Back in the day, a.k.a. the 80s, according to my favorite college English professor, people could only have veggie burgers if they made them themselves from weird powdery mixes or from scratch using things like tofu-from-a-bag and whimsy. He also said making them involved something elaborate with the freezer. I KNOW, right?!! So weird.
We’ve come a long, long way in the veggie burger department since then. We can now head to pretty much any grocery story in the USA and snag patties of all shapes, sizes, textures, and accommodation for every conceivable food allergy (why yes, I’ll have that soy-free, corn-free, gluten-free, nut-free, everything-free vegan burger….).
And now, thanks to Beyond Meat, we’ve reached a new level of vegan burger awesomeness: The Beyond Burger. This burger, sold in the meat department (whoa!) is a game-changer. Probably more-so for omnivores than us vegans, but only because it tastes so much like meat. The Beyond Burger is so freaking realistic it even “bleeds” thanks to the power of beet juice. Seriously. These grill up beautifully, have tons of protein and other good-for-you things, and are displayed in this super-cute package that smacks of meat. But how does it taste? Delicious. I’ll be real: I love veggie burgers that taste like freshly laid sod and really, really don’t crave the taste of animal meat; I’ve been vegan for 11 years and was vegetarian for 6 years before that, so maybe that’s like a thing that happens after that much time away from eating dead flesh.
That being said, Beyond Burger is going to really change the world, because everything from the marketing to the meat-product-like packaging to the taste and texture (very fibrous!) is geared towards satisfying a taste for flesh, without the cruelty. I am so on board.
What’s even more amazing? At my local Boulder Whole Foods, Beyond Meat just opened a brand-new Beyond Burger bar! They have great deals on burgers and even have vegan milkshakes on tap to wash down the oppression-free whopping goodness. If you’re in Boulder, you should absolutely come check it out while picking up your patchouli spray for your Subaru Forester.
CONTEST ALERT: Beyond Burgers aren’t available everywhere yet, so Beyond Meat are giving 10 lucky winners a chance to win a Beyond Burger package at their door, since it is still only in soft launch mode. All you have to do is click the link on this blog, and sign-up for their newsletter!
Side note/disclaimer: I’m more than slightly in bed with Beyond Meat, since my amazing brother Asher Brown creates Instagram videos for them, and they send me plant-based love in many ways all of the time!