New Vegan Protein Bowl at Starbucks – a review

Be still, my beating heart!  Starbucks is offering a new vegan Protein Bowl!  It features Lentils & Vegetables with Brown Rice.  The label proclaims that the Starbucks vegan protein bowl contains 23 g (!) of protein and 2 cups of vegetables.  And it’s Vegan Certified.  I took a photo of the bowl in order to prove all of this to you.

Eating out at fast food restaurants has improved greatly for non-meat-eaters in the past few decades.  I recall when the only options for someone who didn’t eat meat were generally side salads.  And those salads were often little more than some chunks of iceberg lettuce, a couple of tomatoes, and a few carrot slivers.  Of course, I like salads as much as the next person, especially if they contain some dark, leafy greens. But I’ve always wished for a vegetarian or vegan fast-food meal that would truly “stick to my ribs.”

Fast Food Veggie Burgers and Baked Potatoes

I thought it was at least a slight improvement when Burger King eventually introduced a veggie burger.  And often that was the best option I could find when I was driving down the interstate highway and only had enough time to stop for fast food.  Unfortunately, Burger King served their veggie burger on a refined white bun, which would stick to the roof of my mouth, so it was way less than perfect.  It would have been so much better on a whole grain bun.  (Sigh.)  Another fast food option was Wendy’s baked potato.  I’d get their “plain” version and eat it with their chives and a minimum amount of the butter-like spread that they provided.  I’d munch on the whole thing, skin and all, in hopes of getting at least a reasonable dose of dietary fiber.  Still, where’s the protein?  A medium baked potato contains only about 4 grams of protein.

A New Vegan Option at Starbucks

It’s even tougher if you try to find a *vegan* meal at fast food establishments, because often the furthest that they go is vegetarian.  Sometimes it works to ask if they can leave the cheese off a sandwich, but often it’s already been incorporated.  So as far as I am concerned, it’s a big deal for Starbucks to introduce a vegan meal.  And I had to give it a try.

So I visited the Starbucks that’s closest to my home, in nearby Tysons, Virginia.  I found the Starbucks vegan protein bowl in their refrigerator case near the register.  After ordering a lightly sweet chai tea made with almond milk, I sat down at one of their tables to sample the lentil bowl.

Packing a Nutritional Punch

The Starbucks vegan protein bowl was packed with a colorful assortment of veggies, including broccoli florets, cubed beets, purple cabbage slivers, cubed butternut squash, and roasted bell pepper slices.  Underneath the veggies I found a chewy mixture of lentils, sunflower seeds, and brown rice, decorated with some leafy greens.  A little cup of lemon tahini dressing was nestled in the center.  Perfect.

I’m happy to report that I found the Starbucks vegan protein bowl to be tasty and satisfying.  The veggies, lentils, and rice were not heavily seasoned and I thought they needed a bit of enhancement. So I dabbed some of the lemon tahini dressing onto the food before eating it.  The vegan protein bowl included a very generous portion of the lentil and rice mixture, so I was definitely filled up by the time I had finished the meal.  It stuck with me all afternoon, which is not surprising.  The bowl contained 21 grams of dietary fiber, along with its healthy dose of protein.  And I checked the calorie count.  It’s 650, which seems quite reasonable for a lunch or dinner.  The fat content is about 40%, which is a bit higher than I would like.  Presumably it’s possible to shave off some of the fat content by limiting the amount of dressing used.

Ditch the Clear Plastic Container for More Sustainable Packaging

My only complaint is that the Starbucks vegan protein bowl was packed in a clear plastic container.  I think I will save the container for future re-use, perhaps for taking food to potlucks.  But my guess is that most people just put these plastic containers directly into the trash.  Starbucks, you can do better!  It would help to ramp up your corporate sustainability efforts if you would pack this yummy meal into a compostable box made of recycled paper.  And yes, you can get these boxes with big windows on top so that your customers can see what’s inside.  Check out my post about the Kraft PAC take-out containers.

Coming Soon to More Locations, We Hope

So, thank you, Starbucks.  It’s about time for fast food restaurants to add more whole-food, plant-based items to their menus.  I’ll be back for more.  And I hope that other vegans and vegetarians will join me in supporting this great new menu addition.  For now, Starbucks says that the vegan protein bowl will be offered year-round in select locations.  Let’s order it up and convince them to offer this item and other vegan selections everywhere!