Winter is the time of cooking hearty meals that often contain hidden sources of fat, like bacon. I love the flavor of bacon. It is great to add into many dishes like Eggy Pasta with Spinach and Bacon [1]. There is no reason, though, to use "real" bacon, when you can substitute turkey bacon. I have been doing this for years and must admit that Willie Bird [2] brand turkey bacon is my favorite – it tastes like real bacon and crisps up well (just check that photo). I wanted to know the caloric difference between pork bacon and turkey bacon to see if I really was reaping the health benefits with the substitution.
To see how these two types of bacon compare, just .
| Bacon Type | serving size | Calories | Calories from fat | Fat (g) | Saturated fat (g) | Cholesterol (mg) | Sodium (mg) | Protein (g) |
| Willie Bird Turkey Bacon | 1 slice (30g) | 60 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 200 | 7 |
| Oscar Mayer Bacon (Low Sodium) [3] | 2 slices (14g) | 70 | 50 | 6 | 2.5 | 10 | 170 | 4 |
I will admit I was surprised to see that the turkey bacon contains more cholesterol than regular bacon, although it contains half the fat calories. The portion is seriously bigger too, for turkey bacon! I think I will keep using turkey bacon and might just go make myself a BLT right now.