Life

IKEA Meatballs Are Going Vegetarian!

by Eliza Castile

April 8, 2015

Depending on whether you're a Type A or Type B person, chances are you either adore IKEA for its bright colors, plethora of cheaply constructed dorm-style furniture, and the inevitability of getting lost in its labyrinthine layout... or you hate them for the very same reasons. Whatever reservations you may have about the store itself probably don't extend to its deliciously weird Swedish food, however, which is why you'll be ecstatic to hear that IKEA vegetarian meatballs (seen above!) will be unveiled this month. Finally, vegetarians will be able to experience the deliciousness that is IKEA's little sauce-drenched chunks of "meat," or at least a close approximation. The fact that this also means meat eaters will finally stop telling vegetarians "ohmygod, you have to try them, can't you eat meat, like, just this once?" is just icing on the cake. (Or sauce on the meatball, if you will.)The "meatballs," called GRÖNSAKSBULLAR, are being released in a staggered pattern starting with Europe and the U.K., Mashable reports. They'll hit the U.S. and Asia throughout the month. Poor Australia will be forced to wait until April 27th for the blend of "chickpeas, green peas, carrots, kale and corn" to be sold in local stores — although the U.S. doesn't have a release date yet, so we might have to wait just as long.

GRÖNSAKSBULLAR are part of a new push for sustainability that the company has been implementing. The company claims that the veggie meatball has a carbon footprint 30 times smaller than that of their regular fare. "Producing this meat-free product will help cut our carbon emissions by half," IKEA Australia Food Manager Simone Fowler said in a statement, according to Mashable.

So even if getting lost in IKEA is one of your worst nightmares (and you're not the only one, judging from the short film about it) it's time to ovary up and brave the maze of furniture and tacky home decorations anyway. Not only do GRÖNSAKSBULLAR sound delicious, but they're also saving the environment?! It's a win-win. Now if I could just figure out how to pronounce their name so I don't make a fool of myself while ordering.

Images: TallyBean18/Photobucket, futuredropout/Blogspot