Last year, computer engineer Rob Rhinehart set out to make food better — not more delicious or more attractive for Instagraming, but better at doing its job of providing the energy and nutrition our body needs. Months, many versions and a crazy successful crowdfunded campaign on Crowdtilt later, Soylent is served.
Depending on who you ask, it is a meal supplement or a meal replacement that hopes to revolutionize food as we know it. And with almost 20,000 people already placing orders for weeks’ worth of the powder and oil mixture, it just might. Its beta testers (yes a food can have beta testers too — we’re looking forward to being one soon) have called it “the wholesome staple food I didn’t know I was missing.” The company’s official site heralds it as “a simple and affordable nutritional drink that has everything the healthy body needs.” If you haven’t heard of Soylent yet, you will soon, especially now since its official nutrition label confirms the health potential the company has been striving for and hinting at.
The main ingredients in Soylent’s powder mixture are oat flour, maltodextrin, rice protein and a whole list of vitamins and minerals that read like the alphabet — from Vitamin A to Zinc. The oil mixture is made of canola and fish oil. Each serving clocks in at 670 calories, 5 g of fat, 8 g of dietary fiber, 2 g of sugar and 38 g of protein. Every micronutrient listed scores at least 33% of your daily value.
In its short existence, Soylent’s testers have lowered their cholesterol, some are sleeping better, founder Rob says his dandruff and a skin condition he has had for years has cleared. The company is studying long term health benefits, which Rob and Co. hope will include reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, even tooth decay.
Soylent doesn’t just add nutrition in your diet, it’s meant to take all of the hassle out of it by providing a simpler and cheaper way to eat. Forget any app that makes getting food from point A (anywhere) to point B (your bod) easier. You order, it shows up, you mix and that could be your day, week, month, life of meal prep and consumption. All for a little over $3.00 a meal. Just like your diet now, you will eventually be able to personalize Soylent according to your gender, body type or personal health goals.
Although the above may speak to the Seamless set, a product like Soylent could, more importantly, change the way the world is fed in areas that need a solution to starvation.
Shipping on Soylent has been pushed back a few times and looks like it won’t start until March or April. You can pre-order it now: $65 for a one week supply, $130 for a two week supply ($3.10 per meal for both) and $255 for a month supply ($3.04 per meal). And while you wait for your shipment, there’s a DIY section of their site where you can submit recipes to make your own versions of Soylent — or [lowercase] soylent as any unofficial form of the beverage will be known as.
Stay tuned: We’ll be testing out a week’s worth of Soylent soon and will post our review after.
Would you add Soylent to your shopping list? Or use it to replace said list forever? What if it was a week of Soylent or a 7-day juice cleanse?! Do you think something like Soylent should be saved for saving the planet? Sound off below!
