Huel Hot and Savory weight loss

I’m a big fan of Huel. I have a Black Edition Vanilla Protein shake almost daily either for breakfast or lunch. I love the fact that it’s a nutritionally complete food, extremely filling and helps me get enough protein to sustain my level of strength training, something that can be difficult on my vegan diet.

So I was intrigued to try their Hot and Savoury range. It follows the same ethos as the protein shakes – that you can get all of your vital vitamins and minerals, adequate calories, and a generous offering of protein in a single, easy to prepare, extremely convenient meal.

But it is undeniably a weird concept. It’s basically dried food that you bring back to life with boiling water. But once you get your head around the fact it’s just the same as preparing couscous, then you’re good to go.

The details

Huel's Hot & Savoury range comes in three flavours – Thai Green Curry, Tomato & Herb and Mexican Chilli. Designed for speedy lunches, Huel prides itself on being a nutritionally complete meal with seriously cut down prep time. Packed with rice, quinoa, vegetables, herbs and spices, the 400 kcal pouches can be ready in under 5 mins. They also contain 24g of plant based protein each. Woof.

Each pouch (94g) contains:

  • 40g carbohydrates
  • 24g protein
  • 13g fat
  • 11g fibre
  • 2g vitamins and minerals (incl. all 26 essential ones)

    Cuisine, Food, Ingredient, Kitchen, Recipe, Kitchen utensil, Cooking, Countertop, Mixing bowl, Dish,

        The verdict

        I tried the Thai Green Curry option. You simply put two scoops of the powdery/grainy substance in a bowl, pour in boiling water, cover and leave for five minutes.

        I have to be completely honest and say the result doesn’t look particularly appetising, but it's not off-putting. It looks sort of like a thick soup with lots of grains in.

        The good news is it tastes much better than it looks. It’s quite spicy and full of different flavours and tastes like, well, Thai Green Curry.

        At 400 calories a portion it is a sensible, calorie-controlled meal. And that’s the beauty of Huel for me. The products aren't super low calorie and they are packed with filling ingredients that stop you snacking. The protein shakes have magically stopped me reaching for the biscuit tin. They are also 400 calories for two scoops, so very much a meal in itself.

        I’m not as sold on the savoury range as I am on the shakes. But they’re definitely a good, healthy option if you’re time poor and need to whip up lunch or dinner fast.


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        One serving is probably less than many people have for dinner--it's 400 calories, which is 20% of the average person's daily energy need, assuming 2000 calories. To continue to generalize, I think a lot of people have their largest meal in the evening, so maybe it's a more lunch-sized portion of food? Of course there's nothing keeping you from making 1.5 servings in the evening but if cost is a constraint I could see that being an issue. Another approach might be to have Hot and Savory as a component of your dinner... say a serving of that plus something else on the side.

        I don't think you can scientifically define or quantify "healthy" which is why they say the product is "nutritionally complete". It gives you what your body needs in a very optimized and low-effort way. Is it as healthy as a big salad with lots of varied whole food ingredients carefully chosen to provide complete nutrition? No, probably the salad would be a better choice.

        If you feel like your diet is missing something important, one good approach might be to replace your day's least healthy meal with Huel. Like if you ate a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, or a slice of pizza or cup of noodles for lunch, replacing either of those with Huel would be a dramatic improvement.

        Personally, I used restaurant / take out / drive through as a way to get quick and easy food. Huel is cheaper, faster, and more healthy than those options.

        EDIT: It's important to stress that it tastes kind of healthy. Quick and easy processed food, like ramen is super high in sodium. The lizard brain loves it. Huel isn't that. It's going to be more bland than a box of grocery store mac and cheese.

        I wouldn't give up on the Huel powder either... it's quite a bit cheaper than Hot and Savory, but granted it takes some getting used to drinking your meal.

        Is HUEL hot and savory good for losing weight?

        Is Huel a Good Way to Lose Weight? If you're trying to lose weight with Huel then you may find this easier than other diets. This is because it's very easy to keep track of your calories, as well as your macros.

        Can you lose weight using Huel?

        Huel will change the way you think about food, for good. It's not 'fat-loss food', it's nutritionally complete food. You can use it to lose, maintain, or gain weight, or to simply improve your diet. Every Huel calorie is already worked out, so there's no need to calculate it.

        Is HUEL hot and Savoury actually healthy?

        A Huel Hot & Savoury meal contains 400 calories, 24g of plant protein and 26 vitamins and minerals, and is high in fibre. It has the essential nutrients you need from a meal, worked out as a percentage of your recommended daily intake, which does make it a convenient option if undoubtedly a bit mechanical.

        Is Huel good for weight loss and muscle gain?

        Huel is great for sustaining muscle mass and shedding fat.” “Huel keeps me fit and gives my body all the nutrition I need.” “Huel gives me the fuel I need to keep progressing with my muscle gains goals.”