5 ms·

> Surely not every meal you eat is such a delight. An awful lot of food is just calorie stuffing to maintain energy. It is? Not really for me and people I know

by jules 11y ago

> Surely not every meal you eat is such a delight. An awful lot of food is just calorie stuffing to maintain energy. It is? Not really for me and people I know. You can still make calorie stuffing enjoyable. Even if I'm alone I can whip up a 10 minute meal that tastes damn nice compared to what Soylent is supposed to taste like. E.g. heat a wok with a bit of oil, dump in a package of pre sliced wok vegetables and a handful of cashew nuts. While that is going soak some noodles. After a couple of minutes add soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger syrup and the noodles, and you are done. With some practice you can make this in 5 minutes. I don't understand why somebody would rather save 3 minutes (roughly 1/500 of a day) and drink Soylent. Can't you sleep 3 minutes less instead? I've always thought of food like sex. It keeps you healthy, but that's not why we do it. Optimizing food (or sex) to minimize the time spent while ignoring the enjoyment completely misses the point for me, so that's why I find it interesting and incomprehensible that Soylent is so successful.

nether 11y ago
> Even if I'm alone I can whip up a 10 minute meal that tastes damn nice compared to what Soylent is supposed to taste like. E.g. heat a wok with a bit of oil, dump in a package of pre sliced wok vegetables and a handful of cashew nuts. Your lack of empathy for others' lifestyles is outstanding. Not everyone has access to a kitchen at lunch, or wants to deal with the grocery buying and washing dishes that come with cooking from scratch (which you excluded from your time calculation). Soylent replaces shitty convenience eating like McDonalds, not home cooked meals. Your argument can (and should) be aimed more at fast food, which is both pricier and less healthy than Soylent.
- jules 11y ago
  My argument can't be aimed at fast food because most people find that it tastes nice. You could indeed make a different argument based on price and health against it. The point of my argument is that you don't need to choose between healthy and fast (Soylent), or tasty and fast (fast food), or healthy and tasty (elaborate home cooking). With just a little bit of know-how and practice you can have all three. I'm not talking about making this for lunch, but for dinner. Which lunch is available to you of course depends on where you work (though even in that case you can take something with you, like muesli+yogurt+fruit or a sandwich, but I can understand why some people might prefer Soylent in that case). Unless you eat 100% Soylent you are not going to save much time on grocery shopping because you have to go to the supermarket anyway, so you might as well take a few packages of vegetables with you. If I understand it correctly then Soylent requires washing a blender and a glass, not much different than washing a wok and a plate (and you don't even need the plate).
  - douche 11y ago
    I make my soylent in the pitcher they sent me, so when it is empty I rinse it a couple times and make up the next batch. I guess you could use a blender, but it is unnecessary if you spend the 30 seconds they advise shaking it.
  - bane 11y ago
    > Unless you eat 100% Soylent you are not going to save much time on grocery shopping because you have to go to the supermarket anyway That's not really true. We're finding that our grocery bills have been cut quite a bit and the amount of ingredients we keep around (especially quick to prepare stuff) has basically gone to zero. Prep-time is virtually zero and cleanup time is rinsing the container when it's empty -- thus our dishwashing has also dropped quite a bit. And we still eat great dinners prepared with fresh ingredients from our garden. And it's still healthier than even your quite good sounding 10 minute meal. As a fun challenge for yourself, see if you can assemble a 5 minute meal that's as nutritious and balanced as one serving of Soylent. And i don't mean guesswork, run the numbers, compare to FDA guidelines and see what you come up with. (then please share the recipe because I'd love to eat it!)
    - jules 11y ago
      You're right, I can't come up with a single meal that is as nutritious and balanced as one serving of Soylent. The thing is that unlike with Soylent you're not eating the exact same meal every time. If there's one thing we've learned the last couple of years it's that a lot of food science is bogus, and that we really don't know much about nutrition. The safe thing to do is to eat a large variety of foods. Is it safe to eat Soylent every day or almost every day? Maybe. Is it healthier than eating a different reasonably healthy meal every day? Unlikely. Consider the reports by people who have flatulence, food nightmares, extreme craving of certain foods. That last point is likely an indication that your body is missing something. Maybe not all humans work well on exactly the same diet, but it depends on their genetics and activities. Our body gives us feedback about what it needs needs by making us crave certain foods. Most people also start to crave variety after eating the same food for several days, even if they do like that food. I think there's a reason for that. So here's the value proposition that I see: 1. It's quite likely less healthy than eating a variety of foods. 2. It tastes bad. 3. It saves 10 minutes per day. How much time do you spend maintaining your garden?
bane 11y ago
So you're around your ingredients, kitchen and cooking equipment 3 meals a day and are able to prepare a variety of delightful, completely nutritious and balanced meals from scratch each of those meals, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? If not, do you stay within driving distance from your home so you can go there to do this? Then, I envy your meals, but I don't envy the leash you have on your life. Personally, I travel far enough away from my home every day that were I to follow this pattern, I literally would spend all of my day on the road in between meals. Or do you ever just grab something to fill an empty stomach and get on to what you need to do? Or just out for a full day somewhere far enough from your kitchen that you can't drive back home to make your meal, and your available choices range from dirty water dogs to chain restaurant? Do you do this more than 2 or 3 times a week because of your busy schedule? Then Soylent is probably for you. I can almost guarantee it will be the superior alternative for whatever you end up eating in those cases.
- cafebeen 11y ago
  I think the standard solution to that problem is to make food ahead of time (maybe large batches) and then pack a lunchbox?
- clarky07 11y ago
  I think you're missing the enjoyment part. I'd rather have a chicken sandwich or a salad from Wendy's than Soylent. As would most people I suspect. It's possible the grilled chicken or salad isn't actually better for me than the Soylent, but it isn't THAT bad, and it tastes so much better.
groby_b 11y ago
Wait, you only soak the noodles, don't cook them? Isn't that... crunchy? (Sorry for derailing the soylent debate, but having a recipe is more interesting to me than debating nutrient transport vehicles :)
- jules 11y ago
  It depends on the type of noodles. Some types you can just soak, and then you throw them into the wok to heat them (because eating cold noodles isn't very nice). Some of them you have to soak with boiling or at least hot water to make them soft, and some you do have to cook for a period of time (e.g. spaghetti).
- lifeformed 11y ago
  Dry noodles just require hydration and cooking. Soaking and then stir frying takes care of each respectively.

by jules 11y ago

nether 11y ago

> Even if I'm alone I can whip up a 10 minute meal that tastes damn nice compared to what Soylent is supposed to taste like. E.g. heat a wok with a bit of oil, dump in a package of pre sliced wok vegetables and a handful of cashew nuts. Your lack of empathy for others' lifestyles is outstanding. Not everyone has access to a kitchen at lunch, or wants to deal with the grocery buying and washing dishes that come with cooking from scratch (which you excluded from your time calculation). Soylent replaces shitty convenience eating like McDonalds, not home cooked meals. Your argument can (and should) be aimed more at fast food, which is both pricier and less healthy than Soylent.

jules 11y ago
My argument can't be aimed at fast food because most people find that it tastes nice. You could indeed make a different argument based on price and health against it. The point of my argument is that you don't need to choose between healthy and fast (Soylent), or tasty and fast (fast food), or healthy and tasty (elaborate home cooking). With just a little bit of know-how and practice you can have all three. I'm not talking about making this for lunch, but for dinner. Which lunch is available to you of course depends on where you work (though even in that case you can take something with you, like muesli+yogurt+fruit or a sandwich, but I can understand why some people might prefer Soylent in that case). Unless you eat 100% Soylent you are not going to save much time on grocery shopping because you have to go to the supermarket anyway, so you might as well take a few packages of vegetables with you. If I understand it correctly then Soylent requires washing a blender and a glass, not much different than washing a wok and a plate (and you don't even need the plate).
- douche 11y ago
  I make my soylent in the pitcher they sent me, so when it is empty I rinse it a couple times and make up the next batch. I guess you could use a blender, but it is unnecessary if you spend the 30 seconds they advise shaking it.
- bane 11y ago
  > Unless you eat 100% Soylent you are not going to save much time on grocery shopping because you have to go to the supermarket anyway That's not really true. We're finding that our grocery bills have been cut quite a bit and the amount of ingredients we keep around (especially quick to prepare stuff) has basically gone to zero. Prep-time is virtually zero and cleanup time is rinsing the container when it's empty -- thus our dishwashing has also dropped quite a bit. And we still eat great dinners prepared with fresh ingredients from our garden. And it's still healthier than even your quite good sounding 10 minute meal. As a fun challenge for yourself, see if you can assemble a 5 minute meal that's as nutritious and balanced as one serving of Soylent. And i don't mean guesswork, run the numbers, compare to FDA guidelines and see what you come up with. (then please share the recipe because I'd love to eat it!)
  - jules 11y ago
    You're right, I can't come up with a single meal that is as nutritious and balanced as one serving of Soylent. The thing is that unlike with Soylent you're not eating the exact same meal every time. If there's one thing we've learned the last couple of years it's that a lot of food science is bogus, and that we really don't know much about nutrition. The safe thing to do is to eat a large variety of foods. Is it safe to eat Soylent every day or almost every day? Maybe. Is it healthier than eating a different reasonably healthy meal every day? Unlikely. Consider the reports by people who have flatulence, food nightmares, extreme craving of certain foods. That last point is likely an indication that your body is missing something. Maybe not all humans work well on exactly the same diet, but it depends on their genetics and activities. Our body gives us feedback about what it needs needs by making us crave certain foods. Most people also start to crave variety after eating the same food for several days, even if they do like that food. I think there's a reason for that. So here's the value proposition that I see: 1. It's quite likely less healthy than eating a variety of foods. 2. It tastes bad. 3. It saves 10 minutes per day. How much time do you spend maintaining your garden?

bane 11y ago

So you're around your ingredients, kitchen and cooking equipment 3 meals a day and are able to prepare a variety of delightful, completely nutritious and balanced meals from scratch each of those meals, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? If not, do you stay within driving distance from your home so you can go there to do this? Then, I envy your meals, but I don't envy the leash you have on your life. Personally, I travel far enough away from my home every day that were I to follow this pattern, I literally would spend all of my day on the road in between meals. Or do you ever just grab something to fill an empty stomach and get on to what you need to do? Or just out for a full day somewhere far enough from your kitchen that you can't drive back home to make your meal, and your available choices range from dirty water dogs to chain restaurant? Do you do this more than 2 or 3 times a week because of your busy schedule? Then Soylent is probably for you. I can almost guarantee it will be the superior alternative for whatever you end up eating in those cases.

cafebeen 11y ago
I think the standard solution to that problem is to make food ahead of time (maybe large batches) and then pack a lunchbox?
clarky07 11y ago
I think you're missing the enjoyment part. I'd rather have a chicken sandwich or a salad from Wendy's than Soylent. As would most people I suspect. It's possible the grilled chicken or salad isn't actually better for me than the Soylent, but it isn't THAT bad, and it tastes so much better.

groby_b 11y ago

Wait, you only soak the noodles, don't cook them? Isn't that... crunchy? (Sorry for derailing the soylent debate, but having a recipe is more interesting to me than debating nutrient transport vehicles :)

jules 11y ago
It depends on the type of noodles. Some types you can just soak, and then you throw them into the wok to heat them (because eating cold noodles isn't very nice). Some of them you have to soak with boiling or at least hot water to make them soft, and some you do have to cook for a period of time (e.g. spaghetti).
lifeformed 11y ago
Dry noodles just require hydration and cooking. Soaking and then stir frying takes care of each respectively.