A&W Provides A Vegan Alternative (Believe it or Not)

Of all fast food restaurants, who would have thought A&W would be one to provide a healthy option on their menu? After all, this is a burger joint that is streamlined to simply greasy burgers with the only option being the number of slabs of beef on your bun.

My omnivore wife needed a fast food fix after a long shift at the hospital. Having already eaten dinner, I didn't much care where she wanted to go. When she mentioned A&W, I figured I'd get an order of onion rings for the effort.

I was surprised to see the Swiss Veggie Burger on the menu. We asked the girl at the counter about it and with a grimace, she told us that it was indeed a 'no-meat' product. I got my onion rings that evening but left the burger.

The next day, I made another visit to A&W for lunch and purchased one of these veggie burgers (without the Swiss cheese and ranch dressing, of course). The price is steep at $4.99 CAD. The burger is amazingly small - kind of reminded me of a White Castle burger. The taste was good, though. I subbed my usual ton of ketchup for the light ranch dressing.

I won't be hanging out at the ol' A&W everyday for this product, but it does provide another quick alternative when out and about. The only other fast food restaurant where I could find a veggie burger on the menu (in Canada) was Burger King. Haven't tried them out as we no longer have a Burger King in Orangeville.

Here's the facts from the A&W website:


Swiss Veggie Deluxe
Components :Veggie burger patty, A&W Seasoning, Swiss cheese, wheat bun, light Ranch dressing, pickles, sliced onion, lettuce, tomato
Details : Veggie Burger: Portabello mushroom, water, mushrooms, wheat flour, modified cellulose, onion, textured soy protein, rehydrated textured soy flour, canola oil, butter, isolated soy protein, salt, garlic powder, autolyzed yeast, spice. Seasoned with A&W seasoning.Swiss Cheese: milk, salt, bacterial culture, microbial enzyme. May contain calcium chlorideA&W Seasoning: salt, spices, sugar, dehydrated garlic & onions, corn starch, dextrose, silicon dioxide, whey, flour, colour, maltodextrin, flavour, soybean oil, canola oil, citric acid, sulphitesWheat Bun: enriched wheat flour, water, whole wheat flour, yeast*, cornmeal, vegetable oil (Canola or Soybean), oat flakes, glucose-fructose/sugar, salt, vinegar, caramel colour (contains sulfites), flavour (contains sulfites), calcium propionate, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, sorbic acid.*order may change. May contain traces of milk ingredients, soybean and sesame seeds.Light Ranch Dressing: water, soybean oil, modified milk ingredients, maltodextrin, liquid egg yolk, salt, modified corn starch, flavour, sugar, monosodium glutamate, garlic juice, vinegar, onion juice, phosphoric acid, lactic acid, spices, xanthan gum, polysorbate 60, artificial colour, propylene glycol alginate, potassium sorbate, lemon juice concentrate, calcium disodium EDTA.Pickles: cucumbers, water, white vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, sodium benzoate, seasonings, polysorbate 80, turmeric, tartrazine. May contain potassium sorbate.
Nutrient Contents :
Serving Size (g) :
227
Calories :
390
Sugar (g) :
7
Protein (g) :
20
Carbohydrates(g) :
47
Fibre (g) :
5
Total Fat (g) :
15
Saturated Fat (g) :
4
Trans Fat (g)
0.1
Cholesterol (mg) :
20
% Daily Value:
Calcium (%) :
20
Sodium (mg) :
1220
Iron (%) :
30
Vitamin A % :
6
Vitamin C % :
6

And yes, I do realize that my veggie burger was cooked on the same grill as the rest of their products...

Next up - my latest visit to Chinatown and Kensington Market in Toronto...

Product Review: Stagg Vegetable Garden Chili

Canned food, even at its healthiest, is never the healthiest choice. However, there are times when you simply need to have the quick fix for lunch or dinner. There are more and more canned food companies that are providing vegetarian and vegan choices.

One of those companies is Stagg Foods, manufacturer of the Stagg Chili brand. The company is out of Stockton, California and is for sure available in the United States and Canada. Their vegan product is Vegetable Garden Four Bean Chili. The stuff is tasty, healthy and a bit spicy.

The only questionable ingredient is 'natural butter flavour'. I assume that by the addition of 'flavour' to that ingredient it is some sort of synthetic additive and doesn't actually include dairy. The rest of the ingredients include: water, tomatoes, pink beans, black beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato paste, white beans, chili seasoning, dehydrated onions, dehydrated bell peppers, dehydrated tomatoes, spices and garlic powder.

The stuff is good and convenient. The price is slightly high at $2.99 per 425g can in Canada but still cheaper and healthier than fast food.

For more information, visit the Stagg Foods website.