Some of you might have heard little bits about huel, but don’t know exactly what it is or whether it’d work for you. I first saw an ad for it on facebook, before finding out about their instagram (@gethuel) and requesting a sample 🙂

So basically, as it says on the bag, Huel is ‘nutritionally complete human food’. Whilst not exactly looking like human food, the idea is that if need be, you could live off huel for the rest of your life. Your taste buds would probably be seriously bored, but you wouldn’t be nutrient deficient.

However, most of us don’t just want to live off one food-stuff for the rest of our lives (granola is an exception), so why would huel be of any use? I tried huel as a lunch smoothie for a while during my exam season, when I didn’t have time to leave my desk or make complicated lunches (and also was too disorganised to do so). A three scoop drink has the equivalent calories of a lunch time sandwich, with a macro ratio of 37:30:30:3 carbs, fats, protein and fibre. However, after my exam season, I was so addicted to the taste of the vanilla version, I didn’t want to give it up, so started using it in my breakfast smoothies (anyone on instagram will know this). The vanilla flavoured mix is NOT high in sugar (4.2g per 2000 calories), and has the most amazing taste (it’s so good that I got a bag just for my boyfriend, who is also somewhat addicted). When using it in my breakfasts I only use one scoop (152cals) per bowl, and add protein if I’ve worked out the day before.

Verdict: huel is expensive as a bag, but when you think of it per ‘meal’, you’re actually only spending £1.61 for a 450cal meal, so it’s a sound investment when your alternative is an unhealthy £3 meal deal (or worse). It works perfectly as an addition to smoothies, as an alternative for ½ the flour in a recipe or as a shake on its own. It’s also totally vegan and made with real food (eg. oats, pea protein, rice, flaxseed etc.) so not filled with chemicals with long names. I’ve recently ordered my fourth bag in a year, which gives you an idea of how quickly I go through it! Below I’ve outlined some of my favourite smoothies bowls made with huel in case you fancied trying a pouch (you can order sample pouches so you can decide whether you like it or not)!

Protein is an optional addition to each of the: I use Strippd (@strippd_uk) vegan protein (they have chocolate, vanilla and berry versions so work with all the smoothies).

The classic:

• ½ a frozen banana
• ½ a scoop of Huel
• Almond milk

Choco-vanilla

• Chocolate oat milk/milk of choice
• ½ scoop Huel
• 2 tsp cacao powder
• ½ frozen banana

Coconut-cashew

• Coconut milk
• Soaked cashew nuts
• ½ scoop Huel

Pink Berry

• Almond/oat milk
• Frozen berries (I use strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)
• ½ a frozen banana
• ½ – 1 scoop of Huel
• (Berry flavoured protein)

Green goodness

• Almond/coconut milk
• ½ scoop Huel
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 ball/handful frozen spinach
• ½ a small courgette

Ps. I am not paid by Huel or Strippd – I really love their products and want to share them with you, so I figured writing a post about them was best! I’m lucky enough to get to try many, many products, and know that for many people, buying products without knowing how good they are is a scary idea, so my reviews are here to help you. 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!