GALLERY

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HOSE WHO ARE READY TO go veggie when it comes to burgers, as well as busy individuals who want to have meatless meals whenever and wherever possible, will welcome the news that natural and organic veggie burgers, not just the kind where you take the meat out, are going mainstream— from small deli shops to supermarket shelves.

Providing the big push is the arrival of Amy’s, America’s pioneering brand for frozen organic prepared food, in select supermarkets in Metro Manila. For starters, Rustan’s and Shopwise are offering taste tests for weekend shoppers.

The search for convenient healthy eating began 20 years ago in a converted barn in California when families were becoming too busy to prepare garden-fresh organic meals they love. Vegetarians Andy and Rachel Berliner, who named their venture after their newborn baby girl Amy, tried recipe after recipe, perfecting the veggie burger amidst the standard hamburger fast-food landscape.

Before a natural food category even existed, the family business grew from niche market to mainstream that catapulted the name into the industry leader it is today.

Nutrition facts

Consider the signature veggie burger that Amy’s is introducing to the Filipino palate: It tastes deliciously homemade because it does not try to imitate the taste nor the texture of its fat-laden meat cousin, but instead allows the natural flavors of nutrient-laden food produce from an organic earth to be locked in.

A look at the main ingredients shows that the veggie patty includes onions, mushrooms, soy protein concentrate, and bulgur wheat. Vegetables like celery, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers are thrown in to make it tastier than your usual hamburger fare.

The secret is in the bulgur wheat. Bulgur is a quick cooking form of whole wheat that has been cleaned, dried, ground into particles and sifted into distinct sizes. The result is a nutritious, versatile wheat product with a pleasant, nut-like flavor and extended shelf-life that allows it to be stored for long periods.

The vegetables and grains are all certified organic by QAI, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) accredited and internationally recognized certifier. The recipes contain no genetically modified organisms (GMOs); no bioengineered ingredients. The burgers are suitable for vegans as they do not contain any dairy products. This certification is important to those who take their health—and the planet’s—seriously.

The nutrition facts show that each patty has very low fat content. One patty is 120 calories, has 3 grams of saturated fat, and contains 10 g of protein, 3 g of dietary fiber and 390 mg of sodium with no trans fat or cholesterol. It also has a good amount of Vitamins A and C along with calcium and iron. It is a protein-packed patty with a nice amount of fiber.

Even “extra lean” beef gets more than half its calories from fat. And six of its 14 g of fat are the artery-clogging saturated kind. To add to that, meat has no fiber.

Almost any veggie burger can do better than that—and with no worries about contaminants like E. coli or Salmonella bacteria.

The taste of the low-fat, protein-packed, all-organic ingredient patty could easily be appreciated even by carnivores and children alike. Add the bun, lettuce, patty, mustard sauce, cheese, tomato, pickle, ketchup and another bun on top and you have very filling, huge burgers for a hungry Jack or two friends to share.

Each pack has four patties with net weight of 10 oz (284 g). Gram for gram, Amy’s frozen veggie burger is worth every peso a busy hardworking individual can get for a lunch that will not compromise his health and offer variety and convenience.

Dress them up

Veggie burger is only one of more than 160 natural and organic choices, 80 percent of which are frozen entrees, pizzas and convenient foods, and about 20 percent canned soups, beans and chilis, and jarred sauces and salsas in compliance with USDA National Organic Standards.

Amy’s also offers a wide selection of dishes to satisfy different dietary needs and food preferences: from Lactose-Free to Light in Sodium, and are labeled as such. In place of salt, garlic, onions and parsley, which help lower blood pressure, are used to season the food. Some are gourmet in bowls and some are just plain “down-home cooking.”

What is common is that all ingredients are sourced from organic, pesticide-free farms within the proximity of its production plant. The food plant makes its own organic tofu. Its dairy cheeses are made with pasteurized hormone-free milk and do not contain animal enzymes or rennet. No dishes contain meat, fish, poultry or eggs and they do not contain hydrogenated fats or oils. The information makes it wholly natural and organic.

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Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer