Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

A Delicious Vegan BLT Recipe!

This is my version of my grandma’s traditional BLT.

When I was growing up, my grandma cooked breakfast and dinner pretty much every day, and made my school lunches too. She was a great cook, and having grown up during the Great Depression, was never into waste; almost no food went uneaten in our household. Chicken bones became soup base, uneaten dinner rice turned into rice pudding, and extra bacon became BLT’s, usually on homemade bread, with plenty of mayo, superthick slices of tomato, and probably too much lettuce.

I’ve been vegetarian since I was 16 and my grandmother passed away over a decade ago, but I just recently I finally figured out how to make a faux-BLT that’s almost like hers! The key is Morningstar Farms bacon strips, which cooks up just like the stuff from pigs (including the amazing smell, minus the slaughter of an animal as smart as your dog!). And since it isn’t made from meat, there’s only 30 calories per strip.

To Make:
I like to use four strips of the fakin’ bacon per serving
Toasted French Bread
Vegan Mayo
thick cut, ripe Tomato
crunchy, still-cold lettuce

After toasting the bread just a bit, slather with mayo, and layer the tomatoes first, then add the lettuce in the middle, and the hot bacon on the other side. Easy, fun and delicious!

Even with all those ingredients, this sandwich is only about 450 calories, max!

Heroines for the Planet: Cupcake Queen Chloe Coscarelli

Chloe Coscarelli is as sweet as the vegan cupcakes which landed her the winner on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. She truly is! At just 23, Chloe has baked her way to the top, and she’s helped veganism garner the mainstream media attention that it so deserves.

In between a mix of baking, cooking and writing her next cookbook, I chatted with the young vegan chef about “the big win,” her thoughts on America’s food industry and how she continues to refine her craft each day.

Lindsay E. Brown: You decided to go vegan in High School and you never looked back. What do you love most about your vegan lifestyle?

Chloe Coscarelli: I love everything about being vegan! It feels great to be able to look my loving dogs in the eyes and know that I am not eating any animals for lunch. I also feel great eating vegan food because it never leaves me feeling heavy or tired after I eat. I also find that vegan food tends to be more flavorful, colorful, and creative than foods that rely on meat and dairy for flavor.
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Rachel Avalon’s Vegan Smoothie Recipe (Plus: The Good for You – and the Planet – Protein Powder)

I’ve never tried rice protein powder before, I’m going to check it out after seeing this video! I love smoothies for breakfast….

Healthy Smoothie Recipe: Holistic Secrets with Rachel Avalon from Rachel Avalon on Vimeo.

Superfilling Breadless High Protein Vegan Lunch Roll

Don’t get me wrong; I have little to no problem with carbs. I don’t eschew bread when it appears on restaurant tables, and I thought that Dr. Atkins was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. But some days, I want a break, a chance to veggie-up and lighten the digestive load, while still enjoying a sandwich that’s easy and filling. I came up with this sandwich, which uses collard greens instead of a wheat wrap, and whose filling has plenty of protein and flavor, making it a seriously satisfying sandwich.

To Make:

-Wash and rinse a large collard green leaf
-Spread a 1/4 cup layer of red quinoa (see nutrition details here) over the leaf, leaving a good 1/2 inch around the edge uncovered
-Dress with your favorite dressing; I like Goddess dressing by Annie’s for tang and non-dairy creaminess.
-Add tomatoes, sprouts, and grated carrots spread over quinoa and dressing, concentrating in the middle
-Lay 4-5 pieces of drained, raw tofu down the middle (about 1/2 cup or a 1/4 of a block)
-Roll up, burrito-style!

Nutrition Estimates (these are just my homemade calculations here):
Calories: 400
Protein: 17 grams
Fiber: 5 grams

Ani Phyo’s Healthfully Decadent Raw Coconut Kream Recipe

Dessert has always been my favorite part of any meal (though I do love apps!) and while I’ve managed to tame my sweet tooth in the last few years, I’ve by no means eliminated it. (By tame I mean I can get my sweet-happys from maple syrup, honey, and desserts made with fruit and less sugar.) Frankly, I’d rather carry around an extra five pounds than skip desserts, in all their toothsome glory. But I try to concoct or uncover desserts that are healthy as well as tasty. Just because it’s dessert doesn’t mean that it has to be a nutrition wasteland!

So stumbling upon Ani Phyo’s wonderful raw dessert cookbook (with 85 recipes!) was a coup. As you may already know, raw foods retain all sorts of wonderful enzymes, vitamins and minerals, plus are less ‘predigested’ (I know it’s a bit gross, but that’s basically what cooking is; partial digestion of food before you eat it). That means your body has to work a bit harder to digest, which makes you feel full longer and is actually really good for your gut. All of which means you get more nutrition and eat less when you go raw. While I’m not a raw foodist by any means, I’m going on my 19th year of vegetarianism and love the way whole foods that are minimally processed taste and make me feel. And the more I’ve read about the benefits of raw, the more I try to incorporate it into my diet.
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