Sometimes, there’s just not enough time in the day to eat well. So I decided to give smart food a try.

There are two kinds of people in this world, those who eat to live and those who live to eat. I’m the latter. As soon as I’ve had breakfast, I’m considering lunch and as soon as I’ve finished lunch, I’m thinking of dinner (and then there are the snacks for in between). Long story short…I love my food.

But life does occasionally get in the way of my lunch break, so I was instantly curious when I saw an ad on Facebook for Feed. Smartfood.

What is Feed.?

Feed. describes itself as a “complete and nutritionally perfect meal that brings you everything you need”. Basically, it’s food replacement. It’s not too dissimilar to Huel, however it sets itself apart in several ways.

First of all, it’s not marketed as the answer to our global food and health crisis. It answers the simple problem of not having enough time in the day to sit down for a proper meal.

Second, you can get have it in two different forms. The first is as a drink (you just add water and shake) and the second is a bar.

Finally, it’s proudly, unashamedly French. This makes sense after all, given France’s reputation for fine food and wine. It means that this isn’t just a food supplement, it’s ‘à la Français’. It’s stylish.

With this gourmet approach in mind, each bottle and bar is made from with mix of healthy ingredients like oats, chickpeas and flax seeds, as well as special additions like berries or carrots, depending on what flavours you choose.

This isn’t a product for weight loss either. Each bottle has around 650 calories and the bars hold around 400, so it’s definitely not a low calorie option. Here’s how many nutrients you can expect to get your ‘meal’, based on our average daily needs.

• Energy – 33%
• Protein – 37%
• Fats – 36%
• Micronutrients – 33%
• Carbs – 33%
• Fibre – 38%
• Vitamins – 33%
• Minerals – 33%

Pretty balanced, don’t you think? Although this does assume that you’re also eating two balanced meals during the rest of your day.

So, so far so good.

The taste test

If you’re tempted to try out Feed. like I was, you’re in luck, because they have a ‘pack test’ box. When mine was delivered, I found 3 different flavoured bottles (red berry, garden vegetable and chocolate) and two bars (raspberry and chocolate) for me to try.

For my first test, I gave myself a choice. I could be brave and try garden vegetable, or stick to the more familiar flavours of red berries. When it came to the crunch, I wimped out. I just couldn’t face the prospect of drinking a cold, savoury shake.

So I followed the instructions on the bottle by aerating the powder, adding water to a faintly embossed line and giving it all a good shake. Except my shaking wasn’t good enough as I tried to drink a clump of powder in my first gulp. So after another, more thorough shake, I carried on.

So did I like it? Well…

I’ll start with the positive, it does taste of berries and if you mix it really well, the slightly grainy texture is bearable.

What made it unbearable for me were the freeze dried berries lurking in the mix. I struggle with fruit juice and yogurts containing bits, so it was hard for me to enjoy my gourmet meal and avoid pieces of berry at the same time.

In the end, I made it half way through and ran out of the office to grab something else. I’m glad I had the common sense to only grab a small bit of sushi, because that shake, even just half of it, was filling.

Despite this less than auspicious start, I carried on the next day. I bought in the chocolate bar and when my homemade lunch became inedible after being microwaved, I knew that I had a handy back up.

Now this one, I liked. It reminded me of crunchy raw bars but unlike the regular shop bought bars, this one kept me going until I got home from work. Well done, Feed.

Finally, I decided I’d try to have a shake for breakfast. I avoided the garden vegetable again and grabbed the chocolate.

It took a while to properly mix everything again and by the time I was finished, I realised that I could have made a ‘real’ breakfast by then. I managed about 3/4 of it before calling it quits, as I still found the texture too grainy and the taste, though not bad, could have been better, especially from a nation of master chocolatiers.

The final verdict

So what did I like about Feed. smart food? The flavours of the drinks weren’t bad, but the real winner for me was the bar. The other impressive thing was just how full I was, even when I didn’t finish everything.

My main problem though, was texture. It was too gritty, too grainy, and trying to dodge freeze dried berries was not a pleasant experience.

Overall, I’d give Feed. Smart Food a solid 3 out of 5. It’s a smart idea and the flavours are solid, but the sensory experience has reaffirmed my love of real food.

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