It may be blasphemy to even consider alternatives to our beloved bacon, but if you're looking to avoid the calories and fat that come with a few strips in your next dish, consider baking some prosciutto instead. CHOW notes that baked prosciutto packs a lot of flavor into a small amount, so you won't need to use as much, and its much less fatty than bacon is.

Another benefit to using prosciutto is that it works well in pasta dishes, in salads, on sandwiches, or any other normally-bacon application that would call for a lot of fried or baked bacon in it. You can get away with a slice or two of prosciutto where three or four strips of bacon would normally be called for. The down-side to the substitution, however, is that you're trading one cured meat for another, so the health benefits probably aren't that great, and there's definitely a flavor difference, so if you want a crispy strip of bacon, a baked slice of prosciutto may not hit the same notes. Plus, prosciutto is usually pricier than bacon by the pound, but if you don't need to use as much, it may balance out. Either way, it's a delicious alternative.

Have you tried this before? Do you have a favorite bacon substitute of your own, or will they pry your bacon from your cold, dead hands? However you feel, let us know in the comments below.

A Healthier Bacon Alternative | CHOW