Your love of bacon doesn’t have to be limited to cheat meals and special occasions.
Here’s how: Go the extra mile to find cuts with whole ingredients from local sources, and you’ll save yourself the nitrates and processed stuff that’s given your favorite breakfast side a bad rap. For something different (and with way less fat and calories) go for turkey or chicken varieties. Just watch out for questionable additives and sodium content.
Once you’ve got your prized pig (or turkey), incorporate it into dishes with nutritious ingredients, like vitamin-packed veggies and other lean proteins, and you’ve got a complete meal that not only tastes amazing, it does a fit body good.
Fully Loaded Potato Salad
Recipe by Kevin Curry of FitMenCook.com
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Makes 5 servings
3 large sweet potatoes
3 strips natural turkey bacon (uncured, nitrate free)
3/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt
½ cup cooked black beans
1/3 cup kale, chopped
½ cup cooked corn
1/3 cup green onions
1 oz goat cheese
1 oz reduced fat mozzarella
1 jalapeno pepper
½ Tbsp melted coconut oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Cut raw sweet potatoes into small quarter-sized chunks. Coat evenly with coconut oil and spread out evenly on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
2. Bake potatoes for 25 minutes, turning once, until the chunks are softened, yet still firm. Remove, transfer to a plate or rack, and let cool for 10-12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook turkey bacon in a skillet. Remove and chop into very small pieces.
4. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with a spatula. Serve immediately.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 192
Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 27 g
Protein: 13 g
Braised Grass-Fed Beef with Bacon
Recipe by Shoshana Pritzker, RD
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 30 min
Makes 8-10 servings
3-4 lbs grass-fed beef chuck or shoulder for pot roast
2 Tbsp coconut oil
8 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 ½ cups onion, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 14.5 oz. can low sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp fresh or dried thyme
1 Tbsp fresh or dried rosemary
3-5 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1. Preheat the oven to 325º F. Season the meat with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat coconut oil on high heat. Add the meat to the pot and brown, 1-2 minutes each side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the bacon to the pot and cook through, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the meat back to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients except the carrots and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover the meat and place in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
5. Add the carrots and sweet potatoes. Cover, then return to the oven and cook for another 45 minutes or until the meat and veggies are tender.
6. To make gravy: remove the veggies, herbs and meat from the pot. Skim the fat. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil in a pot, then simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve over meat, veggies, and potatoes.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 538
Fat: 36 g
Carbs: 11 g
Protein: 42 g
Bacon-Wrapped Mini Frittatas
Recipe by Tiffany Gaston
Prep Time: 5 min
Total Time: 35 min
Makes 12 servings
12 eggs
12 pieces of natural turkey bacon (or regular bacon)
½ cup green onion, chopped
1 cup tomato, diced and seeded
Salt & pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 375º F. In a large bowl, crack and whisk all of your eggs and season with salt and pepper. Place chopped veggies in a separate bowl.
2. Grease a muffin tray. Line the interior of the cups with the turkey bacon.
3. Carefully pour egg mixture to no more than ¾ full in each cup. Spoon desired amount of veggie mixture into each cup and give a little stir to incorporate.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the eggs rise and the bacon is crispy.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 123 calories
Fat: 6 g
Carbs: 1 g
Protein: 8 g
