Please Help - Sausage Recipies for Heart/Diabetes Patients

[Lisa]

Hi. I am brand new to this forum and to sausage making and would really appreciate any help and advice that I can get. My husband has just been in the hospital for heart failure and diabetes. He now has to stay on a very highly restricted diet - very little salt or sugar. The problem is, he is a sausage addict! I've looked everywhere (we live in Detroit, Michigan) and can find no sausage that he can eat - not too surprising there! So, I now have a sausage grinder and need to begin to learn how to make healthy sausage. The more I research, the more fascinating this looks - I could really get into this! However, it is also a bit confusing. Right now I'm trying to figure out whether to use natural or collagen casings for one thing. I'm concerned that natural casings need to be soaked in salt and wonder if all of the salt comes out when the casings are rinsed. On the other hand, natural casings sound like they make a more attractive sausage and are more appropriate for the particular sausages that I want to make (Italian, Kielbasa, etc.). Is this correct? Also, does anyone know if salt substitute ("No Salt" or another brand) can be used instead of salt? Are there any recipes out there for special dietary needs like this? Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks for a wonderful and informative forum - I think that this site will become my primary tool in this adventure!