Whenever I step foot in a Target, it’s inevitable that I will spend $50 on things I did not come to get. Included in my last trip of impulse buys were Gardein BBQ Wings. Let’s clear the air real quick, shall we? I was not paid to write this post.
I saw these on Hungry Girl or the Biggest Loser a few years back and held back trying them because of their pricey nature and questionable desire to actually try meat-less wings. I’ve had good and I’ve had terrible vegetarian “meats”. I decided to give them a try since they sounded promising on the nutrition facts. A serving was 4 decent sized wings with 110 calories, 15 g of protein and only 330 mg of sodium. Many veggie alternative products are loaded with sodium, this is no different from a chicken and apple sausage.
I do not appreciate however that the label did not include the sauce that was in fact included in the bag. It was a delicious BBQ sauce that was probably loaded with sugar but it would have been helpful to know just how much. I cooked them using the stove top. Sorry for the blurry picture. They were actually a decent size and I enjoyed the texture. It was not too chewy and didn’t taste like rubber! Since the BBQ sauce was so good, I think it enhanced the flavor of the wings for obvious reasons. I would try these again for sure and at Target, they were pretty reasonable, I think between $3-4. I love buying single servings of frozen salmon in the Target freezer isle.
I paired the BBQ wings with a little southern style quinoa salad consisting of quinoa, golden raisins, walnuts and sautéed collard greens from Trader Joe’s. It was so good, I made this dish a little tipsy last weekend 🙂
For the first Bruins playoff game, I went to the brand new Yard House in Fenway last week with a few friends. High on my jotting down what I eat kick, I decided to check out the menu before hand. I noticed that they actually carried the Gardein Wings as well as burgers! I was shocked at how unhealthy EVERYTHING on that menu was. Literally, there was no NOTHING below 700 calories that was an entrée (there were apps and lunches but no entree). I was surprised since I had recently tried the wings… either the sauce is terribly high is calories, the dipping sauces add a lot as well or serving sizes are very different… I had the Ahi Crunchy Salad which was still barely under 700 calories. 
It tasted great and I was happy with my choice. The dressing was very good and seemed light. I guess you could ask for it without the crispy noodles or on the side to lower the calorie count even more but I did not. Props to the Yard House for carrying vegetarian options, but seriously, you would think they would have at least one reasonably healthy item for dinner!?
Have you tried any other Gardein products? I’m interested in what else they have to offer and would love your suggestions.
