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Thoughts on Beyond Burger and other fake meat
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Think of processed meat replacements like any other processed thing and/or fast food. If you enjoy it, have it as an occasional treat. Good for the earth but not great for your body. If you are doing it for your health.... limit (or cut out) processed.4
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I don't have a problem with meat replacements like this. I haven't had any of them, the one that I always hear about is the impossible burger. However I guess I thought the point of it was so reduce meat consumption for environmental reasons? if the meat replacement is more expensive than real meat, people are obviously going to continue to buy the actual meat regardless of taste, so.... not very effective. The whole "processed" term doesn't bother me, damn near everything we eat is processed in some way, and who cares?3
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Think of processed meat replacements like any other processed thing and/or fast food. If you enjoy it, have it as an occasional treat. Good for the earth but not great for your body. If you are doing it for your health.... limit (or cut out) processed.
Again, the white bean patties I mentioned in the post immediately above yours are highly processed. Why is something like that bad for one's body (assuming one has sufficient protein in the overall diet that day)?3 -
I've eaten the beyond meat burgers before, bought one once at a fast food outlet as a lettuce wrap burger, had a Beyond Meatball salad at Subway, bought the burger patties twice from Safeway (but only when they were on clearance 1/2 price.) I have access to yummy grass fed, ethically raised, no drug beef as I live in a rural community just outside a small town, so I'd rather eat that and support local farmers. Also considering the 100 mile diet....
They taste okay but only when hidden under fixin's or sauces.2 -
Sigh.
You do you. Like the taste, eat it. Don't like the taste, don't.
Processed, unprocessed. Its all food. Calories in, calories out.
What's the fear about processing?
And I disagree that it's all just food. Tell me canned fruit cocktail is just as good for you as real fruit. It'd do in a pinch but other than that.....
Why does canned fruit cocktail have to be just as good for you as "real" fruit to be considered just another food? If I've already eaten plenty of produce today, or of it's the middle of winter in a part of the world where fresh fruit simply isn't available right now, why is the fruit in canned fruit cocktail not really fruit?
Marco Borges is a trainer who has a vegan nutrition program to sell. It's in his best interest to make eating healthy sound complicated so you feel like you need his help. He has no nutrition or food science credentials that I can find.
If you are eating a wide variety of foods, I can't imagine any reason why eating a Beyond Burger instead of a beef burger every once and awhile because you are concerned about environmental impact or just like them better would adversely affect your health. Same with canned fruit cocktail or a Hostess cupcake. Would I suggest you eat an all Beyond Burger and canned fruit cocktail diet? Nope. Can you make a couple of Beyond Beef burgers a month part of a nutritious and healthy diet? Sure, why not? Do you have to eliminate animal products to eat a "healthy" diet? No, I have not seen any peer-reviewed independent research that proves that.
I eat Morningstar burgers every once and awhile just as something different, as I am not great at cooking meat and like to get some variety in my protein sources.15 -
I just saw a show on you tube about how stores deal with meat that is near or has expired . ...pretty disgusting. That really got me thinking..... the show is called Marketplace, based in Canada. Supposedly, Health Canada, says its a no, no, but stores are not gonna waste all that meat. Apparently the same for the baked goods items.
I have had the Beyond Burger at A&W here and I love it. As an above poster said, it probably has a ton of salt in it. But I only eat a burger once or twice a year.2 -
A store near me bleaches their expired shelf life chicken and repackages it.3
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I don't understand the purpose of avoiding a food simply because it has been processed. I would look at how it fit into the overall context of my calorie goal and nutritional needs. By that metric, the Beyond Burger works really well when I want a burger.8
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YellowD0gs wrote: »As the plant-based meats run about 7x higher in Sodium content over ground beef...pretty much a will-not-touch-unless starving choice for me, and those on Sodium restricted diets should really give a long hard look.
The majority of plant-based meats are designed to be eaten with little additional seasoning, so comparing them to ground beef in sodium content doesn't really make sense, as most people are adding seasoning to ground beef.
It would be more accurate to compare these products to the average hamburger patty, which in many cases has sodium added to it, at least in restaurants.
We'd never say that oranges have less sugar than strawberries because orange marmalade has sugar added to it. For people who are interested, there are low sodium options for faux meat -- homemade seitan, for example, is incredibly flexible when it comes to sodium content and if the market for faux meat continues to grow, I have no doubt we'll see commercially available options at some point.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »YellowD0gs wrote: »As the plant-based meats run about 7x higher in Sodium content over ground beef...pretty much a will-not-touch-unless starving choice for me, and those on Sodium restricted diets should really give a long hard look.
The majority of plant-based meats are designed to be eaten with little additional seasoning, so comparing them to ground beef in sodium content doesn't really make sense, as most people are adding seasoning to ground beef.
This is a good point. If memory serves (since I don't feel like looking up the Beyond Burger nutrition again), it wasn't that high, something like 360 mg of sodium. A beef patty of the same size has more like 70 mg, but I would normally add a bit of salt when cooking it. Salt has about 480 mg of sodium in a pinch (see https://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/nutrition-101/salt-in-foods), so just that would even it out (and many would add more than a pinch).
Get it at a fast food restaurant, and both the beef and plant-based options will have more sodium, of course.1 -
Yes it is a processed food. Its actually an ultra processed food and for optimal health these should be kept at a minimum. That being said a burger of any sort has never been considered a healthy food option. The plant based burgers have just as many fat grams and calories as their animal based cousins. They are an ethical option if anything.
How would a burger not be considered a healthy or nutritious food source? It's just beef that has been ground up. I do 93% GB and grill up a burger or make tacos or chili pretty much weekly.4 -
ruperthumphrey wrote: »A store near me bleaches their expired shelf life chicken and repackages it.
Then you should report that store to the Dept of Health 🤷🏼♀️15 -
I’m not a fan my family strictly eats organic raised without antibiotic meat it’s expensive but the taste and quality can’t be compared1
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I buy Beyond Burger a lot and really enjoy it. If I go to a restaurant, I'd rather a beef burger, but when I cook at home, I find it a lot easier to work with. I was never very good at cooking beef burgers so my Beyond Burgers end up coming out better.
I also find the "it's heavily processed" attack to be amusing because:
1. Of course it's processed. It's plant based products made to mimic the taste, appearance, and nutritional profile of ground beef. Of course it's gonna be processed. It doesn't grow on the beef fruit tree plant.
2. If people want to scare about "processed" or "funny sounding ingredients", they should look at what gets fed to commercially produced beef. Cows don't magically appear in the slaughterhouse. They are raised and fed antibiotics and all sorts of other things ingredients (I've heard people try to scare about soy being in meat replacements not realizing that it is one of the primary ingredients fed to cows). I am not much one for ingredient scaring, but if you are, it's easy to do with beef too.
So 7 disagrees but no quoted responses. I'd love to hear the disagreements, besides my personal preference for them (trust me, if you had a regular burger cookoed by me, you'd get it)6 -
just_Tomek wrote: »I watched a talk show with Marco Borges, saying plant-based is the healthy way to go. BUT avoid fake meat because it's all highly processed.
Opinions? Just curious.
Is it to be avoided... nope. Unless you want to save money, then yeap.
Is it highly processed... yeap. Just look at the ingredients.
I would never buy it, high in calories, low in protein, low in nutrients and way way overpriced.... comparing to meat.
LOL well that answers that!
It really depends. I never eat it since I'm not really interested in meat substitutes, but here's one taste test:
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/plant-based-burger-taste-test
For cal and protein comparison (note: the reason my numbers are different from Mike's, who posted when I was writing this, is that I converted the plant burgers from 4 oz to 100 g):
Impossible 2.0 (100 g) has 212 cal and 17 g of protein.
Beyond Burger (100 g) has 221 cal and 18 g of protein.
Lifeline Burger (100 g) has 239 cal and 18 g of protein.
MorningStar Vegan Burger (100 g) has 248 cal and 24 g of protein.
By comparison, 80% lean beef burger is 254 cal and 17 g of protein, although of course one can get a 90% lean for 176 cal and 20 g of protein or 95% lean for 137 cal and 21 g of protein. So it depends on how you think it tastes, how much you care about the fat quantity (either for taste -- some don't like lean ground beef, although I do -- or otherwise), and what type of burger one is comparing it with.
I have no clue about the cost vs. different kinds of ground beef, since I haven't purchased any of them.
Awesome! That per 100 g comparison sure comes in handy.3 -
My family is vegan so we like to go out for beyond burgers as a rare treat but I would never call them healthy. As for fake meats, we mainly use the veggie nuggets for our kids who love them but overall I like to focus on healthier, more nutritious foods. However, I see nothing wrong with enjoying them in moderation.6
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Think of processed meat replacements like any other processed thing and/or fast food. If you enjoy it, have it as an occasional treat. Good for the earth but not great for your body. If you are doing it for your health.... limit (or cut out) processed.
So yogurt, protein powder, kimchi, canned tomato sauce with a sheer lack of ingredients (tomatoes, onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, and oregano), frozen peas (because lord knows peas are only in season for so long) are all "not great for your body"?
This is one of many reasons why this whole "processed foods are bad for you" doesn't hold water because the definition of processed is very broad. The preserved lemons that are curing in my pantry are processed, and the only ingredients are meyer lemons, salt, and maybe a tbsp of water. They're not something I'd recommend to anyone who needs to watch their salt intake, but they are bad neither for me nor the environment, unless you're arguing that shipping meyer lemons from California to Oregon is bad for the environment (and shipping the salt for where ever it's processed to here which is likely a longer distance), which is a very different (but valid) discussion.
The "bone broth" that so many people are raving about and buying in the stores is also processed, as is the homemade chicken stock and beef stock that is in my freezer despite my knowing all of the ingredients that I put into said stock.12 -
I try to avoid too much processed food but in moderation is ok. I do eat veggie burgers regularly and beyond meat products sometimes. I don’t eat them every day. They are high in protein which is good for me since I eat mostly plants.
Sometimes i crave that meaty taste since I was raised on meat and enjoy the taste but also love animals and refuse to eat them anymore.3 -
I'm really surprised by some of the price comparisons in this thread. However, I guess you get a lot more super cheap feed lot raised cheap end beef in the US.
One of the higher end Burger joints here has started selling the Beyond Burger. Their standard Cheese Burger is 109SEK (11.31USD) and the same burger with a Beyond patty is 119SEK (12.35USD).
Having tried the Beyond patty IMHO it wasn't bad by any means but the meat version is way better so I would always order that.
That said there's a brand here called Annama that do a soy protein that I substitute for mince (ground beef or turkey) in things like Chilli, Taco's or Bolognese exclusively now. I can't really tell the difference in those recipes and my wife and daughter don't really like eating red meat so when not.
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