Hello Hungry Liquid Meal Review

A couple of weeks ago I was excited about the Hello Hungry Indiegogo campaign and now I have in front of me the actual product. Before I get started I should say upfront that I am a fan of vegetable juices, purees and drinks with grains.

Hello Hungry

Hello Hungry are liquid meals that range from "normal" (OK, not labelled normal, but I had to call it something) to "semi-sweet" to "sweet". The "normal" variety is made of vegetables (tomato and basil) while the "semi-sweet" introduces some fruits for sweetness and the "sweet" is sweet fruits and vegetables (carrots and beets are sweet).

Each one is fortified with buckwheat, which according to the label is one of 4 supergrains. I am no grain expert and all I know about buckwheat is that my mom was forcing me to eat that stuff growing up so I am not new to it.

Since Hello Hungry is supposed to quench your hunger, I decided to test these out on a semi-empty stomach to see how effective they would be. It took me a few long days at the office to find the right moment to drink each one and write about my experience.

Tomato and Basil

I decided to start from the vegetable one and work my way up to the sweet one.

The Tomato and Basil one has a caramel color and a thick consistency like any juice puree you might buy from a grocery store (readers from Europe will be more familiar with what I mean here).

On the nose this flavor is very sweet and heavy on the mango. I was confused at first, but when I read the label, I noticed that the third ingredient is mango puree at 18.3% of the total!!! Aside from the mango, there is very, very little of the tomatoes or basil in the aroma.

The flavor is where you notice there is more to this drink than mangoes. Sure, you get hit with a semi-sweet mango at first, but right after that come in sweet tomatoes, a very light yeast, bananas and a twist of citrus. I was actually expecting a straight up tomato and basil beverage, but this has so much more. The aftertaste is relatively clean with just a hint of tomatoes, a touch of basil and just a little bit of salt and bananas. Unlike beverages like V8, which are very heavy on the tomatoes, this one is not sour and overpowering. This flavor is more sweet than I expected. I was actually hoping for a bit more tomatoes.

The overall consistency is similar to that of baby food and the seasoning is very inoffensive, again, much like baby food. I liked this one, but I must state here that if you don't like vegetable shakes or supplements, or juices, or vegetables in general, than you may not fully enjoy this particular flavor.

Mango, Spinach and Peach

The Mango, Spinach and Peach one has a medium green color and a thick consistency. This is the flavor labelled as "semi-sweet". The aroma is once again dominated by mangoes, but that shouldn't come to as a surprise given the name of the drink. Peach, citrus and bananas come in close second.

Spinach kicks off the flavor and is present all throughout. The mango and peach complement the spinach better than I expected. The fruits add a bit of sweetness to the grassy spinach, but I found this drink to be a little less sweet for me than the Tomato and Basil one despite the fruits. The buckwheat is present, but very subtle.

The aftertaste is semi-sweet...hurhurhur...yeah, I used the name of the drink, but it is true. You get some sweetness from the bananas, mangoes and peaches, but the lingering spinach brings the sweetness down a bit. I liked this one more than the Tomato and Basil one.

Strawberry, Banana, Carrot and Beetroot

You guessed it, this is the "sweet" one of the bunch. The mix of fruits and vegetables gives this flavor a surprising light purple/beige color which looks odd, but in a way natural.

The aroma is heavy on strawberries, bananas and almond milk, but that shouldn't surprise you as almond milk is the second ingredient.

This one has to be the thickest of the bunch. The almond milk has a heavy presence all throughout. The wife and I are fans of almond milk and we have 2 cartons of it in the fridge, but I can see how there will be some opponents. After the almond milk comes in a yeasty note, followed by a balanced banana/strawberry blend, followed by a very light beet note. I can't taste the carrots until well into the aftertaste when all the other flavors die down a bit. The aftertaste also feels a little dry and chalky, but almond milk does tend to do that.

Despite this being the sweet one of the bunch, I didn't find it to be that sweet. Sure, it was sweeter than the other ones, but I was expecting something much, much sweeter...maybe I have a bias from all the sugar-full V8's and banana/strawberry shakes. In any case, I really, really liked this flavor. I love the almond milk and I love bananas and strawberries. I loved that it was sweet, but not very sweet.

Performance

So! The big question here is "Does it work?" Yes! Yes, it does. I felt full after each bottle and the main reason behind it is the consistency of the beverage.

Bottom line? Hello Hungry is pretty damn good and I hope these are sold in Canada in the future because I will definitely buy them.