"All the protein, vitamins and carbs of your grandma's best turkey dinner..." - Jayne Cobb, Firefly

Summary

Current Version: 2.0.0
Contains: Dairy, Nuts

I created this recipe because I'm a big fan of Soylent, but there are a few things I would change about it if I could. So, now I have a custom version I can tinker with all I want :)

I did my best to make it healthy, well-balanced, and enjoyable to drink, while keeping the cost to around $10 a day. Do you think I hit my mark? Let me know in the comments!

Preparation Notes

You are, of course, welcome to prepare your Mudder's Milk however you like. I'm just including some notes here about how I prepare mine, in case it's at all helpful.

Dry Mix

Bulk Prep: Like Chris Bair does in his video for a week's worth of People Chow, I prepare a week's worth of the dry mix all at once - only I use an old NOW Foods Waxy Maize container (which is a little smaller than the one he uses, but it gets the job done). I then split each day's worth of the dry mix into 32oz tupperware containers, so I don't have to measure it each and every time I prepare the liquid mix.

Seeds: I have a blade-style coffee bean grinder that I use to grind up the chia seeds. Note: I tried a burr-style grinder, and it turned the seeds into a paste that jammed the whole thing up. Would not recommend. I don't grind up the hemp seed hearts - they still tend to form a paste, even in the coffee grinder, and they're soft enough that the blender takes care of them anyway.

Refrigeration: We normally don't have anything in our freezer other than a couple of ice trays, so I've started keeping all my perishable raw ingredients in it - and I keep the prepared dry mix in the refrigerator. Splitting each day's worth of dry mix into separate containers makes this easier, too (instead of trying to fit one giant Waxy Maize jar into my fridge).

Liquid Mix

Blender: I use a blender to make the liquid mix. It's a Breville hemisphere blender, and it does a really great job.

Oils: All oil amounts are evenly divisible by 7.5ml (1/2 tablespoon) so only 1 measuring spoon is needed when preparing the liquid mix. Note: I now use Chris Bair's "oil-pump" method. I bought these oil pumps from Amazon; they work great, and I find that 4 full pumps equals 7.5ml perfectly.

Water: I've included enough water to make the liquid mix equal to roughly 1,400ml per day (or, roughly three 16oz servings). Note that the initial volume is higher, but chilling it overnight reduces it. Also, getting the final volume just right isn't easy - so, depending on your needs, you might need to adjust the exact amount of water you use.

Containers: I put each day's worth of the liquid mix into a two-quart Takeya pitcher, and use a 16oz travel thermos to drink from.

Refrigeration: I refrigerate the liquid mix at least overnight before consumption. Also, I find that the liquid mix is best within 2 days - though with proper prep and refrigeration, it seems like it can easily last longer. I generally make 2-3 days of the liquid mix at a time.

Separation: There is some separation as the mix sits over time. If you want, you can add some xanthan gum to prevent it; however, I prefer just shaking the container before I drink.

Cost and Availability

I did my best to find all the ingredients at Amazon - however, the almond meal and distilled water is hard to find there. My local Ralphs, however, has both - as well as some of the other ingredients - and they're all cheaper there than they are online (just FYI).

Also, Amazon's prices tend to fluctuate pretty often - too often for me to keep up with - so, just be warned that the prices listed in this recipe may not be perfectly accurate (though they shouldn't be too far off, either).

Also, to save on cost, I included the bulk versions of ingredients whenever possible. Some of them are available via subscription as well, but I don't really like buying via subscription - manual bulk orders suit me better.

Vegetarian/Vegan Status

To the best of my knowledge, this recipe is 100% vegan except for the whey protein and the Centrum Men's Multivitamin.

For more about the whey protein - including possible substitutions - see the "Protein" section.

As for the Centrum multivitamin, Centrum's UK FAQ explicitly states that their multivitamins are not vegetarian, because "Some of the ingredients are derived from animal products."

My plan is to eventually find a vegetarian multivitamin to use, and then this won't be an issue anymore. The problem is that it's been hard to find one that balances well with all the other ingredients (which the Centrum manages to do perfectly).

To be clear: If you replace the multivitamin with something vegetarian, this recipe would then be ovo-lacto vegetarian; and if you also replace the whey, it should be 100% vegan.

Note: I now have a new recipe that is ovo-lacto vegetarian. It's green, and I call it Swamp Thing.

Non-GMO Status

To the best of my knowledge, this recipe is 100% Non-GMO.

Protein

It's important to me to have a protein source with a perfect 1.0 PDCAAS score - and here are the options:

Whey: Whey is widely used, fairly inexpensive, and seems to be the least controversial as far as its effects on long-term health. This is why I've chosen to use it in this recipe.

Eggwhite: Like whey, eggwhite protein seems to be fairly safe in regard to long-term health; however, it's not as widely used, and is pretty expensive. I have tried it in this recipe, though, and it doesn't change the taste at all.

Casien: Casien is somewhat controversial, health-wise, and I simply haven't tried it at all.

Soy: Like casien, soy protein isolate is not without its issues. However, this article on LiveStrong.com suggests that, for some, moderate use of soy protein can be okay (be sure to read the entire article, to fully understand the risks vs. benefits). Note that, according to the article (and a little math), moderate use is roughly between 35-55g per day.

I've also included both rice and pea protein powders in this recipe. They each have a PDCAAS of around 0.5, and are not a complete source of protein by themselves. However, when used together, they do form a complete (if still inefficient) protein source.

Having the rice/pea protein provides a few different options for replacing the whey protein (if you so desire). You could, for example, simply swap the whey for more rice and pea protein. Or, you could use some combination of soy, rice and pea, if you still want at least some protein with a 1.0 PDCAAS but don't want to use too much soy.

For reference, if you do need to adjust the rice/pea amounts at all, use a 3:1 (or better) rice-to-pea ratio to keep it complete. Note that this may only apply to the brand of rice and pea protein in this recipe (Growing Naturals); if you swap these out for any other brands, the necessary ratio may be different.

Saturated Fat

I've included coconut oil in this recipe solely for the medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) in it. If you would like to lower the total amount of saturated fat, you can simply remove it and increase the amount of olive oil to compensate.

Other Nutrients

Nutrient counts not covered by the DIY calculator:

Trans Fat 0g

This meets the currently recommended intake of 0g per day. Hooray!

Sugar 24g

This meets the strictest current recommendation of no more than 27.5g per day for a 2,200 calorie diet. Hooray!

Main Sources of Information

Product Nutrition Labels
http://www.wolframalpha.com (incl. http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/FoodAndNutrition.html)
http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search
http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/

Other Information

See Also: Notes from the Nutrient Profile this recipe uses.

Changelog

2.0.0

• Updated nutrient profile to U.S. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines | Male 31-50
• Replaced the soy protein with whey
• Replaced the waxy maize with tapioca flour
• Lowered the amount of maltodextrin, and overall carbs - Added olive oil to compensate
• Updated the notes extensively, to reflect all changes

1.1.0

• Fixed water amount (and changed notes accordingly) to account for the reduction in overall volume as the liquid mix sits overnight
• Added notes about new oil-pump method

1.0.1

• Fixed a minor math error in the notes
• Added bulk item info to the Cost and Availability section of the notes

1.0.0

• Initial Release