One inquisitive omnivore’s journey towards healthier and more compassionate eating…
(Click here for why I started)
Cookout food has always been my favorite. I love potato salad, corn-on-the-cob and especially cheeseburgers, medium rare with lettuce, tomato, and lots of ketchup! I’ve never really gone for the veggie burger, although there was a restaurant in West Hollywood that made really flavorful ones. They were so delicious and they even served them with onion rings. I’d say that was definitely on par with my cookout cheeseburgers!
Needless to say, the idea of eating a frozen burger, nevermind a frozen veggie burger, wasn’t really at the top of my to-do list, but in my quest to eat healthier and more compassionately I decided to give it a try. So I asked around, and the overwhelming recommendation was MorningStar Farms.
It turns out I used to buy MorningStars’ Garden Veggie Patties all the time. A couple of years back I was looking for something healthy and simple to eat, and they fit the bill perfectly! They’re made with mushrooms, water chestnuts, onions, carrots, bell peppers, and black olives—aside from the olives they’re all of my favorite vegetables.
I’d heat the patties in the microwave and then top them with some sautéed mushrooms and guacamole. It was one of my go-to meals at the time: easy, low-cal, and really tasty! They also had a good amount of protein (10g), were low in fat, and only had 9g of carbs.
MorningStar Farms has a lot of meat-free burgers and chicken to choose from, but I was in the mood for Mexican so I opted to try their Grillers Recipe Crumbles and make some tacos. For this, I once again invited some friends over to see if I could fool them.
After sautéing the meat-free beef with tomatoes and lots of seasoning I served my guests the mystery mixture with the usual Mexican sides: sour cream, salsa, shredded lettuce, Go Veggie! Mexican Style Shreds, and whole wheat tortilla bread. Even though the tacos were a big hit, I didn’t fool anyone. Everyone could tell there was something different about the meat—not in a bad way, just different.
Meat-free Soft Taco Recipe:
- 1 pkg MorningStar Farms Grillers Recipe Crumbles
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 med onion, diced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 lg tomato diced w/ juice
- salt & pepper to taste
- small whole wheat tortilla wraps, heated
- salsa
- low fat sour cream
- shredded lettuce
- Go Veggie! Mexican Style Shreds
Sauté the onions and garlic in vegetable oil until the onions are soft and garlic slightly browned. Add a package of frozen MorningStar Crumbles and stir in tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, pepper, and salt. Cook until heated, about 10-15 minutes. Put in a bowl and serve with sides of salsa, sour cream, shredded lettuce, Go Veggie! Mexican Style Shreds, and tortillas heated in microwave for 20 seconds w/ a damp paper towel covering them. Serve with rice, create, and voilà!
All in all, I have to say MorningStar Farms is a great choice for meat-less burgers. They’re a good source of protein, low in fat, and easy to cook. The Crumbles texture is even the same as beef.
Now is eating the Garden Veggie Patties the same as having my cookout cheeseburger? Not exactly, but that’s not really a fair comparison since they’re completely different foods. However, if you’re looking for something burger-ish that’s both healthy and tasty, I highly recommend giving MorningStar a try!
— Lisa Singer, exclusive to Global Animal
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