I had the same problem as above, also in a hard water area - after watching your video to make sure it wasn’t user error, and still getting the same results, I opened a bag from a different batch number and that seems smoother and easier to mix, but still a fair bit more difficult than Joylent.
The bag from Batch 1936 (expiry 07.2016) is the problematic one for me, it also seems to have noticeably bigger brown bits of flaxseed. Thankfully the other bag of batch 1927 (expiry 07/2017) seems a lot better in both senses. Hope that helps!
Hi Chris, I’ve mixed Huel at home in aylesbury (hard water) and while on holiday in bournemouth (softwater) and dont find a difference in the mixing.
As you can imagine I’ve personally tried all batches. No difference in mixing for me. The batch with the larger flaxseed bits was due the particle size being changed by the supplier from 80 mesh to 40 mesh. Onc the smaller size is available again we will switch back.
When you are shaking do you turn the bottle at different angles? I shake for a second or two then change the angle to nearly upside down, then repeat.
@Julian : Thanks! I did as in your video and the results surely improved, although I got lumps noticeable at the end of the stream enough to fill 1/4 a scoop and still disturbing (I ended filtering them). They were small but one quite large, and I shaked madly. It is right, as @ChrisN says, that is a fair bit more difficult than Joylent.
Talking about batches, all mine are from batch 1936 (07/2016).
I will repeat with the different angles, I think I did not do it completely right.
@alfonson@ChrisN Joylent is a different product, it’s main carb source is maltodextrin.
Maltrodextrin is a very fine powder and does mix very well, however there are several downsides. Have a read of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltodextrin: here are some key points:
Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as
glucose.
It is commonly used for the production of sodas and candy
Maltodextrin has a glycemic index ranging from 85 to 105 (Sugar is 68 and Glucose is 100%)
Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide
Here is the nutritional profile of mlatodextrin:
Basically, it’s not a naturally occurring ingredient, has almost no nutritional value apart from carbs and 1% fibre, there are no vitamins or minerals in maltodetrin. It will spike your blood sugar and insulin. If you want to recover quickly after exercise and get sugar / carbs into your blood very quickly then Maltodetrin has a place.
No worries, you aren’t the only one. Just reading this thread and First days of Heul, there are a good number of people (six in these two threads) that mention getting lumps. Seven people, if you count @Julian (“I don’t get lumps. OK, I get lumps but having something to bite into is quite nice.” )
I use a Nutribullet blender to mix Huel and it works great, no lumps at all. I also use filtered tap water.
I liked the comparison with Joylent (and it’s not just Joylent, all the soylent brands except Huel use maltodextrin ) Sure it may help with mixing but it’s bad for diabetics. You just need to check your blood sugar to see the spike maltodextrin causes.
I’m currently waiting for my first order of Huel, however I’ve been using protein after training and have a matrix blender. It has two blender cups that have lockable lids so it’s awesome for taking to work etc. Currently on offer on groupon: http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/gg-groupon-goods-global-gmb-h-1349-148.
I’m also getting an unpleasant number of lumps when using the shaker (despite following the video instructions). This includes big powdery lumps which aren’t nice to chew on.
Today I tried stirring the powder into the water with a teaspoon before shaking it and that reduced the lumps to a tolerable level after ~45s of vigorous stirring. The result wasn’t lump free, but the lumps were smaller and a lot nicer to chew on.
I recommend giving this a try if you’re looking for a blender-free preparation method.
(This was with soft water, although I’m sceptical that water hardness makes much difference.)
I have one of these in a protein shaker and tried it with Huel, you actually get a very large lump in the middle so I think it’s a lot worse and I’ve stopped using it.
I have had lumps in my Huel as well (though I call them balls!) but never really cared about them much. It is just powder that did not mix well. I just use my tongue to “crush” them with some excess water in my mouth to avoid having to swallow them in whole (though I am not sure what bad could that do). The main issue with them is that the powder in this state tends to stick into your teeth or inside your cavities if you have one, so you have to work a bit to get them off. Not really that unpleasant or noteworthy in my opinion. I am much much more concerned about the artificial sweetener.
Joylent shaker + steel ball => a lot and huge lumps
Huel shaker + steel ball + 1 minute hard shaking => not huge lumps but quite enough to be disturbing. Size quite small: the lumps crossed the grid (I put after to filter), and quilte enough remain inside the shaker.
Huel shaker + steel ball + 15 seconds of mid shaking => not huge lumps, but a lot of them smaller. Some crosses the grid (put after), a lot remains inside. Look:
And here out of the shaker:
Those lumps are the ones that did not cross the grid. They weight 9 grams, and I eat lumps that crossed the grid. I find they very disturbing since I have to bite them and they stick and taste quite bad. I expect from this just to shake and drink, but I actually lost quite time since I have to drink it slow to get the lumps, or use a blender (which takes me time too). I feel like having worse digestion if I eat lumps intact :\
@zoltan: about sweetener, I recommed you to open another thread, I am interested too
@alfonson I get a few small lumps, but I don’t mind. They go down quite easily. But I don’t seem to be having the problems with lumps that you have. But my portions of Huel get shaken 3 times:
500ml water, 3 scoops Huel, shake vigorously.
Top shaker up with extra water and shake some more, put in the fridge.
Take out of fridge after a few hours and shake a bit more before drinking.
Funnily, I always add the powder first, then water.
After adding the water, I turn the shaker upside down and give the bottom of the shaker a firm tap. Then I shake for just a couple of seconds and hey presto, no lumps. The grid seems to help, too.
This works with all sort of powders, including huel.
I got no lumps at all in my Huel this morning. On the first shaking, I shook it violently up and down for 10 seconds. Then the extra water went in and I shook it by wiggling it from side to side. That was when I was preparing it last night before going to bed. This morning I gave it another good wiggle and it came out totally smooth. I wonder if leaving it overnight helps.
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