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Psychologists often use the term "comfort
food" when describing food consumption based more on psychological
need than physical hunger. The fact is, we all experience food cravings
that feel like real physical hunger but are actually based on a wide
variety of overlapping psychological, cultural and sociological needs
that have nothing to do with the basic need to eat in order to survive.
What does all this have to do with the
veggie burger? Well, for Americans and - increasingly - Europeans, a
"burger" is the Number One "Comfort Food" on the
planet. It's hard to feel like a good citizen if you can't wolf down
a burger and spill catsup all over yourself in the process. The fact
is, eating a burger is comforting, right down to all the little details,
like the easy way you can unwrap the packaging and eat it while you're
stuck in traffic on the freeway. It's familiar. It makes us feel like
we belong, since eating burgers is a habit most of us share, just like
a morning cup of java. It's become ritualized and therefore sacred.
The whole burger ritual is reemphasized
and pounded into our collective unconscious through television commercials
that equate burgers with everything from patriotism to sex appeal. To
give up burgers would make us feel like outsiders. Don't worry. We're
not suggesting that. We would like you to consider switching some of
the ingredients inside the sacred bun.
Increasingly, fast food restaurants are offering a veggie burger alternative.
Choose it. Dress it up with all the stuff that makes it seem familiar.
If it is badly done, complain! Say you want a veggie burger but it needs
to be better. The veggie burger is already becoming part of the American
fast food culture, but you can help speed along the process.
"Gardenburger" alone has reportedly sold more than 500 million
patties. Check out your supermarket's frozen food section. There is
a whole variety that you should be able to choose from. "Boca Burger"
is another popular alternative, whose main ingredient is soy protein.
Soy is also the basis of the increasingly visible "Morningstar
Farms Better'n Burgers" brand. Soy is again the key to "Burger
Nouveau." Two other high profile brands are "V'Dora Vegetable
BurgerLites" with carrots and "Burger Champignon" which
stresses mushrooms. Check them all out. Ask your supermarket manager
for them. Grill them at cookouts… microwave them for lunch. Throw on
grilled onions and avocado and tomato and sprouts. Try them on 7-grain
bread or whole-wheat buns. Have fun with it! And, remember it's still
a burger! FYI, Gardenburger expects to sell its billionth veggie burger
sometime next year.
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