Tag: impossible burger

Impossible Burger Review – Meatloaf

Impossible Foods now hawks its faux ground beef in grocery stores - CNET

A couple of week’s ago at a local supermarket, Heinen’s, I was on my way to look for Beyond burgers (a meatless alternative) that I have had several times in burger form. When I went over to the “Plant-based” section of the meat department, I was pleased and excited to see that they carried Impossible products, which in my humble opinion, are better than beyond burgers when it comes to taste. Not only did they have the pre-made burger patties, there was also burger in a package that could be used in the same way as ground beef in any recipe. I bought one package and used it in a spaghetti sauce recipe and it was good…but kind of hard to tell how close it was to “real meat,” which I haven’t eaten in about 15 years.

This last trip to the supermarket I bought another couple of packages for a meatloaf recipe that called for one pound of ground beef. (Impossible sells in 12 oz packages, so I had to buy 2 and have a 1/2 pound left over). I followed a recipe that I found on-line: https://www.thewholesomedish.com/the-best-classic-meatloaf/. Friday afternoon, the house smelled amazing as I was making this for Shabbat dinner; in large part, I suppose, due to the sweet sauce on top. Even so, the proof is in the taste, and it was AMAZING! The texture and taste closely reseble that of real ground meatloaf (at least from what I remember). Today I had leftovers on a challah roll with some Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. Sublime.

I am already thinking of other ways to use the Impossible burgers: tacos, stuffed cabbage, sloppy joe’s, etc. A whole new world has opened up since the product doesn’t require any modifications in recipes. It can be used exactly as ground beef.

As for the nutrition, here is a good article from Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/impossible-and-beyond-how-healthy-are-these-meatless-burgers-2019081517448. The article compares Impossible, Beyond, turkey, ground beef, and black bean burgers. There are trade-offs with each product–although ground turkey followed by black bean burgers seem to be the healthiest choices. Strictly comparing Impossible with ground beef, Impossible has less cholesterol but more sodium, more carbs but also more fiber. The calorie and fat counts are similar, but Impossible has higher saturated fats.

While Impossible may not be a healthier alternative, it is a meatless alternative. For those of us who do not eat meat, Impossible is an excellent substitute. I cannot wait to try some more recipes!

Vegetarians…We Are Not Alone

Impossible Burger at Hell's Kitchen, Minneapolis

It used to be a pretty lonely business going out to eat in a restaurant as a pescatarian/vegetarian. Other folks see 100 items on the menu, but we see 5 or 6…or at least we used to.

There is a boom in the plant-based food industry and it is not because there are suddenly more vegetarians or vegans. The NPD group, a market research firm based in New York State, is reporting that of all those purchasing and eating plant-based burgers 89% are not vegetarian or vegan! 89%!!!

This is according to an article which recently appeared on http://www.nbcnews.com. Here is the link: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/almost-90-percent-people-eating-non-meat-burgers-are-not-n1082146

My wife and I went out to dinner with friends this evening and one of them ordered an Impossible Burger (so did I!). He is a meat eater, but we convinced him to give it a try. He liked it. As the article states, it seems that plant-based foods have crossed a threshold; taste has finally caught up to what consumers are looking for. Those looking for variety in their diet want to try new things, but will only stick with it if the taste holds up. Products like the Impossible Burger or nearly everything made by Gardein (www.gardein.com) hold their own against animal-based products.

Of course, just because something is plant-based doesn’t mean that it is necessarily healthier to eat. When you order a burger at a restaurant, it may have some salt, pepper, and other spices mixed in but it is otherwise usually not highly processed. Compare this with an Impossible Burger’s ingredients and you’ll see that it is quite processed indeed.

Even so, as the taste meets a higher standard and profitability grows for plant-based food companies, we can expect to see more variety and more healthy options available for everyone–not just vegetarians. Given the impact of the meat industry on the environment, this could be a win for the planet as well.

This is an interesting and exciting trend and it is nice to know that as vegetarians we are not alone.