The Beyond Burger consists of 100% plant based ingredients. The main ingredients are water and protein isolate from peas (not whole peas), followed by an oil blend (coconut, canola, etc.), starches, flavors, and various other additives. So it is a highly processed food with a long list of ingredients. Obviously, unprocessed natural foods are always a better option, but in order to mimic the flavour and texture of meat you need some serious food science hokus-pokus. However, none of the ingredients scare me from a nutritional point of view. At the macro-nutrient level, the Beyond Burger is very similar to a regular beef burger, with similar levels of calories, fat and protein. Slightly more iron and fiber and slightly less saturated fats. The salt level is relatively high to regular meat burgers.

Therefore, my recommendation (as with a regular processed food or regular burger) is to eat it from time to time as part of balanced, varied diet. Pack it into a wholegrain burger bun and add in lots of fresh vegetables and a dollop of Connie's Kitchen Ketchup. 

How did the Beyond Burger taste? First of all, we should not have told our kids that they were not eating regular beef burgers. This brought out the sceptic in our 8 year old. Even so, everyone cleared their plates which speaks for itself. Now what I can say as a chef and foodie, I think that it was juicy, spicy, slightly smoky and all in all very delicious. The texture is amazingly close to minced meat but the taste is a bit different. But hey for our family who wants to reduce meat consumption greatly it's a great alternative. And certainly the best vegetarian burger I have tried so far. I'll definitely throw it on our grill again.