Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Avocado Appetizer

I didn’t always love avocado. There was a time when I turned my nose up at its texture and colour and ohmygawd what is that flavour? As my taste buds matured along came an appreciation for olives, craft ale, bearded men, and the previously despised green fruit. And then I couldn’t get enough. Guacamole became my food of choice along with my current favourite: avocados lightly seasoned with sea salt and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

But avocados are tricky; if there’s one thing we can all count on it’s that finding a perfectly ripened avocado is as impossible as Goldilock’s quest: Not too soft, not too hard, not too rotten.

When avocados are just right there’s nothing tastier, unless you add cheese and bacon to the mix and then the combo becomes the perfect food. Avocados have become a big part of my healthier eating plan and — stick with me! — bacon and cheese fit in too.

Thanks to a fondness for pastries and bread and all things my French-ness longs for, my jeans have grown tighter and my running slower. Along with a group of friends, I committed to making incremental changes that would lead to overall increased health. For me it meant cutting back on breads, refined sugar, and calories, and increasing healthy fats and daily movement. Also, the word moderation is being dusted off.  Really, the challenge is a great way to detox before the excesses of August BBQs come calling when all willpower vanishes in a puff of s’mores and peach pies.

But but but…BACON??? What works for me isn’t going to work for you and vice versa. A few slices of bacon per week to keep my taste buds happy and keeps me from making a beeline to the hot croissant at my local bakery. So, yes, bacon is still on my menu with no chance of going anywhere.

My daughter often says, “I could be a vegetarian except there’s bacon.” She loves animals, spends most of her life outdoors with horses and dogs and other creatures, but bacon has her heart and her palate. She’s not alone! Canadians — at least 90% — enjoy bacon and 36% of you would change your Facebook pic to a slice of bacon*.

SEE

Although I don’t feed it to my daughter at every meal it helps me feel good about when she and the rest of us do eat it if I’ve bought quality over quantity. I look for smaller producers like duBreton (for real! Their loins are like no others!) who stand behind ethical production and sell antiobitic-free and organic options.

I met a farmer recently who said his animals were happy because they lived a real life and that it made a difference to not only how he farmed, but also how the end product tastes. He was right. And duBreton follows a similar philosophy. Along with being committed to animal welfare, they’ve made a commitment to raise 300,000 pigs crate-free by 2018. It tells me they have a company-wide value system in tune with how my family thinks, and helps me be an educated and conscientious consumer.

Which brings me back to what served as my lunch yesterday: avocado, goat cheese, and bacon. The recipe is simple and quick to prepare and it can bake while you’re finishing off the project you put off last night.

Instructions for Bacon Wrapped Goat Cheese Avocado Appetizers

Halve and pit the avocado.

Combine goat cheese, thyme, and garlic.

Fill with cheese and wrap with bacon and bake. Enjoy!

Favourite bacon cooking tip*

Try baking your bacon instead of frying it. It will be crispy and the right amount of chewy without leaving the kitchen looking like a crime scene. Lay the bacon on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes at 400F. It frees you and the stove up for other goodies.

For more information about duBreton’s commitment to animal welfare, ethical production, and quality products find them on Facebook or follow the breadcrumbs at #duBretonDelicious.

[yumprint-recipe id=’92’]*The survey was commissioned by duBreton through MARU/VCR+C from June 15 to June 16, 2016 as an online survey among 1,503 randomly selected Canadians.  The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/-2.53%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples are representative of the Canadian adult population. The survey terminated responses from Canadians that indicated they don’t eat bacon (1.a.) or only eat vegetarian or poultry-based bacon (1.b.).

This post sponsored by duBreton. Opinions are those of the author.