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Food is typically more expensive per calorie than Soylent and competitors (should) be. Also requires time to shop for groceries, prepare food, wash dishes. If y

Food is typically more expensive per calorie than Soylent and competitors (should) be. Also requires time to shop for groceries, prepare food, wash dishes. If you're on the go these are perfect, in theory. I lived for a month in Amsterdam in 2017 and didn't have the money to rent / book an apt with a kitchen so I stayed in hostels. The problem then became food cost, a meal in amsterdam was around 15-20$ so 3 meals a day would be around 70-80$ which was too much for me so I went with JimmyJoy which is a dutch competitor and that reduced my costs to around 6$ per day. Now it wasn't perfect, I had a LOT of gas which I managed to reduce by making the shake with mint tea but the freedom and cheapness of it made me very happy

favaq 4y ago
You are comparing soylent to eating out. Most of us compare soylent to eating at home, and soylent is much more expensive. Not to mention it tastes like dirt compared to, you know, food.
- zikduruqe 4y ago
  "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Food I still find it unfathomable, that we as human beings, supposedly the smartest creatures on earth cannot figure out what to put in our mouths.
  - voisin 4y ago
    > I still find it unfathomable Fathom this: some people make money, and lots of it, by confusing us about what to put in our mouths.
    - zikduruqe 4y ago
      No doubt.
- jack_pp 4y ago
  I haven't tried Soylent. Jimmy joy is currently 15 euros for a 950g bag which has 4000 calories, that's 3 euros for a 800 calorie meal so it should be cheaper than homemade food.
  - anonymouskimmer 4y ago
    I can get about 8000 calories of rice for $5 retail at a grocery store. Granted it costs money to cook it, and you'd want to mix in other ingredients for taste and nutrition. But 800 calories for 3 euros should be doable. For fast food, the Cheesy Bean and Rice burrito is still on the dollar menu at Taco Bell. 420 calories for $1, and a fairly complete lacto-vegetarian protein source. Buy one of those and a Fiesta Veggie Burrito ($2 for 570 calories) and you've got some vegetables too at almost $1000 calories. Make either of them Fresco and you replace the dairy with diced tomatoes, losing about 110 calories for the CBRB, and 145 calories for the FVB. Fresco only one and you still have greater than 800 calories. Maybe this isn't possible in Europe?
    - jack_pp 4y ago
      > I can get about 8000 calories of rice for $5 retail at a grocery store Meal replacement shakes like Jimmy Joy / Huel / Soylent do have a lot more nutrition than just plain rice + some veggies / condiments I'm no nutrition scientist but those Taco Bell items you pointed out don't seem like nutritionally complete meals you could eat all day. I did eat Jimmy Joy all day for a month or so and I did feel healthy but to each his own. Also didn't require me to drive 3 times a day to a Taco bell wasting time in the process, waiting in line etc.
  - favaq 4y ago
    A man has to take 2500 calories per day, that's 9.35€ per day, 280€ per month. That's much more than most people spend on food at least in the south of Europe
    - jack_pp 4y ago
      I live in Romania, I spend about that much on food since prices have gone up and I eat probably less than 2500 avg. I might buy more expensive ingredients though and if I bought shittier food I might go to around 200 euros but that's a stretch given how much inflation has risen produce prices. The point isn't that you should replace all food with meal replacement shakes. You could use them while traveling to not eat out as much. You could use some for emergencies when you didn't have time to cook or ran out of groceries. You could use it at work if you have a hellish work env and an abusive boss that doesn't even grant you 30 minutes for a lunch break. Last one is a true story a bank teller told me. Granted you should quit a job like that but if for whatever reason you need to stay a while longer it's better to have a shake ready than not eat at all.

favaq 4y ago

You are comparing soylent to eating out. Most of us compare soylent to eating at home, and soylent is much more expensive. Not to mention it tastes like dirt compared to, you know, food.

zikduruqe 4y ago
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Food I still find it unfathomable, that we as human beings, supposedly the smartest creatures on earth cannot figure out what to put in our mouths.
- voisin 4y ago
  > I still find it unfathomable Fathom this: some people make money, and lots of it, by confusing us about what to put in our mouths.
  - zikduruqe 4y ago
    No doubt.
jack_pp 4y ago
I haven't tried Soylent. Jimmy joy is currently 15 euros for a 950g bag which has 4000 calories, that's 3 euros for a 800 calorie meal so it should be cheaper than homemade food.
- anonymouskimmer 4y ago
  I can get about 8000 calories of rice for $5 retail at a grocery store. Granted it costs money to cook it, and you'd want to mix in other ingredients for taste and nutrition. But 800 calories for 3 euros should be doable. For fast food, the Cheesy Bean and Rice burrito is still on the dollar menu at Taco Bell. 420 calories for $1, and a fairly complete lacto-vegetarian protein source. Buy one of those and a Fiesta Veggie Burrito ($2 for 570 calories) and you've got some vegetables too at almost $1000 calories. Make either of them Fresco and you replace the dairy with diced tomatoes, losing about 110 calories for the CBRB, and 145 calories for the FVB. Fresco only one and you still have greater than 800 calories. Maybe this isn't possible in Europe?
  - jack_pp 4y ago
    > I can get about 8000 calories of rice for $5 retail at a grocery store Meal replacement shakes like Jimmy Joy / Huel / Soylent do have a lot more nutrition than just plain rice + some veggies / condiments I'm no nutrition scientist but those Taco Bell items you pointed out don't seem like nutritionally complete meals you could eat all day. I did eat Jimmy Joy all day for a month or so and I did feel healthy but to each his own. Also didn't require me to drive 3 times a day to a Taco bell wasting time in the process, waiting in line etc.
- favaq 4y ago
  A man has to take 2500 calories per day, that's 9.35€ per day, 280€ per month. That's much more than most people spend on food at least in the south of Europe
  - jack_pp 4y ago
    I live in Romania, I spend about that much on food since prices have gone up and I eat probably less than 2500 avg. I might buy more expensive ingredients though and if I bought shittier food I might go to around 200 euros but that's a stretch given how much inflation has risen produce prices. The point isn't that you should replace all food with meal replacement shakes. You could use them while traveling to not eat out as much. You could use some for emergencies when you didn't have time to cook or ran out of groceries. You could use it at work if you have a hellish work env and an abusive boss that doesn't even grant you 30 minutes for a lunch break. Last one is a true story a bank teller told me. Granted you should quit a job like that but if for whatever reason you need to stay a while longer it's better to have a shake ready than not eat at all.