Amount | Volume | Ingredient | $ / day | Source | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
240 | g | 2½ | cups | rolled oats (celiacs look for gluten-free oats) | $0.42 | Costco |
6 | g | 1 | tsp | Potassium Citrate | $0.18 | Amazon |
4 | g | ½ | tsp | Iodised Salt | $0.00 | local |
2 | g | ½ | tsp | Choline bitartrate | $0.06 | Amazon |
50 | g | ¼ | cup | Canola Oil | $0.12 | local |
2 | pill | 2 | piece | Kirkland Calcium Chews (caramel or chocolate) | $0.13 | Costco|Amazon |
1 | pill | 1 | piece | Kirkland Signature Daily Multi Vitamins & Minerals Tablets | $0.03 | Costco|Amazon |
105 | g | 3 | scoop | CytoSport 100% Whey Protein - Vanilla | $1.54 | Costco |
Amounts for: Total Daily Cost: | $2.49 | Add Ingredients to Amazon Cart |
Summary
Chewable Soylent (originally named Bodybuilder Chow, then Chewable Chow) was made because all other soylent drinks irritated the back of my throat with their grittiness. I solved this by using rolled oats, so now we have a drink that we can chew. I also optimized protein for muscle gain. This recipe was originally based on People Chow 3.0.1, but I've modified it so many times, almost no People Chow ingredients remain.
Benefits
- Always 100% free of grit - The rolled oats lets you joyfully chew your carbs like you love to do instead of choking tiny crumbs down your neck hole :-)
- Easily mixes with water - No need for a shaker screen or blender ball (don't use these with this recipe!). The oats do all the work! I barely need to gently twist my bottle a couple times and that's it! There are never clumps of powder in this drink!
- Formulated for muscle gain - Evidence-based optimized protein for effective muscle gain. See protein details below.
- Tastes great! - I really like it! My girlfriend does too! I've been drinking it daily since mid 2014.
- Super healthy - Recipe has a 3:1 omega-6/omega-3 ratio and only 4.5% saturated fat. See the Details below.
- Super low cost - Charities pay more to feed the homeless less nutritious food.
Concerns
- Manganese is very near the safe upper limit mainly due to the oats. The multivitamin also provides 100% RDI.
- Flatulence is common purportedly due to the fiber in the oats.
- Omega-3 from fish oil (EPA/DHA) is supposedly required for optimum health. Omega-3 from plants (ALA), from the Canola oil, is supposedly converted into these other two forms at a loss.
- Shells, also called the hull of the oat. While these are mostly removed by Quaker, I usually find at least one or two of these annoying, unchewable shells in each daily batch. But don't worry, they cant hurt you. I just find them annoying to spit out. SOLVED: Lately (Sept 2015) I've been consuming this soylent immediately after mixing, before the oats get a chance to soften, and I've not once noticed a single hull! I like it better this way.
Updates
- Version 3.0.1 - 2015.04.15 - renamed to Chewable Soylent because "chow" reminds me of dog food, added Benefits & Concerns sections, updated Mixing Advice and Canola Oil sections.
- Version 3.0 - taking a page from Liquid Cake, QuidNYC, and others, I've decided to replace the expensive, wasteful, and urine-tinting GNC Mega Men Sport with a Kirkland Daily Multi multivitamin. Also replaced NOW Foods Calcium/magnesium powder with delicious Kirkland Calcium+D+K soft chew candies.
- Version 2.0.2 - renamed from Bodybuilder Chow to Chewable Chow, updated some measurements using a more accurate scale
- Version 2.0.1 - updated the prices, defaulted to bulk quantities, added mixing advice
- Version 2.0 - replaced the carb with simple inexpensive rolled oats and removed psyllium husk! Amazing results! Chew your oat drink! Delicious! Easy to flavor with cocoa, cinnamon, or instant coffee (my favorite)! Zero grit! Doesn't irritate the back of your throat! Drink it cold or microwave it into oatmeal!
- Version 1.4 - added psyllium husk for fiber and 300 calories more corn flower for more complete micros.
- Version 1.3 - Divided the ingredients into 2 separate recipes, a drink and a food. The food can be baked into cornbread. The drink contains zero fiberous grit.
- Version 1.2 - Hated the constant gritty texture and ever present tortilla flavor from the People Chow recipe so I decreased the corn flour by 60% and increased the oil by 70% to make up for some of the calorie loss. Ditched the vitamin K supplements too because 90% RDI of K sounds like plenty to me.
- Version 1.1 - added vitamin K supplement since the canola oil only provides 70% RDI
Details
Canola (rapeseed) oil
- Has the healthiest Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio (2:1) of any dietary fat available (except for flax and chia. According to WebMD, flaxseed oil consumption over 30g/day acts as a laxative). The excessively high omega-6/omega-3 ratio of the typical western diet (~16:1) promotes many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas a low omega-6/omega-3 ratio supresses these diseases: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909 (Cited by over 1600 other papers). Olive oil, by comparison, contains almost no Omega-3 and a 13:1 ratio. Comparison Chart: http://i.imgur.com/vXlSccx.jpg
- Has the lowest saturated fat of any dietary fat source meaning it will lower your cholesterol and you will be much less likely to have cardiovascular diseases, cancer, stroke, vascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Comparison Chart: http://i.imgur.com/O4gvz3B.gif
- Is a clear healthy choice unless you subscribe to fears of GMOs and processed foods. But what about the 0.2g of trans fat per 50g of oil? There is no evidence of harm at such low levels. After all, tiny amounts of trans fats also occur in nature.
- Myths debunked: http://www.canolacouncil.org/oil-and-meal/canola-oil/canola-the-myths-debunked/
- How it's made video: https://youtu.be/Cfk2IXlZdbI
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola#Canola_oil
- Snopes debunking a canola email fear campaign: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp
Cytosport 100% Whey from Costco is $0.26/day less expensive than the whey isolate used in the official People Chow 3.0.1 recipe. The extra cost of whey isolate is not justifiable when you can reach the same protein goal using whey concentrate with no down side. Some say calculating the sulfer in the whey is done by this formula: 0.27 × Cysteine mass + 0.21 × Methionine mass. However, the RDI requirement is for sulfur-containing amino acids (SAA), not sulfur directly, so the correct formula should be simply: Cysteine mass + Methionine mass or 1.18g of SAA per scoop of Cytosport Whey. http://discourse.soylent.me/t/sulfur-in-cysteine-and-methionine/10626/4 http://www.cytosport.com/products/100-whey/?tab=technical
My nutrient profile says to eat 2700 calories so I'll be making up the remaining calories from regular food. Make sure you generate your own calorie/nutrient profile here https://www.completefoods.co/diy/nutrient-profiles/calculator
Adjust your protein to 0.8g/lb (1.8g/kg) of your total body weight for optimum muscle gain. Maximum protein is 25% total cals, or approximately 0.9-1.1g/lb (2-2.5g/kg) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_(nutrient)#Dietary_requirements
Fat should be 25-35% of total caloric intake. Saturated fat, no more than 5-7%.
Fiber is 14g per 1000 kcals consumed.
Oats are naturally gluten-free, however, most have been found to be contaminated with varying levels of gluten during processing. According to cureceliacdisease.org, "Oats can be in a celiac’s diet provided they are selected from sources that guarantee a lack of contamination by wheat, rye or barley." So if you're a celiac, look for oats labeled gluten-free.
Buying Advice
For the best price, all Amazon listed items include free shipping. Get the whey at Costco or replace it with something else. The remaining items should be picked up locally. The Potassium Citrate and Choline Bitartrate can be purchased in different quantities. Choose the smallest quantities to save $40 on your initial cost, but pay 40¢ more per day. The largest quantities are used in my recipe.
Mixing Advice
Daily Batches: Eat the calcium chews like the candy they are. Crush the multivitamin between two spoons and mix it in. Add the Canola oil to the dry mix, then stir with a fork to break up the clumps. This way you only have to deal with the oil once instead of each time you fill your shaker/meal bottle. I've been mixing the oil into the dry mix for many months without any negative effects (Mar 2015: the official Soylent just started doing this in v1.4). I make a week's worth of daily batches using separate 42 oz Hoody's Peanuts containers for each batch.
Adding water: I do about a 1:1.5 ratio of soylent to water. Each daily batch makes three 750ml bottles (300ml or 1¼ cup of soylent, the rest water). Using the 90cc scoop that comes with the Cytosport whey, 3 level scoops is what you need. I used to use less water but quickly got tired of the strong flavor. Soylent first, then water, then shake. Do not use a shaker screen or blender ball. The rolled oats make shaking super easy and clumping impossible. Leave in the fridge until drink is chilled. This will soften the oats (★ alternatively add an ice cube, shake or stir, and drink while oats are still firm ★). Once chilled, drink the separated liquid from the top half of the bottle (It's good!). The liquid-to-oat ratio is now perfect to swirl as you drink-and-chew the remaining chewable soylent. Inevitably, some oats will remain once you've finished all the liquid. Just add a shot of water to coax them out or grab a spoon.
Old Measuring Guide for version 2.0
Ingredient | Volume |
---|---|
Rolled oats | 2½ cups (very slightly rounded) |
Whey | 3 scoops (loose, very slightly rounded) |
Mega Men Sport | 1 scoop packed + ½ Tbs (1½ tsp) packed |
Iodized salt | ½ tsp |
Choline bitartrate | ½ tsp (very slightly rounded) |
Potassium citrate | 1 tsp (very slightly rounded) |
Calcium/magnesium | 2 tsp (loose, level) |
Canola oil | ¼ cup |