b.l.t. & vegenaise

It's always such a nice treat to go home to my parents' house for a few nights. I get to see the folks, play with the pets, sleep in my old bed, and eat tons of delicious meals from a phenomenally stocked pantry. Mom is a huge Vitamin Cottage shopper, so she always has something new and tasty for me to try out when I come home. For lunch today, Mom whipped out a package of tempeh bacon, and we made some vegan BLTs. Normally, I don't like meatless bacon, but apparently I just haven't tried the right brand, cause this stuff is seriously delicious!

Stuff you need: 1. Bread 2. Vegenaise 3. Tempeh Bacon 4. Lettuce 5. Tomato

Start by heating up a little olive oil in a skillet. When the pan is warm, throw in your tempeh bacon- we found that 2 strips was perfect for each sandwich. While the fakin' bacon is browning, pop your bread into the toaster, and slice up your tomato and lettuce.

When the tempeh strips are slightly browned and warmed through, pull them off the heat and assemble your sandwiches! Take a piece of toast, slather it with Vegenaise, and top it with your bacon, lettuce, and tomato. Boom. Lunch is served.

Okay, it's not rocket science, but honestly, this sandwich blew me away. The bacon's texture is thick with just the right amount of bite, and the taste is like smoked hickory maple goodness. Add a dollop of Vegenaise and some fresh vegetables? That is a damn good sandwich. If you haven't tried tempeh bacon yet, I highly recommend it.

And speaking of amazing products, I can't believe I haven't mentioned Vegenaise before, cause I absolutely love it! It's perfect on sandwiches, in cole slaw, for egg salad, and just about any recipe that calls for mayo. I was never a huge mayo fan in the first place, but Vegenaise is lower in saturated fat than the regular stuff, I love the flavor, and no animals were harmed in the making of it. Sounds like a pretty good combo to me :)

So with my adoration for Vegenaise, and my newfound obsession with tempeh bacon, a BLT was the perfect lunch today. Thanks Mom and Pop! ♥

breakfast dilemma & morningstar farms

When I arrived at work this morning, I found my friend Jenna in a breakfast dilemma. She came to work armed with a package of Morningstar Farms bacon, egg and cheese breakfast biscuits when she discovered that one of our coworkers had brought in homemade breakfast burritos for $2, which, I might say, are absolutely delicious. On top of this, she also found out, much to her dismay, that Morningstar Farms is a vegetarian company, and this said "bacon biscuit" contained no real bacon at all- mind you, my friend is an avid carnivore. Thus, Jenna's breakfast dilemma.

This is where I enter. Eat your vegetarian bacon biscuit so it doesn't go to waste, even though I've already had a wee apple for breakfast, just so you can eat a meaty burrito instead? Oh twist my arm.

First and foremost, it's a little high in calories and fat than I'd like in my breakfasts. Usually I stick to oatmeal, fresh fruits, or toast, so this 270 calorie pocket (with 80 fat calories and 8 grams of fat) was not part of my diet. However, it is seriously tasty. Throw aside all caloric numbers and thoughts of the treadmill, and this is a mighty fine breakfast. It nukes quickly in the microwave, the flavors are great, and the biscuit was soft and moist.

I probably won't make a habit of eating these all the time, but if I was forced to eat one again in order to help out a friend, I would have absolutely no problems in doing so :)

This was hands down the best breakfast dilemma I've been part of. Any food crisis that ends with me eating awesome, free, vegetarian food is a.o.k by me.