Vegetarian Journal's Guide to Burgers and Dogs
By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
Need a quick meal? Looking forward to next summer's cook-outs? Thinking back longingly to the days when dinner was only a drive-in away? Perhaps you should consider vegetarian burgers and dogs.
Today, a bevy of burgers and dozens of dogs lurk in the refrigerator and freezer cases of natural food stores and some supermarkets. Most are very quick and easy to prepare. Some appear to be trying to duplicate the flavor and texture of meat products, while others are content to be tasty in their own unique way. This month, we review some of the commonly available vegetarian burgers and dogs. We've limited our review to refrigerated or frozen products, which we found in stores in the Baltimore, Maryland/Washington, D.C. area. If you've found other products which you like, please drop us a note so we can mention them in a future issue of Vegetarian Journal.
All of the burgers and dogs which we reviewed were cholesterol free. A few did contain egg whites, but most contained no animal products. The dogs, unlike commercial hot dogs, did not contain nitrites. Beyond these few similarities and their shape, the products were quite different in nutrient content and in taste.
BURGERS
Amara Burgers are based on wheat, peanuts, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds. They
have a somewhat sweet, bread-like taste. One of our tasters especially liked the
texture -- the burgers do have small pieces of vegetables in them. They were
relatively low in fat. No information was given on sodium content.
Mandarin Garden Patties contain tofu, brown rice, whole wheat flour, and vegetables. These burgers were interestingly spiced. They made no attempt to duplicate the flavor or texture of hamburgers. Although they had the lowest fat content of any of the burgers tested (only 1.9 grams per burger), they were the highest in sodium at 552 milligrams, about 1/4 teaspoon of salt per burger.
Mud Pie Vegie Burgers are advertised as being wheat-free and soy-free.They are made with brown rice, rye flour, tahini, oats, seeds, and vegetables. They are quite low in sodium, but were one of the higher fat burgers we tried, suggesting you can't have it all.
Quong Hop & Company's Soy Deli produces several kinds of burgers including The Original Tofu Burger, Teriyaki Tofu Burger, and Garden Tofu Burger. We tried the Original Tofu Burger. The burgers contain tofu, vegetables, seeds, and, interestingly, currants. When we cooked them, the burgers had a brown, crisp crust and a white inside which tasted like plain, dry tofu. They seemed greasy compared to the other burgers and indeed were among the highest fat burgers we tried.
Tofu Burgers and Veggie Burgers are made by Bud, Inc., in Baltimore, Maryland. The Tofu Burgers consist primarily of tofu while the Veggie Burgers contain tofu and more vegetables. We have always found these burgers to be very filling with one burger on a bun being enough for a meal. They are among the highest fat burgers we tried.
Yves makes Veggie Burgers, Garden Vegetable Patties, and Garden Patties with Mushrooms and Fine Herbs. We tried the Veggie Burgers, which are made of wheat gluten. This gives them a chewy texture which reminded the tasters of hamburgers. They also have a smokey taste and even have char lines across them. These burgers were one of the lowest in fat.
DOGS
Lightlife Smart Dogs were our winner for the lowest fat dog we tried. These dogs,
made of soy protein and wheat gluten have 0 grams of fat per serving. With only 40
calories per dog, they make a quick, light snack. They are fairly high in sodium
with 290 milligrams per dog. The taste is quite mild and the texture is a bit
rubbery, but with condiments, they are certainly acceptable.
Lightlife also makes Tofu Pups, which are made with tofu rather than wheat gluten. They have a little over 5 grams of fat per serving, which is intermediate for those dogs we tried. They have a strong garlic taste and a texture similar to the hot dogs we ate before we were vegetarians.
Soy Boy Not Dogs are also made from tofu. Vegans should note that they do contain honey. These dogs fell apart when we tried to get them out of the package, perhaps because they had been frozen and thawed, or possibly because, unlike the other dogs, they did not have a casing. These dogs had a different texture from the others we tried.
White Wave Meatless Healthy Franks contain egg whites and so would not be acceptable to vegans. We are not quite certain why they are called "healthy." They were the highest in fat and sodium of the dogs we found. Perhaps they are so labeled because they are still better than most hot dogs made with meat. We did not taste this product.
Yves makes Veggie Wieners, Tofu Wieners, and Chili Dogs. All are made with tofu. The Veggie Wieners which we tried were quite mild in flavor and had the consistency of a meat-containing hot dog.
So, how do veggie burgers and dogs compare to hamburgers and hot dogs in terms of fat content, sodium, and cost? Fat-wise, the burgers are much better than even the leanest of their non-vegetarian counterparts, while the dogs are better than most commercial hot dogs (Table 1). The dogs have less sodium than beef, turkey, or chicken franks. The burgers are generally higher in sodium than ground beef (although most of us would not add salt to the veggie burgers). Table 2 shows the sodium content of the burgers and dogs we tried.
TABLE 1. FAT CONTENT OF BURGERS AND DOGS
| BURGERS | FAT (GRAMS) | |
| 1. | Mandarin Garden (3 oz.)* | 1.9 |
| 2. | Yves Veggie (3.25 oz.) | 4 |
| 3. | Amara (4 oz.) | 6 |
| 4. | Mud Pie Vegie (3 oz.) | 11 |
| 5. | Bud Tofu (3.5 oz.) | 12 |
| 6. | Bud Veggie (3.5 oz.) | 13 |
| 7. | Quong Hop Original (3.05 oz.) | 13 |
| 8. | Extra Lean Ground Beef (4 oz.) | 16 |
| 9. | Regular Ground Beef (4 oz.) | 21 |
DOGS |
FAT (GRAMS) |
|
| 1. | Lightlife Smart Dogs (1.5 oz.) | 0 |
| 2. | Healthy Choice Franks (beef/pork) (1.6 oz.) | 1 |
| 3. | Yves Veggie Wieners (1.38 oz.) | 4 |
| 4. | Lightlife Tofu Pups (1.5 oz.) | 5.4 |
| 5. | Yves Chili Dogs (1.6 oz.) | 6 |
| 6. | Soy Boy Not Dogs (1.5 oz.) | 6 |
| 7. | White Wave Meatless (1.5 oz.) | 8 |
| 8. | Turkey Franks (1.5 oz.) | 8.1 |
| 9. | Chicken Franks (1.5 oz.) | 8.8 |
| 10. | Beef Franks (1.5 oz.) | 12.8 |
* Product weight is in parentheses after each product. All weights are prior to cooking.
TABLE 2. SODIUM CONTENT OF BURGERS AND DOGS
| BURGERS | SODIUM (MILLIGRAMS) PER BURGER | ||
| 1. | Mud Pie Vegie | 50 | |
| 2. | Beef Burger | 65 | |
| 3. | Quong Hop Original | 100 | |
| 4. | Bud Veggie | 235 | |
| 5. | Bud Tofu | 250 | |
| 6. | Yves Veggie | 350 | |
| 7. | Mandarin Garden | 552 | |
| 8. | Amara | Not given | |
DOGS |
SODIUM (MILLIGRAMS) PER DOG |
||
| 1. | Yves Veggie Wieners | 116 | |
| 2. | Lightlife Tofu Pups | 155 | |
| 3. | Soy Boy Not Dogs | 200 | |
| 4. | Lightlife Smart Dogs | 290 | |
| 5. | Yves Chili Dogs | 320 | |
| 6. | White Wave Meatless | 340 | |
| 7. | Healthy Choice Franks (beef/pork) | 460 | |
| 8. | Beef Franks | 462 | |
| 9. | Turkey Franks | 472 | |
| 10. | Chicken Franks | 617 |
Price-wise, you'll probably pay more for the veggie burgers and dogs (Table 3). Of course, you are getting a healthier product. The burgers take even less time to prepare than it would take to shape and fry a beef patty and they certainly cost less than many fast-food burgers (even when you add the cost of a bun). You can save some money by buying burgers and dogs on sale. If you really want to save money, think about making your own veggie burgers at home from scratch. (See past issues of Vegetarian Journal for ideas.)
TABLE 3. COST OF BURGERS AND DOGS
| BURGERS | PRICE PER SERVING* | |
| 1. | Extra Lean Ground Beef | $0.55 |
| 2. | Mud Pie Vegie | $0.80 |
| 3. | Amara | $0.92 |
| 4. | Bud Tofu or Veggie | $0.94 |
| 5. | Mandarin Garden | $1.20 |
| 6. | Quong Hop Original Tofu | $1.25 |
| 7. | Yves Veggie | $1.35 |
DOGS |
PRICE PER SERVING* |
|
| 1. | Chicken Franks | $0.14 |
| 2. | Turkey Franks | $0.15 |
| 3. | Beef Franks | $0.22 |
| 4. | Healthy Choice Franks (beef/pork) | $0.29 |
| 5. | Lightlife Tofu Pups | $0.40 |
| 6. | Yves Tofu Wieners | $0.42 |
| 7. | White Wave Meatless | $0.44 |
| 8. | Soy Boy Not Dogs | $0.45 |
| 9. | Yves Chili Dogs | $0.46 |
| 10. | Lightlife Smart Dogs | $0.47 |
* Prices from natural food stores and grocery stores in the Baltimore, Maryland area, September, 1992. All prices are on non-sale items.
