Everyone loves bacon including health conscious people like myself. With the whole world growing increasingly passionate about this meat, more and more innovative recipes are making their way into the mainstream.
Even those who do not eat pork are not left out as beef, lamb, chicken, goat or turkey may also be cut, cured or otherwise prepared to become bacon. I have searched high and low to bring you 10 of the most creative (and healthy) ways to use this wonderful product.
1.Bacon and White Bean Soup
I like to keep it simple, and soups are always a nutritious and easy option to make when you have ingredients you need to use up. This simple recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond adds extra flavour to a white bean soup. Since thick cut is sometime tricky to get here in SA you can use the regular back variety instead and get some tinned white beans to save you time in the kitchen: Bacon and White Bean Soup
2. Bacon Wrapped Sushi
What?! I know bacon sushi sounds crazy but this is actually a creative and tasty hors d’oeuvre. It’s a fun appetizer to roll out when you have guests around. Try out this interesting Spanish inspired fusion technique with the recipe from Tablespoon: Bacon Wrapped Sushi
3. Bacon Vinaigrette
A good salad dressing is an essential in my home and a tasty vinaigrette will always compliment a salad. You can try this brilliant vinaigrette recipe from Genius Kitchen with one of the many delicious salad recipes from my book All Sort of Salads: Bacon Vinaigrette
4. Bacon and Ricotta Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini noodles are a perfect substitute for traditional wheat based pasta and so this fabulous carb free inspired recipe is a definite one to try for those who are gluten intolerant or if you are simply avoiding carbs in your diet. Ohmyheartsiegirl show you how here: Bacon and Ricotta Zucchini Noodles
5. Bacon and “Cauli”mash Cottage Pie
Cottage pie is one of the ultimate comfort foods, but all that mashed potato ends up loading you up with carbs and ruining your healthy diet. Womens Health SA has the solution – a flavourful cauliflower mash based cottage pie with added streaky-bacon for extra yum. Try it here: Bacon and “Cauli” mash Cottage Pie
6.Bacon and Jalapeno Chicken Bites
This is another great paleo diet friendly recipe from Dr. Anthony Gustin, that uses a touch of spicy jalapeno to add a punch to the dish. Diet friendly, carb free and loaded with flavour….what more could you want. Try it at home tonight: Bacon and Jalapeno Chicken Bites
7. Bacon and Kale Brown Rice Risotto
This clever take on risotto cuts out all the butter that usually goes with a risotto and adds ultra healthy kale and brown rice to give you a tasty and low fat risotto. Kale is stuffed full of fibre and is great for digestion. Try this recipe from Copy Me That here: Brown Rice Bacon and Kale Risotto
8. Bacon Wrapped Mediterranean Chicken
Everyone knows I love Mediterranean food. I even wrote a book on it All Sorts of Healthy Dishes: The Mediterranean Way, so I just adore this Mediterranean inspired dish from Delicious Meets Healthy : Bacon Wrapped Mediterranean Chicken. Serve with a fresh summer salad on the side.
9. Bacon and Prawn Quinoa Fried Rice
If you haven’t heard of Quinoa yet – where have you been?! Quinoa is a dream food for the health conscious. This super grain is packed with protein, fibre, manganese, and magnesium. Add in a dash of bacon and some pan fried prawns and you have a gourmet meal that won’t wreck your health goals (extra health conscious? substitute the butter with olive oil). Wok and Skillet teaches you how: Bacon and Prawn Quinoa Fried Rice
10. Bacon and Egg Sweet Potato Muffins
This is a super easy recipe that is carb free thanks to the magic of sweet potatoes. Not only do sweet potatoes taste delicious, but they provide some surprising health benefits. They are a great source of vitamin A, antioxidants and sugar regulating nutrients. Try this great flourless recipe from Robb Wolf: Sweet Potato B&E Muffins
Like I said I’m health conscious, with all these mouthwatering recipes to choose from, the best part is knowing that this scrumptious cured meat can actually be good for you too! It has a high saturated fat content and has lots of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. HDL, or “good” cholesterol, is one of the most important markers for heart disease. It’s is also a great source of selenium, a nutrient that’s a key component of a healthy thyroid gland. It’s also chock full of phosphorus, a mineral that combines with calcium to form calcium phosphate, which is responsible for stiffening bones and teeth. Not enough phosphorus can cause neurological and muscular problems.
As if you needed any more reason to try one of these delicious ideas tonight. I would love to hear how your experiments went. Let me know in the comments.
