Carrot Bacon And other Absurdities

Do you remember a few years back there was a viral video of the sweetest sounding lady who made meat substitutes from vegetables? The one that I remember the most was her making “bacon” out of carrots. She marinated carrot strips in soy sauce and other ingredients and cooked them just so in order that they would resemble bacon. She raved that they were arguably better than bacon. Now, I won’t lie, I could have watched all of her videos as her southern accent and charm were so inviting. But I also was not convinced that carrots were better than bacon.

I all but forgot about her video as I’ve gone on my merry way eating bacon when someone told me of a conversation arguing that carrots could be made into hot dog and were a much better substitute. Then I was launched into another conversation on raw milk versus almond “milk.” I felt a bit of déjà vu as memories of carrot “bacon” flooded my mind.

So, what’s the deal here? Are vegetable or nut substitutes better than animal products?

The truth? It’s not that simple.

While, I think an argument could be made against hot dogs in general (granted, I have been a hot dog hater my entire life), and for that matter, almond (or oat or flax or cashew or don’t even get me started on soy) “milk,” the vegetable versus meat debate isn’t quite so clean cut.

Our food breaks down into calories. Then going deeper, it breaks down into something called macronutrients, or macros for short. There are three different macros: protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Protein and fats are the only necessary macros for survival. While these are all that are essential for survival, our bodies thrive on carbs. This is especially true for women who overall tend to need more carbs for optimal health than men.

Fruits and vegetables and wonderful, yet we cannot live on them alone. Most fruits and vegetables contain primarily carbs and the protein or fats they provide are not enough to survive on. The best whole food sources of protein and fats are animal products. Beef, chicken, pork, bison, venison, so on are great sources of protein (for a lot of beef and pork they provide protein and fat too). Tallow, butter, lard, and cream are great sources of fat. Milk has all three macros in it! See why we’re such big milk fans?

Going deeper than just macros, we dive into micronutrients. This is where all the vitamins and minerals lie. Red meat, especially organ meats, are some of the most nutrient dense foods you will ever find on this planet. Beef liver is high in vitamin B12, vitamin A, riboflavin, copper, folate, iron, and more. It’s the real super food. We’ve already gone over in Nature's Supplement the benefits of raw milk!

So, let’s all go carnivore (well, at least just animal by product eaters), right? Not so fast. As I said, women, but really all of us, do better with some carbs. Carbohydrates give us burst of energy. And one thing you won’t find in meat or milk is fiber. Plus, there’s many wonderful vitamins in vegetables as well. Carrots for example have fiber, beta carotene, vitamin K1, potassium, and more in them. Let’s also not forget that Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life, so don’t discount the power of carbs.

In essence and all seriousness, it’s a false dichotomy to say that animal products are unhealthy or anything but meat is unhealthy. We live in a wild world of diet spectrums all the way from vegan to carnivore. And each group is not just adamant that they’re way is right, but they cling to it with a religious like fervor making their diet their idol. God designed our bodies to need meat and milk and vegetables and fruits and bread. There is value in each.

But do let us be clear on a few things: God did give us several different mammals to get milk from, meat to make sandwiches with, and bacon to enjoy. If we’re having to create substitutes for natural foods with weird things like seed oils (which so many studies are coming out on the dangers on them), emulsifiers, refined sugars, and other processed garbage, we should really evaluate why we are doing that. Surly it is not for health.

I know for me and my house, the more we are told to eat bugs, drink nut juice, and go vegan, the harder we consume meat and dairy. I do think perhaps there is better alternative to hot dogs, for example hamburgers. But I do enjoy a raw carrot salad along side my burger and raw milk!

To summarize, as most people are trying to eat better this January, let us aim for a wide spectrum of foods! May you enjoy quality whole foods like locally sourced beef and raw milk, fresh or frozen vegetables, in season fruits, delicious bacon, and, of course, the occasional (or regular) slice or two of bread.

I would cite my sources, but most of the information in this blog has come from years of macro and micro tracking, a wealth of knowledge provided by the health and wellness podcast Mind Pump, being obsessed with Max Lugavere, and a few quick google searches. Feel free to go explore these topics yourself!