Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus by Cook At Home Mom

I have the great pleasure of allowing all of you to get to know Laura a fellow friend and blogger over at Cook at Home Mom and a featured blogger over at Whole30.com. She's pretty amazing, incredible mom, foodie, and makes all her recipes look so delicious with her gorgeous photos! And she is guest posting today here!!  LOOK at that bacon!!! She is also a Whole30 extraoridinaire!

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Hello friends! My name is Laura, and I'm here today sharing one of my favorite Whole 30 recipes. Let me just start by saying this: I'm not a diet person. I've gotten to the point where whenever I learn about a new diet trend, I write it off. I’ve done diet plans before, and I’ve always had one of two results:

1. I go overboard, become borderline obsessive and it takes over my life (or)

2. I half-heartedly join in, then abandon the plan at the first sight (or smell) of pizza
For those of you who don’t know what Whole30 is, I’ll briefly explain. Whole30 is a thirty day eating plan based on the book “It Starts with Food,” cutting out sugars, grains, dairy, and processed foods for the entire month. Taken directly from whole30.com :

“Cut out all the psychologically unhealthy, hormone-unbalancing, gut-disrupting, inflammatory food groups for a full 30 days. Let your body heal and recover from whatever effects those foods may be causing. Push the “reset” button with your metabolism, systemic inflammation, and the downstream effects of the food choices you’ve been making. Learn once and for all how the foods you’ve been eating are actually affecting your day to day life, and your long term health.” 
So what got me on board? I read more about it and heard the stories of other people, and there are a few things that set this plan apart. It’s not a quick solution, just a way to jump start healthier lifestyle choices. And what tipped the scales (literally), is that it isn’t just about the physical effects of following a healthy plan, it’s also about conquering the psychological aspects of eating like habits and cravings. As a lifelong stress eater, one of the first observations I’ve made is that Whole 30 seems to diminish many of my impulsive eating habits. I plan each meal and snack in advance which means that my food choices haven’t been dependent on or even linked to my emotions. And I have to say, that feels like a really good change. I've also lost a few pounds with each attempt, found relief for my chronic rosacea, and just generally felt like a rock star. It works for me and it just might work for you, too. Even if you aren't quite ready to jump on board, here are a few compliant recipes to keep in mind! 

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus - Serves 4
1 lb or 1 large bunch asparagus

4 slices bacon (be sure it's compliant!) or prosciutto

1 tablespoon olive oil

⅛ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 400.

Wash and pat dry the asparagus.

Separate into four equal sized bunches.

Wrap each with bacon, overlapping the bacon as little as possible. This will prevent undercooked parts of the bacon and allow as much fat to render as possible.

Use a toothpick if necessary on the underside of each bunch to help hold the bacon together.

Lay each bunch on a slotted pan or use a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet (this allows the fat to drip away from the bacon).

Drizzle with olive oil.

Place in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the bacon is cooked well and the asparagus is crispy.

Sprinkle with pepper and salt to taste and enjoy!