I recently heard that there is a “cute food” movement brewing right now. Cute food? Well, see picture below.

So, I decided to put my cute food skills to task and create some animal related tiny foods for us all to OOOOoo and AAAhhh over.

They are bacon and egg cups. While they may not look like animals, they are definitely made out of animals. They are also yummy and a great thing to make in advance if you prefer to run out the door in the morning rather than leisurely chop and sauté omelets and paleo pancakes all morning long.

Nothing much to them, just some bacon and then some egg.

SOAP BOX ALERT:

Okay kids, when purchasing bacon you need to be really sure that it is natural and free from nitrates and nitrites. This is not a difficult thing to determine. Most of the time the package will say NO PRESERVATIVES or ALL NATURAL. But the best way to be sure is to look at the ingredients. SIDE NOTE: While you’re at it, if you are buying any prepackaged food, make sure you read the ingredients. Things (and by “things” I mean “crap that you shouldn’t be eating”) have a way of making their way into any and all packaged food. If the bacon has said preservatives in it, then you must pass on the purchase. Here’s why…

Sodium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrate all share some common evils:

1. many people have undiscovered sensitivities to these chemicals, symptoms include; migraines, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, and difficulty breathing

2. It’s toxic and 1g-2g of sodium nitrate is lethal. It also inhibits your body’s ability to transport oxygen to your bodily tissues.

3. It converts to nitrosamines in the body, which are mutagens that promote cancer growth.

4. Really?! you need 4 reasons. What about 1-3 is not convincing enough?

Seriously guys, this stuff is bad news. So much so that the USDA tried to ban its use in the 1970’s, but (unsurprisingly) this ban met a great amount of opposition by the US meat industry.

Try to find a good local source of uncured natural bacon and pork. Organic… good. preservative-free… good. Trader Joe’s carries some great preservative-free bacon at a great price. Applegate Farms does the same for lots of meat products like bacon, sausages, deli meats (check those labels!)

Bacon and Egg Cups

1 lb. bacon, either strips or ends and pieces from Trader Joe’s. enough to cover the bottom and sides of a muffin tin.

12 eggs, one for each cup

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Place bacon in muffin tin so that is creates a “holder” for the egg.

3. Crack an egg into each cup.

4 Bake for 8-15 mins depending on how thick your bacon is and how runny/well-done you want your egg.

Variations include:

• using Canadian bacon rounds instead of bacon
• putting some sweet potato on the bottom
• chopping up the bacon and whipping the eggs so that they are more like crustless-quiche.