Turkey Bacon is a LIE

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  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
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    I look at it this way, turkey's don't have bacon! I refuse to eat faux bacon. If I wanted something made from turkey, I would have it in a more natural form such as turkey breast. Not turkey that is engineered to look and taste like bacon. Obviously it's not the leanest cut of meat, but if I intend to have some bacon, I just go whole hog (pun intended).
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    It must be a bad selection you have there.
  • srostad2006
    srostad2006 Posts: 13 Member
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    Personally, anything you eat to an extreme can be bad for you. Personally, I like turkey bacon, but that's me. And I'll continue to eat it , even if it is made of floor scraps. I'm not giving up my occasional hot dog either:) But you are exactly right. You are trying to build a lifestyle. If that lifestyle MUST include a little bacon now and then for you to stick with it, so be it. :)
  • Kelly_Wilson1990
    Kelly_Wilson1990 Posts: 3,245 Member
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    Butterball brand is low calorie and fat. There is a low sodium one too. That is the only brand I buy. I do not eat pork anyone.

    Butterball Everyday Turkey Bacon
    Nutrition (not the low sodium):
    Serving Size 1 slice (14 g)
    Servings Per Container 18

    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 25
    Calories from Fat 15
    Total Fat 1.5g
    Saturated Fat 0.5g
    Trans Fat 0g
    Cholesterol 10mg
    Sodium 135mg
    Total Carbohydrates 0g
    Dietary Fiber 0g
    Sugars 0g
    Protein 2g
    http://www.butterball.com/product/regular-turkey-bacon

    Farmer John Bacon:
    FARMER JOHN® Classic Bacon 16oz

    Serving Size 1 Pan Fried Slice (10g)
    Nutrition Facts

    Calories 50
    Calories from Fat 30
    Total Fat 3.5g
    Saturated Fat 1.5g
    Trans Fat 0g
    Cholesterol 5mg
    Sodium 160mg
    Dietary Fiber 0g
    Sugars 0g
    Protein 4g
    http://www.farmerjohn.com/products/bacon/farmer-john-classic-bacon-16oz/
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Turkey bacon gives me an upset tummy.. I stick with the real deal.
  • Jennwith2ns
    Jennwith2ns Posts: 296 Member
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    I think turkey bacon is nasty, and for me, not worth giving up regular bacon. I don't eat pork bacon every day, but like 1-2 times a week.
  • cantfitinmykayak
    cantfitinmykayak Posts: 1 Member
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    This from Cooking Light magazine:
    We're not trying to pick on the poor old turkey here, but bacon is a prime exampe of why label-reading is important. Pork bacon comes in smokey, super-thick, fatty slabs but also in naturally lean center cut slices; the latter contain as little as 60 calories, 1.5g sat fat, and 260mg sodium per slice. Turkey bacon also wanders all over the nutrition map. A slice of Jennie-Os ultra-lean version is a nutrition bargain, at 20 calories, 0g sat fat, and 120mg sodium. But others contain the same fat as center-cut pork bacon and even more sodium. What to do: If you like pork bacon, choose a lean high flavor cut, if you need less fat, find a lean lower sodium turkey product.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Pork bacon is not evil. Highly processed vegetable oils and the tons of carbs (not veggies or fruits) are. Regarding that diabetes study, I wonder how much bread products and processed sugary foods those bacon eaters ate..
  • catsinpajamas
    catsinpajamas Posts: 55
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    I second your conclusions Elle. Just eat regular bacon in moderation.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
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    Some people don't eat regular bacon for religious reasons... hence the usefulness of turkey bacon.
  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
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    Hmmm...I like turkey bacon much better than piggie bacon. We will stick to turkey bacon :) Turkey sausage on the other hand ~ bleck!
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
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    Yup, turkey bacon is processed floor scrapings basically. They tumble the bones, connective tissues, etc in a giant centrifuge thing that strips the bits and pieces off. It then gets mashed and ground together with some of the organs then washed in lye to disinfect it, then washed and rinsed again. Then formed into "bacon".

    Actually it's much more involved but that's the Cliff notes of it. Nasty stuff. Stay away.

    And hot dogs are all the innards scrambled into one casing. .. So personally I wouldn't eat any of it. . gross. . How about morning star bacon. . works great. . Not made out of rotting corpse. . Yay me!
  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    Yup, turkey bacon is processed floor scrapings basically. They tumble the bones, connective tissues, etc in a giant centrifuge thing that strips the bits and pieces off. It then gets mashed and ground together with some of the organs then washed in lye to disinfect it, then washed and rinsed again. Then formed into "bacon".

    Actually it's much more involved but that's the Cliff notes of it. Nasty stuff. Stay away.
    I never thought about that with turkey bacon.. I had it once, and didn't like it. I enjoy pork bacon once every 3-4 weeks on the weekend with egg whites and no bread.
    Your description reminds me of hot dogs, which I won't have anymore as well, and now will be reminded the same with turkey bacon.

    <Sigh>
    Turkey sausage, with chicken with spinach and Feta. Costco sells them, they are made by simple choice.
    I used to enjoy eating them, they taste so good. Until I looked at the label. 130 calories for a sausage but 730 mg of sodium.
  • MakingAChoice
    MakingAChoice Posts: 481 Member
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    The only real gain by using turkey bacon is the lower fat/saturated fat. Other than that they are about the same. If you are trying to stay low sodium than bacon is not something that you should consume very often simply because it is a cured meat (like lunch meats) that use a lot of salt in the curing process. If you do not want to give it up entirely than make a treat no more than once a week.
  • bentobee
    bentobee Posts: 321 Member
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    I once read a report about how turkey bacon is most definitely NOT a better choice health-wise than the real thing. It specifically referred to the exhaustive list of additives and higher sodium content as the reason. So you are right. Turkey bacon IS a lie!!
  • darrcn5
    darrcn5 Posts: 495 Member
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    I love the Gwaltney lean cut bacon (real bacon!). Yum!
  • darrcn5
    darrcn5 Posts: 495 Member
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    I love the Gwaltney lean cut bacon (real bacon!). Yum!
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    I look at it this way, turkey's don't have bacon! I refuse to eat faux bacon. If I wanted something made from turkey, I would have it in a more natural form such as turkey breast. Not turkey that is engineered to look and taste like bacon. Obviously it's not the leanest cut of meat, but if I intend to have some bacon, I just go whole hog (pun intended).

    A) Exactly. Turkey physically isn't bacon, so they have to add crap to make it taste more like bacon. BUT, I still don't hate it, and I eat both in moderation depending on my mood.

    B) I love a good pun.
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
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    I once read a report about how turkey bacon is most definitely NOT a better choice health-wise than the real thing. It specifically referred to the exhaustive list of additives and higher sodium content as the reason. So you are right. Turkey bacon IS a lie!!

    And real bacon is artery clogger. .. it takes the body 4 days to digest red meat and 2 for lean white meat such as chicken.
  • liberaltendencies
    liberaltendencies Posts: 150 Member
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    I have come to the conclusion that turkey bacon is worse for you than pig bacon.

    Here's the thing. I live in a small town, with two small-ish grocery stores. Because of their size, they don't have much variety when it comes to labels, so MAYBE it's just the brand of turkey bacon available in this area that I find unhealthy. But according to the label, turkey bacon is the same amount of calories as regular bacon when you compare weight and serving size. In fact, in some brands it's actually 5-10 calories more. But it's not just about the calories. There are so many additional additives on the ingredient label for turkey bacon that it makes me highly suspicious. Furthermore, since I can never seem to keep my sodium level under my goal, I've been trying extra hard to find low sodium products. Much to my surprise, most regular bacon actually has a lower sodium count than turkey bacon. So, I've decided, unless someone has something brilliant to say about this, I'm going back to regular bacon.

    So funny you bring this up! I noticed this same thing last night at the store. I live in a small town, too, so there isn't much selection.

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