WHAT THE NUTRITIONIST THINKS
NUTRITIONIST Amanda Hamilton offers her expert view — and Henry gives his verdict — on four of the best brands . . .
HUEL €54 for 28 meals, working out at €1.93 each, huel.com
CALORIES PER SERVING: 500 for the suggested three-plus scoops that make a meal. AMANDA SAYS: This has the highest levels of vitamins and minerals of the products sampled, but also the highest fat and salt content.
The plant proteins used are pea, flaxseed and brown rice, which may be better for some people than soya. It’s reasonably high in fibre, which is important in meal replacements to help you feel fuller.
Like most of these products, the sweetener used is sucralose. Some studies show this can disrupt gut microbes. But, at such a minimal intake, it is unlikely to be problematic. HENRY’S VERDICT: As this is a powder, it needs mixing with water. It comes with a shaker, but it’s better to use a blender, which isn’t convenient. It tastes like cold porridge. 1/5
SOYLENT €44 for 12 x 414ml bottles, working out at €3.65 a portion, soylent-uk.com
CALORIES PER SERVING: 400. AMANDA SAYS: Branded as ‘food reformatted’, it took me a while to find proper nutritional information on this, rather than just marketing blurb — although I love the look of the brand.
It contains a broad range of vitamins and minerals (once I finally found details on them), but the levels are lower than the other products, although it is lower in salt and fat than Huel.
The low fibre level may mean it’s not as filling as some of the other products and, again, it’s sweetened with sucralose. HENRY’S VERDICT: My favourite of the ones I tried. The cacao flavour is extremely good, like luxurious chocolate milk. The original tastes like rich rice pudding. I could easily drink these for pleasure. 4/5
SATURO €23.77 for eight x 300ml bottles, working out at €2.97 a portion, saturo.com
CALORIES PER SERVING: 330 (or 500 for the larger 500ml bottle). AMANDA SAYS: This is similar to Soylent with the breadth of added nutrients, but has slightly higher levels. It also has the lowest level of saturated fat of the products here and one of the lowest salt contents, which is positive.
The fibre levels are lower than some of the other drinks.
The chocolate flavour has broad appeal, sweetened again with sucralose. HENRY’S VERDICT: Similar to Soylent, but without the richness of flavour. I would avoid the brand’s snack bars in between — they just make you hungrier! 3/5
MANA €31 for 12 x 330ml bottles, working out at €2.59 a portion, plus shipping, drink-mana.com
CALORIES PER SERVING: 400. AMANDA SAYS: My nutritional favourite, as it contains some hard-to-get beneficial fats that come from ‘cold-pressed’ oils — which helps to preserve the nutritional value. It also contains reasonable levels of key vitamins and minerals.
The protein source is soya, which may not be suitable for everyone. It uses the same sucralose sweetener as the others. HENRY’S VERDICT: The carton is medicinal-looking and it tastes a bit like something a doctor might give you, too — creamy with a bit of a chalk, like kaolin. It’s not unpleasant, though. 3/5