Bacon vs Sugar

[mission to lose]

Hi,
I want to go out to buy some bacon today. I know we should try to avoid the nitrates and sugar. Does anyone in the US have any suggestions as to what are some of my better choices to avoid the sugar? Any name brands?
BTW, I will be going to Walmart.

Thanks,
~Mary

[krispysky]

Re: Bacon vs Sugar

I have scoured every package of bacon and sausage at Wal-Mart to no avail...on the rare occassion I find sugar-free, it's still filled with nitrites--which give me a HUGE headache. *ugh*

I will be happily awaiting someone's response to this!

[mizski]

Re: Bacon vs Sugar

You need to look for UNCURED bacon. Uncured means that the bacon hasn't been cured in the traditional way using sodium nitrate or sodium nitrite to preserve the pork and keep it pink or red. Instead, the uncured versions generally use salt, lactic acid starter culture and celery juice, which is loaded with natural sodium nitrate, to create the distinctive bacon flavor.

Some uncured bacon such as Hormel Natural Choice or Applegate Farms Dry Cured Bacon list sugar as an ingredient but the amount is so low that it doesn't register on the nutritional info. I use Wellshire Farms All-Natural Uncured Bacon...they also have a large line of other uncured all-natural products such as turkey bacon, brisket, ham, etc.

Trader Joe's has a lot of these products and some of my local grocery stores do as well. Not sure about WalMart...somehow I don't think healthy, chemical-free foods are high priority there. Worth checking out though.

[WetBanana]

Re: Bacon vs Sugar

I saw at Walmart in the pork section freshly cut bacon that wasn't touched other then to cut it into strips. I am in Canada though...donno if that makes a difference.