Veggie Burger Fail

This morning in my excitement of turning over a new leaf in my life, I went to the supermarket to pick up some veggie burgers for a BBQ tonight.

When I arrived there actually wasn't too much selection...only 4 to choose from! I ended up getting the Almond Grain Burger from SOL Cuisine. It boasts 130 calories, 7g of protein and 6g of dietary fibre.

And the ingredients?

Organic spelt, organic soybeans, organic okara, almond butter, filtered water, carrots, onions, green lentils, tomato powder, organic amaranth, olive oil, almonds, sea salt, yeast, tapioca starch, modified cellulose, spice, dehydrated garlic, and xanthan gum.

Pretty good if I do say so myself!

Now, I am by no means a veggie burger expert. I have probably had a whopping total of 5 in my entire life! That being said, I do have expectations...not high ones, but there are a few musts. Where this burger failed was in the areas of texture and salt content. When I have a burger, I expect them to give me something to bite into. This one unfortunately had the same consistency and texture as the hamburger bun. And while a little salt is good, too much will overpower the natural flavour that the burger offers. At 310 mg per serving, Sol Cuisine's Almond Grain Burger will give you 13% of your daily sodium intake.

Now I'm starting to sound like a burger snob! Haha. And sorry if you like this brand. It just didn't cut it for me. On the positive side, there were a variety of textures within the burger itself, and once you got over the salt, the natural flavour was pretty good!

I have a confession though...

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...

I ate a REAL hamburger prepped with blue cheese after the veggie burger. Apparently I have no self-control. But the aroma of the real burgers was torture and everyone was raving about how good they tasted! Now technically this doesn't go against the vow I made to myself, which was to personally buy local meat. I have still upheld my end! It just means I have to go buy some local ground beef soon!!

And just because I have 100% good things to say about the dessert provided tonight, I am going to share the experience :).

Say hello to a dessert that will receive 5 star reviews. We'll just pretend it's healthy ;). And the best part? It is quick to prepare but if you say nothing your guests will probably think that a lot of labour went into making it. This beauty is comprised of layers of cool whip, ice cream sandwiches, more cool whip, skor bars, and even more cool whip, topped with caramel & chocolate drizzle. Props to my classmate Leslie for whipping it up for the BBQ!

Post-dinner & dessert with satisfied tummies :)

Do you like veggie burgers? Have you found a supermarket brand or recipe that satisfies your burger cravings?