Product Review: Turkey Bacon by Oscar Mayer

People who are trying to cut back on fat in their diets are often on the lookout for healthier alternatives to their full-fat favourites. One such item would be bacon. Turkey bacon is a healthier choice than pork bacon.

Pork bacon is one of the fattiest meats a person can choose. Fortunately, Turkey Bacon, by Oscar Mayer, contains 50% less fat than USDA data for pork bacon. This is good news for people who are partial to bacon and eggs for breakfast each morning. Turkey bacon means that they can still enjoy eating bacon, but with a lot less fat. Here are the nutrition facts for Turkey Bacon by Oscar Mayer:

Serving size 1 rasher (15g)
Servings per container about 22

Calories 35 Calories from fat 25
Total fat 3g
Saturated fat 1g
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 15mg
Sodium 190mg
Total carbohydrate Protein 2g

According to the packaging, this product is not a significant source of dietary fibre, sugars, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and Iron. From the nutrition facts that are provided though, we can see that Turkey Bacon by Oscar Mayer is low in calories, saturated fat and it contains no trans fat. The cholesterol level is also very low, which is surprising, because pork bacon is usually packed full of cholesterol. The sodium is quite high though. If you serve 4 rashers of bacon with eggs, that is 760mg of sodium!

Cooking instructions are very simple. If you choose to fry the turkey bacon, it will take between 8-10 minutes. The frying pan does not need to be preheated and no oil is required to fry the turkey bacon. Place the turkey bacon in a single layer and cook until it is brown.

Alternatively, place the turkey bacon in between paper towels in the microwave and cook 2 rashers of turkey for 1- ½ minutes or up to 2 minutes for 4 rashers. Cook for longer if you want the turkey bacon to be crispy.

The packaging says that the turkey bacon "doesn't shrink like ordinary bacon - a 12oz package gives you more meat after cooking than a 16oz package of pork bacon. Plus no greasy clean up!" While I would agree that the meat keeps its shape during the cooking process, I would have to disagree with the fact that there is no greasy clean up.