Earl Eats Beyond - Way Beyond!

For my first post of the year, I never expected this! Let me clarify that this is NOT a move toward a vegan or vegetarian way of life. In my household we are meatatarian all the way, but events came together and voilà! I found myself eating a meatless burger at a fast food joint!
Let me explain the events that created this collision.
We had a family wedding reception to attend and didn't have time to eat beforehand. Just as we left, the weekly load of junk-mail arrived and I noticed something strange...Carl's Jr. is now offering MEATLESS burgers! I put that tidbit of knowledge in the back of my mind and we went to the reception. At the reception we could have loaded up on pastries and punch, but I decide we should stop somewhere on the way home to get a burger. There was a Carl's Jr. en route, and I decided I wanted to try their meatless marvel. They call it the "Beyond Meat Famous Star". It isn't cheap at $6.50 for the burger alone, but I decide to give it a try, and was I ever surprised! It looked like a burger, had all the condiments of a burger and even the almost melted slice of American cheese was there! (Yeah, I know that part isn't vegan, so sue me...or leave it off). Now for the tests...taste and texture. The taste was much like every fast food burger and surprisingly beefy for a no-meat burger. The texture was a bit off, but I don't think I would have noticed if I hadn't know it wasn't beef. It had a graininess to it, but better than most dollar burger offerings. It does have a bit of a preformed look to it but no worse than most fast food burgers.

And now the nutrition numbers. I normally don't post this kind of info because normally I don't care. But I thought I it was interesting on TWO points. The numbers are almost identical except for #1-Iron The Beyond has more than DOUBLE the iron of the beef #2-Cholesterol, the Beyond has NONE. 

I should note for anyone who might be vegan, that the Beyond Burger Patty is certified VEGAN, but the Carl's Jr. burger is NOT. It is prepared with mayonnaise (eggs) and is not produced in a vegan facility, something I didn't know was even a thing! Of course the American cheese makes it non-vegan too, although the jury is still out on whether their is really dairy in many of those slices😏.

You can now buy the patties in most large supermarket chains. The plant protein comes from peas, which was a surprise because, as I stated earlier, I have never cared about alternate sources of protein because I am perfectly happy with eating chicken, pork, and beef in all of their forms.
In Conclusion:
Go try this! It is tasty and filling. I won't be replacing burgers with it anytime soon, but a surprise is always welcome! Next time I may try it without cheese and add sliced avocado instead!