I’m not a big fan of eating so much. I even feel like eating is taking up a lot of my time. Plus I’m a picky eater. Singapore foods must be delicious, but I can’t eat many of them. However, well-balanced meals are necessary to keep us healthy. We have to eat something every day. But I don’t want to eat the foods that I don’t want to eat, even it’s for health.
I looked for a meal replacement (a.k.a 完全食 in Japanese) as it’s been half of the year since I moved to Singapore, and I got tired of eating local meals.
In Japan, there’re lots of meal replacements such as COMP and BASE pasta/bread. I have no idea why it is, but I think it is easy for such products to be invented because many Japanese people work too much and don’t have enough time to eat meals slowly. But they cannot be bought from Singapore. They don’t ship out of Japan. I tried to find a meal replacement available in Singapore and I found a meal replacement named Sustenance.
Sustenance is a kind of shake. It’s developed in Singapore, and we can get it easily because they are sold in many places such as FairPrice and watsons. And we can buy it at an online store. And they're several flavors to choose from to keep you interested. By the way, I like the cocoa flavor.
It’s extremely easy to cook. The only have to do is pour 300ml of milk (or water) and 2 cups of the powder into a shaker and shake it. It only takes 1 min and I can finish drinking it in a few minutes. Then I can feel full for about 5 hours.
Nutrition Facts (PFC balance)
There’re the nutrition facts on the online store. I drink the Extra-Rich Cacao flavor. Here are the nutrition facts of the flavor. The Calories are 343kcal and the ratio of PFC(Protein, Fat, Carbohydrate) is (27%, 15%, 58%). I’m not an expert in nutrition science so I don’t have specific opinion about that. But I decided to keep taking Sustenance as a meal replacement. At first, I started replacing breakfast every day.
Taste and Costs
The Extra-Rich Cacao flavor tastes good to me. It tastes like drinking cocoa. And it has chia seeds in it, and it feels a little chewy. I’ve been taking it for a month, and I’m feeling I can continue to drink it.
I’d say buying a bundle pack (30 servings) is the most cost-effective way to go if you already find your favorite flavor. The Extra-Rich Cacao flavor costs S$ 5.23/meal. I think this is a great deal. Even at hawker centers, I can’t get a meal at this price.
Also, it helps save time. If you eat out, it will take about 30 minutes to an hour. But taking the shake only takes 3–5 mins. You can use that time freely instead.
Changes in physical condition
It’s been a month since I started meal replacement and I feel that there are no concrete changes. My weight probably hasn’t changed either. If I had to pick one, I’d say it relieved my constipation.
Conclusion
So far so good. And I’ll continue to take the shake as a meal replacement. I recommend you to try a meal replacement if you are:
- A person who doesn’t want to spend a lot of time eating.
- A picky eaters who want to get nutrition without eating foods you don’t like.
