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Monday, October 7, 2013

Meatless Monday: What's Your Favorite Veggie Dog?

Last week I mentioned that I am taking the October Unprocessed 2013 challenge. Hosted by Eating Rules, the annual event encourages folks to eat real food made without funky ingredients.

While most of my meals don't come out of a box, bag, or jar, I do have my vices. I can't resist a good veggie dog. I actually don't like veggie dogs very much, but I love the condiments: a fat zigzag of ketchup and mustard over kraut or kimchi, pickles on the side. Don't even get me started on the soft, pillowy buns smeared with Vegenaise... My mouth is watering at the thought!

Image via Field Roast
I also love the ritual of veggie dogs. We usually have them for lunch on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. I take the buns and dogs out of the freezer. My boyfriend grills the dogs. I prep the toppings. We eat them together in front of the television while watching whatever sport is on.

Why resist something that feels so amazing? Well, I assumed veggie dogs were made of something terrible. But when I looked at the label of our Field Roast Frankfurters, I was pleasantly surprised. I noticed the ingredients weren't so bad after all: water, vital wheat gluten, wheat flour, liquid smoke, some veggies and spices.

Don't get me wrong; I am not claiming Field Roast Frankfurters are healthy. There is an alarming amount of sodium (690 mg!) these dogs. Think of the sodium in the toppings and we're looking at something close to 1K for the meal. The frankfurters contain 8g of fat per link (yikes!). There's also not much in the way of vitamins and micro-nutrients. I'm not a huge eater, so when I eat hot dogs I'm wasting tummy space that could've been used to hold more nourishing foods like veggies and whole grains, and healthier fats like avocado or nuts.

Who knows, maybe this Friday night I'll get my act together and marinate some carrots so we can enjoy vegan carrot hot dogs over the weekend. For now, I kinda wanna celebrate this sometime food for not being as processed as I thought it was.

What's your favorite veggie dog? What do you think of the ingredients and "nutritional value" of it? Would you eat a carrot hot dog?

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2 comments:

  1. Hi Olivia...funny story, we went camping a few months ago for my stepson's bday and they were bbq'ing steak and hot dogs so muah decides to try a new veggie dog product. I was feeling a bit guilty too because I know they still have so much processed stuff, but when I saw the Tofurky Beer Brats I couldn't resist. I was the only female on this trip with the hubby and a group of teen boys. I was mocked high and low, but you know what...I loved it. I don't even think I read all the ingredients because I just wanted to think of myself as one of the guys eating a braut...still ridiculed. I wish there was a way to get them less processed but I guess that is the way of the "dog" veggie or not. I get those sprouted wheat Ezekiel hot dog buns to counteract bad ingredients in the dogs...love the condiments too. sounds like a perfect weekend for you and your guy! ps-i love sauerkraut on dogs!

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    1. Hee hee. Veggie dogs seem imperative for camping! Good for you! I've got to try those Ezekiel buns. I'll look for them next time I shop. Thanks for the tip!

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