When you think of baseball, peanuts, beer and hot dogs are first to come to mind. One usually associates the game with more non-vegan friendly food like burgers, soft drinks, nachos and hot dogs. Well times have changed and even at Yankee Stadium, one the the most prestigious stadiums in the world is on board with vegan food options.
Vegan Food Is Going Mainstream
Once labeled as bland and boring, vegan food have made great progress in a short period of time. According to research 52 percent of the US population prefer the flavor of plant-based products to meat. Vegan burger brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat find more customers in meat-lovers than in vegans. Both companies are also headed more into mainstream as it’s served in major chains like White Castle, Taco Bell and TGI Fridays. Beyong Meat recently started a campaign called “Go Beyond” featuring professional athletes, explaining the health benefits behind vegan meat.
Vegan Baseball Players?
When you think about professional baseball players, you probably don’t associate them with being vegan athletes. Well, they are slowly adapting to a new diet that they claim gives them more stamina, better digestion and all around top notch health. Yankees future Hall-of-Famer CC Sabathia changed to a plant-based diet in January 2018 to help improve his health status, the MLB claimed. There’s also at least seven Los Angeles who live a dairy-free diet: Corey Seager, Max Muncy, Kiké Hernandez, Ross Stripling, David Freese, and Kenley Jansen. Retired player Chase Utley moved to the vegan diet for anti-aging purposes and found that it alleviated chronic pain and inflammation. Other professional athletes changed to a vegan diet to cut down their recovery time. When you play 162 games in 180 days it’s all finding ways to preserve your body long term. The players wear cleats for every game, which hurts their feet. Anything they can do to gain an edge, make their body feel better by doing it naturally with vegan food is the way to go. Corey Seager originally stopped consuming dairy while recovering from hip surgery and gives credit to his new vegan diet for allowing his workouts to continue. White there’s no scientific studies to show why athletes would benefit from dairy-free diet, doctors from around the world tell different. Inflammation is the body’s natural response when injury occurs. Most who train daily in addition to playing games, tend to experience inflammation more so than others. Inflammation in professional athletes was documented in a 2014 study in the Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences and a 2016 study in the journal Biology of Sports. Dairy is absolutely the main source of saturated fat in the American Diet. For our youth it’s milk, for adults it’s cheese and it’s proven that saturated fat can cause inflammation. We all understand from studies that physical exercise-related oxidative stress is linked to inflammation and slower recovery. It’s great that athletes are turning more to a vegan diet and replacing dairy with plant-based products. More antioxidant-rich foods in ones diet is a huge benefit as it’s going to lead to faster recovery and less inflammation.
Vegan Food Options at MLB Parks
Over the past few years more and more MLB stadiums are adding vegan food options to their menu. International animal right group releases their annual list of the country’s most vegan-food-friendly ballparks. Surprisingly, Yankee Stadium failed to make it into last years top list. However, Citi Field, home of the New York Mets and Yankee rival ranked seventh. The stadium offers it’s first all vegan food burger stand, Marty’s V Burger. This year, more and more stadiums including the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Seattle Mariners have consistent vegan food nights where guests are provided a special plant-based menu. Yankee Stadium has been adding more vegan food options that include the Beyond Sausage the Bareburger location last April. Here’s the other vegan food options you can find at Yankee Stadium.
1. Bareburger
Created 10 years ago in Astoria, Queens, Bareburger is popular for having a variety of vegan food options. With just under 40 locations, the chain is transitioning their menu to being 50 percent vegan. Kudos to chef Rudy Ramos aka Vegicano for the transition to offering food to fit those on a strict vegan diet. The Bareburger at Yankee Stadium doesn’t offer the full menu, but definitely has some great options to feast on while watching your favorite baseball team. Currently they offer the Beyond Sausage, a vegan frank served in a Pretzilla pretzel bun topped with pickled jalapeños, and caramelized onions. It was created by a California-based brand Beyond Meat, which is derived from pea protein and has the authentic texture down to the bite of the skin. You can also order the Bareburger’s signature Guadalupe, which features a vegan black bean patty with pickled red ions, guacamole and pico de gallo on a sprouted wheat bun. Brand new to 2019, he Yankee Stadium Bareburger now serves the Changeup, spotlighting the Impossible 2.0 burger with caramelized onions, dill pickles, and green leaf lettuce on a sprout bun. If you want the order to fit your vegan diet, get it without the special sauce and American cheese. A must have, the Avocado Bites. These deep fried avocado slices are served with spicy habanero sauce on the side. For those who want to stay with the classic order, get yourself a side of fries or sweet potato variety.
2. Field Roast Burgers And Franks
Sections 205 and 234 both offer vegan food burgers from Field Roast Grain Meat Co. The plat-based patty is made from a mixture of wheat gluten(seitan or wheat protein), barley, mushrooms, carrots, and spices. The company makes all of it’s”Fieldburgers” by hand in Seattle. Section 115 severs Field Roast Frankfurters, which are a mirror image of taste and looks of the classic ballparks dogs. Similar to the plant-based burgers, the franks are made from wheat gluten and barley. If you’re a fan of the Field Roast vegan burger and dogs, you can find it at other MLB stadiums. Photo credit to above to Instagrammer Vegan in Vancouver at Seattle Mariners’ T-Mobile Park.
3. Big Soft Pretzels
What’s a baseball game with out a big soft pretzel? You’ll find one of the most popular food items sold throughout Yankee Stadium, which by food law, is a vegan food. Get your vegan food At Yankee Stadium
4. Cracker Jack
Tell the world, Cracker Jack is a vegan food. Created 123 years ago, the popcorn with a crunchy dairy-free caramel and molasses coating with peanuts is a ballpark favorite. Identified with the famous 7th inning stretch song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” this snack is sure to bring back your childhood memories. Receiving some backlash whem Yankee Stadium got rid of the Cracker Jack with another brand of caramel corn, Crunch ‘n’ Munch, in May 2004. To calm angry fans down they 2 months later they brought it back.
5. Bazzini Peanuts
Another iconic snack that is labeled as a vegan food product, the Bazzini Peanuts. Yankee Stadium started serving Bazzini nuts during the rival game against the Boston Red Sox in 1923. Similar to the Cracker Jack, you can get peanuts from the vendors who walk up and down the stadium isles throughout the game.
6. Melissa’s Farmers Market
Looking for something a little healthier while at a ball game? Located in section 121B Melissa’s Farmer’s Market offer fresh apples, bananas, salads, and healthy snacks. According to the New York Times, Melissa’s Farmer’s Market stands sells 200 pounds of fresh fruits throughout eat game.
7. Vegan Sushi and Edamame
Yup, you can even find veggie sushi and edamame at the Noodle Bowl stand in section 127B.
8. Beer
Oh the joy of the vegan beers. Here’s the vegan beer options Yankee Stadium has to offer
- Budweiser, Bud Light, and Bud Light Lime
- Coors Light
- Corona
- Guinness
- Goose Island
- Heineken
- Hoegaarden
- Stella Artois
- Modelo Especial
- Miller Lite
- Shock Top
- Strongbow (some varieties)
- Warsteiner
- Yuengling
- Sapporo
- Blue Point Toasted Lager
- Brooklyn Lager
- Bronx Brewery
- Sam Adams
- Magic Hat #9
- Firestone Easy Jack
- Anchor Steam
- Beck’s
- O’Doul’s
9. Wine
Of course Yankee Stadium has a wine bar. Thanks to the partnership with City Winery Wine Bar, we have confirmed that Barnivore, the Bacigalupi Vineyard Pinot Noir is vegan.
