Are Vegetarian Fast-Food Meals Healthier?
By: Lindsey Moore
Tags: Healthy Eating, Vegetarian, Meat, Vegan, Fast Food

Protein Intake

I think it’s pretty obvious why chicken wings would have more protein than the cauliflower wings (75 grams versus 10 grams). According to Health.com, most people should try to obtain at least 45 grams of protein a day (depending on gender and level of activity).

So Matthew has surpassed his daily quota (especially since I’m sure he had meat for lunch). I drank a high-calorie juice from breakfast on the other hand and probably did not receive 45 grams of protein today.

Now I could have opted to include a plant-based protein on my salad which would have increased my levels to about 30 grams. But then I would have run into an entirely different problem: increased sodium intake.

Sodium Intake

I love salt. Matthew loves salt. Many people love salt. The problem is, salt doesn’t love us. According to the chart, we both consumed more than our daily intake of sodium. My vegan meal contained almost 2800 mg of sodium. If I had added a plant-based protein, it would have increased the sodium on the Caesar salad by as much as 880 mg. This is something I didn’t know or had never thought of before my little investigation.

And this is probably one of the reasons why, as a vegetarian, I have hypertension (I could probably exercise a little more but let’s not deviate from the original point). For years, I spent too little time researching important things like sodium intake.

I’d walk into vegan restaurants thinking that since the menu does not contain meat products, everything must be healthy. As someone with hypertension, both of these dishes were poor choices for me. But they tasted fantastic which is the problem. Moving on.

Calorie Count

Although the wings at Wingstop (710 kcal) have more calories than the cauliflower (610 kcal), the calories from fat are higher at Veggie Grill. When we add in the fries at Wingstop (390 kcal) and the Caesar salad at Veggie Grill (490 kcal), I am consuming a few more calories than my meat-eating friend (and I’m eating a salad).

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, women should eat between 1600 and 2400 calories a day. Men should eat between 2,000 and 3,000 calories per day. Based on my age and gender, I should be eating about 1900 calories a day while he should consume around 2500 per day. The two of us are consuming about the same amount of calories at this meal (roughly 1100 kcal), which is over half my suggested daily caloric intake.

Keep in mind that I ate cauliflower and a salad. He ate chicken and fries.

Cholesterol

The meal at Wingstop has way more cholesterol than my meal at Veggie Grill (385mg vs 0mg). But keep in mind that the french fries smelled fantastic so I may have eaten one or five in the car on the way home (yes, I understand they are probably cooked in the same oil as the chicken but I did it and I’m not sorry).

Cholesterol is normally found in animal products and my crispy cauliflower dish was vegan. According to healthline.com, we should consume no more than 300mg of cholesterol per day which means that he is well over the limit. I however am under the limit, which is probably why I don’t have cholesterol issues (even though members of my family do).

Photo by Raphael Nogueira on Unsplash

Caesar Salad Dressing and the Buffalo Sauce

Even though it’s vegan, the Caesar salad dressing increased the calorie count by 370 calories and sodium by 520 mg. The buffalo sauce is also one of the reasons why the sodium and calorie count is so high. Without the sauce, both meals would have less sodium and calories.

And they probably would have tasted disgusting and we both would have complained about how we wasted our money on tasteless food. But the sauce and the salad dressing were by far the contributing factor to all the cholesterol, sodium, and calorie issues I mentioned before.

So what did I learn?

I learned that left to my own devices, without proper research, I can order a completely vegan meal that isn’t that much healthier for me than a meat-based one. Yes, I understand there are other factors to consider. For example, salads tend to have more vitamins and minerals. I am sure that the Caeser salad was rich in calcium, Vitamin A, potassium, and B6. But if I drench everything in a high-calorie salad dressing, do the benefits outweigh the ramifications?

I learned that vegetarians and meat-eaters can eat unhealthy meals that can lead to diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes. I’ve made several poor choices that are starting to catch up to me. But just because you eat a plant-based diet, doesn’t mean you are eating the best foods.

But the problem isn’t necessarily with the restaurants. Both restaurants are just catering to their consumer base and both give you the option to curb or eliminate unhealthy sauces and dressings. I will continue to frequent Veggie Grill on lazy telecommuting days and I’m sure Michael will crave chicken from Wingstop from time to time.

Whether you are a vegan, vegetarian, or meat-eater, everyone should make sure to investigate what they are truly eating. Because you may find that after some research, your assumptions are inaccurate. But I believe it’s okay to splurge from time to time. Just don’t make it a daily habit.