Lets face it bacon is one of those foods that just makes you happy. The crispy delicious taste of bacon is a treat that so many enjoy and that enhances many recipes. However, bacon can be tight on the pocket book and it isn't the healthiest thing in the world for you. A while back my husband and I did a one week clean eating challenge and found out a very valuable trick for helping with these two bacon problems. For one of the breakfast menus in this challenge it had you cook up a slice of turkey bacon. "What?" I thought to myself, "There isn't a replacement for bacon, bacon is bacon, the end." And yes that is true there really isn't another bacon, but turkey bacon surprised us. You get practically a double the amount to if you bought bacon for the same price. Which is wonderful to save money and have it last longer. Also, if you cook it correctly and for the right amount of time it actually gets the crispness of bacon and has a very comparable taste. This little magical trick to "having bacon" but not having it has been a revelation in our home. We really enjoy adding it to salads, sprinkling it on soup, eating it with eggs, putting it in a quiche, or just munching on it. If you have never bought or seen turkey bacon I will give you a heads up it looks very different than just buying bacon. To me it looked like a cheap and gross wanna-be. So needless to say I was wary and a non-believer to start out with, but found that it came pretty dang close to that crispy meat we all love. Close enough that I don't mind changing it up most the time and getting Turkey Bacon instead, I actually enjoyed it a lot and was surprised how yummy it turned out. Watching the heart healthier foods can be very important. And if you can find something that can quench that bacon thirst but be lower calories and fat, than you're allowed an extra scoop of ice-cream, right. I have found that making a recipe a little more health consciences makes me feel a little better when I really need a sweets fix and happier that I'm trying to eat better.

Another little magical trick for bacon is getting those thin bacon bit type slices on a salad or in a soup. I bought a kitchen tool a long time ago that I have absolutely loved, and now I love it even more knowing it's versatility. The Herb Scissor! This awesome gadget is meant for cutting herbs quickly and efficiently for you, and it's a lifesaver. When cutting up tons of basil for pesto or fresh rosemary over potatoes, it is so helpful and fun to have these useful scissors. Well, after cooking up a bunch of turkey bacon for a salad I was about to get a knife out to slice it up when I realized there had to be an easier way. And there was!!! The Herb Scissors did the job so well I'll never go back to a knife. If you are in need of a quick and helpful tool to make all your bacon (or turkey bacon) slicing a cinch this is the one! It's so much fun to have kitchen gadgets that actually do save you time and make cooking at home a blast! So there you have it, two pieces of "bacon" tricks to help you out in the kitchen and with your health!