Spring is here and with summer just around the corner, the smell of barbecue is in the air. Canada’s Food Guide recently suggested more plant protein, and whether you’re eating an entirely plant-based diet or are just curious about the options, you certainly won’t be missing out on any delicious food this barbecue season.
If you’re looking for a great plant-based alternative to a classic hot dog,
Yves Veggie Cuisine has a veggie dog (and a jumbo veggie dog!) for you.
Seriously, these are delicious and you can hardly tell it’s made from plants.
If hot dogs aren’t really your thing and you’d prefer sausage, Tofurky has variety of plant-based sausages to choose from that are great either with or without a bun.
Hot’N’Spicy Veggie Dogs
The Beyond Burger®
Burgers certainly aren’t left off the grill this summer as more and more plant-based options are popping up on shelves. Recently, Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger has become available at some grocery stores in Canada. This burger is loved by not only people eating plant-based, but by meat lovers too. While the Beyond Burger isn’t conveniently available at most grocery stores yet, other brands such as Gardeinare more widely available.
This Canadian brand has a wide range of plant-based products, with some great options you may want to bring to your next barbecue. Their product variety includes options like chick’n patties (and sliders too!), veggie burgers, and black bean patties.
If you think you’re going to have to sacrifice cheese and condiments to eat plant-based, think again. Brands such as Daiya and Field Roast carry dairy-free cheese slices, both bringing unique flavours to the table with varieties such as Daiya’s smoked gouda style slices or Field Roast’s coconut herb with black pepper. Plenty of plant-based condiments are available as well, making it easy to enjoy a plant-based hot dog or burger loaded with all your favourite things.
Barbecue season also means ice cream season! Many brands such as So Delicious, Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen Dazs have added dairy-free products to the grocery store shelves, making it easy for anyone to enjoy a cold, sweet treat on a hot summer day.
Smoked Gouda Style Slices
However, all these great plant-based options come with added regulations to follow. It is important that there’s no chance of consumers being misled to believe these products contain meat. Simulated meat contains no actual meat, but represents its physical and nutritional characteristics. The common name “Simulated (Name of meat)” is required on labels for all simulated meat products. In addition to that, “Contains No (Name of meat)” must be present in close proximity to the common name.
These requirements are eliminated when simulated meat is used as an ingredient in another food. Rather than required statements on the label, foods that use simulated meat as an ingredient must not use any imagery on the label that suggests meat is present. Regulations also prevent packages from calling plant-based foods things like chicken, beef, and cheese, which is why we see words like chick’n, beefless, and cheeze appear on plant-based food packaging.
Beef, Vegetable & Grain Blended Burger
If you’re a meat lover and aren’t quite confident that a plant-based option can satisfy your barbecue cravings, Better Blends has a burger you might be interested in.
Their burger is made from 50% beef, 50% plants and are free of the top 10 allergens! These burgers look, taste and eat like a beef burger, but leave a smaller footprint in comparison to a typical beef burger.
