Healthy eating on the road? - TVA Handbook 1996

[Guest guest]

Hi krishNabhaktas,

 

I thought this information may be useful for VMSers. It contains

good information on where to find

vegetarian fast food on the road. Written for Canada but should apply

in the US as well.

Web site has lot of useful information. The information may be a bit

dated as it was done in 1996,

but hopefully things should be better now!.

The information is also in the web at:

 

http://www.veg.on.ca/fastfood.html

 

 

 

Regards,

Vasu

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Healthy eating on the road?

 

Fast food chains are slowly starting to cater to vegetarian tastes

 

Researched and written by Jennifer Haverhals

 

 

I am getting fewer blank stares, and more " Yeah, I don't see why not " ,

when I ask if I can order a

hamburger, hold the meat. Vegetarianism is slowly but surely making an

impact on the fast food industry as

the multi-national companies start to realize that growing numbers of

people are cutting meat out of their diet.

 

The following information was gathered for a semi-annual report on fast

food that appears in the Vegetarian

Handbook 1996. The head offices of the fast food chains were sent

questionnaires. When unable to get

information from the company itself, I had to rely on my own experience,

and the menus posted at particular

outlets.

 

Blueberry Hill

 

They are famous in the Toronto vegetarian community for their grilled

" Veggie D'Lite " burgers, which come

heaped with your choice of vegetable toppings. You might want to request

that your burger be cooked

separately from where the meat burgers are grilled. They also have a

wonderful vegetarian chili, crammed

with huge chunks of vegetables. Their fries and onion rings are done in

100% vegetable oil (Crisco). They

offer three salads with no surprises in the dressings. Try their

wonderful real fruit yogurt for dessert.

 

Burger King

 

Their milkshakes contain gelatin (derived from animal bones), as do

their pies and danishes. The buns are

vegan, and head office claims that you can order a burger without the

meat at a reduced cost. French fries

are fried in their own vats with 100% vegetable oil, but the onion rings

are fried along with chicken and fish.

They offer a garden salad and their French and Italian dressings are

dairy and egg-free. Burger King told me

they are presently test marketing a deep fried bean and potato veggie

burger in BC!

 

Dairy Queen

 

Dairy Queen is definitely a place to pass on if you are looking for

anything more than ice cream. Their buns

may contain eggs, dairy and animal fat, and their French fries are deep

fried along side meat items. Their

milkshakes and ice cream do not contain gelatin though.

 

Harvey's

 

I visited a local Harvey's where I discovered that their vegetarian

sandwich is now on the posted menu. For

less than a buck, you get a toasted bun, with or without cheese, and all

the fixin's. The helpful server informed

me that the french fries and onion rings are fried in their own vats

with 100% vegetable oil.

 

Licks

 

Licks' nature burger is the best burger I have ever had. It's perfect

for trying to trick a die-hard meat eater

into admitting they like veggie burgers, but may be hard to swallow for

vegetarians who don't like mock

meats. Their caesar salad dressing is free of anchovies and bacon bits,

and all their deep frying is done in

100% vegetable oil.

 

McDonald's

 

Home to a meat-free pizza, the only multi-national with a menu item

labeled 'vegetarian', but their deep fried

potato products need a 'warning' label. Their french fries and hash

browns are fried in a blend of beef fat and

cottonseed oil. Copies of McDonald's Food Facts, containing a complete

ingredient list for their food, are

available at all outlets.

 

Mr. Sub

 

They offer both a vegetarian and a veggie and cheese sub that come with

assorted vegetable toppings, and

their buns are made with 100% vegetable oil. Their vegetable soups

contain meat stock.

 

Pizza chains

 

Pizza is generally a lifesaver for lacto vegetarians at gatherings. A

growing number of my friends admit they

much prefer a veggie pizza over a cheese and pepperoni one anyday. At

all the following places the pizza

dough is vegetarian, but assume that they will be using ordinary cheese

which contains animal rennet. Only

kosher cheese is animal rennet-free.

 

Original Panzerotto and Pizza offers three vegetarian pizzas " Mega

Veggie " , " Mediterranean " , and " Pesto

Lovers " . They also have a veggie cheese panzerotto and salads.

 

Pizza Nova offers a vegan whole wheat crust, and a vegetarian slice is

available at all locations. Panzerotti

comes with your choice of toppings, and their spaghetti can be requested

with plain tomato sauce.

 

Pizza Pizza will make you a cheeseless pizza, 'No problem', but it's

going to run you the same as a cheese

one. You can order spaghetti with a plain tomato sauce, and garlic bread

with or without cheese. They also

offer a veggie slice at all locations.

 

Pizza Hut is home to the " Veggie Lover's " pizza. Pasta with plain tomato

sauce is now on their menu, and the

representative stated that there is always a veggie item, either pizza

or pasta, on their lunch buffet.

 

2-4-1 sells only pizza and has a veggie slice at all locations.

 

Taco Bell

 

Taco Bell continues to be very accommodating to the vegetarian diet.

They use only 100% vegetable oil in all

their food preparation. Taco Bell has recently added their famous 7

layer burrito to the regular menu. Beans,

cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and seasoned rice in a

flour tortilla make this their best

creation yet, even when altered to a 5 layer dairy-free version.

 

Other offerings include their bean burrito, pintos and cheese, bean

tostada, nachos, cinnamon twists and their

new spicy border fries. Menu items can be altered to exclude meat,

cheese and/or sour cream, substituting

beans, guacamole, tomatoes etc. in their place.

 

Tim Hortons

 

Tim Hortons uses vegetable oil for frying (45% soya, 45% palm and 10%

canola) and has been adding an

extended menu over the last few years to include soups and sandwiches.

The only vegetarian sandwich is egg

salad, and the soups come from a few different suppliers so the

representative was unable to comment on the

ingredients. All cake donuts contain eggs, and all yeast donuts contain

traces of animal fats in the form of

monodiglycerides. However, a full ingredient list of everything they

sell is available at each store.

 

Wendy's

 

Wendy's fries are now fried with 100% vegetable oil in their own vats,

and they are researching the possibility

of having a veggie burger in the future! You can order a burger without

the meat patty at a reduced cost.

 

All salads contain cheese, and their taco salad contains meat. The head

office claims that salads can not be

altered as they are made ahead of time, but I have only been refused

once when asking for an altered salad to

be freshly prepared. Wendy's also offers a 'garden spot' salad bar at

many locations.

 

They also have baked potatoes, plain or topped with butter, cheese and

broccoli, cheese and cheese sauce,

or sour cream and chives. The gravy is also 100% vegetarian.

 

 

Jennifer Haverhals who grew up in Toronto's East End is no stranger to

fast food. A vegetarian since

1992 , she is now a first year student at Queen University in Kingston.

 

Reprinted and condensed from the Vegetarian Handbook 1996, a new book

featuring Canadian restaurant

listings and articles. Available for $6 post paid from the Toronto

Vegetarian Association, (416) 533-3897.

 

Phanindra Mankale added the following things:

1. BurgerKing's Veggie Whopper. This can be obtained with or without

cheese and is totally veggie.

2. I also make it a point when I order pizza, that they use a clean or

freh pizza cutter when they slice pizzas, papajohn's accomadates this.

3. Most of the well known pizza places use pure tomato sauces, but that

 

is something to be aware of I guess.

4. I have written to PizzaHut about the cheese they use and they claim

that their cheese are from pure cultures and not of animal origin.

 

 

 

 

 

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