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I love the idea of Soylent, but this has happened so many times now. It's not just the mold and the lead and the manufacturing defects, but the fact that often

I love the idea of Soylent, but this has happened so many times now. It's not just the mold and the lead and the manufacturing defects, but the fact that often these were the result of decisions-- like not putting a foil cap on a liquid food product-- that people with experience in the food industry would never have made. I hate to give in to stereotypes, especially of my own industry, but Soylent really gives the impression that they're a bunch of Valley brogrammers just barging into an industry to "disrupt" everything, but without knowing how to do so without killing people. Does anyone know if there's a product that's "Soylent, but by people who know what the hell they're doing"? That's what I want to buy.

irremediable 10y ago
AFAIK Huel is produced by a qualified dietician, and hasn't had any issues.
- Retric 10y ago
  Sorry but we don't currently ship to USA or Canada, but it's in the pipeline. Do you know of a US equivalent for a nutritionally complete bar not from Soylent?
  - irremediable 10y ago
    Ah damn, sorry, didn't realise they were EU-only. Maybe Mealsquares?
angersock 10y ago
Slim-Fast, Met-Rx...Carnation Instant Breakfast. This shit isn't new.
- Analemma_ 10y ago
  I don't think that's quite the same thing though, at least not for Slim-Fast (I haven't heard of the others). Soylent claims to be nutritionally complete-- as in, you could theoretically live off it alone-- and Slim-Fast does not. I was looking for a competing product along those lines.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    There are plenty of medical sole source of nutrition products available, catering to a range of different dietary needs. That they don't advertise to the general public; or don't say "you can live off this and nothing else" says something about Soylent's unethical marketing. The Ensure range is easiest to get hold of for the general public. (Ensure and Ensure Plus are sometimes used as sole source nutrition in forced NG tube feeding for hunger-striking prisoners or eating disordered patients.)
    - leggomylibro 10y ago
      "Ensure and Ensure Plus are sometimes used as sole source nutrition in forced NG tube feeding for hunger-striking prisoners..." Now there's a good brand differentiator...hang on, I have a Wikipedia page to improve.
    - ambrice 10y ago
      "unethical marketing"? Please explain..
      - DanBC 10y ago
        During the kickstarter they made a number of bullshit claims: "puts you in perfect health"; "perfectly safe for anyone"; they claimed rigorous testing which appeared to be one person living off it for a few months; they advertise it as a sole source of nutrition without any real testing.
        ambrice 10y ago
        This just seems to be a biased claim that Soylent hasn't done any "real testing". Do you have evidence of that? Soylent has been out for years and a lot of people have been drinking 100% Soylent for a long time now.
        DanBC 10y ago
        They hadn't done any testing during the kickstarter, and even if they had saying it was fine for anyone to use (the original recipe contained known allergens) and that it puts you into perfect health are clearly bullshit. (EDIT: I don't know why you're being downvoted. I upvoted you to try to correct that.)
- yourthrowaway2 10y ago
  But I want cannibalism jokes with my meal replacement.
amputect 10y ago
Medical food and meal replacement shakes existed well before soylent, they're usually intended for people who are on a feeding tube. There's a lot of common brands like Ensure, and you can find probably at least one decent option in a reasonably well-stocked grocery store. If you want to order online there's some interesting stuff like: http://www.functionalformularies.com/liquid-hope-information.html http://www.functionalformularies.com/liquid-hope-information... Soylent's main distinguishing features are marketing and sloppiness. They are also a little cheaper than other options, but here as with most things, you get what you pay for.
- thatswrong0 10y ago
  Ensure has way more sugar and doesn't claim to be nutritionally complete.
  - criddell 10y ago
    Ensure Complete.
- geofft 10y ago
  My impression is that Ensure isn't marketed to the general public for use as a 100% meal replacement, but is commonly used that way in hospitals. I drank Ensure fairly regularly in college when I had mismanaged my schedule too badly to eat a proper meal, and I never had any health trouble. I'd expect you can find as many anecdotes in favor of Ensure as in favor of Soylent.
- Odin78 10y ago
  From what I heard Ensure doesn't aim to be nutritionally complete. It's designed to replace unhealthy snacks with a healthier alternative. Soylent on the other hand can replace most (possibly all) of your meals, if you want that. And if you don't get a moldy batch.
  - chimeracoder 10y ago
    > From what I heard Ensure doesn't aim to be nutritionally complete. It's designed to replace unhealthy snacks with a healthier alternative. The main Ensure product on the market does not, but there are versions that are used for literally this exact purpose. I forget whether Ensure (the brand) produces it or if it's under a different company/name, but it's definitely there. You just have to read the label - it'll indicate if it's meant as a complete food substitute or not.
Odin78 10y ago
This website shows all popular products that were spawned from the Soylent "craze": https://www.blendrunner.com/ https://www.blendrunner.com/ Personally I use Joylent (I think it's the most used brand in Europe; also they now call themselves JimmyJoy/Plennyshake) and as far as I am aware they never had any issues like Soylent did. It's also a bit cheaper than Soylent, but sadly doesn't offer a liquid version. Just powder that you have to mix with water and a snack bar.
reneherse 10y ago
Though it won't be shelf stable or non-perishable, it's easy to make a smoothie with far more nutritional value than Soylent. My go-to is a water-based combination of low-carb chocolate flavor protein powder, coconut oil, steamed lentils, and berries. It's the only combination I've found that gives me steady energy for hours on end. No idea why my girlfriend refuses to try it ;-)
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- _up 10y ago
  Unfortunately while googling your recipe. I found out that lentils,beans and peas cumber though their alkaloids the absorption of nutrients and shouldn't be used in Smoothies.
  - cgh 10y ago
    Are you referring to their phytic acid content? If so, this concern is way overblown, unless you are eating eg a lot of brown rice. OP, depending on how much protein you're adding, your smoothie is pretty great except it has the same problem of all liquid diets: very fast absorption, an insulin spike and all the problems that potentially come with it.
    - reneherse 10y ago
      Thanks for the feedback. What proportion of protein would you say makes for a good balance in such a concoction? Also, please see my response to the GP regarding insulin spikes.
      - cgh 10y ago
        Got it, good that you are on top of it. As for protein, it depends on your activity level and so forth. There is good evidence to suggest that everyone should strive for roughly 120 grams/day. If you are involved with eg a strength sport, say Olympic lifting, then at least 1 gram/lb of lean body mass is a good idea. There are some great protein powders available these days that are sweetened with stevia too.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
yourthrowaway2 10y ago
I _hate_ the idea of Soylent, but they still advertise to me on fb. So I'm running an experiment where I click on it every time to see how their retargeting performs. .. as if the world needs another shoddy protein shake, in the form of a disruptive startup, run by valley bros. tasty
- cgh 10y ago
  Soylent is definitely not a "protein shake". Quite the opposite, which is one reason why it's not taken seriously by athletes.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
dec0dedab0de 10y ago
Ensure Complete is one
aharrison 10y ago
I'm not sure how much better their quality control is (they are another SV startup), but I have been eating Mealsquares (http://www.mealsquares.com/ http://www.mealsquares.com/) for about half of my caloric load for over a year now and couldn't be happier. I also like the fact that they are solid food rather than liquid, just as a preference. I'm sensitive to gluten, corn, and soy, so Mealsquares are a huge boon when I am in a rush or need to opt out of eating somewhere (e.g. traveling). (I'm not affiliated with them in any way.)
- novia 10y ago
  For those who may be interested, Mealsquares do contain dairy.
- istorical 10y ago
  Me too. Good solution to getting the convenience and complete nutrition benefits you'd get from a Soylent or Soylent-like product but with the additional hedge that there may be yet unknown beneficial micronutrients in whole food ingredients that you don't get from an isolated nutrient slurry like Soylent. For those who don't know Mealsquares, they're made from mostly whole food ingredients (Whole grain oats, eggs, milk, dark chocolate chips (chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, milkfat), whey, orange juice, rice bran, sunflower seeds, dates, sweet potatoes, apples, vegetable glycerin, chickpeas, carrots, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, xylitol, iodized sea salt, potassium citrate, cinnamon, aluminum free baking powder, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, niacinamide (B3), calcium folinate, lactase, spices). Only downside is the price but I don't try to replace home cooked meals with them, just some of those times when I'd go grab some fast casual food instead, or times when I'm busy and don't want to have to go get food. Anyone who ends up trying them - be aware that they taste 500% better after 30 seconds in the microwave. They can be pretty dry and dense when you don't microwave them.
vangale 10y ago
There are a number of meal replacement powders at some big chains (Krogers/Ralphs/King Soopers and Amazon at least): "Raw Organic Meal" by Garden of Life "All-in-One Nutritional Shake" by Vega One I can't vouch for whether they "know what the hell they are doing" but I like the quality and really like the lack of sugar/carbs. A big problem though is they are low protein and calorie count so you still need to search for those. But as a side note, and speaking for myself, I like Mealsquares better than any of the powders.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

irremediable 10y ago

AFAIK Huel is produced by a qualified dietician, and hasn't had any issues.

Retric 10y ago
Sorry but we don't currently ship to USA or Canada, but it's in the pipeline. Do you know of a US equivalent for a nutritionally complete bar not from Soylent?
- irremediable 10y ago
  Ah damn, sorry, didn't realise they were EU-only. Maybe Mealsquares?

angersock 10y ago

Slim-Fast, Met-Rx...Carnation Instant Breakfast. This shit isn't new.

Analemma_ 10y ago
I don't think that's quite the same thing though, at least not for Slim-Fast (I haven't heard of the others). Soylent claims to be nutritionally complete-- as in, you could theoretically live off it alone-- and Slim-Fast does not. I was looking for a competing product along those lines.
- DanBC 10y ago
  There are plenty of medical sole source of nutrition products available, catering to a range of different dietary needs. That they don't advertise to the general public; or don't say "you can live off this and nothing else" says something about Soylent's unethical marketing. The Ensure range is easiest to get hold of for the general public. (Ensure and Ensure Plus are sometimes used as sole source nutrition in forced NG tube feeding for hunger-striking prisoners or eating disordered patients.)
  - leggomylibro 10y ago
    "Ensure and Ensure Plus are sometimes used as sole source nutrition in forced NG tube feeding for hunger-striking prisoners..." Now there's a good brand differentiator...hang on, I have a Wikipedia page to improve.
  - ambrice 10y ago
    "unethical marketing"? Please explain..
    - DanBC 10y ago
      During the kickstarter they made a number of bullshit claims: "puts you in perfect health"; "perfectly safe for anyone"; they claimed rigorous testing which appeared to be one person living off it for a few months; they advertise it as a sole source of nutrition without any real testing.
      - ambrice 10y ago
        This just seems to be a biased claim that Soylent hasn't done any "real testing". Do you have evidence of that? Soylent has been out for years and a lot of people have been drinking 100% Soylent for a long time now.
        DanBC 10y ago
        They hadn't done any testing during the kickstarter, and even if they had saying it was fine for anyone to use (the original recipe contained known allergens) and that it puts you into perfect health are clearly bullshit. (EDIT: I don't know why you're being downvoted. I upvoted you to try to correct that.)
yourthrowaway2 10y ago
But I want cannibalism jokes with my meal replacement.

amputect 10y ago

Medical food and meal replacement shakes existed well before soylent, they're usually intended for people who are on a feeding tube. There's a lot of common brands like Ensure, and you can find probably at least one decent option in a reasonably well-stocked grocery store. If you want to order online there's some interesting stuff like: http://www.functionalformularies.com/liquid-hope-information.html http://www.functionalformularies.com/liquid-hope-information... Soylent's main distinguishing features are marketing and sloppiness. They are also a little cheaper than other options, but here as with most things, you get what you pay for.

thatswrong0 10y ago
Ensure has way more sugar and doesn't claim to be nutritionally complete.
- criddell 10y ago
  Ensure Complete.
geofft 10y ago
My impression is that Ensure isn't marketed to the general public for use as a 100% meal replacement, but is commonly used that way in hospitals. I drank Ensure fairly regularly in college when I had mismanaged my schedule too badly to eat a proper meal, and I never had any health trouble. I'd expect you can find as many anecdotes in favor of Ensure as in favor of Soylent.
Odin78 10y ago
From what I heard Ensure doesn't aim to be nutritionally complete. It's designed to replace unhealthy snacks with a healthier alternative. Soylent on the other hand can replace most (possibly all) of your meals, if you want that. And if you don't get a moldy batch.
- chimeracoder 10y ago
  > From what I heard Ensure doesn't aim to be nutritionally complete. It's designed to replace unhealthy snacks with a healthier alternative. The main Ensure product on the market does not, but there are versions that are used for literally this exact purpose. I forget whether Ensure (the brand) produces it or if it's under a different company/name, but it's definitely there. You just have to read the label - it'll indicate if it's meant as a complete food substitute or not.

Odin78 10y ago

This website shows all popular products that were spawned from the Soylent "craze": https://www.blendrunner.com/ https://www.blendrunner.com/ Personally I use Joylent (I think it's the most used brand in Europe; also they now call themselves JimmyJoy/Plennyshake) and as far as I am aware they never had any issues like Soylent did. It's also a bit cheaper than Soylent, but sadly doesn't offer a liquid version. Just powder that you have to mix with water and a snack bar.

reneherse 10y ago

Though it won't be shelf stable or non-perishable, it's easy to make a smoothie with far more nutritional value than Soylent. My go-to is a water-based combination of low-carb chocolate flavor protein powder, coconut oil, steamed lentils, and berries. It's the only combination I've found that gives me steady energy for hours on end. No idea why my girlfriend refuses to try it ;-)

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
_up 10y ago
Unfortunately while googling your recipe. I found out that lentils,beans and peas cumber though their alkaloids the absorption of nutrients and shouldn't be used in Smoothies.
- cgh 10y ago
  Are you referring to their phytic acid content? If so, this concern is way overblown, unless you are eating eg a lot of brown rice. OP, depending on how much protein you're adding, your smoothie is pretty great except it has the same problem of all liquid diets: very fast absorption, an insulin spike and all the problems that potentially come with it.
  - reneherse 10y ago
    Thanks for the feedback. What proportion of protein would you say makes for a good balance in such a concoction? Also, please see my response to the GP regarding insulin spikes.
    - cgh 10y ago
      Got it, good that you are on top of it. As for protein, it depends on your activity level and so forth. There is good evidence to suggest that everyone should strive for roughly 120 grams/day. If you are involved with eg a strength sport, say Olympic lifting, then at least 1 gram/lb of lean body mass is a good idea. There are some great protein powders available these days that are sweetened with stevia too.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

yourthrowaway2 10y ago

I _hate_ the idea of Soylent, but they still advertise to me on fb. So I'm running an experiment where I click on it every time to see how their retargeting performs. .. as if the world needs another shoddy protein shake, in the form of a disruptive startup, run by valley bros. tasty

cgh 10y ago
Soylent is definitely not a "protein shake". Quite the opposite, which is one reason why it's not taken seriously by athletes.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

dec0dedab0de 10y ago

Ensure Complete is one

aharrison 10y ago

I'm not sure how much better their quality control is (they are another SV startup), but I have been eating Mealsquares (http://www.mealsquares.com/ http://www.mealsquares.com/) for about half of my caloric load for over a year now and couldn't be happier. I also like the fact that they are solid food rather than liquid, just as a preference. I'm sensitive to gluten, corn, and soy, so Mealsquares are a huge boon when I am in a rush or need to opt out of eating somewhere (e.g. traveling). (I'm not affiliated with them in any way.)

novia 10y ago
For those who may be interested, Mealsquares do contain dairy.
istorical 10y ago
Me too. Good solution to getting the convenience and complete nutrition benefits you'd get from a Soylent or Soylent-like product but with the additional hedge that there may be yet unknown beneficial micronutrients in whole food ingredients that you don't get from an isolated nutrient slurry like Soylent. For those who don't know Mealsquares, they're made from mostly whole food ingredients (Whole grain oats, eggs, milk, dark chocolate chips (chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, milkfat), whey, orange juice, rice bran, sunflower seeds, dates, sweet potatoes, apples, vegetable glycerin, chickpeas, carrots, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, xylitol, iodized sea salt, potassium citrate, cinnamon, aluminum free baking powder, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, niacinamide (B3), calcium folinate, lactase, spices). Only downside is the price but I don't try to replace home cooked meals with them, just some of those times when I'd go grab some fast casual food instead, or times when I'm busy and don't want to have to go get food. Anyone who ends up trying them - be aware that they taste 500% better after 30 seconds in the microwave. They can be pretty dry and dense when you don't microwave them.

vangale 10y ago

There are a number of meal replacement powders at some big chains (Krogers/Ralphs/King Soopers and Amazon at least): "Raw Organic Meal" by Garden of Life "All-in-One Nutritional Shake" by Vega One I can't vouch for whether they "know what the hell they are doing" but I like the quality and really like the lack of sugar/carbs. A big problem though is they are low protein and calorie count so you still need to search for those. But as a side note, and speaking for myself, I like Mealsquares better than any of the powders.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]