Part I · Heart Healthy
Prep time: 5 mins, the night before or in the morning Cook time: none Yield: 1 work-day lunch kit
Not a cooked dish but a packed one: the five things that ride to the job site every workday. A Huel shake, a can of sardines, a banana, an Ensure Max Protein and a bottle of low-sodium V8 together make a lunch that travels in a cooler, needs no microwave, and carries close to half a day’s protein, a full day’s omega-3s and most of a day’s potassium.
Written October 2026, to write down the lunch kit that replaced the daily sandwich-shop sub.
Why It Works
- Huel is the meal: Two scoops make a complete shake of protein, fibre, fats and added vitamins and minerals, and it keeps as a dry powder until lunch.
- Sardines for the omega-3s: One small can of sprats carries roughly 1,400 mg of EPA and DHA, more than most people get in a week, and sprats are among the lowest-mercury fish sold.
- Ensure for the protein top-up: 30 g of protein for 150 calories, for the afternoon of heavy work.
- Banana for quick fuel: Easily digested carbohydrate and potassium, and it needs no packaging.
- Low-sodium V8 for potassium: It replaces potassium that the diuretic chlorthalidone pulls out, with only 140 mg sodium per cup.
Ingredients
- Huel Black Edition Powder: 2 scoops (90 g); the profile uses the Strawberry Banana label
- Cold Water: about 2 cups (500 mL), for the Huel
- Sardines in Water: 1 can (3.75 oz)
- Banana: 1 medium
- Ensure Max Protein: 1 bottle (11 fl oz)
- Low-Sodium V8: 24 fl oz (3 cups)
Execution Protocol
Phase 1: Pack
- Put the Huel (2 scoops, 90 g) into a dry shaker bottle with its lid on.
- Pour 24 fl oz of V8 into a reusable bottle (or use cans).
- Pack the sardines (1 can), the banana (1) and the Ensure (1 bottle).
- Keep the Ensure and V8 cold, in a cooler or an insulated bag with an ice pack.
Phase 2: At Lunch
- Add about 2 cups of cold water to the Huel and shake hard for 20 seconds.
- Drain the sardines and eat them from the can, or on a cracker or tortilla.
- Have the banana, then the Ensure mid-afternoon, and sip the V8 through the day.
Variations
- Whole-food swap (a dietitian’s suggestion): Replace the Ensure with a container of Hump Day Pasta Salad or a square or two of Ruck Bar, for a lunch built on food rather than a second shake.
- Lighter on salt: Use 16 fl oz of V8 and drink water for the rest.
- Different fish: A pouch of salmon works in place of sardines. Skip tuna as a daily fish because of its mercury.
Meal Profile
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient in the amounts above (the whole batch), then divided by about 1 kit. One serving is 1 kit. A value marked † is partial: at least one ingredient has no published value for it, so the true figure is somewhat higher.
The basics
| Whole kit | Per kit | Per 1-kit serving | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 910 kcal | 910 kcal | 910 kcal |
| Protein | 89 g | 89 g | 89 g |
| Fat, total | 25.9 g | 25.9 g | 25.9 g |
| Saturated | 7.1 g | 7.1 g | 7.1 g |
| Monounsaturated † | 3.5 g | 3.5 g | 3.5 g |
| Polyunsaturated † | 7.1 g | 7.1 g | 7.1 g |
| Carbohydrate, total | 89 g | 89 g | 89 g |
| Fiber | 19.1 g | 19.1 g | 19.1 g |
| Sugars | 37.4 g | 37.4 g | 37.4 g |
| Cholesterol | 120 mg | 120 mg | 120 mg |
| Sodium | 1,311 mg | 1,311 mg | 1,311 mg |
| Potassium | 4,606 mg | 4,606 mg | 4,606 mg |
| Available carbohydrate (total minus fiber) | 70 g | 70 g | 70 g |
Ratios and shares
- Sodium : potassium: 0.28 (below 1 favours blood pressure; the WHO goal is near 0.6).
- Saturated fat share of energy: 7.1% (guideline: under 10%).
- Protein density: 9.8 g of protein per 100 kcal.
- Omega-3, per serving: 6,012 mg in total, including EPA + DHA 1,480 mg (DPA 0 mg, ALA 4,532 mg). Omega-6 : omega-3 ratio 0.5 : 1.
Fats by type (per serving)
| Fatty acid | Per serving |
|---|---|
| 16:0 palmitic (saturated) † | 120 mg |
| 18:0 stearic (saturated) † | 6 mg |
| 18:1 oleic (monounsaturated) † | 26 mg |
| 18:2 linoleic, LA (omega-6) † | 3,054 mg |
| 20:4 arachidonic, AA (omega-6) † | 0 mg |
| 18:3 alpha-linolenic, ALA (omega-3) † | 4,532 mg |
| 20:5 EPA (omega-3) † | 570 mg |
| 22:5 DPA (omega-3) † | 0 mg |
| 22:6 DHA (omega-3) † | 910 mg |
Essential amino acids (per serving, against the daily need of a 74 kg / 163 lb adult)
Not shown: amino-acid values exist for only 1% of this dish’s protein. Packaged foods list protein on the label but not its amino acids, so a table here would understate every line.
Vitamins and minerals (per serving)
Daily references are the U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes for an adult man (31-50).
| Nutrient | Per serving | Daily reference | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A (RAE) † | 1,044 µg | 900 µg | 116% |
| Vitamin D, total † | 15.8 µg | 15 µg | 105% |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) † | 8.27 mg | 15 mg | 55% |
| Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) † | 24.6 µg | 120 µg | 20% |
| B1 thiamin † | 0.54 mg | 1.2 mg | 45% |
| B2 riboflavin † | 0.97 mg | 1.3 mg | 75% |
| B3 niacin † | 12.2 mg | 16 mg | 76% |
| B5 pantothenic acid † | 3.34 mg | 5 mg | 67% |
| B6 † | 1.24 mg | 1.3 mg | 96% |
| B7 biotin † | 19.5 µg | 30 µg | 65% |
| B9 folate, total (DFE) † | 205 µg | 400 µg | 51% |
| B12, total † | 1.4 µg | 2.4 µg | 58% |
| Vitamin C † | 356 mg | 90 mg | 396% |
| Choline (vitamin-like) † | 212 mg | 550 mg | 39% |
| Calcium † | 1,186 mg | 1,000 mg | 119% |
| Magnesium † | 317 mg | 420 mg | 75% |
| Sodium | 1,311 mg | 2,300 mg (limit) | 57% |
| Potassium | 4,606 mg | 3,400 mg | 135% |
| Phosphorus † | 1,026 mg | 700 mg | 147% |
| Chloride † | 990 mg | 2,300 mg | 43% |
| Iron, total † | 11.5 mg | 8 mg | 144% |
| Zinc † | 10.7 mg | 11 mg | 98% |
| Copper † | 1.25 mg | 0.9 mg | 139% |
| Manganese † | 2.89 mg | 2.3 mg | 126% |
| Selenium † | 85.9 µg | 55 µg | 156% |
| Iodine † | 75.0 µg | 150 µg | 50% |
| Chromium † | 46.3 µg | 35 µg | 132% |
| Molybdenum † | 66.2 µg | 45 µg | 147% |
Phytonutrients (per serving)
- Lutein + zeaxanthin: 1,826 µg †
- Beta-carotene: 31 µg †
- Phytosterols: 19 mg †
Glycemic impact (estimate)
The carbohydrate comes from the banana (GI about 50), the V8 and the two shakes. Eaten at once the kit’s glycemic load would be moderate to high, but it is spread across the workday (shake at lunch, Ensure mid-afternoon, V8 sipped), so each sitting is much lower. An estimate. With about 70 g of available carbohydrate per serving, the glycemic load works out to roughly 24–35 (low is 10 or under, high is 20 or over).
Watch-outs
- About 1,300 mg sodium, over half a day’s limit, mostly from the Huel, V8, sardines and Ensure. Keep the other meals low in salt on kit days.
- Vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron and selenium all run above 100% of the day from the kit alone, because the Huel, Ensure and V8 are all fortified. That is within safe limits, but a separate multivitamin on top would be redundant.
Dog check
Not as written: contains Huel Black Edition, Strawberry Banana, marked ‘avoid (fortified; green tea extract)’; Ensure Max Protein, Milk Chocolate (11 fl oz), marked ‘avoid (sweeteners)’; V8 Low Sodium Original, marked ‘avoid (contains onion and garlic in the vegetable blend)’.
Not counted: the water for the Huel. Values are from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), with mercury from FDA monitoring data; see the Master Nutrition & Food Facts workbook for every ingredient.
Notes
- Not for dogs as a kit: V8 contains onion and garlic, and the shakes are sweetened. A few plain sardines are fine as a treat.
- Sodium for the kit is about 1,300 mg, over half a day’s limit. On kit days, keep breakfast and supper low in salt.
- Saturated fat is about 7 g, from the Huel’s coconut milk powder (4 g) and the sardines (2.5 g).
- Both shakes’ full labels are in the profile (Huel Strawberry Banana, Ensure Milk Chocolate). Other flavours differ slightly.
Recipe by Tony Seliquini, October 2026. Named by Tony.
Written October 2026 · part of the Recipes collection.