy because there are so many aspects to food and eating, literally only the sky is the limit. I totally agree with @epicure that the social aspect of sitting and eating together is very important. It’s a moment of sharing: sharing a wonderful meal, cooked with love and devotion, sharing the experiences and thoughts of our workday, enjoying the company of loved ones…. We’ve been apart for some time and try now to kind of synchronize our lives again. But does it have to be at every meal of the day? And are we really celebrating all the nice aspects of eating together every day? Of course not.
To eat a Huel shake or h&s-dish instead of a so called proper meal means a change - also for all the other people sitting around the table! But - so what? Not risking anything because we’re afraid of the reactions of our family or co-workers can’t be a solution. We have to take into consideration that every change’s received more easily when we do it consciously and take the chance to do it for the better. Talk about it and make aware that you all can still sit together as a family or lunch-group, that you still can talk about the daily worries and achievements, still can make plans for the next holidays - even though holding fork and knife at one side of the table and sipping from a Huel bottle on the other side . And then - and that’s all my own personal experience: don’t be stubborn. It maybe on weekends or at least one evening per week where you cook together, enjoy some music, invite friends and celebrate a shared dinner the same as people have done thousands of years ago.
Every change takes time and always some explanations. And I don’t mean explanations (only) about the nutritional value of Huel but about everybody’s needs and wishes. It can be done with some laughter, some self-mockery but also the confidence that you have every right to eat what you think is best for you. Ooops for my long post…. and hopefully not too off the topic
When I was commuting into work pre-Covid on the Metro, I would have Huel for breakfast and lunch.
Huel for breakfast meant I could drink my shake on my 22-min Metro ride rather than try to cram in a “normal” breakfast before I left. I had to leave at 7:30am on the dot and all my time prior to going out the door was spent getting my four kids dressed and fed and ready for school. Huel was a massive time saver.
Huel for lunch stopped me eating bread and stopped me heading to Greggs/Sainsbury’s for a meal deal (and topping up with a doughnut…) or, worse, heading to the works canteen where the food on offer was pretty poor.
Post-Covid, I’m WFH 4 days a week so I tend to only have Huel for lunch - again to avoid eating bread. I don’t have Huel so much for breakfast as I have more time on my hands in the morning cos of the absence of a commute. But frankly I need to get back into Huel for breakfast as it’s better than the toast and marmalade routine I’ve slipped back into…
I never have Huel for an evening meal as - like some other posters - I regard that as family time for meals. I occasionally have it for lunch on a Sat or Sun if we’re feeding the kids pasta as I’m not a fan of pasta. But it’s pretty rare.
This is adorable! She just wants to be as nutritionally complete as mum and dad! That’s great your lil girl is enjoying the Chick’n Mushroom pasta, what a nutritious meal for them!
Haha I totally get this, what do you do when you slow cook something longest meal ever. “No you can’t get up from the table, we still have 3 hours to sit here.” Just kidding, it is a bit depressing when something you slaved over is wolfed down in minutes. My Mum always told me to put my knife and form down between mouthfuls to slow me down!
I couldn’t agree more with you both. I think a lot of people, when they hear about Huel, have quite a rose-tinted view of what their eating lifestyle is actually like and can get almost a little snobbish about savouring meal times with family. But the more self aware will realise there are many meal times where they aren’t being social and eating wholesome food with their friends and family. They’re doing what @spangled is doing, trying to wolf something down before the train while trying to get everything in order “Food for your most inconvenient meals.”
Ah well maybe just one piece of toast and a half portion if Huel? Balance right?
That’s such good advice. Makes conversation easier too, I know I’m old-fashioned but I still think chewing and speaking should be separate activities.
I once knew an elderly fellow who told me that folks can finish meals without actually ‘eating’ any of the food… his thinking was that if we’re preparing our next mouthful whilst still chewing our first we’re not actually fully concentrating on either, so none of the food has been really properly and fully eaten. He had a twinkle in his eye but I’ve often thought it was a nice idea, from a old guy who remembered hard times of not so much food, and who still believed every mouthful matters.
Oh man no, you’re not old fashioned, this is a MUST. You can’t chew and speak at the same time, I’d kill you. Or chew with your mouth open. Same results
Anti multitasking! I agree on this one! Nice one, will save it and keep it in mind every time I eat, what about sips with Huel though ? Should we put the bottle down, enjoy the sip, grab the bottle again, get another, and repeat?
I have a shake for breakfast Monday to Friday. I work from home full time and it means I can sit at my desk and drink breakfast while working saving on separate breakfast eating time. I guess that means I have more time for sleep
I generally have 2 bars for lunch because it’s quick and easy and I can do whatever needs doing then at the time. A shake 1hr before the gym is amazing because it digests quickly enough and then I’m full of energy for my workout.
Well I have one Huel shaker as my breakfast and lunch as I don’t eat that many calories due to my smaller size.
I get more time in bed because I don’t have to worry about having time in the morning to make and eat breakfast.
The bigger benefit is my lunch break. I keep my shaker bottle in a wine bottle cooler pack with an ice pack in it. And I take a few gulps throughout the day which means I can spend my entire lunch break doing something else
longest meal ever. “No you can’t get up from the table, we still have 3 hours to sit here.” Just kidding, it is a bit depressing when something you slaved over is wolfed down in minutes. My Mum always told me to put my knife and form down between mouthfuls to slow me down!
“Food for your most inconvenient meals.”
? Should we put the bottle down, enjoy the sip, grab the bottle again, get another, and repeat?