The Best Huel Alternatives [Updated 2023]

Jumping onto the scene as recently as 2022, Rootana has been turning heads and garnered a fantastic reputation as one of the best meal replacement shakes available.

Rootana was developed over a 2 year period by nutritionists and food scientists with the specific intent of avoiding unnatural ingredients such as artificial sweeteners and refined carbohydrates.

This clever design ethos has led to Rootana being arguably the easiest to digest meal replacement shake on the market, as it is made from real-food ingredients and free from stevia and sucralose whilst still containing a scientifically balanced macronutrient split that is high in plant protein, complex carbs and healthy fats, providing a full and healthy meal.

The caloric content of Rootana is higher than a lot of the others on this list which, as much as it may put some people off, we see as an absolute win as we typically find ourselves craving snacks when relying on these meal replacement shakes in the morning or afternoon. This higher caloric content helps Rootana to serve as a genuine meal replacement that will satiate your hunger and leave you feeling more satisfied and for a longer period.

Let’s take about the nutritional profile of Rootana, which is quite possibly the most impressive thing about it and certainly played a big role in why we’ve placed it in the top spot for huel alternatives.

See many of the meal replacement shakes that are in direct competition with Rootana, they make statements and claim that they provide a complete meal but this is typically just a marketing buzz word (or phrase?) designed to have you associate it positively as a meal replacement. While things have certainly been improving with time, there is no meal replacement shake that can state they provide a complete meal with as much confidence and conviction as Rootana.

In a typical serving, Rootana provides an impressive and all encompassing nutritional profile with 44g Carbohydrates, 9g Fibre, 21g plant based protein blend, and 16g of healthy fats. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

Complex Carbohydrates

You’ve probably read a lot of nutritional and dietary advice that has told you that too many carbs in the diet is contributing to weight gain, and that’s definitely true. It’s important to recognise though that the body’s preferred fuel source, so it’s important to make sure that you’re not only getting enough, but that you’re getting the right kind of carbs.

Refined carbs such as supermarket white sandwich breads are high in sugar and provide a large amount of energy very quickly, which causes the body to start to store a lot of that energy away as fat. What you need then, are those slow release carbs.

The main difference in slow release carbs is the fibre content of the source, and this is why Rootana sources the majority of it’s carbohydrate content directly form oats, which are well known for their low GI score and slow energy release, helping to ensure you’ll have sustained energy levels throughout your day.

Healthy Fats

Thanks in large part to propaganda from the sugar industry, we were taught indisputably that fat in your diet is what contributed the most to weight gain and poor health, and though there are definitely unhealthy fats on the market shelves this association was very over-stated, leading people to attempt to completely remove fat from their diet entirely. Luckily the world has moved on since then, and we now understand that refined sugars are more directly contributing to obesity in the US.

This has opened up the conversation about dietary fats quite a lot, and though the media isn’t overly concerned with the countries health, healthy fats are slowly becoming a more and more common talking point among the good people of the USA.

To live a truly healthy lifestyle we need to incorporate essential fats into our diets, and luckily Rootana has us covered here. If we don’t consume enough fats it can lead to poor mood management, hormonal fluctuations, and even increased appetite.

The fats used in Rootana are full of vital nutrients such as omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9.

Vegan Protein

One of the hardest things about eating a vegan friendly diet is getting enough protein, as often the largest contributor is the meat and animal products such as milk and eggs that we include in our diets.

Now it’s common knowledge that building lean muscle mass is something that simply requires a high amount of protein, as it’s a crucial component our bodies use to build muscles. This is why protein shakes are so popular amongst gym goers, but a lesser known fact is that the source of protein actually matters.

Those of us who aren’t vegetarian will likely opt for whey protein concentrate, which is derived from dairy. This is helpful as it provides us with a high amount of essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. In fact as more research is being done we’ve started to understand that it’s the amino acids that are actually the key to building muscle, and when we’re deficient in an essential amino acid the rest of them won’t function as well.

Its good news then that thanks to the high quality yellow pea protein Rootana uses provides a complete amino acid profile, allowing Rootana the rare boast of being both vegan friendly and gym friendly respectively.

Fibre

We all know fibre plays a major part in digestive health, and as such it’s important we ensure we get enough. Rootana knows this too, and thanks to it’s use of high-grade oats there is a lot of fibre to be had here.

Fibre is known to help regulate body weight, and is crucial for a healthy gut and immune system. The reason for this is simple satiation, which is a fancy way of saying you feel full and satisfied after a meal. This means that the higher the fibre content of your meal, the less likely you are to crave snacks in between meals.

Another great thing about fibre is in how it slows down our rate of digestion which, as well as helping to prevent digestive problems, ensures we absorb as much nutrients from our meals as possible.