Aren't there enough recipes around?

Most Soylent recipes around are based on stuff that is easy to obtain in the US, tipically from Amazon. However, in Europe, it's not that easy to obtain some of the ingredients those recipes require. So, I set out to make a recipe that would be easy to source and affordable in Europe (Mediterranean Europe, specifically, as I live in Portugal, but I believe most of these ingredients are easy to source in other countries). Some prices may vary, but I went for ingredients which can be shipped to most of Europe for similar prices (or lower) than to Portugal.

All prices are in dollars - I've converted the values from euros to dollars. It adds up to about €5 per day. Also, the prices for protein assume that you'll be ordering 1 kg at a time, and shipping it to Portugal - if you are in the UK, or you order more that 1 kg at a time the price will be dramatically reduced, and that's the single most expensive item in there.

The recipe is based on the Hacker School recipe, but very heavily modified. Probably the most contentious thing I did was to replace Potassium Citrate / Gluconate with Potassium Chlorate, as the Chlorate levels were a bit low without that. Potassium Chlorate is also easier to obtain a much less expensive. I know the Hacker School post considers it "inferior potassium", but I can find no evidence of that, apart from the book linked in the article. The articles I could find (this one, for example) show no significant difference between using Potassium Chlorate and Potassium Citrate in blood pressure (the most significant impact Potassium has in a diet).

I also replaced the Soy Lecithin with a Choline supplement, as I can't find good sources for the choline content in Soy Lecithin, and I see quite different values used by different sellers. Nature's Best also sells Soy Lecithin granules (don't go for the pills), so feel free to use that instead - the Hacker School recipe uses 15g per day.

I also do something that most Soylent diyers that favour natural ingredients should do: don't trust in a single ingredient to fulfil a nutrient. These are not pure, precisely produced chemicals. I know that, and I embrace that - I'm not a fan of filling my body with chemicals (though it has its advantages, yes) - but I also take into consideration the inherent variability to the nutritional value of the ingredients used. For example, I use Buckwheat flour in addition to Ground oats as a base Carbohydrate Source, and Sunflower Oil and Olive Oil as fat sources. Not anymore, I am trying to choose a different oil to mix, as olive oil has the omega-3 to omega-6 proportions a bit off. As for protein, for now at least, I'm sticking to Soy Protein Isolate (not concentrate), and there is no way I am going to trust natural ingredients for sourcing most micro-nutrients - this is where precision must come in. I try to source everything from Nature's Best, as they ship to all of Europe, have a good catalog, and are not too expensive.

Future work:

First of all, this recipe is still a work in progress (see "Next steps for this recipe", below).

I intend to make some variations of this recipe, with similar results (both in terms of flavour and in terms of nutritional value) but using different base ingredients (different flours, different oils, different proteins, etc). This will allow for a rotation of soylents, which should balance out the variability in the ingredient's nutritional value. I will also try to produce some "fresh" variations, i.e., recipes using fresh ingredients up to some point. I know that's kind of not the point, but I do like the idea of making, for example, a raspberry soylent.

I will also revise the Nutrient Profile I am using right now. I am using a combination of the US DRI that is used by most people in this site, which I don't trust and can't find good references for (especially now, with the US government shutdown) and a combination of the EU directives on the matter. In particular, the recommendations for some of the micro-nutrients seem to be way, way off in some cases - maybe its something to do with a bad conversion to IU in some cases? I intend to produce a combinations of the US and EU recommendations and create some sort of calculator for it - that would imply creating a site for it, though.

Next steps for this recipe:

• The calcium, sulfur and Vitamins K and D values needs to be boosted; Done! Using supplements from Nature's Best. See the notes about Sulfur in the Nutrient Profile used for more detail.

• Carbs may need to be boosted, but I'm not too sure about that. The Hacker School original recipe has way less than this, and many people are using "Rob's New Recommendation" - which besides being incomplete on various points has way more carbohydrates than the US recommendation. The sources on both counts are somewhat sketchy, so I'm sticking to a middle ground, and I'll revise when the US government goes back online and I have all the ducks in a row; I'm following the US FDA recommendations, which seem about right (though they add up to about double (!) the ammount of carbohydrates present in the Hacker School recipe)

• I'm converting every ingredient's nutritional value to the values in the Swiss Database - I honestly don't trust many of the sources used elsewhere Though I don't trust some sources, I'll have to admit the USDA SR-21 is more detailed and has more types of food than other sources. I'll stick to it in some ingredients;

• Documenting many of the stuff I've been using, considering a blog post on it;

• Giving alternatives to buy the ingredients online and the local ones I use (I favour biologically grown ingredients produced in Portugal, and you should do the same, using as much local ingredients as possible, to reduce your ecological and carbon footprints as much as possible)