10 Applegate Farms Products You Shouldn't Eat A Lot Of

We'll start by saying this: the meat products produced by Applegate Farms are undoubtedly healthier than most. Most of their offerings also happen to be delicious. But not all of their products are low in fat and calories, so we tracked down the 10 unhealthiest products they make. 

10 Applegate Farms Products You Shouldn't Eat a Lot Of (Slideshow)

Applegate farms got its start about 25 years ago, when founder Stephen McDonnell purchased Jugtown Smokehouse, a business specializing in nitrite-free bacon, and expanded it out. His goal was to produce meat products with ingredients that were not only easy to pronounce but also tasted good. Today, about 1,000 farms supply humanely-raised, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat to the company, which distributes their cold cuts, hot dogs, sausages, bacon, chicken (grilled and nuggets), cheese, burgers, and pot pies all across the country.

When checking out the nutrition labels on Applegate products, you'll most likely notice that a lot of these offerings are much healthier than those made by more traditional companies. The main reason is the fact that they just don't pump as much fat into their foods. Burgers contain up to 25 percent fat in some cases, but the ones Applegate offers contain just 7 percent. A classic Oscar Mayer wiener contains 9 grams of fat and 110 calories compared to the popular beef and pork offering from Applegate which contains just 7 grams and 90 calories; not to mention ingredients you can pronounce (no mechanically separated meat or sodium diacetate here).

So while your Applegate Farms sausage might be nitrate-free and lower in fat than the competition, that doesn't mean that every item they produce is super-healthy for you, either. Before you stock up, have a look at our list of 10 of their unhealthier offerings. While none are outrageously bad for you, most are ones you'll most likely not want to eat every day.