Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

Bacon wrapped asparagus is something that you can serve up to guests (or yourself) and feel good about it. The bitter and distinct, yet delicious, flavors of the asparagus paired with the rich and hearty bacon come together to form a fantastic combination. Pair that with a smooth and thick garlic aioli to top it all off and you have a winner on your hands. I’ve never been much of a fan of asparagus, but cooked right and wrapped in bacon – I will eat it any day!

When I’m lacking fats in a side dish, I love to make an easy sauces that will go well with the dish. In this case, a simple (and I mean really simple) garlic aioli will do the trick! Aioli’s are usually a bit of a pain to make, because you’re essentially making your own mayonnaise, but why not cut down the work and use either pre-made store-bought or homemade mayonnaise? It’s a fast way to get a bunch of flavor (and tons of fat) into your dish. All the while, still complimenting the flavor profiles of everything you took your time to make.

You’ll have half of the garlic aioli left when you finish with this dish, and that can easily be used over salads or as a sauce with a different cut of meat. The reason that you’re left with half is that there should be a reasonable amount of bacon fat and olive oil left in the baking pan when you’re finished cooking the asparagus. If you only use half of the aioli recipe to do this, you’re left with a very fatty and rich tasting sauce – drowning the other flavors out with the flavors of the bacon fat. And while that’s not always a bad thing, that’s not the flavor profile I was aiming for here.

Yields 3 Servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

The Preparation

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

• 1 1/2 lb. Asparagus
• 6 slices Bacon
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Red Chili Flakes

Simple Garlic Aioli

• 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 large Egg Yolk
• 2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
• Rendered Bacon Fat & Olive Oil

The Execution

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Get the 1 1/2 lb. of asparagus out and prep it. If needed, cut off the bottom 1 inch of the stalks to allow for a better consistency. The bottoms of asparagus are usually much thicker and harder than the rest of the stalk, meaning that it will be harder when it comes out the oven. My preference is to cut off this part of the stalk (normally a bit lighter in color).

2. Separate the asparagus into bundles. You should end up with 6 bundles with about 11 stalks per bundle. I was using small and thin stalks of asparagus. If you’re using larger asparagus, you may only get 4-5 stalks per bundle.

3. Wrap each bundle in 1 strip of bacon. Hold the tops of the spears of asparagus in your hand, then starting at the bottom wrap the asparagus in bacon. Move your way up until the whole slice of bacon wraps around the asparagus.

4. Transfer the now bacon wrapped asparagus on to a baking sheet wrapped in foil. Drizzle 2 tbsp. Olive Oil over the asparagus then season with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.

5. Bake the asparagus at 400F for 20-22 minutes, then broil for an additional 2-5 minutes until the bacon is crisped and cooked.

6. Remove asparagus from the oven to let cool slightly.

7. Combine the rendered fats from the baking sheet, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 large egg yolk and 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice in a small container.

8. Add the 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1/4 tsp. salt, then mix together until aioli is smooth.

9. Serve up and enjoy!

This will make 3 servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli. Each serving comes out to 415 Calories, 37.5g Fats, 5.1g Net Carbs, and 10.8g Protein. You will have half of the aoili leftover at the end.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus	Calories	Fats (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
1 1/2 lb. Asparagus	163	1	27	14	13	15
6 slices Bacon	623	61	0	0	0	16
2 tbsp. Olive Oil	240	28	0	0	0	0
Kosher Salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cracked Black Pepper	2	0	0	0	0	0
Red Chili Flakes	2	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	1030	90	27	14	13	31
Per Serving ( /3 )	343.3	30.0	9.0	4.7	4.3	10.3

Simple Garlic Aioli	Calories	Fats (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
1 tsp. Minced Garlic	10	0	2	0	2	0
1/8 tsp.  Kosher Salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
1/4 cup Mayonnaise	360	40	0	0	0	0
1 large Egg Yolk	55	5	1	0	1	3
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice	5	0	1.5	0	1.5	0
Totals	430	45	4.5	0	4.5	3
Per Serving ( /6 )	71.7	7.5	0.8	0.0	0.8	0.5
Totals Together	415.0	37.5	9.8	4.7	5.1	10.8

Print

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli

This will make 3 servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli. Each serving comes out to 415 Calories, 37.5g Fats, 5.1g Net Carbs, and 10.8g Protein. You will have half of the aoili leftover at the end.

The Preparation

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
• 1 lb. Asparagus
• 6 slices Bacon
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Cracked Black Pepper
• Red Chili Flakes
Simple Garlic Aioli
• 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
• 1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 large Egg Yolk
• 2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
• Rendered Bacon Fat & Olive Oil

The Execution

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Seperate asparagus into 6 bundles (about 11 stalks per bundle). Cut off bottom 1 inch of asparagus if needed.
3. Wrap each bundle in 1 piece of bacon, starting from the bottom of the stalks and working upward.
4. Transfer asparagus to a foil wrapped baking sheet. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.
5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, then broil for additional 2-5 minutes to allow bacon to crisp up.
6. Combine garlic, mayo, egg yolk, rendered fats from the baking pan, salt, and lemon juice.
7. Mix together well until an aoili is smooth.

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Delicious no carb pizza recipe

A few weeks ago I started following the Atkins Program.   I was doing well with it and felt fantastic but I had 1 problem – carb and fruit cravings.  While I felt that the Atkins program works for some people, I also felt that obviously my body was telling me something because the carb cravings were so strong I could have eaten a piece of cardboard.

Then I remembered something.

Suzanne Somers.

Over 10 years ago I followed the Suzanne Somer’s Somercize Plan and was very successful with it.  In fact, my mom, my sister and my karate instructor began following it as well after I did and experienced similar success.  We lost weight, felt great and it really didn’t feel like a “diet” because it’s not.  It’s a way of life!

The Somercize plan is basically this:

• Eliminate (added) sugar and other “funky foods” (caffeine, white flour, potatoes, nuts, and a few others)
• Eat fruit alone and on an empty stomach
• Eat carbs (fat/protein free) and veggies together
• Eat fats/proteins and veggies together
• Wait three hours to switch between carbs & fats

On “level 2″ once you reach your goal you can add some of the funky foods back in and experiment with mixing carbs & fats to see what works for you to maintain your weight.

Somercize gives me the freedom to still enjoy all the food groups, but still encourages me to eat healthier, and promotes weight loss.  She has all the scientific diet information in her books, so if you are interested in WHY this works, I’m sure your local library has her books.  In the last 10+ years Suzanne has put out 5 books about Somercizing, each one with new recipes and refining the plan and adding more up-to-date information.

One of the hardest things for me eating this way is pizza…or lack-there-of.  I love pizza.  It is probably my biggest weakness.  Thanks to Suzanne, and her book, Suzanne Somers’ Fast and Easy: Lose Weight the Somersize Way with Quick, Delicious Meals for the Entire Family!, I can now enjoy pizza and still stay on the program!

The original recipe called for a cookie cutter and wasting some of the “crust” to make 4″ individual pizzas. I have modified it so there is no waste and you get a whole pan full of pizza. Also, the original recipe called for some salt in the crust but I didn’t like it so I took it out. You can obviously use whatever toppings you want.

no carb pizza

ingredients:

For the crust:	For the pizza:
1 (8 oz.) package of full fat cream cheese (room temp.) 2 eggs Freshly ground black pepper Garlic powder 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese	1/2 cup jarred marinara sauce* A pinch of cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Sauteed pepperoni Garlic powder

*Finding a sauce that doesn’t contain added sugar is not easy, but I did find a “no sugar added” by Ragu that with a few added seasonings tastes fantastic on the pizza. You could always make your own too but I’m not THAT brave yet.

directions:

For the crust:	For the pizza:
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9×13 baking dish Blend cream cheese and eggs and season with pepper & garlic powder Add parmesan cheese and stir until combined Pour into buttered baking dish Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown Let crust cool for 10 minutes before adding toppings	After crust is cooked, raise oven to 400 degrees Mix together marinara sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper & oregano Top crust with marinara and spread evenly Top with mozzarella cheese Add toppings Bake for 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly

This pizza really surprised me.  It is so good we had it for dinner one day and then I made it again for lunch the very next day.  You know what, I want it again today too!

The crust is not crisp like traditional pizza.  Make sure you cook it til the top is golden brown and let it cool the full 10 minutes before adding the toppings and that will help.  You still may end up with a fork, but good, soft pizza is better than no pizza!

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