Saturday, 27 October 2012

Review of 'Tofurky' Beer Sausage/Beer Brats

Tofurky -- Beer Sausage/Beer Brats (vegan)
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Summary: mmm! This was a delicious sausage -- soo very tasty, heavy/dense, and meaty. I'd definitely feel good serving this to a non-vegan, confident that they may actually be fooled. The nutritional profile isn't perfect, but the taste so makes up for it. I probably wouldn't buy this on the regular, but definitely as a treat once in a while.

Where to buy: Fortinos


Ingredients: organic tofu (water, organic soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), wheat protein product, expeller pressed canola or high-oleic safflower oil, water, beer (5.5% alc. vol), textured wheat protein, onion, salt evaporated organic cane juice, spices, dehydrated onion, dehyrated garlic, vitamins and minerals (dipotassium phosphate, niacin, iron, zinc oxide, vitamin B12, calcium, pantothenate, vitamin B6, riboflavin). 

*Nutrition Facts:
Serving size: 1 sausage 
Calories: 280
Fat: 16g
     Saturated: 1g
     Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 650mg
Carb: 8g
     Fiber: 5g
     Sugars: 1g
Protein: 24g
Calcium: 4%
Iron: 40%

*Full nutritional profile available here

So the ingredients are fine, *however* I do wonder about those 16g of fat...it would have been nice to see exactly how it's distributed in the different fat sub-categories (e.g. poly- and mono-unsaturated, etc. I also have an issue with the sodium content...when I add in a hot dog bun or any bread, plus condiments, this sodium count will definitely be 800mg+. This is way too high for me, but like I mentioned in the 'Summary', I would only get this sausage once in a while. And I'd probably watch my sodium intake for the rest of the day.

I do really like that it has 5g of fiber! This almost makes up for the high sodium. The 40% iron is also a nice daily boost. This sausage makes for a great for a great source of post-workout protein.

The flavour is amazing -- I can't really suggest any improvements, other than the fact that I didn't really get any 'beer' flavour...but it was so yummy, I really don't care. It actually had a little bit of spiciness, which I never find in meatless sausages, so I was pleased about that.

Other Sausage flavours (all vegan):
Brand (quoted from tofurky.com):
  • Non-GMO
  • "We make our vegetarian products in small batches using only the finest organic and natural ingredients."
  • No preservatives, MSG or other artificial ingredients.
  • Kosher, vegan, and made with organic soybeans and/or organic tofu.
  • Family owned and operated company.
  • "Since our founding in 1980 Turtle Island Foods has strived to create delicious, nutritious, vegan soy meat alternatives that are lightly processed using traditional methods."

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