The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans

And the winner is… Dawn at BabyBoy3! Congratulations Dawn! Please contact me at heather@shrinkingjeans.net with your mailing info.

Thanks to everyone for participating, and don’t forget to go check out today’s AWESOME giveaway!

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There are a few ingredients that always, ALWAYS make a dish taste better.

Butter.

Salt.

Bacon.

Mmmmm. BACON. How much do I love bacon? Well, let’s just say that I’ve been known to eat an entire package by myself, in one sitting. Extra crispy, almost burnt. Yes, disgusting. Disgustingly DELICIOUS.

Of course, that was back when my metabolism was more agreeable.  These days, bacon is more of a treat. I’m even wary of turkey bacon – total sodium trap.

So, let’s just say I was a little more than intrigued when I saw a product from my native Seattle featured on an Oprah Fridays Live show.  The panel was presented with BLT’s – containing no bacon.  Instead, the sandwich was made of toasted bread, lettuce, tomato and a new condiment – Baconnaise.  A product with no actual bacon in it – in fact, it is vegan. The panel was skeptical.

But, they liked it. OPRAH LIKED IT.

Come on, if Oprah gave it the thumbs up, I had to give it a try.

I was grocery shopping a few weeks back, and saw Baconnaise Lite (yes, they make a low fat version – only 30 calories per tablespoon) on the shelf.  I picked it up. I went home and made a B(not really)LT. And it was GOOD. Really, really good.

I decided I needed to contact these crazy guys over at J&D ’s- Justin and Dave (by the way, you should really go read their story, it’s hilarious – especially the part about their start up funds coming from Dave’s three year old son’s America’s Funniest Home Videos win).  I heard back and they were kind enough to send me some products to try – including the Baconnaise Lite (which I already knew and loved), as well as their flagship product, Bacon Salt Original. Oh, and some bacon flavored lip balm that I’m still working up the courage to try. Though I’m pretty sure that bacon flavored lip balm may be the ultimate man lure – what have we been thinking all these years with flowery perfumes?

All of the products I have tried from J&D’s have been excellent. I’ve used the Bacon Salt on my baked potato, on eggs, on steamed broccoli.  It’s a zero calorie, low sodium punch in the face of bacon ecstasy. I kid you not.

I tried the Baconnaise Lite not only in the B (not really) LT, but also in the dressing for my Broccoli Salad. The salad usually calls for bacon, but using Baconnaise, I can not only skip the hassle of actually cooking bacon (not to mention the lingering bacon-y smell in my hair) but I also am able to cut the calories in the dressing itself.

Oh, twist my arm…here’s the recipe.

Broccoli and Cranberry Salad

1 lb broccoli florets (do yourself a favor and buy the bagged kind – I won’t tell)
1/2 cup chopped red (or purple) onion
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup lite Baconnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar (or, if you really want to cut calories, 8 tsp Splenda Sugar Blend)
salt and freshly ground pepper

Perfect potluck dish. And come on, Baconnaise is kind of an awesome conversation starter!

So, I bet you’re kind of curious too.  It’s only natural…I’m talking about guilt free bacon-ny goodness!

Well, you’re in luck. You can order all kinds of bacon flavored products over at J&D’s online store … or, you can enter today’s fabulous giveaway! I have a gift pack from J&D’s for one of our lucky Sisters (or Brothers). Stop drooling and check out how you can enter:

1. Go to the J&D’s site, have a peek at their products and leave a comment on this post telling us what you’d like to try, and how you’d use it!
2. For an extra entry, follow us on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to leave an additional comment about your tweet!
3. For another entry, subscribe to our feed. Be sure to leave an additional comment letting us know you subscribed (or are already a subscriber).
4. Join the ‘hood. You know you want to! Then, leave another comment and let us know you’re a member!

Now for the fine print:

1. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents.
2. Contest ends today, November 16th, at MIDNIGHT Pacific time.
3. Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced tomorrow. Please be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you! Winner has 48 hours to claim prize, and unclaimed prized will be relisted for giveaway.

Disclosure: J&D’s Foods has sponsored this giveaway. The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans did not receive monetary considerations for writing this post. J&D’s logo courtesy of www.j&dfoods.net.