{Meatless Mondays} A Broke-Ass BLT Sammich.
Put down that meat - its Monday, yo!
We here at Broke-Ass HQ like to keep lunches light, easy, cheap, and palate-pleasing… so the BLT has become a common default for our mid-day meal. But we’ve put our own special spin on this oldie but goodie, taking it from a porky classic to VEGGIETASTIC. It’s quickly become Hunter’s favorite sandwich – he begs for it on a near daily basis!
By subbing out healthier alternatives for the bread, bacon and mayo, and by adding the creamy goodness of avocado – this sammich brings the decadently creamy, crunchy and salty flavor party to your mouth, without all the narsty saturated fat!
Ingredients:
- 2 slices of your favorite bread. (We love Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Breads. The sprouting process activates beneficial enzymes which cause the grains to sprout and become living and nutrient-rich. Plus, they’re the YUM.)
- 3 slices veggie bacon (Vegan Alert! MorningStar has egg in it, but there are vegan alternatives like Lightlife Smart Bacon)
- 1/4 ripe avocado
- 1/2-1 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (We LOVE Vegenaise – a non-dairy mayo alternative that beats out mayo in taste tests among all our friends)
- 1-2 leaves romaine lettuce (has more nutrients than iceberg)
- 1 fresh tomato, sliced
- Salt/Pepper to taste
First, toss your bread into the toaster to get it nice and warm and toasty just the way you like it. While that’s running, saute your bacon slices over low-medium heat in a nonstick pan until it just slightly begins to brown on both sides. A squirt of oil in the pan will help it crispify. (Hint: the lower and slower it cooks, the better it is!)
When the toast is ready, slather one slice of bread with your 1/4 avocado, mashed. Spread the other slice with your mayo (or mayo alternative). Stack up your lettuce, tomato and bacon slices… sprinkle with a little salt and pepper… slice it up, and VOILA! A no-fuss, no-muss, healthy twist on an old favorite.
Admiring that professional construction? Using the avocado as glue for the tomatoes, and mayo as glue for the bacon, helps to hold the sammich together like a happy, tasty family. And just look at how happy it can make a hubby! Who could resist?
Got a Meatless Monday recipe to share? Want to see me de-meat-ify your favorite? Hit me up in the comments, and happy cooking!
{Missed last week’s meatless wonder? Check out our vegan pumpkin harvest alfredo too!}
I've been reading your blog for a while now, but I don't think I've ever commented (sorry-I'm not engaged yet, so I feel like I shouldn't!
) BUT, a post that talks about vegenaise is the bomb, so I couldn't pass it up!
I am not a veg, but have always eaten a lot of healthy/veg foods, and I SWEAR BY vegenaise. LOVE it. No one believes me how amazing it is. And all of my friends are afraid to eat veg foods, so I'm happy to see someone else showing the vegenaise LOVE!
I eat massive quantities of this same sandwich!
I thought I'd offer a little top tip for the bacon… I used to like my real bacon *crispy* (pre-veg days). If you put Morningstar bacon strips on paper towels, and pop it in the microwave it gets really really crispy – and you don't dirty a pan
Four strips takes about 2 minutes +/-. You have to let it cool before it gets crisp, but it is sooooo delicious and your kitchen will have all the yummy bacon smell without all the nasty pork and nitrates!
p.s. I've also been blogging my veg dinners – there there are and will be LOTS of MM ideas there. This is especially easy AND delicious! http://horseychicken.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/the…
The Fresh Hubby actually made me that sandwich once and I am a definite meat eater-so I had my doubts. But it was delicious!
Gag! No sub for real bacon or the protein from real meat.
Well, you may not personally be open to fake bacon over real… that's your choice. But there's actually more protein in this sandwich than an average BLT – and science suggests that veggie protein is equally as effective as animal protein… so when all is said and done, this sandwich beats out its meaty incarnation, nutrient-wise.
Oh my! I gotta try this sammich! Thanks for sharing, I love it!
I can't remember if you are mostly veg, or vegan, or full on vegan, but I wanted to point out that the Morningstar Farm "Bacon" isn't vegan, it's vegetarian (has egg). Lightlife Smart Bacon is vegan, and absolutely freakin' delicious! Definitely cures the craving.
If you are just veg, you can ignore this comment, but I wanted to throw it out there just in case.
I’m all about choosing meatless. I think it’s important as a vegetarian to focus on vegetables. So, today I made sweet potatoe fries (cut a sweet potato into wedges, sprinkle eith evoo and salt, broil for a few minutes each side) and a spinach salad with black beans, strawberries,almonds and raspberry vinaigrette. Yum! My favorite vegetarian product is definitely tofu. It’s great pan seared to give it texture after marinating it in a soy sauce base. I also like to use sweet white miso to make a miso glaze with rice vinegar and brown sugar.
Thanks Roxanne! You bring up a good point and we'll add a note about that to the post.
Yum! We are suckers for sweet potato fries at Chez Broke-Ass and that salad sounds pretty awesome too.
You had me at Pizza Dough! We love the TJ's dough and used to make pizzas constantly when we first discovered it. Great idea Helen. Something like this will definitely be showing up on the blog!
We normally prefer to pan fry it but when we're in a time crunch we're gonna try your technique fo' sho'! Thanx!
Vegenaise is the crack cocaine of condiments!!!
Just want to point out that a great substitute for the (egg filled) Morningstar bacon is TEMPEH BACON! it tastes better, and it way less processed and vegan
Sweet Potato Fries Rock!!!
Lightlife makes two different types of veggie bacon. If you aren't a fan of faux meats, perhaps you can try our Fakin' Bacon instead. It is delish! http://www.lightlife.com/product_detail.jsp?p=tem…