{Food For Thought Tuesdays: Real Bacon vs. Turkey Bacon}

While I've been cutting way back on my meat intake {basically only eating it when I go out to dinner on Saturdays} but when it comes to bacon, I have a major weakness. Because probably like many of you, I've been eating turkey bacon only because I thought it was better for me. But lately it started to dawn on me that if 1 slice of regular bacon is 1 point+ on the Weight Watchers program, and 1 slice of turkey bacon was also 1 point+ - how much different or better is it really? That's when I started to do a little research and was shocked at what I found out - so here we go:

As far as calories go, the difference between “healthy” turkey bacon and “fatty” regular bacon is negligible—and depending on the slice, turkey might sometimes tip the scales a touch more. Additionally, while turkey is indeed a leaner meat, turkey bacon isn’t made from 100% bird. One look at the ingredients list will show a long line of suspicious additives and extras that can’t possibly add anything of nutritional value. And finally, the sodium content of the turkey bacon is actually higher than what you’ll find in the kind that oinks—so if you’re worried about your blood pressure, opting for the original version is usually the smarter move.

LOTS of turkey bacon brands out there are, in fact, still hiding pork {some even dip their turkey bacon in pork fat}. They’re also put together using TONS of chemicals because turkey does not have a CUT of bacon. Bacon comes from a very specific part of the pig. Turkey bacon is just put together pieces of turkey, sometimes held together by foreign substances, dyed a certain color to make it appear to be more like bacon, and formed into a shape similar to what you’re used to expecting from pork bacon. Ummm....yuck!

In summary - 1. READ YOUR LABELS, 2. Stick with as few ingredients as possible, 3. Watch and try to minimize your overall intake of meat in general. Just a little food for thought...