Vegan Food Review: Eating Fast Food

Thanks to The Vegetarian Resource Group’s The Vegetarian Journal (Issue Two, 2008) and their efforts to periodically question fast food chains for their ingredient list, I can provide some information on vegan choices. They are quick to remind us that it may never be “100% safe” due to changing ingredients, and also question how sugar might be produced (some is filtered through cow bone char).

Burger King: Not much on their menu. You can order French fries, which are fried in dedicated potato fryers using only vegetable shortening, and Minute Maid OJ or Apple Juice, or pop. Their Veggie Burger is not vegan.

McDonald’s: Very little to eat there as well. You can have an English muffin with their liquid margarine or McDonaldland cookies and their apple juice box or orange juice. Do not order their hash browns. Who would think that it is made with beef flavor and milk?

Most McDonalds won’t customize their salads, as they are made in the morning. You can ask, and if possible, have them hold bacon bits and cheese. They offer two Newman’s Own low fat dressings-Balsamic Vinegar and Sesame Ginger.

Pizza Hut: Several food choices are available here. Not all of their bread dough recipes are vegan. Ask for Thin ‘N Crispy, Hand-Tossed Style or Bistro Dough. Do not ask for Pan Pizza, personal pan pizza, Sicilian, or garlic bread dough. Top that with the Regular Pizza Sauce or Sweet Pizza Sauce and add veggies.

You can order spaghetti (not Bistro Spaghetti), rotelli and the veggie medley. Make sure they know not to add cheese. The Pasta Bake Primavera can be ordered, asking that they skip the white sauce. Don’t get the marinara dipping sauce. Order a salad with French or Italian dressing.

Domino’s: Order their thin crust with pizza sauce and veggies (hold the cheese) and a garden salad without cheese and either the Golden Italian Dressing or Light Italian Dressing.

Subway: They offer a great Veggie Delite Sub, but request the Italian Bread, the Hearty Italian Bread or the Sourdough Bread. Add oil and vinegar or the Fat Free Sweet Onion Sauce, which is the only dressing that is vegan. They offer Fruizle fruit drinks.

Wendy’s: You can order a side salad with Oriental Sesame or Italian Vinaigrette and a side of mandarin oranges or a baked potato and ask for broccoli without the cheese sauce. Their French fries are animal-product free, but are fried in vegetable oil along with meat products.

Taco Bell: Several selections are available and you will need to customize your order. Their flour tortilla and corn taco shells can be filled with their pinto beans (make sure to hold the meat and cheese).

Their guacamole, seasoned rice, Express rice and chips are vegan.

The following sauces are vegan: fiesta salsa, green tomatillo sauce, hot, mild and red.

Cinnamon twists are also vegan.

You can order the bean and rice burrito or the 7 layer burrito but make sure you hold the cheese, meat and sour cream.
Their potatoes are vegan--make sure they hold the cheese.

Taco John’s: I called the company myself, as I couldn’t locate any information about their ingredients.

I was disappointed to find out that they add a buttermilk product to their dried bean mix that they make into refried beans. That makes it difficult to enjoy much of anything there.

Their corn taco shells are vegan, but the company representative couldn’t locate the source of the L-cysteine that is used in the flour tortillas used for their soft tacos and burritos.

The guacamole, Potato Oles and the rice were reported as vegan.