A Variant of Max's "Bachelor Chow" - adjusted for ladies ;)
Hats off for making such a great mix, Max!

This formulation is only 1500 calories, which is good for a variety of food goals. People can have a reduced calorie diet that is easy to manage for weight loss. Folks who still want to eat dinner have that luxury. You can still drink coffee all day at the office or have a piece of Janice's birthday cake, whatever. You've just got some wiggle room if you need it.

#####NOTE! This recipe is chocolate flavored, and is only mildly sweet. If you'd like it sweeter, add sugar and decrease oats or corn to get the calories back in line. It is tasty, but those who don't want chocolate overload might enjoy a plain vanilla Soylent:

####Vanilla Basic Soylent

Things to get locally (if possible):

• Oats (pulse in food processor or coffee grinder to make oat flour)
• Whey Protein
• Flaxseed meal
• Precooked Masa
• Soybean oil

(Expect future edits. They are the spice of life.)

##Updates

####11/5/13 It's been over a week on 100% Soylent and I feel amazing. Like AMAZING. I have more energy than I know what to do with. The only negative is that I'm starting to flush – Niacin is suspect. Going back over the ingredient nutrient profiles, I found that the data for masa was probably incomplete. Beyond the data listed on the label were more than a dozen other nutrients it did not account for... including niacin.

reference: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5690/2

Edits to the recipe:

• Reigned in Masa to keep nutrient levels in check
• Increased protein, oil, and oats to fill the gaps
• BONUS: Because Masa had more fiber than was accounted for, use of flaxseed meal is now completely unnecessary.

Debulking this mix will hopefully lead to a smoother, more enjoyable Soylent. I've also been experimenting with unflavored Designer Whey protein, which is delightful. I've never had a sweet tooth, so the unflavored version is lighter and refreshing.

More later, thanks for watching! -HH

####10/21/13 Oof. I'm getting a little flaxed-out. I dialed down on the flaxseed meal, oil and whey protein. To compensate, I bumped up oats, potassium gluconate and cocoa. I'm feeling very happy about this mix. I'm continuing to use the Vanilla Basic Soylent to use up the GNC powder I bought. It is still very palatable and I feel good when using it.

I started a blog about this experience: Soylenter.wordpress.com I'm about to go 100% Soylent in a week, check in to see how it goes! Thanks, you guys rock :)

####9/22/13 I'm proposing a compromise: potassium gluconate/chloride blend. This reduces the amount of potassium gluconate, without too much chloride in the mix.

####9/20/13 (2nd) Guess what. You're gonna love this.

I was doing some more research about the proposed ingredients in this Soylent formulation, and the Optimum Nutrition Women's vitamin is made with Chasteberry and Dong Quai. Depending on who you talk to, these herbs may or may not "interfere with birth control." While the jury is still out on this one, I'd prefer to go with a vitamin that doesn't contain herbal blends that do who knows what. "Interfering with birth control" is the last thing ladies want out of Soylent!

I've replaced the Optimum Nutrition vitamin with a Rainbow Light Women's One Multivitamin. I did add brown sugar for sweetness, and reduced oat flour to keep carbs and calories in check.

####9/20/13 I had been mildly concerned about the high niacin and chloride levels in the recipe (caused by using the GNC Women's formula), but being kind of lazy, I left it alone.

Before you flame me: I fixed it. I did, but I want to say something else first, so hang on.

I'm attempting to make a Soylent blend that accomplishes 4 basic goals:

• The blend must be nutritionally complete. I should be able to subsist solely on Soylent, and Soylent alone.
  
• The blend must be cheap. Because if it's more expensive than food, I'll just eat food.
  
• It must be easy to make. The more things I don't have to order, the better. I'm not a fan of grinding up pills, corn, or liver, and I want to use the smallest number of ingredients possible. I also mean to avoid "fresh" food - no eggs, bananas, or peanut butter.
  
• It must be tasty. I know this is a "fluid" requirement at best - let's just say it must be palatable. It cannot be similar to drinking a slug or chewing up aspirins.

So I set out to fix the niacin/chloride problem. The GNC formula was a substantial part of the recipe, and to replace it I had to reconjigger the whatsit levels and add a few whoseits, too. Anyhoo, here are the changes:

• Removed GNC Formula entirely, and replaced it with the Optimum Nutrition Opti-Women Multivitamin.
  
• Bumped up Protein powder, flaxseed meal, masa, calcium/magnesium, and table salt.
  
• Decreased oat flour, sulfur, and soybean oil.
  
• Replaced Potassium Chloride with Potassium Gluconate. I have to use three times more... I was hesitant, but we'll see. At least it's supposed to dissolve well...
  
• I had to increase fiber again, so I added cocoa powder for fiber and flavor. Flax meal and cocoa powder have about the same fiber per gram, but I worried about my fourth requirement - taste - becoming threatened. Cocoa without sweetness is a black hole of sadness, so I'll have to mix up a batch to see if it's disgusting or not. Good news is, since we're only at 1500 calories, there's room for brown sugar or some form of sweetener of necessary.
  

As always, expect changes and tweaks - I'll be starting production soon, as I hope to have a more final formula and all ingredients this week. Cheers!
--Holly

####Original Changelog:

• Subbed out GNC men's formula for Women's. Because it's for ladies.
• Decreased oils, carbs to make it less caloric. Fancy ladies are dainty flowers.
• Decreasing calories and carbs from oats and corn also decreased fiber. Flaxseed meal was added to return fiber to normal levels, because everybody poops.
• In the interest of tracking better prices, I've sourced some supplements through iHerb. They seem to have good prices, a good selection, and shipping over $20 is free (and fast, to boot). Make sure to snag some free lip balm while you're there.
• I am also encouraging folks to locally source grocery-type ingredients to keep costs down. This is still in process, and I don't know what stores are in your area, so expect costs to vary. All told, it shouldn't cost more than $4 a day for this stuff.

I am waiting on one ingredient from Amazon... and then we will make some magic! I'll keep you updated on the flavor, texture, and everything.