I’ve been thinking of ordering from one of those what I like to call bachelor chow services such as Huel or JimmyJoy. I’m disabled and often don’t have the energy to cook for myself but I really want to order out less. Would this be a good investment? They are around 2-3 dollars a meal, but shipping kills that.

  • Horse {they/them}@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    3·
    16 days ago

    i had to drink them for a week while recovering from gut surgery
    they were fine, the strawberry one was nice, but the coffee one tasted awful
    i don’t remember the brand, the hospital just gave me like a crate of them

  • CrawlMarks [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    2·
    18 days ago

    I bought a bag of monkey chow like from the meme. It’s fine but you had to dip it in hummus cause it is dry.

    Meal replacements are overrated. Just get a big bag of protein powder from Costco. Mix in whatever other powder you can find and you are set. Better product, probably easier and cheaper to work with. Then just have a multivitamin and a muffin occasionally and you have the superior version of the experience

    • Hexamerous [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      3·
      17 days ago

      If you look at the ingredients on all these it’s basically just oats, protein powder and a crushed up multivitamin. Silicon Valley basically re-invented gruel/porridge.

  • 7bicycles [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    18 days ago

    I’m a staunch “the best bachelor chow is a can of beans and maybe throw some shit in there” unless your disability prevents you from eating beans

      • 7bicycles [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        2·
        17 days ago

        Is adding potatoes and frozen veggies an option? Both can be just tossed in the microwave and combined with beans would make a pretty nutritionally complete meal. A bit light on protein and maybe calories depending on how much you can eat of it, but then you could supplement that with protein shakes which come a lot cheaper than meal replacement ones

      • BanSwitch2Buyers [none/use name]@hexbear.netBannedEnglish
        1·
        18 days ago

        Soy milk smoothies with whatever veggies and frozen fruit you like might be the best way to go. The soymilk is often fortified and the fruits/veggies should be good for the rest of the vitamins.

  • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    17 days ago

    My partner had their top teeth pulled and had to eat soft food for months. They did meal replacement drinks, but found it didn’t completely work for them. It was good for boosting calorie intake, but they still felt hungry without some other food.

  • Des [she/her, they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    18 days ago

    i can’t really stomach solid food until mid day at the earliest (so i basically fast most of the day)

    set up a good routine using those instant breakfast packs (they are basically a multivitamin, protein, and some carbs), adding some collagen for my old ass skin and joints and a scoop of protein powder. then highly diluted milk or just water as a base.

    i guzzle it down on my way to work and it’s been better then the alternative (which was nothing, followed by grueling physical labor)

    rough guess is each liter i mix up costs about $1-1.50 or so but the upfront cost was kind of high (about $50 but lasts 4 weeks)

  • TraschcanOfIdeology [they/them, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    0·
    18 days ago

    I was struggling with depression and ADHD really badly last year, so much that I didn’t enjoy eating or cooking anymore, and I usually love both of those things. So I decided to give Huel a try, as a way to start taking care of myself, and as an experiment for my own work (I’m a food scholar and this whole food simulacra stuff is interesting to me as a field)

    The shakes aren’t horrible taste-wise, but don’t expect something really tasty either… They taste mostly like vaguely flavored oatmeal that’s been passed through a blender. My main issue with the shakes is that I didn’t feel really full after having one, and I would feel hungry 2-3 hours later, and each shake is 400 calories, so I could end up having 1200 calories from shakes alone.

    I also had the hot meal thing where you pour boiling water on a couple scoops of what is essentially astronaut food. Everything they do is vegan, and I gotta say, some dishes are pretty good, like their carbonara or the green curry. Spaghetti bolognese tasted like eating undercooked pasta with tomato and cough syrup sauce, 0/10. I vastly preferred these because one portion will fill you up for a long time, and because I personally like savory things more than sweets.

    That being said, Huel is 90% marketing and convenience. You can find very similar products for a fraction of the price, or if you’re willing to save a lot of money, just substitute what they have for separate, analogous products and make your own ready to eat shakes (you would just have to take a multivitamin and a fiber capsule) with a protein shake more or less.

    I still have some bags of huel shakes that I have when I remember they exist. But I can have way more delicious food for a fraction of the price by spending 5-10 minutes more in the kitchen, so it doesn’t really come to mind these days. Of course, I understand not everyone is able to do that, and those kinds of foods are great for that situation.