Are These Meat-Free Morsels a Good Slimming World Option?

If you’re vegetarian already or are simply trying to reduce your meat intake, you’ll be pleased to know that Linda McCartney sausages average out at around 0.5 syns per sausage. Even more luckily, the brand’s vegetarian red onion & rosemary variation is a free food!

What this means in essence, is that you’ll easily be able to slot these sausages into your diet. At 0.5 syns for a regular Linda McCartney sausage, even if you had 3 or 4, you’re still looking at a reasonable syn value for one meal.

And then of course, if you choose the red onion and rosemary sausages instead of the standard kind, you’d be free to have as many as you please without having to worry about syns at all!

Even if you’re not trying to cut back on or cut out meat, veggie sausages can still be really tasty and can have some health benefits that meat-based sausages might not. Vegetarian options can therefore become a tempting route for alternative sausages and other meats.

Other Meat-Free Alternatives

Linda McCartney products can be found fairly widely across the UK, being stocked in most major supermarkets. However, there are some kinds of shops where you might not have the same access to these vegetarian sausages and may be looking for an alternative.

Below is a list of a few other vegetarian meat substitutes and their syn values:

• Quorn Low Fat Sausages – 0 syns/ free food
• Quorn Frozen Meat-Free Sausages – 1 syn per sausage
• Quorn Beef Style & Red Onion Burgers – 0 syns/ free food
• M&S The Grill Edgy Veggie Burgers – 5 syns each
• Gosh! Sweet Potato & Black Bean Sausages, Hint of Lime – 1.5 syns per sausage

Quorn and Linda McCartney both have very wide ranges of vegetarian meat-substitutes, as do several supermarket own-brands. At the end of the day, it’s all about finding products within your price range that are appealing and tasty to you.

As far as meat options go, syn values tend to go as follows:

• Average pork sausage – 2.5 to 4.5 syns per sausage depending on fat content
• Asda Butchers Beef Burgers, Reduced Fat – 2.5 syns per patty
• Tesco Turkey Sausages – 1.5 syns per sausage

This is obviously not an extensive list but should give you some idea of the comparison.

Meat vs Meat-Free: Options

Meat

As you’re probably aware, when it comes to meat-based sausages, the most common type are pork sausages. There are so many different shapes and variations of pork sausages on the market, ranging from your Cumberland sausages to your cocktail sausages to your sausage patties.

There really is something for everyone when it comes to pork sausages, which includes extra-lean sausages and low-calorie sausages.

Aside from pork, meat-based sausages also come in the following varieties:

• Chicken sausages
• Turkey sausages
• Venison sausages
• Beef steak sausage

Within each of these sub-categories, there are many options to choose from, making meat sausages a popular mealtime protein.

Meat-Free

When it comes to vegetarian and vegan sausage alternatives, companies are continuously innovating to create the most authentic and tantalising sausage experience without the meat itself.

Whereas a few years ago, vegetarians and vegans were very limited in their meat substitute choices, nowadays you can buy things like vegetarian chorizo sausage, vegan breakfast sausage, and a wide range of low-calorie vegetarian sausages.

Sausages are just the tip of the iceberg too! Things like Quorn mince, Cauldron Foods vegetarian products, and Linda McCartney’s range of veggie delights have opened up a whole new world.

Meat Vs Meat-Free: Benefits

Meat

There’s no doubt that meat options are far easier to come by than their vegetarian and vegan counterparts, and that there’s a lot more variation in the products that are available.

Aside from being more popular across the world and more readily available, what are the other benefits that come with meat protein choices?

• Lean mean can contain as much as 25-30% protein by weight after cooking.
• Animal proteins are “complete proteins” meaning they contain all 9 essential amino acids needed for bodily repair and general functioning.
• Meats are generally cheaper than their meat-free substitutes (for similar kinds of products – eg chicken nuggets are usually cheaper than Quorn nuggets).
• Meat contains many other helpful vitamins and minerals including selenium, B12, and zinc.

Meat-Free

Although vegetarian and vegan “meat” products tend to be less common and more expensive, they’re continually being developed to be tastier, more nutritionally complete, and more authentic as an overall experience which is great news for people wanting to eat less meat.

Although a fairly controversial topic in some spheres, there’s no disputing that having a meat-free or meat-reducing diet is beneficial for your health in many ways.

Here are some of the key benefits of a meat-free diet:

• Vegetarian/vegan products tend to have higher fibre and beta-carotene than meat ones.
• Plant-based foods minimise the risk of carcinogens entering your body through food whereas red meat, processed meats, and dairy are thought to have cancer-causing potential.
• Plant-based diets may decrease cardiovascular risk factors, making clotting, strokes, and heart disease less common.
• Having a plant-based diet can also lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Whatever You Go For…

There will be so many different dishes and options whether you choose a meaty or meat-free option.

Linda McCartney sausages are a great vegetarian option and can be found in almost any supermarket fridge, and they’re very syn-friendly which makes them ideal for a Slimming World plan.

Although meat tends to have a higher syn value, if you consider your meals and daily syn allowance carefully, you should be able to make anything work!