Trader Joe vs. Veggie Vita = showdown in Pizza Town.

    I broke my own unwritten rule the other day.  Within the last year or so I decided that I was going to embrace a plant based diet because of health reasons.   Heart disease and high blood pressure runs in my family and, roughly two years ago, swelling in one of my legs put the fear of God into me.  

    As it happened it ended up being nothing but it did concern me.   

    So I gave up the sugary drinks for the most part and made other changes that I thought were needed, and that lead to my current semi plant based diet..  One of those changes was a pact that I made with myself.  If a restaurant offered a vegan or vegetarian option then I would order it.    

     Not only would I be doing something that (hopefully) was healthier but I would also be supporting the bottom line for those options.  We live in a world where the bottom line is king and if a vegan/vegetarian option makes a profit; then it's more likely to stay on the menu.    

 

    A funny thing happened however.  I often find myself looking for vegan/vegetarian options even if they are not on the menu.  I feel bad for all those that came before me faced with bland salad bars or having to eat something just off the appetizer menu.  Pasta, of course, is always an option.

    However I wasn't in the mood for zucchini lasagna or a plant based burger.   So I compromised and got the chicken and strawberry salad.   I regretted it, because I felt like I was not being true to myself.    Plus it wasn't that good.

    I'm telling this story because it's funny how our tastes change.  It's hard to imagine myself as the picky eater I was as a kid changing into that guy that would eat unidentifiable street food off a questionable vendor at 3 AM in the streets of an Asian city.   Yet, I did.  Today I am a 56 year old man that is seriously wondering if he wants to become a vegetarian full time, and it seems weird that I am even considering it. 

    It's because of this that I'm bringing back the "Trendy" series.  I've enjoyed eating a variety of per-packaged vegetarian/vegan foods lately and figured that if I can convince one additional person to eat "better" then it was worth it.    Plus I have secondary reasons why I want to do this that I'm not going to go into here. 

    For now however I'm sticking to my "flexitarian diet".  it's not only better for my health but it is better for the environment as well.  

    It's rare however for me to have more than the occasional plant based meal.  I live surround by small farms and traditional Amish homes.  The grocery stores around me are limited in their options and are more likely to lean towards "traditional" foods rather than take a chance on "exotic" foods.   

    When I asked the owner of a local grocery if he carried Tahini; he gave me a look of confusion and bewilderment, and I ended up overpaying for it. 

    Since my beloved Susan doesn't share my journey, and I don't really know how or have much desire to learn to cook, I have to relay on pre-packed goods.  This of course, means that I have to keep the salt content in check.

    Thus the battle between two wonderful, but very different pizza's.   First up we have Trader Joe's Meatless Meat Pizza.  This is a vegan and diary free pizza, however it is not gluten free.  

uncooked Trader Joes

    Taste wise this is a good pizza.  The sausage in particular is a standout and if I didn't know it was meatless, I would have assumed that the sausage was real.  It is a bit spicy but not overpowering and I like a little "bite" in my "sausage" anyway.  

    However the pepperoni was simply not that convincing.  While it certainly looked like pepperoni, it didn't taste like a pepperoni.  Nor did it particularly "cook" like pepperoni.  After the pizza was in my oven for 15 minutes or so, I questioned if the pizza was cooked because the pepperoni did not looked cooked nor was the vegan cheese melted.

    If in fact, if you removed the pepperoni completely and just left the sausage and cheese on it, the pizza improved drastically.  

    I feel that I should comment on the vegan cheese.   I've only had limited experience with vegan cheeses, and this particular cheese was tasty but didn't really melt.  It's not a bad tasting cheese, it was rather tasty actually but when you have a piece of pizza, you expect melted cheese.

    I could have done with a bit more sauce as well.

    Overall would I buy this pizza again?  Yes.  However it was only a 5 or maybe an 6 for me overall, simply due to the pepperoni not being great, a lack of sauce and the cheese not melting.  

    High points however for the crust, with has a solid crunch to it and is tasty and crisp, the sausage which just sings with flavor and texture and the cheese...which despite not melting is still flavorful.

Cooked Trader Joe's

     So I tried this yesterday, and I have to be honest.  THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE BEST PIZZA'S I'VE EVER HAD.  Well that may be an exaggeration, but it's certainly one of the better frozen pizza's I've had.

    While I really wasn't hungry for a pizza, I wanted to make something healthy - ish and quick.  So I pulled out the Veggi Vita Vegetarian Sausage and Red Pepper Pizza.  This is NOT a vegan pizza, as the cheese is dairy and they do use honey in the crust, but it does fall under the broader "Vegetarian" label otherwise.

    The sausage is pea protein based, and tastes just like a good sausage, although I would not have minded a bit of spice added to it.  The crust is actually made from recycled spent grain - which is barley grain that is considered a waste product during the brewing process, is actually pretty high in nutrition and creates a crunchy crust.   It's not a traditional dough however, but I enjoyed it.  It's crunchy and firm but that's part of the appeal of it to me at least.

    The cheese is a traditional mozzarella but contains no rBST.  I know that is a growth hormone but I'm not that familiar with it and am honestly to lazy to look into it.   So what you end up is the wonderful taste of melted mozz cheese.  As a cheese lover, I love the mozz.

   

Vita - a traditional looking pizza

    The sauce is "traditional" meaning that it is most likely a combination of tomato's, basil, olive oil and oregano.  The red peppers were cut just a tad to thin, I would not have minded a bit more red pepper but honestly that is the only negative I have.  

    So how do these two very different pizza's stack up nutritionally?  

    A bit of a rant first.  Serving size.  Who in God's name cuts a pizza into three pieces?  Or five pieces?  For most of us it's going to be either in eights or quarters.   So I can only assume these weird cuts are to make the item look more nutritious than it actually is.  I would also think that the average American would eat at least two pieces.

    First up is Trader Joe's.  Any preserved item is going to be a bit high in salt (Sodium) and I nearly didn't buy this product based on that.   However, I really wanted to try a vegan pizza, so I ignored the 1790 mg of salt.  This pizza is high in carbs and fats as well.

    If there is a high point, it's the 20% iron and the 15% Potassium that is available here.  It also provides a good bit of protein.

    Over all though I would say that this ranks up there with your basic pizza nutritionally.  It's certainly better than eating a traditional meat lovers pizza just for environmental reasons alone.   

When I took a look at the Veggie Vita numbers some things just jumped off the plate (pun intended) at me.  Sadly however I had  no way to get a good image of the nutrition info so have to use this photo (from the veggie - vita website) for reference.

    Not only is the Veggi - vita higher in calories overall but also higher in salt.  It's also lower in protein.  Suddenly the pizza I was raving about is actually looking worse for me and my overall health.  I am reminded of that old adage...don't judge a book by it's cover.  

    Over all though it's got to be about that taste, and in my opinion the Veggie Vita wins that battle hands down and in my opinion in the pizza you give to new vegetarians or meat eaters you want to slowly covert over.   Now if only we can do something to make it ab bit healthier.