I am not a vegetarian, if I were I would rate Smart Dogs soy based hot dogs a 5. A vegetarian friend of mine recommended Smart Dogs to me a couple years ago when I was commenting how much I like hot dogs but wished they were healthier. I have been eating Smart Dogs from Lightlife Foods ever since. These vegetarian hot dogs are extremely healthy.

The health issues with meat based hot dogs is that they are either extremely high in fat or they are low in fat and loaded with sodium. Smart Dog avoids this problem by using soy protein (same stuff used in many protein powders) instead of meat. Soy Protein is naturally low in fat and therefore does not need tons of salt to make up for lack of flavor in low fat meat hot dogs.

The end result of combining protein with with soy sauce and natural smoke flavor is a reasonable tasting product that is very healthy. Each Smart Dog contains 9 grams of protein and zero grams of fat and only 45 calories.

When preparing Smart Dogs I highly recommend cooking them with hot water only. Stove top is fine, but I find they do extremely well in the microwave where I put them in a bowl with an inch of water for 1 minute. Do not grille them, they don't cook well over a flame.

Lastly despite my praise, do not attempt to serve these at your next meat lovers bbq and try to impress your friends. The taste is different from a char-grilled foot long. But that said, Smart Dogs cook easily, taste great and are very healthy.