Shameless Product Placement of July

This weekend marked the beginning of the end. I have officially commenced packing up my apartment in preparation for my move at the start of next month. I will be living like a slight nomad for 3 weeks. My apartment leases didn't align, so my parents will be taking me in for what's sure to be an interesting 21 days. Cue eye roll. I can't really run with this one because one of my future roommates is also my editor. But I will say this - deciding what to pack, what to take home, and what to throw away has been entertaining. Will I need twelve rolls of Scotch tape during my stay in my childhood habitat? What about my emergency Saturday Night Fever 'Staying Alive' flashlight? Needless to say, this past weekend felt like some weird marathon of Minute to Win It. Should it stay? Should it go? Decide now!

I'm still unsure what this month's Hot Topic will be. While dragging my feet on all things 'life', I thought I'd give you the Shameless Product Placement of July. . .

Amy's Quarter Pound Veggie Burger

I know what you're thinking - this granola loving, tree hugging, birdseed eating chick is trying to make me eat cardboard. I promise you, my feelings toward vegetable burgers were lukewarm at best before I discovered Amy's. If you're a devoted meat eater, these veggie burgers are not trying to resemble meat. Something about vegetable based products that attempt to resemble meat grosses me out. For instance, Tofurkey. Why? If I were so repulsed by the act of eating turkey, be it morally or biologically, why would I want to even touch a piece of tofu trying to pass itself off as the animal protein it's clearly not.  

Although the burger's ingredient list is not exactly short, it is 100% readable. I don't have the time to develop and make a decent veggie burger that isn't loaded up with grain. One thing that erks me about homemade veggie burgers is they are often oat or rice based. Why bother? Being grain based, there's a clear lack of protein and I'm just going to put it on a bun! I'm not anti-carb, but come on. Putting a rice patty on a bun is like putting macaroni and cheese on top of pizza. At some point it's like okay, let's just eat a loaf of bread and be done with it.  

So what makes Amy's so remarkable you ask? 

One, 4-ounce burger brings a lot to the table. Let's start with protein. One burger is nearly three ounces of protein. Amy's does make other veggie burgers, but the Quarter Pound packs the most protein - hence the name. Trying to get in an adequate amount of protein is a common predicament I find myself in when trying to go vegetarian. Cottage cheese, eggs, nuts, and beans just don't cut it when they must be eaten on a daily basis. And one of these burgers gets me halfway to my daily protein allotment.

These burgers deliver in both the protein and fiber departments. With six grams of fiber per burger, they don't shy away from getting your bowels movin'. The average adult should aim for 25 grams of fiber a day.  Most of us don't even come close to that number, so every little bit helps. I've mentioned it here before, fiber is an important part of our diet and should not be over looked. Return to The Shameless Product Placement of April for a fiber refresher. 

Lastly, one of these burgers contains a mere 210 calories, 30 of which are from fat. Beside the all-too-common down fall of being grain based, many veggie burgers are often loaded with nuts and seeds. There is nothing wrong with fat, but sometimes a girl just wants to eat some protein and nothing more. These beautiful, delicious patties are 75% organic, kosher, diary-, lactose-, and cholesterol free. They're also vegan, but who cares.

The only aspect of these burgers that I don't care for is their sodium content: 600mg per burger is a wee bit steep. One burger is equivalent to two teaspoons of soy sauce. However, if I'm being totally honest, I was unaware of this small detail until I sat down to write this post. So reader, thank you so much for ruining this for me.  Stupid nutrition facts labels. 

Moving on, I like to put these burgers on either a whole wheat bun or one of those whole grain 100-calorie sandwich flats.  Top them with hummus, spinach and tomato for the perfect lunch. I also enjoy them coated in barbecue sauce. Simply pop them in your microwave for a minute or two and they're ready to go.  You can heat them in the oven or on the grill, but I don't have the patience for all that hoopla.

Hop on over to Amy's Website here.  Take a look all the wonderful items this company has to offer. Amy's products can be found in most grocery stores or specialty health food stores (i.e. Whole Foods). Pot pies, soup, salsa, cake, or pie - this company is one to put stock in and I mean that figuratively.