I'm asking THAT question now!

bacon
(mich) #1

Hi again. It keeps occurring to me, as I happily indulge and enjoy my streaky bacon each day, that Keto is a predominately ‘real food’ WOE, yet isn’t bacon highly processed?
I also understand that coconut oil, butter, milk etc can be classified as processed because, well, they are; but in my head, bacon is so much more so.
Could someone please relieve me of these thoughts?! TIA!

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #2

Are you concerned about nitrates etc.? You can get bacon without those. Paleo bacon has not gone through much processing, no more than a chicken you buy to roast at the grocery.

(John) #3

It has to be more processed by definition. Real bacon is cured, so it has to go through more steps than another part such as ribs.
Video this is pre-cooked bacon but regular follows a similar process up until the cooking.

(Jennifer) #4

You don’t have to eat bacon. Pork belly works… :wink:

(mich) #5

Thanks for the replies. No Im not nervous about anything, its just one of those things that I think about in the wee hours!
And yes, I get my fair share of pork belly too!

(G. Andrew Duthie) #6

Gonna have to disagree here.

Keto may tend to lead people away from processed foods, but part of that, at least, is a side effect of how much processed food has become filled with sugar and other carbs.

But there’s nothing inherent in keto that is against “processed” foods, as long as they don’t have excess sugar, starch, or other carbs, and have (or are eaten with) healthy fats.

Folks who prefer less processing can certainly opt for meats and such that are minimally processed. But personally, I still like pepperoni, salami, etc.

There’s totally room in keto for both preferences.

#7

People have been processing food to preserve it for a long time, so I always think of “real food” this way: Is it something that I could make from scratch at my house? I can make bacon at my house, but it wouldn’t have the same ingredients as most grocery store bacon.

I’d say if you want to eat in that kind of real food way, try to get as close to that as possible. You don’t have to eat that way to be keto, but it doesn’t hurt anything either.

#8

Humans have been curing and fermenting food for a long time. We didn’t have any other way to preserve perishable food before refrigeration. Is the process they use now worse for us? Maybe. There’s probably some paleo stuff available that’s more in line with traditional methods.

(Adam Kirby) #9

Right that’s more a paleo thing. I have nothing particular against processed meat, artificial sweeteners, etc.

(Siobhan) #10

You can easily make bacon at home so I still consider it real.
Nitrates I dont worry about because theyve been used forever and were valued for curing ability.

It IS more processed, but freezing or canning is processing too and it doesnt necessarily damage anything.
There is plenty of fake keto food around. It is just cheaper to not eat it.

(mich) #11

that’s a great way of thinking! thanks.

(mich) #12

Thank you - yes, I over analyse in the wee hours!
I smoked for 15 years :thumbsdown: so a bit of nitrate doesn’t concern me!

(Siobhan) #13

Smoked as in cigarettes or smoked as in bacon? Lol
Either way it is worth noting that nitrates are also found in things like root vegetables, and celery.
I think even in higher amounts than in bacon but dont quote me on that one.

(mich) #14

The bad one

#15

Some of the all-natural bacons use … celery powder!

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #16

http://blog.ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/

A good post by Michael Ruhlman, one of the best food writers around. He wrote Charcuterie, it is about making salami, bacon etc. at home. I have a couple of his other books but not that one, his blog has a post that tells you how to cure bacon at home, as well.

#17

That’s how I see it as well. People have been processing and preserving food since forever. Many traditional cheeses are about as “processed” as bacon.

Another definition of eating real food is don’t eat anything that people from 100 years ago wouldn’t recognize as food.

(Rosi ) #18

There are lots of different ways that bacon can be made and bought. My husband and I have made bacon by just salting it for an extended period of time, and then smoking it. It was delicious! Our pigs were pastured and supplemented with some grain and food scraps. You can buy bacon that is nitrate free if you wish. I just buy regular bacon now as we don’t have any pigs at the moment. I love it. I can’t help it. Bacon is good food!