How healthy is the vegetarian smoked sausage?
-
At a time when meat is increasingly making way for vegetarian, a meatless smoked sausage for the stew is in order. There are now several vegetarian and vegan smoked sausages in the supermarket, but how healthy are these meat substitutes really?
What types are there?
-
First of all, it is important to look at which types of vegetarian smoked sausages are already available. The following vegetarian and vegan smoked sausages can be found in Dutch supermarkets: Unox Vegetarian smoked sausage Valess Vegetarian smoked sausage Garden Gourmet Vegetarian smoked sausage Albert Heijn Vegan smoked sausage The Vegetarian Butcher Vegan Roock Sausage
Vegetarian or vegan
-
Two of the five smoked sausages mentioned above are vegan, namely the Roock sausage from De Vegetarian Slager and the smoked sausage from Albert Heijn. The other smoked sausages contain animal ingredients, such as egg white powder or milk protein.
-
11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
Is a vegetarian smoked sausage healthier?
-
The Consumentenbond has compared various vegetarian smoked sausages with traditional smoked sausages and came to the conclusion that the meatless variant contains a lot less unhealthy saturated fats. Sometimes this is even less than in an extra lean smoked sausage. That's good, because too much saturated fat is bad for your heart and blood vessels.
Salinity in smoked sausages
-
The salt content was almost the same, namely about 2 grams per 100 grams of smoked sausage. That is one third of the recommended maximum amount of 6 grams of salt in a day. Too much salt could lead to high blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Less proteins
-
In terms of calories, vegetarian smoked sausages are comparable to the lean smoked sausage. The Consumers' Association did conclude that vegetarian smoked sausages often contain less protein than smoked meat sausages. Because the average Dutch person gets more than enough protein, this does not have to be a problem, they say. An adult needs 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. For someone weighing 69 pounds, that equates to just over 55 grams of protein. Vegetable sources of protein are bread, grains, legumes, nuts and mushrooms. Vegetarian protein sources are dairy products, cheese and eggs.
-
5 minDrink without alcoholbananas, cool fresh apple-pear raspberry juice, Soy drink vanilla,soy fruit shake -
20 minMain dishsauerkraut, sticking potato, liquid baking product, half-to-half minced, Spice meatballs, pineapple, olive oil, liquid baking product,gratin sauerkraut dish with minced meat -
40 minMain dishlemongrass, fresh ginger, Red peppers, onions, tomato cubes, fresh cod fillet, coriander, oil, ground turmeric (koenjit), coconut milk, salt,fish in creamy coconut sauce -
15 minSide dishsweet potato, soft goat cheese, egg, spring / forest onion,stuffed sweet potato with egg
Added vitamins and minerals
-
As vegetarians and vegans are more likely to have a deficiency of iron and vitamin B12, it is important that these are added to the meat substitute product. Extra iron is added to most vegetarian smoked sausages. Vitamin B12 is only added to the Roock Sausage from De Vegetarian Butcher.
Which vegetarian smoked sausage is the best?
-
Health Net has tested the two vegan smoked sausages and prefers those of De Vegetarian Slager. The Consumers' Association also tested vegetarian smoked sausages and is particularly enthusiastic about the smoked sausage from Valess, followed by that from Garden Gourmet. The vegetarian smoked sausage from Unox and the vegan one from De Vegetarian Slager were less appreciated by the tasters.