Yfood review: I tried the complete meal drink that claims to keep you full for hours
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Forget cooking – I tested Yfood’s ready-to-drink meals to see if they could replace my lunch. They actually surprised me.
A few generations ago, we used to fantasise about meals being distilled into pill form. Glimpses into the future, or science fiction stories, often featured meal replacement pills. Perhaps quite fortuitously, they've never become a thing.
However, nutritional technology has come a long way and while we still can't dust off a roast dinner in pill form, we can actually consume a complete meal in a 500ml drink.
Pioneering firm Yfood is one of the biggest names in this brave new concept, claiming to provide a balanced, healthy, convenient, and tasty healthy meal alternative in liquid form.
It's aimed at people who want to maintain a balanced diet, but are often tight on time. In theory, you don't have to skip breakfast any more if you're busy, you can just wolf down a Yfood and it'll fill you up.
Yfood recently invited me to put this to the test, and they sent me a selection of their most popular flavours to give it a whirl.
I'm one of those people who turns to fast food when time isn't on my side. At best, I might grab a supermarket sandwich, but sometimes the Ginsters pasty is the quickest option.
And it's no good for me, at least in the long term. Whereas Yfood claims to be very good for me.
When you agree to review a Yfood sample pack, you're issued with a long list of facts and figures. Some of it seems like marketing fluff, but some of it is genuinely interesting.
For example, Yfood apparently contains micro and macronutrients. I've no idea what they are, but it also contains all 26 essential vitamins and minerals. And that sounds more impressive.
It also contains a lot of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and dietary fibres. And, remember, you don't have to turn the stove on to consume it.
The plastic bottles have a simple screw top and the liquid itself is a lot like a milk shake. Nice and thick, not too sweet, and there's no lactose or gluten.
You just give it a shake, crack open the lid, and guzzle. Cards on the table, they're absolutely delicious.
The banana one is my favourite, and it's just so creamy and tasty, with just the right thickness and no funky aftertaste. I don't get on with dairy all that well, so to have a lactose-free "milk shake" was enough of a treat, but to replace my lunch with it felt like a weird concept.
Yfood reckons its drinks will fill you up for three to five hours and if I'd been bothered to make myself something like a pasta salad that day, I'd have perhaps hoped for at least that. I'd expect to be ready for dinner by 6ish, let's say.
After downing the Yfood I glanced at the clock and it was 12.30pm. I didn't feel full, I didn't feel in any way bloated, there were no ill effects at all from drinking the Yfood, in fact. So the idea of not being hungry again in an hours time felt a bit far fetched.
But I can happily say I didn't once feel a pang of hunger. I didn't miss having lunch, and I just carried on with what turned into quite an active day barely even thinking about the fact not one morsel of conventional food had passed my lips.
Until about 4pm, that is. It got to 4.30pm and I realised it would be a while since the leftover curry I had in the fridge would be worth warming up, so I grabbed a flapjack. And just that light snack more than did the trick.
By 7pm I was more than ready to eat, but I always am. The bottom line is Yfood lived up to its promise, and I wasn't even slightly bothered that I hadn't eaten my lunch. And lunch is my favourite meal of the day.
Yfood costs around £3.50 per bottle. It's available from the Yfood site by clicking here, and there's a vast array of flavours.
There are also powders and bars to try, but I haven't tested them yet, and the drinks are available in single bottles at Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
I've still got a few bottles left and I've got a road trip to embark on this week. I don't know if or when I'll get time for lunch, so I'm going to keep a "Fresh Berry" bottle in my glove box.
And in a few weeks time I've got to dash straight off from work to watch a play. I don't think I'll get time for my tea, so I'll have a Yfood ready to go.
It's easy to underestimate just how handy these meal replacements are for busy people. And to know you're getting all the nutrients you need is arguably an added bonus.
Because I hate feeling hungry. And while it's not quite as simple as popping a pill, Yfood is the next best thing. It's marvellous.