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Soylent Taste Test

nytimes.com

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Re: Soylent Taste Test

#51

Post by munro »

gamblor956 wrote: post #49
digitalpacman wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They actually haven't. The closest is "booster shakes" which you can use to replace a lunch, here and there. But that's it. None of them say you can stop eating food all together. I've sat down and done the research and tried to find a single one that would actually say you could use it as a meal replacement, and there aren't any. The only thing really are ones that they keep coma patients alive with, which isn't exa…

Shakeology and Garden of Life have been making MREs for years now. You've probably not heard of them because they target vegans and are very expensive.

Actually the Soylent community is well aware of the alternatives, still none of them are up to Soylent's nutrition level! But you can see people using those things as bases in their DIY recipes [1]. You will start experience joint pain if you decide to just it Garden of Life [2], among other vitamin deficiencies.

[1] http://diy.soylent.me/recipes/people-chow-301-tortilla-perfe... [2] http://robrhinehart.com/?p=570

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#52

Post by fudged71 »

tekni5 wrote: post #37

I wouldn't mind a product that can replace food, if it's cheaper, more convenient, provides all necessary nutrition and eliminates the feeling of hunger. However the biggest issue I have with Soylent is that I cannot trust it. It hasn't been tested long term and it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing. Also let's stop pretending it's something new, stuff like Plumpy'nut have…

"it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing" and "I bet it would be as effective as Soylent" don't fit well together, you're being hypocritical.

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#53

Post by frankacter »

khawkins wrote: post #22
freyrs3 wrote: post #6

I don't understand why Soylent receives the press it does, meal-replacement shakes have been on the market for quite a long time. The entire phenomenon seems to just be a marketing gimmick around some misguided notion of it "replacing food".

The fact that Soylent tastes terrible should hardly be a surprise considering that none of the team behind this product has education/experience in food technology ( http://www.rosalabs.com/team/ ). Shouldn't that be a red flag for investors, considering ample availability of experience in such industries?

It's unfortunate that this mantra is repeated again and again whenever the discussion of Soylent is brought up. At minimum, last September they publicly discuss the fact that they are working directly with nutritionist:

http://blog.soylent.me/post/61556254347/9-15-weekly-recap

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#54

Post by nazgulnarsil »

fidlefodl wrote: post #23
nazgulnarsil wrote: post #15

People interested in Soylent may be interested in the whole food alternatives, MealSquares and Ambronite.

I was not aware of those, thanks for the links! I'll be curious at how much Ambronite ends up costing

Ambornite is currently $32 a day IIRC. MealSquares are aiming for $12. Compared to $9.6x for Soylent.

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#55

Post by serf »

digitalpacman wrote: post #13

My biggest gripe, which has me real close to complaining to the times about it, is he didn't even talk about any of the other avenues of flavoring the product that the owners advertise themselves. Never once mentioned adding chocolate, or vanilla, or peanut butter. You can add anything you want. It helps, isn't great, but it makes it much better. Also he didn't mention if he left it in the fridge for a few hours to l…

You're not supposed to let it settle. The instructions dont advise it; they just say to drink it within two days.

It's a widely suggested tip, but it's not as if it's a documented instruction step.

in my opinion, to review any experience other than the one derived from exact use of the instructions is rather dishonest.

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#56

Post by camillomiller »

evv wrote: post #39
tekni5 wrote: post #37

I wouldn't mind a product that can replace food, if it's cheaper, more convenient, provides all necessary nutrition and eliminates the feeling of hunger. However the biggest issue I have with Soylent is that I cannot trust it. It hasn't been tested long term and it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing. Also let's stop pretending it's something new, stuff like Plumpy'nut have…

> However the biggest issue I have with Soylent is that I cannot trust it. It hasn't been tested long term and it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing. Totally valid point, but look at the alternatives for people without the time and money to buy nice ingredients and cook for themselves. I used to eat fast food nearly every day out of convenience and because I didn't know how…

Very good point, but soylent actually goes a bit too far on the opposite directions. It's a nerdy, mechanistic answer to the problem and, because of that, it won't solve it. It's clearly a strong byproduct of the messed up American way of eating, which is, as you said, the outcome of a long term strategy by the food and distribution industries.

The answer is well priced well balanced and tasty food sold next door to your daily fast food. So, if soylent would really want to change the way America eats, the should be funding a lobby, hire some philosophers and become a politically active think tank. Now they're just a nerdy company that will not appeal to anyone. Not to obese fast food goers, nor culturally elevated liberal people that are aware of the importance of eating well as a social activity and a pleasure, and can make the terrible connection to the much too famous movie -- soylent green.

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#57

Post by aianus »

tekni5 wrote: post #37

I wouldn't mind a product that can replace food, if it's cheaper, more convenient, provides all necessary nutrition and eliminates the feeling of hunger. However the biggest issue I have with Soylent is that I cannot trust it. It hasn't been tested long term and it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing. Also let's stop pretending it's something new, stuff like Plumpy'nut have…

Where do I go to buy me some Plumpy'nut? Serious question.

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#58

Post by tekni5 »

fudged71 wrote: post #52
tekni5 wrote: post #37

I wouldn't mind a product that can replace food, if it's cheaper, more convenient, provides all necessary nutrition and eliminates the feeling of hunger. However the biggest issue I have with Soylent is that I cannot trust it. It hasn't been tested long term and it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing. Also let's stop pretending it's something new, stuff like Plumpy'nut have…

"it doesn't sound like it's being developed by people who know what they are doing" and "I bet it would be as effective as Soylent" don't fit well together, you're being hypocritical.

Not really because I mentioned "as a food replacement for a few months.", people have reported that Soylent worked for them for some period of time (weeks or months as I understand). All I am saying is that other products that exist may have the same effect. But Soylent isn't marketed as a short term meal replacement, it's marketed for long term use which I assume means years. You can survive on quite a few things for a short period of time, doesn't mean the product is good for you.

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#59

Post by mreiland »

001sky wrote: post #38
digitalpacman wrote: post #13

My biggest gripe, which has me real close to complaining to the times about it, is he didn't even talk about any of the other avenues of flavoring the product that the owners advertise themselves. Never once mentioned adding chocolate, or vanilla, or peanut butter. You can add anything you want. It helps, isn't great, but it makes it much better. Also he didn't mention if he left it in the fridge for a few hours to l…

These are good points for discussion. But the counter-arguments is that they add cost, complexity, and time. I can readily buy 2000 calories of food that are shelf-stable for under the $9/day price of solent. That are equal in weight (500g), hit a target of 15% protein, are compact in volume... and far more palatable for long durations. Soylent has going for it that its easy 1-step and always predictable with minimal…

I wish I could prepare, cook, eat, and clean a meal in the time it takes to create a shake, drink it, and wash out the cup.

Do tell, what's your secret?

Re: Soylent Taste Test

#60

Post by [deleted] »

mreiland wrote: post #59
001sky wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are good points for discussion. But the counter-arguments is that they add cost, complexity, and time. I can readily buy 2000 calories of food that are shelf-stable for under the $9/day price of solent. That are equal in weight (500g), hit a target of 15% protein, are compact in volume... and far more palatable for long durations. Soylent has going for it that its easy 1-step and always predictable with minimal…

I wish I could prepare, cook, eat, and clean a meal in the time it takes to create a shake, drink it, and wash out the cup. Do tell, what's your secret?

[deleted]
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