It is Day 3 of a new experimentation on liquid meals. So far, I'm happy with it. No more post-lunch slumps and hunger pangs. Less post-mamak pondering of the food I should be eating and what I could afford.
Look, I like food. Yet sometimes all I want is to be utilitarian about giving my body the nutrition it needs, especially during workday lunches, where options for healthy meals are sparse, far and/or expensive. The cheapest meal with the least 'damage' within walkable distance are either meehoon soup with processed fishballs (RM6.90) and McD's chicken porridge (RM4.50~, medium sized). Most of the time, my colleagues and I simply eat at a mamak on the first floor, initially scrunching our faces up at how salty the food is, and then getting used to that. We know a couple of days of abstaining from this eatery will reset our tastebuds and the face scrunching starts again momentarily upon resuming. I could almost feel my heart seizing up from all the oils, salt and fats from consecutive meals of this.
So anyway. There is something called meal replacements. You have 'Soylent', that is made from soy protein and not human protein. It's a meal in liquid form with all the necessary nutrients. There are also other brands like Huel and Joylent, but the shipping to Malaysia is nuts for all three of these. It won't be affordable per meal. There is also Super Body Fuel (formerly, Schmoylent) which, if I go for Schmilk's bimonthly subscription, it would give me 80 meals every two months at USD130/MYR505 (USD100 for 80 meals and USD30 for shipping). Shipping is subsidised if you buy at least USD100. Per meal, it would cost MYR6.30, although the powder is supposed to be blended with milk, which isn't included in the cost. A single scoop gives you 200 calories, and mixing it with whole milk brings it up to 500 calories, hence you can adjust according to your needs. The downside is, I have yet to test whether this works for me or not, so 500+ is a little steep to give it a go at this time.
The hunt ended in some meal replacements from iHerb. Shipping rates from this website is pretty sweet, and I got two types; Naturade Total Soy Choc (MYR51.40) and Garden of Life's RAW Meal Cacao (RM92.80). I use the former irregularly for 'snacking' and the latter is the one I've been chugging for lunch. Roughly, with shipping cost included, Naturade works out to be MYR4.25 per meal (half of that for snacking) and Garden of Life is MYR7.50. Calories for these aren't stellar, around 120-130 calories if you mix it with just water. If you're planning to hit 1500++ calories per day, it might not be a good option. But I'm also 154cm and sedentary as fuck. My daily calories intake is only about 1300~ per day. And considering how much I gorge myself with decadent food, the thought of being able to reduce some calories is attractive.
Behold, the shaker I snitched from Uday
I was excited to test out the Garden of Life. Taste-wise, there are strong differing reviews; some love it and some hated it. It was also my first time trying a liquid meal, and being a serial snacker, I was curious on how long it would keep me full. On the first day, instead of taking 2 scoops, I only packed for one. Instructions on the bottle says 1 scoop with 8oz (240ml) of water, and neglected to mention that this is the measurement for a snack. I figured oh, what the hell. I'll make do when I get hungry later. Put in a little more water as I've read it would be better, with a dash of unsweetened soy milk. Ideally, unsweetened almond milk is recommended, but being Malaysian, who has the money for that?? Soy milk was MYR2.90 for a litre. Also ate a banana.
The verdict; I quite like the taste, although there is a lasting chemical-like flavour at the end. Think it's the artificial sweetener, but it isn't a deal breaker. As for satiety, it lasted me 4 hours comfortably. I didn't even think of snacking. And hey, my focus is better too. Either it has nutrients that I lack in my daily diet that helped with concentration, or that there is 7mg of naturally occurring caffeine in it... I don't know how, but I'm loving it. One scoop is enough in my case. I tried 1.5 scoops and I felt too full. Additionally, I had it cold the first two times, and made the water a little warmer on the third time. A warm meal is much better.
As for Naturade, the fact that it is mostly soy elicits some caution in me. Got it on a whim because it's cheap and the shipping fee is the same with or without it. Have yet to try it as a meal, and will update this post when it happens.
