Food Facts and Tips

Best Vegetarian Fast Food - Healthy Choices, Low Fat, Low Calorie

Vegetarians need to be careful when choosing the best vegetarian fast food healthy choices to ensure that the products have low fat, low calories and do not contain traces of meat by-products.

Many meals have very high cheese contents and the choose may be made from rennet which is produced from cow calves. Vegans need to be particularly careful of salad dressings that my contain egg and gelatine.

Do not assume that the non-meat items on the menu of many Australian fast food outlets such as Sumo Salad, Subway, Pizza Hut, Oporto, Noodle Box, Nando's, Hungry Jack's, Go Sushi and Domino's.

This article discusses some the dangers and a guide to help vegetarians make healthy choices with fast food meals. It also includes nutrition data comparing popular vegetarian fast food with regular meals for these outlets.

The same concerns apply for fast food outlets in other countries. Vegetarians are advised to get the nutrition information and data on rennet, eggs, dairy products and other meat derived products from the various outlets.

Otherwise you may be eating meat derivative without know it. Similar concerns apply to medicines and packaging such as capsules which are derived from gelatine and other animal products.

Meat Derivatives found in 'Veggie' Meal Offerings

The Australian Consumer group 'Choice' examined a total of 80 items on the vegetarian menus of fast food outlets and were surprised that many items contain animal derivatives.

One of the most concerning was rennet, which is used to produce cheese and comes from the stomach of cows. Some salad dressings contain dairy and egg products.

Many meat-free items are not designed for vegetarians and this was admitted by the outlets.

KFC admitted that they had no vegetarian products. Hungry Jack's admitted that the cheese in their Veggie Burgers may contain rennet and some of their mayonnaise contains egg - but these products were not promoted as being 'vegetarian', despite the name 'Veggie'.

Subway informed choice that its cheese does contains rennet, but on the plus side its vegetarian menu options do not come with cheese, but it can be added by request. 

Domino's mozzarella cheese is free of animal by-products and it offers several vegetarian options, some of which include seafood. 

McDonald's was not included in the survey by Choice because it doesn't have vegetarian options on its regular menu.

Are Veggie Options Healthier?

The Choice research study also examined whether the vegetarian and 'Veggie' options on fast food menus were healthier than standard food items containing meat. The key nutrition elements were saturated fat levels, Calories (kilojoules) and salt content.

One of the problems vegetarians face is that the fast food chains are often cheat by offering vegetarian meals created by simply replacing the meat protein in the dish with cheese. The food product can be very tasty but very unhealthy. The added cheese boost the saturated fat and salt of the meal.

Consumers should resist the assumption that 'veggie' meal choices will be the healthiest option on the menu. 

The table below compares the nutrition of standard meals with various 'veggie' options, that have been listed from good to bad in terms of calories and fat content. All the nutrient values have been listed as values per 100 g of product so that direct comparisons can be made.

Some examples of the dangers are:

• A Hungry Jack's Veggie Burger has about 3000 kilojoules more than twice the 1200 kilojoules in its meat hamburger,
• Oporto's 'Veggie Burger' has more sodium and saturated fat than most of its chicken burgers.
• Domino's vegetarian pizza can only be regarded as a healthy choice in terms of saturated fat level by choosing a classic crust (thin base) which reduces fat levels by 75%.
• The Simply cheese pizzas are a nightmare in terms of calories and fat deceiving many consumers. Dominos Simply Cheese pizza has 250 calories per 100 g and 8 g of fat is among the least healthy foods in the table. Pizza Huts Signature Four Cheese pizza is the second worst on the list with 313 Calories per 100 g and 15 g of fat.
• Cheese can ruin an otherwise healthy salad via salt as well as fat. A regular size Sumo Salad Balsamic Beetroot salad has 1908 mg sodium – which is equivalent to about 80% of the recommended daily allowance of sodium.
• Veggie options with minimal cheese that have plant protein instead of meat, tend to be more nutritious. Plant protein from chickpeas, beans, nuts, lentils and tofu are generally healthy because these foods have higher levels of antioxidants, fiber and many protective phytochemicals. However watch the calorie counts and keep portion sizes under control.
• Hungry Jack's Veggie Burger contains about 65% of the daily recommended intake of sodium, and 45% of the recommended intake for fat.
• If you’re trying to limit your intake of calories, fat and sodium then as always it is the portion size that really makes a difference.
• Go Sushi vegetarian offerings are generally healthy, but the hazards with all sushi rolls is the salt, even before you add soy sauce. Just a single 110g Veggie Deluxe Sushi Roll has almost 700 mg of sodium, which is one third of the 30% of the recommended daily allowance.
• Subway's menu in Australia has two vegetarian offerings available either a wrap or sub. These veggie menu items are cheese-free in standard form. However resist the temptation to add a slice of cheese as their cheese contains rennet. Also be aware that the dressings and sauces can really boost the calories, saturated fat and sodium.

While the fast food options vary throughout the world it pays vegetarians to check for animal derivatives in the options labeled as 'Veggie' or vegetarian and to check the nutrient levels. Never assume anything. Many people do not use calorie and other information before choosing their food.

Healthy Vegetarian Fast Food Choices