Complete Meal Powders

UPDATE: I'm upgrading my review to 5 stars because either I just got a bad batch the first time around or I've just gotten accustomed to the taste, but in any case, my shipment from Soylent arrived and as per my recommendation below I continued using almond milk to make my shakes -- initially will all almond milk, then with half almond milk and half water. Well, today I decided to use all water again for the first time since I ordered my first tub from Amazon -- and it tastes fine! Pretty good, actually, and barely any difference from using almond milk! Again, I don't know if it's just because the first batch was bad or I've just gotten used to it, but either way I'm only going to be using water from now on unless it starts tasting bad again. Below is my original review: When made as directed (with water), I personally found the flavor of the cacao variety revolting. It had a chalky, medicine-like flavor and a shiver-inducing after-taste. Finishing even just a 200 calorie portion was an unpleasant chore, and had I left it at that then I probably would have never ordered this again. However, on the recommendation of some of the other reviewers here I substituted water with almond milk (sweetened vanilla or original in my case, haven't tried unsweetened yet) and that made a huge difference. It now tastes like thick chocolate milk, akin to the premixed ones you'd buy at a grocery (to clarify, I mean premixed chocolate milk, not premixed Soylent 2.0, which I haven't tried). I also like adding blueberries, spinach and nuts when I can and mixing it the blender for added flavor, texture and health benefits, but in a pinch just the power and almond milk in a blender bottle is perfectly fine. I'm knocking off a star from my review because when made as directed on the can, the product is, in my opinion, practically unusable. However in every other regard I am satisfied with it. Within the past week or so I have used it to replace most of my meals, and to my surprise it actually is pretty filling. It saves me from the bad (and expensive) habit of ordering takeout, heating up a TV dinner or eating some other junk when I don't feel like cooking. So for someone like me it has the added benefit of improving my overall nutrition -- not only because the shakes themselves are nutritious, but because it has a positive effect on my other eating habits. Now when I do cook or eat out, I'm more conscious of making healthier choices. In the future I'd like to try the Original Soylent flavor to see if I can stomach it with just water, so that I can (1) reduce the cost per meal, and (2) reduce the amount of sugar intake. Final note: as others have noted, buying Soylent directly from the company's website is much cheaper per pound. They offer free shipping with a fairly low minimum purchase threshold (twenty-something dollars I think), as well as discounts for enrolling in automatic subscription ordering. Shipping speed is fairly slow, however; from California to New York took a week in my case, so plan accordingly. I bought this tub of cacao from Amazon to hold me over in the interim while waiting for the 7 pouch shipment from Soylent.

I use this stuff all the time and for about 6 months now. Here is my breakdown. Pros: Cheaper than other meal replacement brands. Tastes good. Keeps me feeling full. Super easy to use. I feel like I actually ate something, and am not hungry in 30 minutes. Cons: If you use it a lot, as in more than once a day, you need to add fiber to it otherwise you will have an infinite wiping situation in the bathroom. Sometimes if I chug it on an empty stomach, like right when I wake up, I feel nauseous for 10 mins. So I drink slower if im starving. The jug comes like 3 quarters full. Aka im missing a quarter of the powder. I hate that, just fill it up all the way. Other notes: Sometimes mixing is chunky, but just need to shake more. If you use it a lot and love it like I do, I just got the subscribe and save. Is really great so I dont have to worry about ordering constantly. I tried chocolate and plain. I prefer plain but thats just cause im not a chocolate guy. That being said the chocolate does taste good, but id rather just have plain. You can make it as thick or thin as you want. Sometimes I switch it up.

For those who have tried soylent cacao: (review for those who haven't tried follows) This is, unfortunately, not the same experience as soylent cacao in a bottle. The taste and texture are different. The taste, while clearly cacao-flavored, has a more noticeable artificial-y flavor that sticks out. Some have described this as "plastic-y". While I don't agree with this description, I see where they're coming from.... As someone who hates plastic-y taste, I'd describe the soylent after-taste as, "the initial taste part of plastic, but without the floral and sickly-sweet scent that lingers afterwards". I think it's quite manageable and I don't notice it after the first few sips. I do wonder if it's something that can be "aired out". For example, Blending oranges to make orange juice whips a lot of air into the juice, making for some strange tastes that aren't normally there. However, this airs out over time. This may be the same case with this Soylent. I am preparing it by shaking it in a blender bottle. On Texture... It's a bit grittier/chalkier and less "creamy/smooth" than bottle soylent. Maybe if I boiled it or didn't use a shake blender bottle it might be different... But this has been my experience. Again, nothing terrible in my opinion, but a clearly different experience. Overall, I do wish it were as silky smooth and great tasting as the bottled stuff, but I'm willing to give that up for the cheaper price. For those who haven't tried soylent: This fairly "light", as compared to something like Ensure. However, though not "bland" its flavor is less (as recommended by recipe on label). It comes off as easy to drink instead of trying to chug a rich chocolate milkshake. Flavor-wise, I'd worry for the uninitiated that it might come off as a bit "artificial"... Not in the sense that it tastes like chemicals, but that it doesn't taste like food.... It's a bit like chocolate milk powder (with less sugar) + skim milk + a bit of chalky texture. However, it's fast and simple and replenishes my energy quickly and "lightly" (not like a heavy meal). I can continue working without missing a beat, and it's not like I need to set aside time to prep and eat. Feels like I never needed to eat in the first place. Overall, I find myself enjoying it a lot, though I look forwards to their 2.0 recipe that will hopefully taste more like the bottled soylent. Also available in bags at a much lower cost. Overall fast/simple to prepare, easy to clean up.

Great taste, made me a little gassy at first, Cacao is an antioxidant and I think it was clearing me out lol. After a few days my stomach was fine.

Seems o’kay . but really taste so soybean over the weak cocoa. Really could use more cocoa. I add 1.5 heaping tbs of chocoatate Ovaltine to supplement, when making 12 oz, and help cover the soy taste. So 2 strikes -- soybeanie & deficient cocoa/chocolate to help cover that taste - - so 3-stars

To give you some background I use this as a brunch meal filler to get me through my workday which begins at 5:30AM and lasts until I get home at 6:30PM. I also always pack meal replacement shakes while traveling in the event of that accidental delay and not wanting to pay $15 for an airport sammie. When selecting a protein/meal replacement shake I don't really care what my protein makeup is as I don't have issues with whey, pea, or different forms. What I look for most for me is a decent amount of protein, fiber, low saturated fat, and low in sugar or something that utilizes stevia or sugar alcohols. I tend to prefer vanilla shakes more but will always poke around and try different flavors. I do take daily vitamins every single day but I always skew towards having something that does have magnesium/potassium or other minerals added because it is always helpful. Personally when reading reviews I like to know how and why someone likes something and how they use it so I hope this will help! To give you some background, I have run the full gamut of protein/meal replacement shakes: Phood (recommend if you uber thick shakes), Vega One (meh.), Garden of Life Raw Organic Meal (I tried on this one but could not finish the tub. AWFUL liquid cardboard), Field Work Nutrition, Yuve, Ascent protein, and more. I have never tried Soylent prior but took a leap and bought the cacao. This morning I tossed it in a blender bottle with water and whipped it up. Totally drinkable and rather perfect. This is one of the tops I have truly ever had as it scores high across the board: consistency is smooth, creamy, taste is great, zero clumping, no grit, and it's balanced. You aren't overpowered by this strong cloying heavily flavored monstrosity. You also don't need to add more water or cut it. I would describe this as a medium-thick thickness shake which I love since I go for thicker shakes. Specifically addressing flavor, if you've hopped into the plant based protein world already, you know what to expect as far as that back tone of earthiness in flavor vs whey which has that milky almost baby formula type of flavor. Not horrible tasting in my option, just for someone entering into the plant protein world, it's there and that's what you are tasting across the board with all plant protein shakes, not just this one. I absolutely will repurchase this and even set up to be autodelivered the bottles as well. Suggested improvements: My one main caveat with Soylent products is the sugar content across the board, premix and powdered alike. The powdered is a whopping 15g in Cacao and the premix bottles hover around 9g. While I get it HAS to be palatable, I would LOVE if stevia, xylitol, or erythritol were used. I would be singing Soylents praises from mountaintops if they chose stevia or sugar alcohols.

Very good flavor nice smooth texture goes down easy use almond milk for that extra creamy milkshake like texture will buy again for sure

I decided to try powdered Soylent because the ready-to-drink (RTD) versions have become quite expensive, except for one flavor at a time. I wanted to mix up my options to avoid getting bored, so I gave the Cacao powder a shot as an alternative to the Chocolate and Mint Chocolate RTD Soylent. It’s not as sweet, but it still tastes great. I’m glad I did my research beforehand because my first experience was excellent. There were no lumps, and it didn’t taste chalky. I used a portable blender to mix it, poured it into a glass bottle with a metal lid, and stored it in the fridge for the next day. While it’s not as convenient as twisting off a cap, it wasn’t much more effort than making a bowl of cereal. In my limited experience, it's been as filling as the RTD when using two scoops.

The price is horrid no doubt but I had one shake this morning and felt really good and now one shake at night also feeling very good now. Good on stomach and I like the flavour. It tastes like cake mix when your mum wouldn't let you eat just the cake mix before the cake was made. I like it. My salary quite high but coudnt afford this with everyone's regular wage so price def too high

As someone who doesn't eat breakfast due to a sensitive stomach in the morning, Soylent is great! I can get a quick breakfast in and don't feel unwell at all; giving me a great start to the day. Tastes great, quick and filling.