| Amount | Ingredient | $ / day | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | g | Oat Flour/Powder | $0.59 | Bob's Red Mill (4x 22oz) |
| 120 | g | Waxy Maize Powder (NOW) | $1.15 | Amazon |
| 20 | g | Soy Lecithin | $0.72 | Amazon |
| 5 | g | Fish Oil (Carlson's) | $0.37 | Amazon |
| 30 | g | MCT Oil | $0.62 | Amazon |
| 80 | g | Whey Protein Isolate (Nutricost) | $1.62 | Amazon |
| 15 | g | Flaxseed Meal | $0.17 | Amazon |
| 15 | g | Oil, sunflower, high oleic (SunPure, unrefined) | $0.19 | Amazon |
| 2 | pill | Multivitamin (Life Extension Two-Per-Day) | $0.32 | Amazon |
| 2 | pill | Vitamin K | $0.21 | Amazon |
| 5 | g | Salt Mixture (~50% KCl) | $0.00 | |
| 10 | g | Mineral Carb/Bicarbonates (25% Na, 25% K Bicarbonate, 25% Ca, 25% Mg Carbonate) | $0.00 | |
| 8 | g | Citric Acid | $0.00 | |
| 80 | g | Erythritol | $0.88 | Amazon |
Amounts for: Total Daily Cost: | $6.82 | Add Ingredients to Amazon Cart | ||
Add flavoring as desired. (I typically add cinnamon, coffee, vanilla and other flavoring to mixes).
This complete food was inspired by, but does not in any way attempt to emulate, Soylent. Some major differences are:
- Adopts a 2:1:2 (carbs : protein : fat) nutrient profile.
- Sugar-free. Erythritol is used instead of sugar. This is much more expensive - erythritol has very few calories per gram (approx. 0.24 kcal according to some sources) - but there are many reasons why a person might want to avoid sugar; erythritol has a G.I. of essentially zero. Erythritol is also much more easily tolerated in quantities such as those in this recipe than other sugar alcohols, e.g. xylitol.
- Protein comes primarily from whey isolate (a more complete and cheaper protein).
- Fat content is composed of approximately 1:1 saturated to unsaturated fats; polyunsaturated fats are balanced to be 1:1 omega-3 to omega-6's using fish oil and flaxseed meal; saturated fats are primarily MCT oil, which is more easily digested. I find this combination to be easier on my stomach - and feel a little "lighter" - than the straight canola or soybean oil found in many recipes.
- Contains soy lecithin, which helps greatly to prevent separation and is fairly nutrient-dense in it's own right.
This recipe is designed to be anti-inflammatory, with a good omega-3 to omega-6 balance and plenty of soy lecithin. Because of the MCT, whey protein, and "Waxy Maize" (i.e., corn starch) content of this recipe, it's probably also a good pre- and/or post-workout mix. I chose to use the Life Extension Two-Per-Day multivitamin and a vitamin K supplement, but this might be overkill - substitute your multivitamin of choice.
To mix, I begin by placing about a cup of water in a half gallon jar, to which I add the mineral carbonate/bicarbonate mixture and citric acid, since the resulting CO2 gas from that reaction would probably cause spillage if the jar was full. After the reaction is complete, I add the salt mixture. The choice of adding both mineral carbonate/bicarbonates and citric acid is totally arbitrary and based on what is on hand in my kitchen at the time of writing. Any mineral supplement with the RDA of Ca, Mg, K, and Na would be sufficient. The salt content of this recipe results in a fairly salty-tasting mix, and you may want to just supplement electrolytes and minerals separately. This is one aspect of the recipe that I'm least happy with currently.
I then pour all other powders into the jar, soy lecithin last, add the liquid fats, and fill the jar with water most of the way (so that we are left with about a half gallon of food-water mix), stirring with a long rubber spatula to scrape off powder that has adhered to the sides of the jar. I then use an immersion blender to mix the solution thoroughly.
I typically consume the resulting mixture in pint-sized (approximately 500 kcal) amounts. I also occasionally supplement MSM and minerals to make up for some of the small holes in this recipe. (Organic sulfur would probably ruin the recipe if I included it!).
This is pretty much my first attempt at this, so I look forward to your feedback!