Having to make three meals a day during Stay at Home is getting old, but Huel now has three different flavors of ready-to-drink meal replacements. Huel was started in 2015 and the name was derived from a combination of "human" and "fuel." The products are intended to be healthy and inexpensive meals. Everything is soy-free, non-GMO, vegan, and shelf-stable.
Huel has three types of products – drinks, bars, and powders – and each type has a variety of flavors. The drinks come in chocolate, vanilla, and berry. I am always looking for more dairy, soy, and peanut-free foods to incorporate into my diet, so I was excited to try Huel when a representative reached out.
Before I stopped eating dairy, I used to eat a lot of yogurt shakes for on the go snacks and meals. They had to be refrigerated and often contained a lot of sugar. My favorite Huel drink is the chocolate one. They are best cold, but can also be consumed at room temperature which is helpful because if I take one out and drink it over the course of the day, I don't have to worry about it going bad.
Each drink has 400 calories and 20 grams of protein. One 16.9 oz drink is one serving. It has 3 grams of sugar, which are all added. Many vitamins and minerals are also added, which give you about 25% of the recommended daily intake.
The chocolate favor ready-to-drink complete meal is gluten-free and vegan. It does not have peanuts, but contains coconut. The drink is flavored both naturally and artificially, but cocoa power is one of the first ingredients. Pea protein is the second ingredient, only behind water.
They recommend shaking the drink before opening, but you don't have to worry about it being clumpy or chalky. The drink is smooth and has a nice, but not overpowering or overly sweet chocolate flavor. It truly tastes like healthy, adult chocolate milk. It's a bit thicker than milk, but still goes down easily and has the same refreshing qualities as a cold glass of milk.
All Huel products are available on their website, and students are eligible for a 10% discount. Another appealing aspect of the company is its commitment to reducing food waste and recycling. The bottles are recyclable and they are made from 25% recycled plastic.