RECIPE ~ BLT Salad

~*~This post is part of the Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays~*~

Also a part of Get Healthy, Cheap's Family Food Fridays

I love a good BLT sandwich. Mmmmm, just thinking about them makes my mouth water. I could eat them all day, everyday. What I don't love about them is all that bread. Occasionally having that bread doesn't bother me, but refined carbs and I don't get along and a BLT sandwich on sprouted Ezekiel bread just ain't the same. Am I wrong? So, what's a bacon loving, carb hating, BLT addict to do? Why put it in a bowl, of course!

The very first step is to find the prettiest bowl in your cupboard. I happen to have a fairly unhealthy addiction to vintage Pyrex so there is no shortage of pretties when I open those cabinet doors.

The next thing you do is to fill up that pretty bowl with some amazing, fresh greens from Saturday's Farmer's Market. Let's face it, once you've eaten a salad fresh from the market, there is no going back. Greens just don't get any better!

Then you need to fry up some bacon. Not just any bacon. As with all of my animal products that I eat and feed my family, I buy the best quality that I can find and afford. Thankfully my husband has a secure job that provides well for our family and affording quality animal products is not an issue for our family. I recongize that not all families are as fortunate as mine, so buy the best you can ~ or simply forgo. I would rather eat vegetarian than eat the meat from the feedlot animals that line the shelves of most grocery stores.

So, what does "high quality" animal meat mean and where can you buy it? I'm lucky, I have a fantastic market close to my house that carries some of the best meat and local produce that one could ask for.

All of the beef I feed my family comes from grass fed/grass finished cows ~ in other words "happy cows". I'm still searching for a good source of happy chickens ~ chickens that are allowed out in the sun and to run around in the grass, pecking at bugs and seeds and pretty much anything else they (naturally) find in the ground. Pigs should be allowed to roam and scavenge freely. I do not, under any circumstances, believe that the animals should be fed a diet rich in grains & corn & antibiotics. (Sidebar ~ did you know that meat labeled as "antibiotic free" only means that there were no antibiotics in their system when they were slaughtered? It DOES NOT mean that they weren't raised on a diet full of synthetic antibiotics up until just a few weeks before slaughter) ~ according to my butcher.

This is why I am not afraid of pork, I am not afraid of red meat, I'm not afraid of the dark meat of a chicken.

Ok, while you're at it, fry up some pork shoulder bacon, too. But you might want to add some drippings back into that pan. They are really lean. You wouldn't want it to stick to your pan, now would you?

Ok, while the bacon (and pork shoulder) are frying up, dice up some tomatoes. Now, this next step is of utmost importance. Seriously, peeps. I mean it. If your knife doesn't match your veggie your salad will be ruined. I know. Who knew? I'm so glad I was given a handful of various colored parring knives for Christmas last year. All this time I had no idea. Our food is so much better now.

Put all ingredients in that pretty bowl and top with the dressing of your choice. I usually just use some mayo thinned with milk or some ranch. Oh ~ and please, please, please don't ruin this amazing salad with some bottled, synthetic, "light" salad dressing. I'll cry. I really will. The ranch that I use is made in that awesome market I mentioned with real ingredients. I know because I asked. : )