BLT Salad: A Bacon Recipe That Won't Wreck Your Diet
Emily McKenna, EatingWell

 

BLT Salad: A Bacon Recipe That Won't Wreck Your Diet

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While I do not eat bacon often, I happily enjoy it every once in a while with a stack of pancakes or in a Cobb salad. Unfortunately, a recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that eating red meat can lead to increased risk of cancer and heart disease. Processed meats such as bacon, in particular, were called out in the study for their high levels of saturated fat, sodium and nitrites.

While I won't be giving up bacon for good (sorry, Harvard), I will definitely be smarter about the ways I eat it. Here are my tips for healthier ways to cook with bacon that won't wreck your diet -- and are better for your heart health.

-- Use it sparingly. Since bacon packs a lot of flavor, I only add a little bit (about two ounces for every four people I am feeding) to dishes that need something a little salty and smoky. A smidge of bacon is a great addition to soups, stews, braises and quick sauces. I typically add it right at the beginning of cooking, along with my aromatic vegetables (onions, carrots, celery, garlic).

Another trick, which is especially useful when making meatloaf, is to finely chop a moderate amount of bacon (again, about 2 ounces for every four people) and knead it, raw, into the meat mix instead of covering the meatloaf with overlapping strips of bacon.

-- Cook bacon until it's crispy. Some like their bacon super-crispy, while others like it chewy. Going forward, remember that crispy bacon is healthier than chewy bacon. Here's why: The more fat you cook out of each strip of bacon -- by rendering the fat slowly away with heat -- the less fat you will consume.

-- Drain bacon to remove extra fat. Cool cooked bacon on a plate lined with fat-absorbing paper towels or flattened-out paper grocery bags. The more fat that is absorbed by the paper towels or paper, the less fat you will consume.

-- Microwave bacon instead of frying it. My mother never cooked bacon in a skillet on the stovetop. Instead, she cooked it in the microwave using her "bacon plate" -- a large square platter with deep grooves and a well around the perimeter. Turns out she was onto something: The bacon rests on the grooves, which catch all the fat that drains from the bacon as it cooks. A bonus of this method is less mess to clean up. If you don't have one of these, just sandwich your bacon between layers of paper towels before microwaving.

BLT Salad

Here's a salad version of America's favorite sandwich. We use shredded tomato as a base for the creamy tomato-and-chive dressing -- adding great tang and flavor along with extra vitamin C.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 1/4 cups each.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

1 cup cubed whole-wheat country bread

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium tomatoes, divided

3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons minced chives or scallion greens

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Freshly ground pepper to taste

5 cups chopped hearts of romaine lettuce

3 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss bread with oil and spread on a baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut 1 tomato in half. Working over a large bowl, shred both halves using the large holes on a box grater. Discard the skin. Add mayonnaise, chives (or scallion greens), vinegar, garlic powder and pepper; whisk to combine.

Chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Add the tomatoes, romaine and croutons to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with bacon.

Recipe nutrition:

Per serving: 142 calories; 6 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 5 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrate; 0 g added sugars; 5 g protein; 3 g fiber; 318 mg sodium; 470 mg potassium

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (110 percent daily value), Vitamin C (60 percent dv), Folate (30 percent dv), Potassium (16 percent dv).

1 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fat

Salad, American

 

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BLT Salad: A Bacon Recipe That Won't Wreck Your Diet

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