Enjoylent - Liquid Food Meal Replacement (for Australia)

[whodeani]

My first 'complete' (almost) attempt at making a Vegan liquid food drink for Aussie males.

This is meant ot be a 'proper' meal replacement (unlike those sold at Chemists that warn you can only have them 1 - 2 times per day max... the aim here is to create something that is a geniune 'meal' and can therefore be consumed for any and every meal if you wish).

I'm calling it Enjoylent.

I started using an early version of this recipe from August 19, 2014 (at the start of my Fitbit program) based on an existing recipe on the DIY forums of Soylent (http://diy.soylent.me/)

In setting out to design my own version, I wanted it to be...

- Vegan.
- Have ingredients that can/could be purchased all from one location (ideally a supermarket, in person). For my recipe, all ingredients can (when in stock) be purchased from Aunt Maggies (4 locations in Victoria).
- Organic (where practical/possible).
- Natural (I've tried to use wholefoods where possible... ie using Organic Coconut Sugar instead of Maltodextrin).
- Suitable for males my age (48).
- Be 'filling'.
- Be 'variable' (able to over time to develop further flavors of the same base).

I started with no flavoring at all and it was almost undrinkable... mainly due to the after smell/taste of Brown Rice Protein Isolate.

I did some digging around for 'masking' agents for vegetable based Proteins (which apparently are more pungent than Whey based powders) and the common train of thought appeared to be that Vegetable Protein had a 'nutty' taste and that the best way to mask it was to find flavors that were from a similar family.

To my original recipe I then added some Almond Meal (nuts), Organic Cacao, Vanilla Essence and Cinnamon for flavor and texture.

I also was able to pull back slightly on the Oat Flour and Brown Rice Protein Isolate.

I then added a small amount of Stevia which helped me pull back on the Sugar (Organic Coconut Sugar) and provide headroom for the additional calorie load of the Almond Meal.

This current mix tastes and feels pretty good at room temperature but could be better.

Things I need to address...

- Consistency. Need to find a natural product to help make it less grainy and hold it together. Will source some Organic Guar Gum and see how that goes.
- Fat content. Slightly too high. Need to bring it back.
- Want to get more Almond Meal into the mix, but it is very fatty. Will look to adding more Almond meal vs pulling back on the Olive Oil (notwithstanding issues with the loss of nutrients from the reduction in Olive Oil).
- Need to 'go deep' vs the RDI's.

Note: This recipe comes in at around $20 per day currently due a) to Organic Ingredients and b) as I am still experimenting, I've been buying small packets of everything. I am confident I can get the $ per day down to or below $15 AUD relatively easily just buy buying bigger quantities of everything.

It would likely get down to around $10 per day by swapping the Organic Ingredients for Regular Ingredients.

Here's the link for anyone wishing to try it...

Enjoylent Vanilla Choc Cinnamon (~2000 calories) - Aus Vegan Male 18 - 50

... and even after trying it... give me some tips on how I can improve it. That would be great.

Enjoy...

[Dominique]

Just curious: why would someone want to absorb their food in liquid form? I can see the point for astronauts confined in a tiny spaceship, but I can't picture myself trading real food for a liquid meal.

[whodeani]

Yeh... it's not for everyone.

Soylent, which is where this idea sprung from (in the USA), was originally created as a 'convenience' food for busy workers/programmers in Silicon Valley.

The thinking there was that they were so busy they didn't have time to prepare food and often skipped meals.

In creating their version, the aim was to make something that was a complete meal and not just another meal replacement product (noting that most meal replacement products are restricted to 1 - 2 serves per day given they are not 'complete').

I tried to order some for Australia and was told they wouldn't be delivering here till 'at least' early 2015 so set about making my own... Enjoylent.

Have been on it 6 days (including today) and will admit that at times the desire to eat regular food is strong... but as with any attempt to change a habit... it usually takes around 10 - 14 days... so I will do my best to stick it out.

I'm currently making it to 2000 calories per day... and have had some success already with mood, general well being and weightloss (according to Aria I have lost over 2KG in body fat in the past 5 days).

Anyway... thanks for replying... all the best.

DJ.

[whodeani]

BTW... I can see this eventually sitting in the same space as the All Juice Diet... or the All Soup Diet.