Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks Versus Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages

Here's a thought....What would you do if you still wanted the flavor of a Vienna sausage but don't like all the calories; saturated fat content; and myriad multi-syllabic, synthetic-sounding ingredients listed on the label of Vienna sausage cans? Why not choose Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks!

Now, before you start guffawing at the idea of a 20-something or 30-something eating out of a jar of Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks ("baby food"), consider this: Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks are all-natural with no artificial flavors. How many Vienna sausage manufacturers can say that about their meat sticks?

Before I go about listing comparisons between Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks and Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages, let me say this for the record: I love an occasional snack of Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages and, in the early-1980s, was a big fan of Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks (bear in mind, I was sitting in a booster seat back in those days holding my turkey sticks while I jiggled about to Sesame Street's Ernie singing "Rubber Duckie"...or maybe as I shook my rattle to the beat of Lipps Inc. "Funkytown"...I don't recall....).

Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks

Let's first take a look at the ingredients in a typical jar of Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks:

Ground turkey
Water
Whey protein concentrate (from milk)
Canola oil
Salt
Sugar
Onion and garlic powders
(Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks are packed in water)

A 2.5-ounce (71-gram) jar contains 1 serving providing:

110 calories (60 from fat)
7 grams of total fat
1.5 grams of saturated fat
0 grams of trans fat
1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat
2.5 grams of monounsaturated fat
60 milligrams of cholesterol
300 milligrams of sodium
80 milligrams of potassium
2 grams of total carbohydrates
0 grams of fiber
1 gram of sugar
9 grams of protein

Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages

Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages are made from:

Mechanically seperated chicken
Water
Salt
Corn syrup
Mustard
Dextrose
Sodium erythorbate
Natural flavors
Sodium nitrate
Garlic powder
(Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages are packed in chicken broth)

A 5-ounce (142-gram) can has about 2.5 servings, with each serving containing:

100 calories (70 from fat)
8 grams of total fat
2.5 grams of saturated fat
0 grams of trans fat
45 milligrams of cholesterol
410 milligrams of sodium
0 grams of total carbohydrates
6 grams of protein

Comparisons

The comparisons reveal a few striking differences: the ingredient list for the Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks has just seven items, while the Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages ticks off eleven items.

Note, too, that the Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages have corn syrup and sodium nitrate. Compare that to Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks, which do not have those somewhat-controversial items. Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks also do not have any preservatives.

Also of note, Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks are contained in a glass jar, whereas Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages are sold in aluminum cans. While both containers are recyclable, the glass jar leaves little to no flavor behind, while the aluminum can certainly has a chance of flavoring the sausages contained within.

Let's look at the numbers. Calorically, both meat products are similar, with both products' servings each boasting about 100 calories (110 for Gerber, 100 for Armour, to be exact). Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks contains significantly fewer calories from fat than Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages (60 versus 70 calories from fat).

Total fat and saturated fat grams are exactly one gram higher each per serving in the Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages than in the Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks.

Armour's product wins in the cholesterol category, with just 45mg per serving compared to 60 in Gerber's. However, the sodium level is much lower in the Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks than in the Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages: 300mg versus 410mg.

Carb counters beware: 2 grams in the Gerber product versus 0 (yes, zero) in Armour's.

Need protein? Go for Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks. They have 9 grams versus 6 grams in Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages.

So, What is My Verdict?

Which do I prefer? Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks or Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages? The Armour product tastes a little saltier to me, and the Gerber's tastes plainer. However, I cannot seem to detect which product has a better "meat" flavor. They both taste generally the same that way to me.

In actuality, the jar of the Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks and the can of the Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages are about the same dimensions, and yet the jar is a single serving, and the can I must split at least in two to meet Armour's serving size guidelines. In that way, I almost feel like I am eating more with a "whole jar" of Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks versus "only half a can" of the Armour product.

My verdict? The Gerber product simply feels cleaner, a little healthier, and I don't believe I am really sacrificing any taste at all. While I will still enjoy my Armour Chicken Vienna Sausages every now and then, I certainly plan to start buying more Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks. Really.

Resources:

Gerber Graduates Lil' Turkey Sticks jar and label
Armour Chicken Vienna Sausage can and label