Impossible burgers

Hi. Has anyone tried the non-meat Impossible Burgers? How do they compare to regular meat burgers? Calories? Anybody selling them in CA?

and while on the subject are they actually good for you?

In my opinion, no. It is not a healthy choice. I’m all for eating less meat, or eating none at all, if you prefer and are still getting your nutrients. But these meat alternatives are highly processed and contain questionable ingredients, some derived from soy (soy protein isolate, soy leghemobloin), and highly processed industrial oil (sunflower oil), that I prefer to avoid altogether, though there’s debate about whether they are “bad.” They are also quite high in saturated fat, if you worry about such things (I personally don’t, but that’s another debate), and very high in sodium. Furthermore, plant derived processed ingredients tend to end up being high in easily absorbed carbs, which can have negative metabolic impact.

I believe strongly in eating real foods, with as little processed food as possible, and thus I am inclined to be negative about things like the Impossible Burger; so I admit to some bias. Still, I think the reasons to be suspicious, at the very least, are strong.

I have tried the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Meat Burger many times. As a vegan/vegetarian for almost 10 years, I’m not the best source to state how the plant-based burgers compare to meat burgers, but I have tried the plant-based burgers with numerous meat eaters over the past two years and almost all said they tasted very similar. Not the same mind you, but close enough that these meat eaters enjoyed them enough to eat more regularly and possibly in lieu of meat burgers (so they said).

Impossible Burgers are only available at restaurants, but are starting to roll out to wider locations (White Castle, Burger King, etc). I had meatballs made from the Impossible Burger at a local ramen joint last night, and another ramen place makes a ramen with the Impossible Burger. Look at this link to find near you -Where to Buy Impossible™ Products Near You - Impossible Food

Beyond Meat has mostly sold their burgers in stores (Whole Foods I know carries them) to be made at home, although they are starting to roll out to restaurants, both fast (Carl’s Jr) and casual. This link can help you find - Where to Find Beyond Meat at a Store Near You | Beyond Meat. FWIW, I also really like the Beyond Sausages.

As for health, this article may be of use - https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/great-veggie-burgers-are-here-but-are-they-any-healthier-w449490/. And you can learn more on each producer’s website. Overall likely healthier than beef, but depends on your health concerns. I definitely feel physically better after eating a plant-based Burger than I did after eating a meat burger, but YMMV.

Thanks Scott. Great article.

I enjoy both plant based products. I also feel better after the plant based burger. But I don’t eat much beef due to preference (as opposed to health). Probably enjoy beef hamburgers more than steak due to the higher fat (at least in the burgers I like).

Prior to these two, while I loved veggie burgers that didn’t try to imitate beef, like a Praeger burger, I dislike imitation beef burgers (like a Boca burger). They are definitely a better product than the prior generation of imitation burger.

thanks sarah. this is roughly what i’ve heard and i tend to agree
real food is always better

Not to mention 5 times the sodium content of unseasoned hamburger and GMOs like Canola.

Albertsons/Vons sells Beyond burgers and I think Ralph’s does too. My one experience wasn’t that great but I think I needed to season them more.

I have worked with both Impossible and Beyond at restaurant level and big part of their focus is on significantly lower environmental impact vs traditional beef.

Stephen, I believe it is on the menu now at Root 246, should that appeal.

Jonathan

Good post and fully agree. There is a lot of “vegan junk food” being pushed as healthy because it’s vegan, especially on social media. Lots of processed foods, tons of sugar, saturated fat, etc. I’ve had both mentioned and and they’re okay but if I eat a burger (maybe 2-3 times per year) I’m going with beef or lamb. I was for years vegetarian and pescatarian and now any meat that’s gets into my fridge and cooked at home is locally sourced with no feed lots.

Thread drift - I used to organize year end grill fests at my synagogue and there were always people who wanted veggie burgers. I made the vegans buy them and found things like Boca Burgers to be inedible cardboard frisbees. Then one year I decided to find something myself and found vegetable burgers sold under the Ratner’s brand (the old kosher dairy restaurant in NYC). They turned out not to be attempts to replicate hamburgers but vegetable croquettes you could eat with a fork or on a bun. I thought they were very good and bought them for my house as an dinner vegetable side dish when there was no time to cook. They were not attempts to replicate hamburgers and thus they were free to make them taste good. Every attempt to replicate meat for vegetarians that I have tasted was HORRIBLE.

I can’t think of a worse way to market a product to vegetarians than to say “it bleeds”.

I’ve had the Impossible burger. Just tasted like a poorly constructed hamburger patty.

I don’t think vegans and what I’d call vegetarians with true convictions are really the target market here. It’s the person who wants to feel like they’re eating healthy or has doc’s orders to eat less red meat. With the toppings on the Impossible burger I ate there was no way it was healthy.

Agree with your comment about the sodium. Virtually all of us get far too much as it is.

GMOs are a bullshit Boogeyman however, with most of the objections being little different than anti-vax.

My personal view (and actually shared by several vegetarians I know) is that trying to mimic meat with non meat ingredients is missing the point of being vegetarian. Fake meat is Like going to a brothel for a kiss.

If I eat vegetarian I dont want fake meat, I want good tasting and presumably healthy vegetables, like in Jay’s example.

very much this.

As a standout reader of ingredient list bullshit, 100% agree.

Impossible Burger is not (primarily) intended for vegetarians. Their vision is to reduce the environmental impact of meat production. They want to make something that can replace meat for people who like meat.

There is no one “point” to being a vegetarian. There are those that do it for health reasons, those that do it for taste reasons, those that do it for moral reasons, those that do it for religious reasons, those that do it just because they don’t like meat/fish because of how they feel afterwards, etc.