Real vs. Fake Food

I will admit that I too am guilty of listening to the constantly changing opinions on which nutrients are good and bad. About a year ago, I kept hearing about new studies and reports on how bad cholesterol was for me. Knowing I ate a lot of hamburgers, which contained high amounts of cholesterol, I decided to try incorporating veggie burgers into my diet, which were considered to be an overall healthier food.

Hamburgers had always been one of my favorite foods, so I was skeptical to try the veggie burgers. They actually tasted surprisingly delicious. I was not expecting to like them at all, so I was thrilled to find a new food. Another thing I liked about veggie burgers was how convenient it was to make them; it took less than ten minutes to prepare.

Veggie burgers look about the same as regular hamburgers, but a little lighter in color—more of an orange/red than brown. Veggie burgers taste excellent, although they taste more like vegetables than meat. The smell is also different; distinct although quite difficult to describe.

In addition to convenience and taste, around the time I started eating veggie burgers, there were numerous breakouts of various food bacteria. My chances of ingesting E. coli became much smaller by eating a veggie burger compared to a hamburger. Along with my fear of food bacteria, the nutritional value of veggie burgers was more appealing to me than hamburgers. There were smaller portions available, less saturated fat, and more soy and protein. Although veggie burgers contain more nutrients than hamburgers, they are not real meat, so it is difficult to tell if the veggie burger can really be compared to a hamburger.

As for now, I try and switch between eating veggie burgers and hamburgers. There are pros and cons to each food, so it is best to get a little bit of the natural food if I continue to eat the processed version. All in moderation, and it should be fine.