SAINSBURY’S 12 SAGE & ONION VEGAN STUFFING BALLS £2.50

Cals (per 2 balls) 56 Fat 1.9g Sat fat 0.9g Sugar 0.5g Fibre 1.7g Protein 2.3g Salt 0.5g

WHAT’S IN IT?

MAINLY mushrooms and onions, padded out with water and flour extracted from powdered peas and rice. Preservatives and a pinch of sweetener extend the shelf life, and emulsifiers bind everything together – instead of eggs and sausage meat.

VERDICT

THE strange chemicals and preservatives sound daunting but most are derived from plants and proven to be perfectly safe in studies by the Food Standards Agency. And replacing meat with vegetables and emulsifiers saves you a digestive biscuit’s worth of calories and saturated fat compared to the original version. You also get more fibre in two stuffing balls than in a portion of spinach. If there’s one swap worth doing, it’s this one.

TASTE TEST

THEY have a pleasing Christmasy smell. But they taste sweeter than normal and are mushy in texture, failing to hold their shape properly like meaty stuffing balls. SWAP OR NOT? SWAP.