Bacon on the Paleo diet?

Summer, I just wanted to let you know that I edited the title so that it's a little more descriptive is all.

I watch out for nitrates and nitrites, but I"m not really Paleo....

/draxe.com/why-i-dont-eat-a-paleo-diet-but-close/

This being said, there are times where I really need a slice of bacon.... I love it in my potato soup, I love it crumbled on broccoli and eating it with my fingers with eggs is like having a piece of candy.

Nitrates are bad, but there are some good nitrates, like celery and sea salt. So curing of the bacon is important.

Organic bacon - wow, how do you get a pig to eat healthy? No antibiotics or insecticides (not for them, but on the food they eat). They love garbage and it is not in their DNA to eat organic. You can't just have a pig grass fed. They forage or scavenge.

There are many companies that are trying to get us organic bacon, but it is pricey. So look for organic free range bacon as best you can. That's what I do and I read the ingredients. That generally will show you the curing components. I also always question the smoke. Is it liquid smoke flavoring or was the bacon in a real smoker? I am not a fan of liquid smoke. It is a processed food.

Bacon is not bad for you especially if you get from a higher quality source.

The data on nitrates is overblown and has long since been discredited after it was subjected to peer review. The majority of the nitrates you get in your diet are in the vegetables that you eat.

If you are eating a Paleo diet and you are eating a good helping of vegetables each day, enjoy your bacon.

Many brands of bacon have gluten...just as a reminder to check brands if you are gluten free.

Really? They sell 'gluten free' turkeys? lol

Yah - doesn't matter what the turkeys ate...

We eat bacon once a year - xmas. I don't like the nitrites in them.
But, I haven't really searched for healthier options.

I always wondered about G/F labeled meats. It is funny, but real in some cases too, read on:

We dont know whats in the "slurry of taste good sludge" they inject or soak in plastic packaged whole turkeys, hams, and roasts. They have labels, and they put stuff in these meats- yea, surprise, we never read the labels assuming it was just meat..

Some T-day turkeys just taste so good, even with a novice cook. Why? Luck? No. Because of the stuff that is or isn't injected into it by the meat company/brand.

Soy and gluten have endless possibilities, a solid and liquid binder for other ingredients- they are used when you dont even think of it.

Deli meats! - We assume its NOT the same as the pre-sliced package stuff. We assume is right off a farm then frozen and more healthy. NOPE, rare that deli is healthier. Many times its near the same, or is the same.

Some stores now show the package labels of the ham/turkey/roast they are slicing in the deli. ITS ALMOST THE SAME AS THE PRE-SLICED CHEMICAL FILLED MEATS.

There is some new hog meat brand that had heavy media advertisement last year......."Boars Head" brand I think. They said ask for it in your deli. Advertised as the greatest. Its also available in pre-sliced packages. Its the SAME from the deli or off the cooler wall with the rest of the lunch meat. Filled with chemicals too!!!!!.

I was surprised.

A small town butcher shop is your best bet- and hope they are honest.

Fact is, we all have a time limit. Getting stressed over food details may or may not make a difference in your quality of life. But it adds up over a life time. So its worth while to test your body with this, see how you feel followed by real lab testing.

Sometimes food is labeled gluten free just for the fact that they aren't processed in a facility that also has gluten products...
But, I doubt if meat factories are also producing products with gluten.

I eat bacon, but don't give it much thought other than quality appearance and taste, because I may only eat in once every couple of months.

One the other hand I probably use way more pork sausage than is good. It has nitrates and unsavory gunk in it too, I imagine. By did that sound appetizing! Ick!

Yep....I don't eat many hot dogs either, but I could get chicken dogs. They don't have lips.

Well..you can get nitrate, sugar, chemical free all natural beef and pork hot dogs too.

As far as sausage - Al Fresco Italian chicken sausage is awesome - again it has non of the above.

The ones above are even avail at walmart if you look hard, they are about 35% more costly than chemical loaded versions. At fancy/upscale/yuppie grocers its about 50% jacked up prices.

I have yet to find turkey products that are nitrate, sugar, chemical free.

My bacon is Applegate, but I have not seen Applegate turkey dogs in my shopping area. I'm sure its a matter of time. I'll keep an eye out. The regular turkey stuff is just loaded with chemicals for some reason, so it would be good to try a healthy version.