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Meatless Mondays: Meatless Bacon

Post by: Angela Tucker
Recipe from: TheBuddhistChef.com

Photo from: TheBuddhistChef.com

This recipe by The Buddhist Chef instructs you just how easy it is to make your own meatless bacon from scratch, using some fairly basic and easy to find ingredients. One of the concerns over bacon, as with all processed meats, is its connection with an increased cancer risk. For this reason, the World Health Organization, Harvard School of Public Health, and the Canadian Cancer Society recommend minimizing processed meats. And of course, enjoying something made of plant based foods is a way that we can practice compassion to animals. Pigs are similar to dogs in many ways as they are curious, intelligent animals, and 90% of those pigs raised in Manitoba spend their lives confined in factory farms.

This recipe uses tofu as the protein source, which absorbs any flavour you put on it (which in this recipe happens to be liquid smoke and maple syrup). Tofu is made from soy beans, which have health benefits including lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, possibly preventing breast cancer, as well as being a source of antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids. For more information on soy, check out these links: Health benefits of soy and Soy safety.

This recipe is also less expensive than bacon, is lower in calories, and contains no cholesterol or saturated fat.

I have made this recipe for family brunches a few times and it has always been a hit so I am sure to make a couple of batches! Plus, you can always use the leftovers in other ways, like on a stir fry or topping a salad. The instructions provided by The Buddhist Chef suggest baking it, but I have found that frying it in a pan with a little oil works great as well!

Meatless Bacon

Makes ~15 slices
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 450g tofu, firm, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil + 2 tbsp for the baking sheet
  • 1 ½ tsp liquid smoke

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C)
  2. Mix the onion powder, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, maple syrup, vegetable oil and liquid smoke. Pour over tofu slices and marinate for a few minutes.
  3. Place tofu slices on a lightly oiled baking pan.
  4. Bake 15 minutes OR UNTIL THE TOFU IS CRISPY.
  5. (For a BLT: ) Serve on bread and top with vegan mayonnaise, tomato slices and lettuce.
Recipe and photo from: http://thebuddhistchef.com/recipe/vegan-blt

Nutrition Info (per slice)

Calories: 37
Fat: 2.3 g
Carbohydrate: 2.5g
Fibre: 0.5g
Protein: 3.5g
Sodium: 73 mg
Potassium: 44.5mg
Iron: 1.7mg
Folate: 4.8mg
Calcium: 71mg

Nutrition analysis complete using: https://www.eatracker.ca/recipe_analyzer.aspx

Angela Tucker is a Registered Dietitian from rural Manitoba. Angela first became vegan for compassionate reasons but soon realized other ways a vegan lifestyle and plant-based diet positively impacts the planet and health. To learn more about her philosophy on food, visit her blog PrairieSprout. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.