Now Being Served... Veggie Options in Restaurant Chains

The Country's Best Yogurt (TCBY) announced the debut of its newest frozen yogurt formulated with Silk® Chocolate Almond milk. The dairy-free frozen dessert was automatically shipped for a 12-week run to all full-service TCBY locations (approximately 250 stores) and is available as an optional item to the more than 100 other TCBY locations co-branded with other food chains, such as Subway and Blimpie.

In a few days after its arrival in TCBY stores across the United States, Silk® Chocolate Almond already had sold out in many locations, according to a TCBY Retail Customer Service Specialist. "It sold out much more quickly than predicted," The VRG was told by phone.

We also learned from TCBY that Silk® Chocolate Almond "should become a core item" at all locations. Other flavors of the almond milk frozen yogurt are now being offered, including Vanilla Almond.

Silk® Chocolate Almond is 98% fat-free as well as dairy-free. A TCBY employee told The VRG that "TCBY adds sugar and corn syrup to Silk's® almond milk to make Silk® Chocolate Almond frozen yogurt."

To locate a TCBY near you, visit the online store locator at: tcby.com/find-a-store.

Tropical Smoothie Café Offers Beyond Meat®

Since spring 2013, Tropical Smoothie Café (TSC) offers all-vegetable Beyond Meat®, a plant protein made primarily of pea and soy protein, in any food item including wraps, sandwiches, flatbreads, and salads. TSC has more than 300 locations in 36 states. According to Beyond Meat® founder Ethan Brown, TSC is the first national chain of its size to offer Beyond Meat®.

The VRG was in contact with TSC in July through December 2013 to learn more about the ingredients in several menu offerings where Beyond Meat® could be served. TSC's nutritional consultant told us via TSC's public relations firm that she had used our Guide to Food Ingredients to classify TSC ingredients.

According to the Tropical Smoothie nutritional consultant: "For clarification, on the TSC menu all items categorized as vegan are completely animal free, no animal byproducts. Menu items categorized as vegetarian may contain honey, milk, eggs, or yeast, and if they do contain these items, they will be indicated as such."

In response to our question about TSC smoothies, The VRG was informed through TSC's public relations firm that "...ingredients in the recipe (i.e. soy, whey or turbinado) can be removed in any of our smoothies upon customer request. A full list of ingredients for our smoothies is available at each Café to help consumers determine the best option for their dietary needs."

A Tropical Smoothie Café store locator can be found here: https://order.tropicalsmoothie.com/#content=/Restaurant/Search.

The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including The Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company employees or company statements. Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.

For more information on fast food and quick casual restaurant chains, visit http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php.