Last Night I Ate A Hamburger . . . .

BonzaiDuck · Jun 17, 2025

I'm a 21st century Wimpie. I know I have to drastically cut back on red meat for my diabetes, my blood pressure, my cholesterol and maybe my kidneys.

I finally did a search on veggie burgers, their cost and viability as a beef substitute. Out of about 14 options, I found this:

Impossible Burgers -- 24 oz -- 6 patties -- about $15 at the right grocery

As a burger connoisseur -- who makes the best burgers I've ever eaten -- these taste like burgers, have the consistency of burgers, cook like burgers.

They may be worth the roughly $2.50 to $3 per pattie. I swear if there were anything hinky or wrong with how these burgers taste or chew, if I'd think right away that they weren't beef, I'd never want another one.

But these . . . . . . are freaking hamburgers. I think if I order $50-worth from Amazon for $12 each, I can get free shipping. The vendor apparently isn't covered by Prime membership for free shipping.

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for Impossible Burgers today . . . " -- with my Amazon card.

Anyway, a "real" burger at a drive-thru like In-and-Out or Burger King is going to cost you closer to $10. So buying these makes sense. I'm going to fix another one tonight. I can eat as many burgers as I want!

balloonshark · Jun 17, 2025

Burger King has the Impossible Whopper. I occasionally get the combo with fries and a drink which costs around $12 without cheese. If you want to stay plant-based order it without mayo.

You can also easily make veggie burgers with canned beans, whatever veggies you have on hand and rolled oats. You can use smoked paprika or liquid smoke to give them grilled flavor. It's also kind of cool that you can taste them raw.

Sauch Stache on youtube has been eating healthier lately but his older vids have a ton of fake meat recipes.

mindless1 · Jun 17, 2025

^ I'll eat beans plain, or soup, or refried, not against eating beans but every veggie burger made with them has... sucked.

I sometimes get Morning star farms grillers which are soy based faux beef, and they aren't bad, but I just consider them a different type of meat as it isn't close at all to real ground beef, and it's very easy to microwave them too long and have them turn out like rubber from drying out too much. It helps to wet them before microwaving no more than 1 minute at 1200W. They're about $1 per 2.25oz patty.

I mainly eat them when I don't want to spend the time to thaw and cook ground beef, because I buy it in bulk and freeze it all in 1/4 lb chunks. I've bought a few cans of auguson farms TVP beef crumbles as well, and they can be acceptable in certain dishes but are on the salty side. I once got a can of their taco flavored crumbles and they work for tacos if mixed 1:1 with regular beef taco meat, but I decided I didn't want the extra prep step even though I also make taco meat ahead of time and freeze it in meal portions.

Fast food prices for burgers have gotten so outrageous that I'd just as soon make a ground taco meat or chicken burrito, freeze it ahead of time, take it with me on the go and have it thawing over the next few hours and eat it cold if I needed food on the go. I bulk freeze burritos too and don't mind eating them cold, but at home they get nuked for a minute then a toaster oven till golden brown.

Greenman · Jun 17, 2025

I'm so lucky that my wife cooks and bakes, and does both well. I'd starve to death left to my own devices.

BonzaiDuck · Jun 18, 2025

balloonshark said:
Burger King has the Impossible Whopper. I occasionally get the combo with fries and a drink which costs around $12 without cheese. If you want to stay plant-based order it without mayo.

You can also easily make veggie burgers with canned beans, whatever veggies you have on hand and rolled oats. You can use smoked paprika or liquid smoke to give them grilled flavor. It's also kind of cool that you can taste them raw.

Sauch Stache on youtube has been eating healthier lately but his older vids have a ton of fake meat recipes.

I think it would be too hard to make a veggie-burger like the Impossible to match the latter's flavor.

I once "stole" a recipe from Davide Ristorante in San Rafael, but was misled by the waiter about the sauce when he mentioned "something like Tabasco". It took me six months to figure out what was really needed before I could replicate the Spinach and pasta sauce Capellini. The salad on the other hand was easy: Arugula with sliced pickled beets, gorgonzola chunks, walnuts and fresh sliced onion with a blueberry vinaigrette. Pickled artichoke hearts or Anchovy might be further options, But the restaurant didn't use anything additional.

Instead of six months'-worth of experiments, I'll just buy the IMPOSSIBLE. Even if you enjoy cooking, a person begins to make these sorts of choices as they grow old.

Iron Woode · Jun 18, 2025

I don't eat much beef anymore due to the expense. There are alternative meats that are just as good. I use ground turkey instead of beef for most things. It's way cheaper and just as tasty.

I also eat fish which is very good for you. For burgers, I use lean ground pork. I don't miss beef burgers at all.

BonzaiDuck · Jun 18, 2025

Iron Woode said:
I don't eat much beef anymore due to the expense. There are alternative meats that are just as good. I use ground turkey instead of beef for most things. It's way cheaper and just as tasty.

I also eat fish which is very good for you. For burgers, I use lean ground pork. I don't miss beef burgers at all.

I've been increasing my fish and fowl consumption. You can make good TACO meat from turkey. It can also be used for a combo burrito.

Everybody tells me to cut back on red meat consumption when I love my burgers and pot roast. These IMPOSSIBLE burgers have only one drawback -- which you mention regarding red meat: they cost more money.

I think I may try your pork burgers, or perfect a recipe for pork-based sloppy Joes.

balloonshark · Jun 18, 2025

mindless1 said:
^ I'll eat beans plain, or soup, or refried, not against eating beans but every veggie burger made with them has... sucked.

I sometimes get Morning star farms grillers which are soy based faux beef, and they aren't bad, but I just consider them a different type of meat as it isn't close at all to real ground beef, and it's very easy to microwave them too long and have them turn out like rubber from drying out too much. It helps to wet them before microwaving no more than 1 minute at 1200W. They're about $1 per 2.25oz patty.

I mainly eat them when I don't want to spend the time to thaw and cook ground beef, because I buy it in bulk and freeze it all in 1/4 lb chunks. I've bought a few cans of auguson farms TVP beef crumbles as well, and they can be acceptable in certain dishes but are on the salty side. I once got a can of their taco flavored crumbles and they work for tacos if mixed 1:1 with regular beef taco meat, but I decided I didn't want the extra prep step even though I also make taco meat ahead of time and freeze it in meal portions.

Fast food prices for burgers have gotten so outrageous that I'd just as soon make a ground taco meat or chicken burrito, freeze it ahead of time, take it with me on the go and have it thawing over the next few hours and eat it cold if I needed food on the go. I bulk freeze burritos too and don't mind eating them cold, but at home they get nuked for a minute then a toaster oven till golden brown.

I'm a fan of beans so making a burger with them is like a hamburger just a little different. I don't expect it to taste like a burger though.

When I first went plant based I tried Morningstar burgers but when I got home I discovered they had milk and egg in their ingredient list. At my walmart it looks like they only have one burger (Vegan Garden Veggie) without those ingredients. I also think I tried their sausage crumbles and they were really good. The corn dogs are also yummy.

I agree with you about the fast food burger prices. I recently tried Amy's plant-based chili which is good. It's less than $4 so way cheaper than a fast food meal.

BonzaiDuck · Jun 18, 2025

balloonshark said:
I'm a fan of beans so making a burger with them is like a hamburger just a little different. I don't expect it to taste like a burger though.

When I first went plant based I tried Morningstar burgers but when I got home I discovered they had milk and egg in their ingredient list. At my walmart it looks like they only have one burger (Vegan Garden Veggie) without those ingredients. I also think I tried their sausage crumbles and they were really good. The corn dogs are also yummy.

I agree with you about the fast food burger prices. I recently tried Amy's plant-based chili which is good. It's less than $4 so way cheaper than a fast food meal.

I would eat a veggie burger if I had to, if it was easy to fix and I had little time and energy otherwise. But I never thought they came close enough, nor close enough to incline me to purchase them.

The IMPOSSIBLE Burgers, however, surpass "close enough", and I swear -- I cannot taste the difference, after a lifetime of meat hamburgers from the time my father fixed them on the grill when I was 5 years old.

However, I am now fishing for a lunch plan. I don't have any plant-based chili "con carne" -- which you mentioned -- but several cans of the meat-based chili.

I'm going to fix me some. Now. To-Dayyy! Meanwhile, in the 93F heat, I've harvested oversized zucchini and ripe tomatoes from my garden. I still need to pick up items at the grocery. So I must venture out into the So-Cal sunshine and heat. Such is life.

I'd better have the chili now, to temper my grocery-shopping impulse buys . . . .

. . . Not doing the chili. I had some stewed asparagus, so warmed up with butter chips. I decided to do another veggie burger. So strange! No meat in the meal, but I can make myself think it's meat . . .

balloonshark · Jun 18, 2025

BonzaiDuck said:
I would eat a veggie burger if I had to, if it was easy to fix and I had little time and energy otherwise. But I never thought they came close enough, nor close enough to incline me to purchase them.

The IMPOSSIBLE Burgers, however, surpass "close enough", and I swear -- I cannot taste the difference, after a lifetime of meat hamburgers from the time my father fixed them on the grill when I was 5 years old.

However, I am now fishing for a lunch plan. I don't have any plant-based chili "con carne" -- which you mentioned -- but several cans of the meat-based chili.

I'm going to fix me some. Now. To-Dayyy! Meanwhile, in the 93F heat, I've harvested oversized zucchini and ripe tomatoes from my garden. I still need to pick up items at the grocery. So I must venture out into the So-Cal sunshine and heat. Such is life.

I'd better have the chili now, to temper my grocery-shopping impulse buys . . . .

Normally when I make a black bean burger I use a food processor. I do admit I hate cleaning it after dinner.

I like how the Impossible burgers get crispy and char when frying them in a pan. Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

esquared · Jun 18, 2025

BonzaiDuck said:
I've been increasing my fish and fowl consumption. You can make good TACO meat from turkey. It can also be used for a combo burrito.

Everybody tells me to cut back on red meat consumption when I love my burgers and pot roast. These IMPOSSIBLE burgers have only one drawback -- which you mention regarding red meat: they cost more money.

I think I may try your pork burgers, or perfect a recipe for pork-based sloppy Joes.

Funny you posted this. Last night I bought a Beyond Meat (a competitor to Impossible Burger) Sweet Onion Burger at Grocery Outlet.
I've had both Impossible and Beyond Meat burger and I can't really taste the difference.
The Sweet Onion version was two, 4 oz burger patties for 4.99. So around 10.00 /lb. I pan cooked it and added my condiments,
relish, dill pickle, mustard tomato and lettuce. I couldn't tell the difference between that and a real burger. That's just me.
They also had a jalapeno/cheddar pattie, which I didn't buy, but may try it out next time.

Plant Based Meat Products | Vegetarian Meat | Beyond Meat

From breakfast sausages to burgers & brats, our Plant-Based meat products leave you feeling satisfied. Stock up in the meat aisle & head to the nearest cookout!

www.beyondmeat.com

BonzaiDuck · Jun 18, 2025

esquared said:
Funny you posted this. Last night I bought a Beyond Meat (a competitor to Impossible Burger) Sweet Onion Burger at Grocery Outlet.
I've had both Impossible and Beyond Meat burger and I can't really taste the difference.
The Sweet Onion version was two, 4 oz burger patties for 4.99. So around 10.00 /lb. I pan cooked it and added my condiments,
relish, dill pickle, mustard tomato and lettuce. I couldn't tell the difference between that and a real burger. That's just me.
They also had a jalapeno/cheddar pattie, which I didn't buy, but may try it out next time.

Plant Based Meat Products | Vegetarian Meat | Beyond Meat

From breakfast sausages to burgers & brats, our Plant-Based meat products leave you feeling satisfied. Stock up in the meat aisle & head to the nearest cookout!

www.beyondmeat.com

It's nice to hear someone else further verify that there are veggie burgers that taste indistinguishable from real burgers. I will attempt to find Beyond Meat product so I have more options. The groceries seem to primarily stock their shelves for younger, healthier people without "diagnoses".

But I've finally come to terms and accept the wisdom of reducing the consumption of certain things, and these substitutes or replacements are of great comfort to me.

TODAY: Found the Beyond Meat burgers 32oz 8-pack at a local grocery for something less than $17. Gonna get me some.

TWO BEYOND BURGERS LATER: Just as good as IMPOSSIBLE -- thanks for the tip!

Torn Mind · Jun 20, 2025

You're wasting your meals. Eat some ground bison or grass fed beef. Slowly cooked on a stove in a saucepan. The well-raised bovine will have its own desirable flavor, that doesn't need starch to trigger appetite.

BonzaiDuck · Jun 20, 2025

Torn Mind said:
You're wasting your meals. Eat some ground bison or grass fed beef. Slowly cooked on a stove in a saucepan. The well-raised bovine will have its own desirable flavor, that doesn't need starch to trigger appetite.

I disagree. I've got 1/3 lb Angus beef burger patties -- almost the full COSTCO stack package. I will consume those more slowly. But "wasting my meals"? I had another IMPOSSIBLE burger today, with the onion, tomato and dill pickles on a toasted bun. I'm fine. Bison is good. I can also get deer-meat burgers or elk -- I found them online. But today's burger was great.

I'm starting another thread -- call it "A Cooking Exercise for Diabetics" -- just about ready to post.

igor_kavinski · Sunday at 11:12 AM

BonzaiDuck said:
I'm starting another thread -- call it "A Cooking Exercise for Diabetics" -- just about ready to post.

I mostly lost interest in eating after my bout with Diabetes. I only eat one major meal. The other two are just light snacks to get the body from going into ketosis (the slight headaches and crankiness doesn't help in a stressful job). Logically, I think Diabetes is the body's way of telling us, "Stop eating all the time!". So in a way maybe it's a genetic evolutionary mechanism that came into being to prolong our lives once we understood the underlying cause? Without it, we would just keep eating and gaining weight and I certainly do not wish to be someone like that because it looks like obese people can go any second, in a car, on the toilet, doing some critical job that could endanger other lives etc.

Before I got impaired glucose control, my body was beginning to look horrible. Someone who I didn't mind hearing the truth from, commented that I looked like a potato with parts sprouting out all over the place (referring to my butt, thighs and man boobs). I was honestly shocked to hear that but I agreed once I gave it some serious thought. The Diabetes struggle made all that go away. No overgrown body parts anymore.

DAPUNISHER · Sunday at 12:21 PM

Impossible burger, and Beyond beef crumbles work great in so many dishes; meatless meals that satisfy. Chili, bolognese, lasagna, baked ziti, dirty rice, burritos (the keto flour tortillas are great too), soft tacos, as an add in instead of pork, with grass fed beef for meatballs and meatloafs.

Turkey burger I've never been a big fan of. I always think of the parks and recreation burger cook off. No matter what you do to the turkey it'll never scratch that itch for red meat. But the plant based burger does it for me. I do like some of the varieties of chicken and turkey sausages though. Be it smoked, sweet and hot Italian, or breakfast.

Muadib · Sunday at 1:56 PM

DAPUNISHER said:
Impossible burger, and Beyond beef crumbles work great in so many dishes; meatless meals that satisfy. Chili, bolognese, lasagna, baked ziti, dirty rice, burritos (the keto flour tortillas are great too), soft tacos, as an add in instead of pork, with grass fed beef for meatballs and meatloafs.

Turkey burger I've never been a big fan of. I always think of the parks and recreation burger cook off. No matter what you do to the turkey it'll never scratch that itch for red meat. But the plant based burger does it for me. I do like some of the varieties of chicken and turkey sausages though. Be it smoked, sweet and hot Italian, or breakfast.

Turkey burgers are vile!!! I've avoided plant burgers thanks to TB. I'm a bit stunned that so many of you guys enjoy the plant burgers. I might have to rethink the hate now.

DAPUNISHER · Sunday at 2:21 PM

Muadib said:
Turkey burgers are vile!!! I've avoided plant burgers thanks to TB. I'm a bit stunned that so many of you guys enjoy the plant burgers. I might have to rethink the hate now.

Don't go in blind. There are many chefs working with it now. Watch some videos and read some experiences like this chef's - https://archive.is/phr1C

BonzaiDuck · Sunday at 6:04 PM

DAPUNISHER said:
Don't go in blind. There are many chefs working with it now. Watch some videos and read some experiences like this chef's - https://archive.is/phr1C

I've always attempted to steal recipes from restaurants. 20 years ago, I was in a place in San Rafael called Davide Ristorante, and they offered a Capellini with red sauce and spinach. The waiter misled me about the capsicum dimension, telling me it was tabasco, and it took me six months to get it right. So I refuse to experiment with homemade veggie burgers. At least I eventually figured out the key to the pasta sauce: it was merely cayenne pepper. Six months of trial and error!

It is especially encouraging that some here speak to successfully using the veggie burger material for bolognese or taco meat. As for turkey, I agree that turkey burgers don't make it, but turkey taco meat seems to work fine. And I say that, noting that it doesn't need to be over-seasoned.

esquared · Sunday at 6:10 PM

BonzaiDuck said:
I've always attempted to steal recipes from restaurants. 20 years ago, I was in a place in San Rafael called Davide Ristorante, and they offered a Capellini with red sauce and spinach. The waiter misled me about the capsicum dimension, telling me it was tabasco, and it took me six months to get it right. So I refuse to experiment with homemade veggie burgers. At least I eventually figured out the key to the pasta sauce: it was merely cayenne pepper. Six months of trial and error!

It is especially encouraging that some here speak to successfully using the veggie burger material for bolognese or taco meat. As for turkey, I agree that turkey burgers don't make it, but turkey taco meat seems to work fine. And I say that, noting that it doesn't need to be over-seasoned.

Hey, any love for chicken burgers, chicken tacos or chicken chili?

When I get tired of ground turkey I switch to ground chicken. It's a bit more expensive but it's a little leaner that 93/7 ground turkey.

Ground Chicken - Isernio's Premium

Share this!Continuing our tradition of premium, quality meat products, Isernio’s is proud to offer All-Natural, Extra Lean Ground Chicken. This 96% lean premium Ground Chicken is made from whole-muscle, skinless chicken, with no additives or preservatives, and is a perfect healthy addition to...

isernio.com

igor_kavinski · Sunday at 6:12 PM

On the subject of burgers, camel meat burgers are the healthiest as they have the lowest cholesterol. There was a promotion on a local food app here so I ate camel burgers for dinner for a month every single night and it was not boring at all coz they were delicious as heck! Can't order them anymore because they are not common here and the only restaurant that makes them, raised the price to double what I paid in that month and also made the patties smaller. Fudge!

igor_kavinski · Sunday at 6:16 PM

esquared said:
Hey, any love for chicken burgers, chicken tacos or chicken chili?

Fine cut boiled chicken pieces lightly fried with condiments (a bit of salt, pepper etc.) thrown on top make excellent, tasty burger. Granted, it's not a patty in there but bits of chicken with great quality mayo or ketchup and lettuce/cucumber/onion if needed but it's delicious.

BonzaiDuck · Sunday at 7:16 PM

igor_kavinski said:
Fine cut boiled chicken pieces lightly fried with condiments (a bit of salt, pepper etc.) thrown on top make excellent, tasty burger. Granted, it's not a patty in there but bits of chicken with great quality mayo or ketchup and lettuce/cucumber/onion if needed but it's delicious.

I can make taco meat from turkey, but I don't think it can be done with chicken. Chicken has its own niche in my culinary ranking. I need something that tastes like beef. With turkey, the spices work for taco meat. Otherwise, it's either Angus beef or the Impossible veggie burgers.

Of course, when I drive through the fast-food lane, I can order the "breaded chicken sandwich" with a bun -- that works for me.

igor_kavinski · Sunday at 7:20 PM

BonzaiDuck said:
Of course, when I drive through the fast-food lane, I can order the "breaded chicken sandwich" with a bun -- that works for me.

I don't know if you have it there but there's a boneless chicken thigh burger that has a very different taste to anything chicken I've tasted before. I don't know if it's artificial in some way. It just tastes really good biting into it.

BonzaiDuck · Monday at 10:15 AM

igor_kavinski said:
I don't know if you have it there but there's a boneless chicken thigh burger that has a very different taste to anything chicken I've tasted before. I don't know if it's artificial in some way. It just tastes really good biting into it.

I was thinking of the Carl's Jr. breaded chicken sandwich, and I was thinking -- at this moment -- of a sausage-egg-and-cheese biscuit at 8AM before I go for my 1-mile daily walk. The sausage violates my "no-meat" inclinations lately, but I'm going to burn it off with the exercise.

I was so slow so far in waking up today that I had my first cup of instant coffee in more than a year, when I ordinarily brew a whole pot with grounds in a filter. I"m worried that taking my pills before eating something will cause me to upchuck, because I just have that "feeling" in my stomach at the moment.

I should really be in good spirits today -- for the weather, for accomplishing things, for eating right and controlling my blood sugar. I am talking myself into just such a state of mind. Banana! Banana! I can have my morning banana with the pills. I call that "clarity" when I'm still wiping the motes from my eyes!

Last Night I Ate A Hamburger . . . .

Lifer

Diamond Member

Diamond Member

Lifer

Lifer

Elite Member

Lifer

Diamond Member

Lifer

Diamond Member

Forum Director & Omnipotent Overlord

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member

Lifer

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member

Lifer

Forum Director & Omnipotent Overlord

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer