Review of 'Gardein' Beefless Tips

Gardein -- Beefless Tips (vegan)
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Summary: a word of advice...don't stew these! Better to make your stew, fry these, then add them after the stew is done. Otherwise, these become some very soggy beefless tips. The flavour was good, I just ruined the texture. I may buy this again and try frying them instead of stewing. I recall a bit of an artificial aftertaste, but I'm willing to give this another shot given the solid nutritional profile and nice flavour.

Where to buy: Fortinos, Freshco, Zehr's




Ingredients: water, vital wheat gluten, soy protein isolate*, expeller pressed canola oil*, onions, yeast extract, modified vegetable gum, malted barley extract, onion powder, garlic powder, organic cane sugar, organic ancient grain flour (KAMUT® khorasan wheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa), vinegar, potato starch, dipotassium phosphate, sea salt, natural flavors (from plant sources), pea protein, spices, carrot fiber, beetroot fiber

rub: dehydrated vegetable (red bell pepper, garlic, onion), spices, organic cane sugar, salt, paprika powder.

*Non genetically engineered soy, wheat and canola.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving size: 3/4 cup

Calories: 170
     Calories from fat: 50

Fat: 6g

     Saturated: .5g

     Trans: 0g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 400mg

Carb: 9g

     Fibre: 3g

     Sugars: 1g

Protein: 20g

Vitamin A: 2%

Calcium: 4%

Iron: 15%

I'm very happy with the ingredients and nutrition. The calories are fantastic for 20g of protein and it has a good amount of fibre. The sodium is a tad higher than I'd like, especially since most people will have this with a few sides (each with its own sodium content)...and this can add up really quickly. On the plus side, there's a nice dose of iron, no fat, and no cholesterol.

Other 'beefless' Gardein products (all vegan):

• Chipotle Black Bean Slider
• Garden Veggie Burger
• Chipotle Black Bean Burger
• Beefless Ground
• Beefless Slider
• Meatless Meatballs
• Good Start Breakfast Patties
• Szechuan Beefless Strips
• Ultimate Beefless Burgers
• Meatless Meatloaf
  

Brand (quoted from gardein.com):

• The majority of gardein ingredients come from North American farms.
• Uses non-MSG yeast extract to enhance gardein™'s flavor.  
• "...wherever possible, we use the best organic and certified non-GMO ingredients..."
• "...we like to diversify our proteins by using wheat, soy and pea proteins..."
• Ccontains no preservatives or artificial flavors.  
• "Our soy is grown in the United States and Canada."
• "...our suppliers ensure that all our ingredients do not contain pesticides or herbicides - in line with all federal, state/provincial, and municipal regulations."
• "... we only use 'identity-preserved' soy protein (which basically means, it helps to ensure us that our soy protein is not genetically modified)."