July is National Grilling Month and it’s been a scorcher in Chicago. With all the BBQs and back yard grilling bonanzas this month, adding some veggie burgers to the mix can happify those who don’t wanna have a cow. Humans are naturally omnivores, meaning we’re down (and hard wired) for some vegging out. Plus, eating more veggie based meals can help the environment, reduce cancer risks, minimimize exposure to meat based antibiotics, and improve the quality of life for animals. But lettuce not forget taste! There isn’t mushroom for a bad tastin’ veggie burger on the grill.
Upton’s Naturals, an independently owned Chicago based company, dedicates themselves to providing delicious veggie based meat alternatives for the vegan and vegetarian community in Chicago and abroad. They just celebrated their 10th birthday and certainly know how to turnip any grilling occasion.
Their veggie burgers are one of the newest additions cropping up on their rotation. So you may wonder, how does Upton’s Naturals: The Classic Burger stack up?
Battle of the Burger:
Traditional Hamburger vs. Upton’s Classic Veggie Burger
Traditional Single Patty Hamburger
- Ingredients:
- Beef (moooo)..maybe some hormones. We can’t guarantee anything.
- Nutritional Profile (from the USDA website):
- Calories Per Serving: 254
- Total Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Trans Fat: .5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: .2 g - Sodium: 378 mg
- Carbohydrate: 29g
- Sugar: 5g
- Dietary Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg
Upton’s Classic Burger
- Ingredients:
- Vital wheat gluten, eggplant, water, tofu (water, soybeans, calcium sulfate), sunflower, canola or safflower oil, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt), wheat flour, nutritional yeast, evaporated cane juice, onion, sea salt, garlic, natural hickory smoke concentrate, whole wheat flour, oregano, black pepper, paprika, parsley, marjoram and apple cider vinegar.
- Nutritional Profile:
- Calories Per Serving: 168
- Total Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Sodium: 365 mg
- Carbohydrate: 9 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Dietary Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 0 g