salad

The thing I hear a nauseating amount, is this, “I would be vegan, but I love bacon too much.” Well, if you have been following along with me, I have probably already informed you of how much I LOVE coconut bacon. If you feel like you will crave that sweet and salty crisp of bacon, I think this will help you make it through. Then one day, you will realize you don’t miss any meat at all. You will realize you feel so much better physically and can feel a lot better about how awesome you are!

I have been brainstorming about what else people put bacon on that I could create a vegan substitute for, and continue to make it so easy for people to live without animal products and salads are something I used to always put bacon bits on. Working off of that, I was thinking BLTs are pretty trendy, right? I don’t know. It seems like I have seen a lot of variations recently, so I thought why not come up with my own. Very often ideas come to me, and kind of actually wake me up, and I decide right then and there in the wee hours of the morning, that I am brilliant, and will work on my ideas upon becoming more lucid. Then once I have coffee, I can kind of determine if I am actually a genius or not.

It turns out, this time, it was a brilliant idea. This was one of the most delicious salads I have ever had. I really like sun dried tomatoes, but some beautiful cherry tomatoes, or really any kind you want would be amazing. I also made some of my cheesey garlic croutons, but if you want this salad to be gluten free, just nix the croutons and maybe add some pecans or something!

I have been toying around with the idea of a vegan creamy garlic dressing using tofu, and I finally felt like I found the correct vessel for said dressing. It was the perfect compliment to this salad. I think a balsamic vinaigrette would work great too, and be a lot less work, if you are not up to making the dressing, but I highly recommend it!

This a quick and easy week night meal, full of flavor and very filling! I hope you all enjoy, and as always, if you have any questions or feedback, I am happy to hear it!

Vegan BLT Salad

2017-01-06 12:01:37

Serves 4

Perfect salad of greens, tomatoes, coconut bacon and creamy garlic dressing!

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Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

15 min

Total Time

30 min

Coconut Bacon

1. 1 C. Coconut flakes
2. 1/2 Tbsp. Liquid smoke
3. 1 Tbsp. Soy sauce or Tamari for Gluten free
4. 1 Tbsp. Maple syrup

Creamy garlic dressing

1. 15 oz. Block of extra firm tofu
2. 1/2 C. Coconut oil, melted
3. 2-3 Cloves of garlic
4. 1/4 C. Soy sauce or tamari
5. 1/4 C. Apple cider vinegar
6. 1/2-3/4 C. Water
7. 2 tsp. Agave
8. 2 tsp. Nutritional yeast
9. Salt and Pepper to taste

Salad

1. Lettuce of choice
2. Tomatoes, sun dried or cherry
3. Croutons(optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make the coconut bacon first, stir all the ingredients together in a bowl until the coconut is completely coated in the liquid smoke, maple syrup and soy sauce.
3. Pour onto a prepared baking sheet and smooth out to a single layer.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until it is nice and crispy.
5. While the coconut is baking, make the dressing.
6. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, it will take a few minutes. You can add more or less garlic depending on your preference, and I would start with 1/2 Cup of water, and add more depending on how thin you want it.
7. Once the coconut bacon is done, and the dressing is ready, toss together the lettuce, bacon, tomatoes and dressing.
8. Enjoy!

Notes

1. I used 3 cloves of garlic because I love garlic, but the choice is up to you.
2. I also used about 1/2 cup of water because I like my dressing thick, but add more water if you want it to be easier to pour!

By Lauren Hartmann

Rabbit and Wolves https://www.rabbitandwolves.com/