I take a 'meal drink' on a road trip to see if it can save me a lunch stop
I had a rather tight itinerary. Out of the house by 8am; drive 150 miles into deepest, darkest Snowdonia; seek out some hand-picked driving roads; drive 150 miles back home in time to walk the dogs and catch up on emails.
As much as I'd have loved to call in for a carvery at a picturesque pub, there just wasn't time. But I had brought along a secret weapon.
Like many of us, I've seen plenty of adverts for "yfood" on social media. It claims to be a meal replacement in a drink, and professes to give you all the nutrition and sustenance you'd need to feel full for up to five hours.
I'm not a big lad, but I like a hearty lunch. I was definitely doubting the claims that I wouldn't feel hungry after drinking what is effectively a posh milk shake. But I was willing to give it a go.
Around halfway through my day, at almost exactly 12 noon, I found the perfect layby on a remote mountain road, and stopped off for a scenic swig.
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I'd chosen a "Happy Banana" flavour, partly because I like the taste of banana, but also because it was a limited-edition bottle, endorsed by one of my favourite car YouTubers, Mat Armstrong. It seemed appropriate to take a car-based bottle on a road trip. Yes, I am a bit sad.
It took longer to read through the most extensive list of nutritional values I've ever seen on a food product than it did to drink the drink, but I downed it pretty much in one go.
According to yfood, my chosen tipple had no added sugar and was lactose and gluten-free, but for some reason I expected it to be thicker. I also expected, and I'm not sure why, to be a bit underwhelmed by the flavour. But it was, honestly, quite delicious.
I popped the lid back on the 500ml climate-neutral bottle, stuffed it in a door pocket and got on my way, wondering how I was supposed to feel after downing what yfood claims is the equivalent of a meal in about 15 seconds.
Did I feel full? No. Did I feel bloated? Not even slightly. Did I even feel like I'd had a meal of any sort? Not really.
As I followed a twisty road towards the charming village of Beddgelert, I had resigned myself to the fact I was going to have to grab a sausage roll or something.
But when I reached Beddgelert, it dawned on me I wasn't actually hungry. I'm sure I could have polished off a pasty, but I just didn't feel the need. It turned out all those sponsored adverts were right, and I really did "drink myself full".
As I plodded on with my road trip, I found myself wondering how long it would be before I felt that first pang of hunger and I needed to stop off to scoff down my emergency flapjack. But I got home by around 4.30pm and it had stayed in my bag.
Remember, yfood reckons you can keep hunger at bay for three to five hours, and I must admit I did grab a packet of crisps as soon as I got in. But I wasn't starving, I could have held on for an early tea.
So I'm impressed. I was more than ready to admit to myself I'd fallen for some clever marketing and wasted some money on a trendy fad. But that just wasn't the case.
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It turns out yfood can serve as a meal replacement if you're on the go. However, it's not all good news. Because yfood is rather expensive.
The simplest way in to the yfood experience is to buy a "taster pack" of five drinks - and this will give you a selection of flavours. It costs £17.45, but there's a £3.90 delivery fee, which brings the cost to £21.45. It's about £4.30 per bottle.
Do check out Amazon though because, at the moment, they're selling the taster pack for £19.99, and you'll get free delivery if you're a Prime member.
The upside is, the shelf life is remarkably long - mine won't expire until November - and it's worth remembering that a service-station sandwich is rarely acquired on the happy side of £4 these days.
What I'd actually love to see is yfood stocked in the fridges of petrol stations for, say, £2.99 per bottle. You could argue that, by the time you'd stopped, bought, and drank your meal replacement you might as well just have a sandwich, but yfood claims its drinks are high in protein, a source of fibre and contain 26 vitamins and minerals. And I'm not sure a spoonful of tuna mayo in a white roll would come close to that.
You can also buy powders, to make up your own drinks, or little power bars. And it's worth pointing out that buying bigger quantities brings the per-bottle price down quite a bit. As low as £3.49, in fact. Again, catch a deal on Amazon and you can bring this down a bit further.
Conclusions then. Is it an effective meal replacement? Yes, I honestly think it is. Would I drink one every day? No, don't be silly. Do they taste nice? Absolutely, yes. Are they worth £3.50 per bottle? Only just.
Would I buy another batch? Not for a while. I don't think I'll use them all that often, but they're definitely a handy thing to have in stock for people like me who set themselves stupid itineraries and occasionally brush aside the importance of having a nutritious meal. And the fact I can knock back a nutritious "meal" in 10 seconds flat properly excites me, for some reason. What a time to be alive.
Huel is another popular meal replacement shake brand.
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