Tag Archives: Vegan Fast Food series

The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Fast Food: Papa John’s Edition

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I’m going to be honest, I knew Papa John’s was a pizza place, but I never went to them before I was vegan. There wasn’t any particular reason (that I remember), it just wasn’t my pizza place of choice.

So, that begs the question: why is my older brother obsessed with them? The last few years, any time we start talking about pizza places, he’s hailed Papa John’s as being the best pizza place ever!

Last July, I finally decided to humour him and we got it for lunch.

I was disappointed, to say the least.

The vegan options? Abysmally small! They have only a small selection of veggie toppings, 1 kind of dough that’s vegan (the gluten free crust is not it!) and they don’t even have vegan cheese!

It’s 2025!

I could maaaybe understand not having a faux meat option, but no cheese? Come on, Papa!

What the hell have you been doing over there?

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Pizza

  • Hand-Tossed Original Dough (Thin, Original or New York Style Crust)
  • Signature/Original Pizza Sauce (Tomato)
  •  BBQ Sauce
  • Onions
  • Jalapeno Peppers
  • Banana Peppers
  • Green Peppers
  • Mushrooms
  • Roma Tomatoes
  • Pineapple Tidbits
  • Spinach
  • Black Olives
  • Green Olives

Sides

  • Original Breadsticks

Dips

  •  Signature Garlic Sauce (Lactic Acid)
  • Buffalo Sauce
  • BBQ Sauce
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Spicy Garlic Sauce (Lactic Acid)

Other

  • Whole Pepperoncinis
  • Crushed Red Pepper
  • Special Seasoning

Drinks

  •  Pepsi
  •  Diet Pepsi
  • Pepsi Zero Sugar
  • Mountain Dew (Yellow 5)
  •  Aquafina
  • Starry
  • Starry Zero

Their website also makes it kind of hard to find the ingredient information, but once you find the page it includes very detailed descriptions and doesn’t appear to hide anything behind vague-sounding names.

For example, the Banana Peppers list sodium metabisulfite  and then in brackets next to it, is the explanation, ‘a salt, maintains freshness‘.

The only iffy thing is the lactic acid. They don’t say whether it’s plant- or animal-based, so it’s up to you to decide if you’re willing to chance it.

Their Allergen Chart is also fairly straight forward to look through.

I will also say, despite their lack of vegan options, their Signature Garlic Sauce and Breadsticks were pretty good. I know this isn’t a product review, but it’d be the only thing from them I’d recommend trying. Unless you’re into sad no-cheese pizza that’s thin enough it feels like a tortilla and you have to fold it in half just to bite it.

They’re good for a snack/side, but definitely not for a filling  vegan pizza meal.

At least, not at the moment.

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*If anyone from Papa John’s wants to reach out for more specific feedback, I’d be happy to share!

The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Fast Food: Wendy’s Edition

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I’ll be honest, I was expecting more from Wendy’s in terms of vegan offerings. Their whole thing is ‘better ingredients’ for a fast food place, and I assumed that translated to the new wave of places adopting at least some sort of vegan product. (Seriously, even KFC has vegan chick’n now!)

Unfortunately, Wendy’s either missed the train or decided to not hop on board, so the vegan offerings aren’t that impressive.

  • Cobb Salad (remove: shredded cheese, egg yolks, grilled chicken, bacon and get ranch dressing on the side)
  • Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad (remove: grilled chicken, three cheese blend, croutons, bacon and get dressing on the side)
  • Table Syrup (comes with the Homestyle French Toast Sticks)
  • Seasoned Potatoes (website says they’re cooked in the same oil as products that contain milk, egg, etc.)
  • French Fries (website says they’re cooked in same oil as products that contain milk, egg, etc.)
  • Plain Baked Potato
  • Original Lemonade
  • Strawberry Lemonade
  • Coke
  • Coke Zero
  • Diet Coke
  • Sprite
  • Barq’s Root Beer
  • Fanta Orange
  • Nestea
  • Strawberry Passion Fruitopia
  • Dasani Bottled Water
  • Hot Coffee, Black (website says adding the sugar or zero calorie sweetener may result in contact with milk containing ingredients, but they also have individual packets available upon request)
  • Hot Tea (doesn’t say what kinds are offered)
  • Honest Kids Apple Juice
  • Honest Kids Fruit Punch Juice
  • Simply Orange Juice
  • Simply Apple Juice

I don’t actually know if they’ll let you customize the salads, but I thought it would be worth mentioning. Maybe you’ll get pleasantly surprised and they’ll be able to veganize them! But even if they won’t, at least you know you won’t go thirsty!

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The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Fast Food: Chipotle Edition

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As far as fast food goes, Chipotle is a pretty healthy option. They have lots of recognizable, real food to choose from, including an awesome selection of vegetables, and they let you pick what goes in your meal!

They also have the option to filter based on diet (Vegetarian, Vegan, Soy, Gluten, etc) and, they make their ingredients very easy to find.

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Chipotle Website Dietary Filters

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Ingredients listed (with pictures) right on the website!

As if that wasn’t enough, when you click on an ingredient in the above list, it opens a little description about it, and a list that tells you which of their foods the ingredient is used in!

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Honestly, this was one of not only the easiest, but also the fastest ‘researches’ I did into a company’s ingredients.

I 100% agree with what they say on their ingredient page: why can’t every company be this straight forward?

So, we know that they make it easy to find things for your vegan preferences, but how many things actually come up in that list?

A hell of a lot!

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Starting in the upper left-hand corner, and moving clock-wise:

  • Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice
  • Cilantro-Lime White Rice
  • Black Beans
  • Pinto Beans
  • Yellow Onion
  • Red Onion
  • Tomato
  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Bell Peppers
  • Avocado
  • Tomatillo
  • Red Chili
  • Jalapeno Pepper
  • Serrano Pepper
  • Poblano Pepper
  • Chipotle Chili
  • Sweet Corn
  • Burrito
  • Burrito Bowl
  • Salad
  • Taco
  • Tortilla Chips

I wasn’t able to find pictures of the following, but the below foods are also vegan:

  • Fajita Vegetables
  • Fresh Tomato Salsa
  • Guacamole
  • Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa
  • Sofritas
  • Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa
  • Tomatilla Red-Chili Salsa

*I would like to point out that these are ingredients listed, and vegan options available at Chipotle for Canada. If you live in a different country, I always recommend checking the ingredients for where you live, as companies often change the ingredients depending on which country they’re selling in.

Like this article? Check out the rest of the Vegan Fast Food series here!

The Veg Life, Vegan Tips

Vegan Fast Food: PizzaPizza Edition

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Here’s the next installment of the Vegan Fast Food series.

I know, I know, another vegan series? Well yes, because apparently there is still surprisingly little information out there that’s quick access to help vegans, so I’ve taken it upon myself to put in the work for future generations. (You’re welcome)

I honestly don’t know why, but I’ve heard a lot of people bag on PizzaPizza. Personally, they’re my favourite pizza place! They actually allow you to have thick crust, have quality ingredients, their squishy fries are amazing and have some of the best vegan options! (For a non-vegan place)

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Starting in the top left corner, going across:

  • Classic Crust
  • Whole Grain Crust
  • Cauliflower Crust
  • Home-style Tomato Sauce (This is the same as the Italian Marinara dipping sauce)
  • Dairy-Free Cheeze (Violife)
  • Artichokes
  • Cilantro
  • Caramelized Onion
  • Hot Banana Peppers
  • Grilled Zucchini
  • Spinach
  • Sundried Tomato
  • Fire Roasted Red Peppers
  • Pineapple
  • Red Onion
  • Mushrooms
  • Black Olives
  • Jalapeno Peppers
  • Roma Tomatoes
  • Roasted Garlic
  • Green Pepper
  • Green Olives
  • Broccoli
  • Plant Based Pepperoni
  • Plant Based Chorizo
  • Hot Sauce
  • Sweet Chili
  • Bruschetta
  • Zesty Italian Salad Dressing
  • Balsamic Vinegrette
  • Potato Wedges
  • Regular Fries
  • Onion Rings
  • Sweet Potato Fries

Lays Classic, Ruffle’s All Dressed and most of their drinks are some other vegan offerings that aren’t listed in the picture.

The Veggie Quesadilla unfortunately won’t let you switch to dairy-free cheeze, but both the Calzones and Panzerottis can be customized to be vegan. The Italiano Blend, Sweet Garlic and Pepper and Chili Flakes are also vegan, if you wish to add those to your pizzas as well. (They’re listed under ‘free toppings’)

The Garden Salad is also vegan, but beware the croutons: they have whey in them.

The Honey Garlic dipping sauce is also fine, if you’re a vegan who eats honey, but the Honey Mustard dip contains eggs.

And, as always: These ingredients are for Canada only. I recommend you look up the ingredients for your own country.

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