quest for the perfect sausages

[Plumfoodie]

Has anybody found a good, lowfat sausage in the UK that does not have bread or similar carby fillers in it? I've tried all the lowfat ones I've been able to find (Tesco, Sainsburys, Marks & Sparks, Weight Watchers, Morrisons) and although some of them taste better than others, they all keep the fat down by adding fillers. Personal tastes aside (I don't really like bready sausages), it seems a bit pointless trying to have a low GI meal if hidden wheat products are lurking about in the sausages. One might as well have a huge pile of mash and be done with it.

The only sausages I've been able to find WITHOUT these kinds of fillers are gluten-free, which is fine, but then they aren't lowfat and have about a thousand calories per mouthful.

Anybody had any more luck than I have?

 

[CaliSweden]

I agree with you Plum. It's annoying see all these so called healthy stuff just to see a lot of fillers or sugars instead of fat. It defeats the purpose of being healthy.

I am so tempted to buy the chicken hotdogs, but they're about 50% meat in it, the second ingredient is potato flour. So I might as well just eat some fries or something if I want to consume potatoes.

I always have to read the labels carefully these days, because you can't trust the name of a product or the healthy claim.

 

[Plumfoodie]

The cynic in me thinks that the food companies are trying to cash in on peoples' desire to be skinny without having to do much about it (eat lowfat sausages and become Kate Moss!) but of course when they cut the fat out they have to add something else to stop the sausage from becoming a little dried up shell when you cook it. That's the part they don't want you to think too much about. It is already hard for me to find foods because I have to avoid chemicals and so I don't appreciate them making it harder by adding a lot of starch to my sausages!!!

(I can't remember which low GI book it was that said that starch is basically the same stuff you spray on shirt collars, in its natural form it's just tasteless white goo. I don't need to eat that in my breakfast meats!)

And I agree. If I'm going to eat a bunch of potato I'd rather have some chips or mash and really enjoy it. Hidden in a sausage where you won't even taste it, what a waste! Maybe I will have to make my own sausages now that my husband has stopped trying to use the meat grinder on flaxseeds. It does have a sausage-making attachment. I suppose it could be quite fun!

 

[mum_of_one]

Ok it has to be powters sausages in tesco. They are huge, low fat, meaty and succullent! x

 

[Plumfoodie]

Ok it has to be powters sausages in tesco. They are huge, low fat, meaty and succullent! x

Brilliant, I will look out for those. They sound ideal - thank you!

 

[CaliSweden]

Why can't I have a Tescos It sounds like the wonder store, it has everything in it. At least from what I read on the forums

 

[Plumfoodie]

We're lucky in the UK to have several different good supermarket chains! Usually you can find what you need if you look hard enough. I like buying sausages and things from the butchers but find that most of them prioritise taste over healthiness, IE they'd rather have a high fat content than a leaner, slightly less rich sausage.

 

[CaliSweden]

Wow you guys still have actual butcher shops still!?! I wish we did over here. There aren't any actual butcher shops around anymore, at least in around the areas I live. The grocery store doesn't even have a butcher section. So you can't ask them to cut a chunk of meat a certain way for you. We're stuck with buying the few choices available.

 

[babliboobabu]

Plum, I'm actually not the person to advise you on sausages as I only ever eat chicken sausages - never liked the real stuff (have you worked out yet that I am a VERY fussy eater?) but I saw Joe's sausages which are supposed to be low fat. I think they do have fillers in but they have nutrional info on their website so you could compare it to the other brands that you've tried and see how it fares. Low Fat Sausages

 

[Plumfoodie]

Ahh I do wish we could get good chicken sausages here, I've still got my eye out for them. I tried Joes sausages (in fact I've still got some in the freezer) when I was doing Slimming World. They aren't bad and I liked the flavours but again they have fillers in them. Perhaps this is how I shall make my fortunate in the world at last, by developing and marketing lower fat, low GI sausages.

(perhaps not, though, of course)

 

[Plumfoodie]

Well, we tried some new sausages this morning. Pork and apple from a local butcher who we buy most of our meat from (they sell it pre-frozen in 2 serving or individual packs which is perfect for us) - gluten-free and only using oats as the carb ingredient. No idea how many calories are in them, but they're quite small so I figure 2 now and then won't kill me. This morning we forgot to prick them so they were a bit greasy but I think when we remember to do that they'll be great.

 

[CaliSweden]

The pork and apple sausage sounds really tastey