So I think a lot of people have now heard of this ‘Soylent’ stuff, an all-in-one food replacement shake designed by a coder in the US who basically didn’t want to waste any more of his life cooking, eating and cleaning (for more info).

There are also now a number of copies available in Europe, the one the spams my facebook feed the most being ‘Huel – Nutritionally Complete Powdered Food’ and also Jake Shake.

I’ve never tried any of the above but I have been impressed with the idea. Sometimes it might just be easier to whack a shake and get on with things, especially now that it’s exam season, I’d rather save time for 80% of the meals in a week and then devote a good couple of hours for the remaining 20% to cook real, tasty food for friends and make a meal of it.

I also like the concept of getting exactly everything you need in 1 go (or spread 3x a day at least). No more counting macros, making guesses, worrying about going over/under on calories. Just 3 shakes, everything I need to reach my goals. Jake do a low cal version for weight loss, and also a higher protein version, but this doesn’t quite cut it.

There is also a DIY – Soylent movement that exists where people can make up their own versions, share the recipes and get feedback on them. By far one of the most popular I’ve seen is called ‘Liquid Cake v1.3‘ by a person called ‘cultofmonkey’. His is approx 1900 calories per day, 89g carbs, 205g protein and 64g fat and when made to his spec is delicious, if a bit sweet!

I bought all the necessary ingredients the other day, the main constituents being whey protein, oats and oil, with powders and pills making up the required micro nutrients.

One other thing however is that I’ve also just invested in a Nutribullet type blender thing and would like to incorporate a green veg/fruit shake every day as well…. so I did a bit of tinkering.

My version of Liquid Cake (vAlex) is only 1500 cals, meaning I can have that an a mean green shake at least everyday to meet my minimum (rest day) macros. I cut the carbs (to make way for veg/fruit shake) and protein a bit (>200g I think is unnecessary) and increased the oil slightly to make up the cals. On training days I’ll add in a slice of PROTEIN CHEESECAKE and bob’s yer uncle, fanny’s yer aunt and gains will be all mine. The macros for vAlex are: 1500cals, 175g protein, 43g carbs, 59g fat.

Here’s a shot of my lunch, but in fact it could well be breakfast or dinner… I’ve found it best to make the next meal as soon as I’ve finished the first and leave it in the fridge to go a bit thicker and get cold. I also blended my breakfast one with a handful of frozen berries, bloody amazing! Also at less than £3.45 per day its an inexpensive way to ‘consume food’ aka – EAT. It also ties in well with my Vegetarian April, being, well, vegetarian.