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Having a hard time finding Bacon without sugar


Ripcord_Jennie

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Hey all,

I'm only on day four of my first Whole30 (and also on day four of eating meat for the first time in 16 years), and while I haven't cased every store and haven't had a chance to get to the farmer's market (it's on Saturday!), I have had a really hard time finding bacon that doesn't have added sugar, either as raw sugar, cane juice, or turbinado sugar. I'm having NO trouble finding nitrate-free, hormone free bacon.

Seems like bacon factors into a lot of Whole30 recipes, so I'm wondering if people have a brand (and where to find it) that they like? Or just stick to farmer's markets? Or do they need to use sugar to cure it, too (I don't know meat-talk)?

I want bacon. Tips welcome!

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i have asked every single vendor at my local farmer's market. all have sugar. i found ONE among a few dozen varieties of sausage among vendors that doesn't have sugar. (hot italian links). i can get local ground pork easily, though. and i got some fresh belly today!! mmmm

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Back in 2010 I found several varieties of bacon without sugar in several different stores... then I couldn't. It's been more than a year since I've found sugar-free bacon. I haven't been looking lately, but I guess it's time to poke around again.

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I had this same question. All the bacon I saw at my local store had sugar in it the same for all the breakfast sausage. I decided that I'll just use ground pork or ground turkey in the morning instead. The only probably I had with the turkey is that it's dry but I think its because I let it cook to long in the oven.

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I could not find nitrate/chemical free Sugar free bacon anywhere around me, so I decided to try and make my own. Followed this recipe:

http://jensgonepaleo.blogspot.com/2011/11/homemade-bacon.html

Whoa, turned out truly fantastic! Not sure I will ever buy bacon again. It's a bit of work but figured some of the more adventurous out there might tackle it too!

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I haven't tried making it yet but it's a great idea. I find that making some things at home rather than buying them prepared makes me appreciate and enjoy them more and also kind of connects you to your food in a way I think is meaningful and important.

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It's so hard to find sugar free bacon locally and I don't want to make time to do it myself, so I basically gave up on bacon during my Whole30. I love it as much as anyone, but there are enough other foods I enjoy that I don't miss it (too much)!

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I hate to beat a dead horse here, but the bacon I have in my fridge lists sugar as an ingredient but doesn't show it in the nutritional breakdown, i.e. no actual grams of sugar. What gives? On day 3 of my first Whole30 and I want to get this right, but I have two packs of this stuff and can't really afford to go out and replace it-do I freeze it for a month? Help!

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Yep, I'd freeze it. I have found that my favorite bacon now is the Sugar-Free Bacon from US Wellness...it is so good and W30 approved. When I'm not on a strict W30 in a pinch I will buy Applegate Farms Organic Sunday Bacon which does list sugar in the ingredients but not in the nutritional label...I've been told that the sugar is used in the curing process but that once it is cooked most of the sugar cooks out which is why it doesn't show up on the label...

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

So I hate to beat a dead horse here, but the bacon I have in my fridge lists sugar as an ingredient but doesn't show it in the nutritional breakdown, i.e. no actual grams of sugar. What gives? On day 3 of my first Whole30 and I want to get this right, but I have two packs of this stuff and can't really afford to go out and replace it-do I freeze it for a month? Help!

The FDA labeling requirements say that if the amount of sugar (or anything) in a serving is less than 1g, they're allowed to put "0g" of that substance, but they STILL have to list it on the ingredients. A lot of companies shrink serving sizes to take advantage of this loophole. Your bacon is still probably a good choice post Whole30, but for now it's out.

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I have a sugar free option here in Tasmania Australia but it lists sodium nitrate and mineral salts and an antioxidant are these just preservatives that might effect my whole 30?

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Monique, when I make ground turkey or ground chicken, I add a little bit of coconut milk (can) and that keeps it moist. I use more of the milk when I make lettuce wraps - ground turkey/chicken, curry powder, kale, carrots, etc...

I had this same question. All the bacon I saw at my local store had sugar in it the same for all the breakfast sausage. I decided that I'll just use ground pork or ground turkey in the morning instead. The only probably I had with the turkey is that it's dry but I think its because I let it cook to long in the oven.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does this seem okay? I'm not sure what some of the ingredients are, so my instinct is that it's probably not a good idea:

Kirkland Signature Low Sodium Bacon

Ingredients: Pork cured with water, salt, sodium phosphate, sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrate. Smoked with natural hard woods.

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That's what I thought. I saw a few people posting about the Kirkland low sodium bacon, and had to track down the ingredients to see if it looked okay.

I scoured the bacon section last week at Whole Foods (Portland area), and couldn't find one without some form of sugar. Ah well, I can live without bacon.

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A suburb of Portland, but now that the kids are both done with high school and in college (and we don't have to stay here for the schools), I'm hoping to move out of the burbs and get a place closer to downtown! I really love Portland, too .

Can you send me the name of the bacon you got, so I can ask my Whole Foods about it, and keep my eye out for it?

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