A few years ago I quit pork cold turkey.  I had heard a few discussions and read a few articles that left me completely unappetized by the meat and I decided I would do just fine by removing it from my diet.  While I was grieving the thought of never enjoying another bacon-wrapped, cream cheese stuffed jalapeno and lamenting the reality that I’d never again taste the wonder of spicy italian sausage on my home-made pizzas or in my signature pasta sauce I discovered countless turkey alternatives.

Much to my sheer delight I found that many previously pork products I enjoyed now conveniently come in turkey versions.  Jennie-O makes a whole host of tasty turkey substitutes such as Italian Sausage, breakfast sausage, and turkey bacon.  Hilshire Farms makes a pretty quality turkey Polska Kielbasa that is just excellent in jambalaya, breakfast tacos, on the grill, or any other dish in which you’d use Kielbasa.  AND much to my sheer glee, Hormel now makes turkey pepperoni!  These are just a few of my discoveries.  There are countless other brands of chicken and turkey alternatives, especially in the cooked or smoked sausage department.  Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are usually great resources for these specialty finds.Now, I’m not gonna lie, sometimes the turkey bacon and turkey pepperoni can seem a little more “fake” than the pork alternatives.  Generally it takes a few tries to get used to and one should accept that they will never be just like the original form.  BUT they will be tasty, pork-free, and contain quite a bit less fat so think about those things instead!  The turkey pepperoni bakes nice and crisp on a pizza and along with cheese and other toppings you can hardly tell…okay well maybe not for the discerning pepperoni aficianado.

So if you are a considering a pork-free diet, I hope you can find some helpful resources here.  If you already enjoy many of the turkey options out there and have a discovered a tasty find not mentioned here, please do share with the rest of us; I love to know what my eaters are reading…er, I mean, what my readers are eating!