Product review: Morningstar Farms Breakfast Sausage Links

We made it through our first week of "school."

I need to use quotation marks because really, the at-home clown show I enforced could hardly be called school.

My oldest's teacher has done a great job, and it's really nothing on her part- it's more my inability to help him figure out where to click and what to do while wrangling the little ones.

At least my four year old is in two-day-a-week-actual-preschool.

It's made me realized how relatively relaxed our summer was. We are back to the morning hustle, and I'm always trying to keep things healthy but quick for breakfast.

I bought a new-to-me product last week and I thought I'd share my honest opinion: Morningstar Farms sausage links. Like all Morningstar Farms products, it's a meatless/vegetarian food. I really dig their flavors of chicken patties, so I figure this could be a win.

A lot of vegetarian food items fall into the "health halo" effect- that is, it's easy to make the assumption that because it's meatless or plant-based, it's a much better alternative. Is it really though?

Interesting ingredient list- water is #1! Next up is wheat gluten. The G-WORD! Gluten is made to be the Devil's food, but really it's just a protein that's naturally found in wheat. I'm guessing that using wheat gluten (along with some soy) is what gives these their protein content and sausage-y texture. One thing you'll notice is that these aren't exactly vegetable-based. Sure there is some potato starch and some other proteins taken from veggies, but it's a really processed food. Regular sausage is processed too, of course, but there is definitely a lot going on in the making of these alternative ones!

Let's compare nutrition content between regular pork sausage, turkey sausage, and Morningstar Farms:

As expected, the turkey sausage and Morningstar Farms have fewer calories due to lower fat content. The vegetarian sausage has the least amount of fat. Carbs and protein don't differ much, but it's interesting how the vegetarian "healthy" option has the most sodium. Chances are if someone should be on a lower fat heart healthy type diet, they also need to be watching their sodium.

All things considered, I wouldn't label this a health food, but just like any sausage, it can definitely be enjoyed in moderation. The taste is good but not great- I didn't care for these as-is, but my omelet I made with them was delicious.

I'll buy these from time to time- pros: already cooked, low fat, good source of protein. Cons: processed food, high in sodium.