Lightlife Plant-Based Burgers

You have likely heard about the new 'plant-based' burgers that have cropped up on the market. Though its not like veggie burgers are a new thing, these ones are supposed to mimic the real look, taste and texture of meat like nothing before.

Not only are they available in grocery stores but big fast food chains are now offering them as a vegan alternative.

Now I am totally fine with non-meaty veggie burgers as long as they taste good, but I was curious to try the new products, so I picked up a package of the Lightlife brand.

My first impression? Frickin' expensive! Um, $8 for 2 burgers??? Also, very high in calories (260) and fat (17g) for a small burger. In comparison, the Yves brand I usually buy is usually available for $7 for 8 burgers and each has 110 calories and 3.5g fat!

They do look like meat and when they cook they release redish 'juices' and have a delicious, meaty aroma. I fried them up in a frying pan and plopped it on a whole grain bun with vegan cheese sauce, mustard and relish.

The taste? Not bad! But I am one of those people that likes veggie fascimiles that do not taste anything like meat...sometimes I like them even more than the meat version! But for 260 calories, they didn't keep me feeling full for long.

I made one for Adam and when I asked what he thought, he said, it was "Fine". I asked him if he thought it tasted like meat and he said, "I don't remember." 😆 In all fairness, I didn't ask for his feedback until the next day.

So, what are these burgers made of?

Here is the ingredient list:

WATER, PEA PROTEIN, CANOLA OIL MODIFIED CELLULOSE, YEAST EXTRACT, ORGANIC VIRGIN COCONUT OIL, SEA SALT, FLAVOUR, AMINO ACID BLEND (I-METHIONINE, TRYPTOPHAN), POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, BEET POWDER, ONION POWDER, ASCORBIC ACID, SPICE, ONION EXTRACT, GARLIC POWDER, GREEN TEA EXTRACT, ACEROLA CHERRY EXTRACT, VITAMIN AND MINERAL BLEND [NIACINAMIDE (VITAMIN B3), FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, ZINC OXIDE, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMINE B6), THIAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2) CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12)].

Now, a bunch of people I know have put angry diatribes on Facebook about how these burgers are processed. Some upset the pea protein is GMO (who cares!), others that they contain yeast extract (again, who cares!). I mean, duh, any commercially made veggie burger or veggie meat is processed. I don't think these products are really trying to appeal to the health foodies anyways, they are trying to appeal to the vegans and vegetarians eshewing animal products for ethical and/or environmental reasons.

So will I buy them again? Nope - too expensive.