Are store bought veggie burgers highly processed fake meat ?

This may be oversimplifying, but I figure if food comes in a box, it’s processed. Diet foods are often some of the worst crap out there, but people are misled by words like “diet”, “natural”, “lite”, etc.

It seems likely that any prepared food is heavily processed and loaded with sodium. It’s much better to make your own veggie burgers.

As for store-bought veggie burgers not being good for you, I don’t think I can agree with that assertion. Prepared veggie burgers usually have healthful ingredients as their base, such as whole grains, legumes, or tofu. Something made in your own kitchen will always be better (and tastier), but I don’t think that the store-bought versions are generally “bad.”

Anything that isn’t a base raw ingredient is “processed”, so is any veggieburger that you havent made yourself from lentils or pulped soyabeans, and most people dont have time to make things like that from scratch. Processed doesnt automatically mean unhealthy but vegetarian doesnt automatically mean healthy either. The veggie burgers may be significantly lower in fat but watch out for salt levels which are often higher in vegetarian food.

Agreed. If it comes in a package, it’s processed. But some ingredients are worse than others, and the thing is, everyone seems to have their own opinion about what’s healthy, and what’s not, or worse, toxic.

Processed and unhealthy

just look at the ingredients (and the sodium content)

It depends upon which ones you buy. I would say that Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burgers have some pretty healthy ingredients.

Of course, like the others have said, anything that comes in a box and starts out as one thing (a soy bean or a grain of wheat) and has been turned into something else (tofu or seitan) has been processed, but that’s not necessarily a bad or unhealthy thing.

I would guess that most veggie burgers are probably much lower in fat, and much higher in fiber than a regular beef hamburger.

But it also depends upon what you’re looking for in a veggie burger. Some veggie burgers look and taste almost like real beef hamburgers, while other veggie burgers are more like vegetable patties, if you will.

Some veggie burgers have more ingredients, like additives and sodium, rather than mostly vegetables. You do need to read the ingredients labels on any processed food that you buy, to make sure you are getting what you want/need, without getting what you don’t want/need.

Amy’s Veggie Burgers are pretty healthy.

These Sunshine Burgers sound pretty healthy.

Gardenburgers Portobello Burgers sound pretty good too. There is one thing that sounds scary Methylcellulose but after reading up on that, it sounds fine too, considering that it is often used to prevent constipation and is non-toxic and a non-allergen.

Of course if you have the time and interest to make your own veggie burgers, you can make them out of a variety of ingredients, and find one that you like the best.

Here’s one made with Brown Rice and Lentils

Here’s one made with Chickpeas

Here’s one made with Bulgur and Pinto Beans

Here’s one made with Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Chickpeas

Here is a decadent Portobello Mushroom Burger to which they’ve added a fried egg (this might be my favorite so far).

Here is one made with Walnuts and Oatmeal

Here’s one made with Black Beans, Rice and Beets (Note: the ingredients list includes Worcestershire sauce, if you are going for a real vegetarian burger, either omit that sauce, or choose a vegetarian Worchestershire sauce)

Here’s one made with Millet

These decadent sounding sliders are made with Mushrooms, Walnuts and Chinese 5-Spice Powder

Here’s one made with Tempeh with the addition of a jalapeño slaw

Here’s one devilishly delicious Teriyaki Seitan Burger

And last, but not least, here is one made with Tofu

And because you all know that I simply cannot help myself I shall present you with several side dish options.

Vegetarian Baked Beans

Microwave Potato Chips (Thanks Pinterest)

Yukon Gold Potato Salad

Now, who’s ready for lunch?

@Kardamom those recipies are making me hungry.

@dowtide, Wouldn’t it be fun to have a Fluther taste test? We could make them all and everybody would get to vote.

@Kardamom someone needs to invent tastable internet. Imagine how useful it would be for purchasing food online.

@downtide That would be fantastic! Wouldn’t that be funny to see people licking their computer screens?