Well, I’ve been home for a little over two weeks and it’s
getting to be that time where this Miami girl has about had it with the suburbs
of Boston. I’m used to being able to walk wherever, being active easily, and
most importantly the warmth and sunshine. I always struggle at home, given how
the spread out layout of my town makes walking anywhere not super appealing,
and being so far out of the city doesn’t exactly bring the most exciting day to
day activities. Now, I think I would do a lot better in the summer, with my
drive to be active and explore new things. But it’s December, and snowing. I
have been forced into hibernation. So, in attempt to not be sitting around all
day (other than for my workout), I’m writing to you today at my make shift
stand up desk on one of my dressers. I guess that’s something?
Anyway, back to business! Today I wanted to share a little
about my journey in shifting my diet and becoming plant based. A main challenge
in this was figuring out what a usual “entrée” for me would be. My roommate at
the time was a vegetarian, and so I always noticed veggie burgers as her go-to.
I decided to give them a whirl! However, I soon discovered that this would be a
trial and error process. Not all veggie burgers are great for you! This post is for anyone who likes to occasionally
enjoy a veggie burger, vegan or not. The right ones are awesome, quick, and convenient
meatless Monday alternatives, and for me in college, an everyday staple.
Eating vegetarian or
vegan does not necessarily equate with eating healthy. For example, a vegan
could technically live entirely off of fake meats, fake cheeses, refined carbs,
oreos, vegan ice cream bars, and other junk foods. They probably are worse off
than a clean eating omnivore! This is why the diet I follow closely is actually
called a “whole foods, plant based diet”. It stays away from chemicals,
artificial and super processed foods, additives etc. While store bought veggie
burgers are a “processed food” , it is possible to find ones made with mainly
whole, healthy ingredients which provide you with great plant based protein and
nutrients.
I started off buying a package of Morningstar Farms Garden
Veggie burgers. First off, I learned it wasn’t actually vegan.
Threw that package out.
Then I bought their vegan burgers. It was around this time
that I was doing more research concerning soy products. I’m still not quite
sure what the deal with soy is. It’s a very controversial subject. However,
when it comes down to it, things like soy beans and tofu are usually ok because
they are soy in a natural or very close to natural state. When the soy is
stripped down in various forms, creating oils, proteins, milks, and other not
so natural things, is when it becomes iffy. Also, the issue of genetically modified
soybeans is very important. Always always buy non-gmo. So, with this research,
I decided to try and stay away from soy as much as possible other than in
edamame, tofu, and occasional soy creamer form. This gets tricky. Some form of
soy seems to be in everything, even bread! Therefore, try is the key word! Our best effort is always better than no
effort.
Back to the burgers. After doing this research on soy, and
learning more about how to pick proper foods, I looked into the ingredients of
this burger (taken from their website).
WATER, TEXTURED SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CORN OIL, CONTAINS
TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, VEGETABLE GUM, NATURAL FLAVORS
FROM VEGETABLE SOURCES, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY FIBER, SALT, CARRAGEENAN, POTATO
STARCH, ONION POWDER, CARAMEL COLOR, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE,
KONJAC FLOUR, SUNFLOWER OIL, SESAME SEED OIL, SOY SAUCE (WATER, SOYBEANS,
WHEAT, SALT), CONCENTRATED ONION JUICE, ASCORBIC ACID, VINEGAR POWDER, CITRIC
ACID, ASPARTIC ACID, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, MALIC ACID, SUCCINIC ACID, TARTARIC
ACID, LACTIC ACID, WHEAT FLOUR, SOY LECITHIN.
…What? What was I eating? I have zero clue what the majority
of these things are. Also, Morningstar does not list “non-gmo” on its products.
Essentially the burger was some engineered, soy, something. What genuine
nutrients and healthy protein was I getting from that?
Threw that package out
A more enlightened me headed out once again, this time to
Whole Foods. I checked out Amy’s Organic
veggie burgers. Organic…that was a good start! I discovered that some of their
burgers are made with soy and some are not. I picked out the Light in Sodium California Burger. Here
are its ingredients:
Ingredients : (Vegan) Organic mushrooms, organic
onions, organic bulgar wheat, organic celery, organic carrots, organic oats,
filtered water, organic walnuts, wheat gluten, organic potatoes, expeller
pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, sea salt, organic garlic. Contains
tree nuts & wheat.
Whewf real food! All
food that I can pronounce and recognize, Yay! Not to mention, this has a
delicious flavor and “meaty texture” for just 110 calories a burger! Another
great option for those who are gluten free is the Sonoma Burger. This
one is a little heartier, made with quinoa. I love to throw these onto my
George Foreman, and wrap them up in a lavash with red onion, mustard, spinach,
and tomatoes! In the midst of the semester, this becomes by everyday dinner
quite quickly.
Another awesome
option that I have been eating more frequently lately is Dr. Praeger’s California
and Tex Mex Veggie Burgers.
Ingredients:
Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Oat Bran, Soybeans, Zucchini, Peas, Broccoli,
Corn, Soy Flakes, Spinach, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Red Peppers, Arrowroot,
Corn Starch, Garlic, Corn Meal, Salt, Parsley, Black Pepper.
Beautiful, just beautiful! The soy in this is actual beans,
not textured soy protein. Warning: These burgers are green, and softer than Amy’s.
Do not freak out! They are absolutely delicious. Give them a try. I also hear
if you use a toaster oven to heat them up, rather than a George Foreman, they
are not as squishy. Either way, they are amazing in wraps, or crumbled up into
salads! They also seem to have a higher nutrient density than Amy’s which is
why I usually pick these. But either makes a great choice!If I have a veggie burger for one meal one day, I make sure to get my protein in my other meals from my shakes, beans, or other more whole food things!
So, next time you’re in the mood for a burger, try it veggie style! Make sure to pay attention to what goes into it, so you enjoy the full benefits of the pure ingredients. Healthy choices come with trial and error. It will all come with time, attention, and research!
I hope this helps you avoid some of the same roadblock’s I
ran into!
Be Well.
Love, Julie
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