Morningstar Veggie Patty vs. 95/5 Ground Beef?

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imbanter
imbanter Posts: 72 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been seeing a ton of commercials lately for Morningstar and in them they claim their patties are better for you than beef. I had one person on MFP even post a comment to me that I should swap my 95/5 beef for MS products because they are lower in calories and healthier for me. When I looked at the company's website they are making their claims vs. "regular ground beef" which I'm assuming is a 80/20 or 85/15 or something.

MS vs 95/5 ground beef = similar calories... very slightly lower total fat in MS... 1/4th of the saturated fat in MS... ~8 times more sodium in MS... no potassium in MS vs 95/5 with it... 13g carbs in MS vs 0 in 95/5... sugar in MS vs 0 in 95/5... almost twice the protein in 95/5... and almost 3 times the iron in 95/5.

So what am I missing here in the claims that MS is better for me because on the surface I'm not seeing it -AND- a 95/5 burger on the grill is 10 times better than a MS patty (IMO).

Replies

  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    It might depend on the specific veggie-product you're looking at. I tend to go for the veggie burgers (not morningstar brand though) and the ones I eat are generally 1/3 the calories and 1/10 the fat of real beef. The rest is true-veggie burgers have carbs, sodium, etc. So I guess if you have the calories to use-go for it. Real beef tastes much, much better.
  • imbanter
    imbanter Posts: 72 Member
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    It might depend on the specific veggie-product you're looking at. I tend to go for the veggie burgers (not morningstar brand though) and the ones I eat are generally 1/3 the calories and 1/10 the fat of real beef. The rest is true-veggie burgers have carbs, sodium, etc. So I guess if you have the calories to use-go for it. Real beef tastes much, much better.

    Are they really 1/3 of the calories though? The person that posted a comment on my diary made that claim but when I looked at what she was talking about she was comparing a much smaller patty to a 1/2 lb patty that I had in my diary. From what I've seen it looks like when you're comparing 100g veggie burger to a 100g 95/5 burger the calories are similar it is just where the calories are coming from that differs. Either way I don't see me swapping my beef on the grill for a veggie burger.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    When I'm making the 1/3 comparison-I'm talking about a veggie burger vs what I consider a burger. Yes, the veggie patties are smaller-but I generally have 4oz burgers (I have no idea how many grams that is). I look at it from the standpoint of what I'm going to slap between the bun. In my case-I'm looking at about 1/3 the calories if I choose to slap a veggie burger in there rather than what I would eat for a real burger. If you're not down with the veggie burgers-don't eat them. Real beef tastes way better anyway.

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