My favourite food is breakfast. Mainly savoury breakfasts! Bacon and eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy breakfast sandwiches, all of it! Since going vegan I haven’t been able to eat those yummy foods.

Yeah yeah, I know “Kaylan eat tofu scrambles!”
Nah man, it’s not the same and I’m not the biggest fan of tofu.

I have wanted to try tofu with black salt though as I hear that gives it a nice sulfuric taste.

Anyways. Bacon.

I never really liked bacon as an Omni. I ate it growing up because I’m from the south and it was expected of you. Even as an adult when I’d say I don’t like bacon people reacted as though they were personally attacked (those of you that react this way, chill out).
Not to say I hated bacon and would never eat it. On occasion with the right dish I’d eat it, but it was rare (and usually only for BLTs or breakfast, both of which I rarely ate)! The smell gave me such a headache and I knew how unhealthy bacon was.

A month or so ago I had been craving bacon for breakfast, so I scoured the inter webs for different recipes to try, some were good some were… not the best. And I settled on a happy medium between them all.

Yes, it’s vegan. No, it’s not tofu. Yes, it’s delicious. No, it’s not difficult. At least no more difficult than slaughtering a pig and processing it for “regular” bacon. And yeah, it’s “healthy,” when placed next to animal bacon is healthy (anything is healthier when placed next to animal bacon).

Let’s get into it!

Ingredients:
•2 sheets of Rice paper
•2+ Tbs of oil (start with two, if the consistency is too thick, add a little more until it’s just right. The mixture should sit on the rice paper and not slide off, but shouldn’t be chunky)
•2 Tbs of Tamari (more if you really like a salty taste)
•1/2 tsp liquid smoke
•1+ tbs maple syrup (more if you’d like maple bacon. But add in more nooch if you add more liquid)
•3 tbs of nooch
•your choice of spices (optional. Some good ones might be pepper, cayenne, turmeric, paprika, etc)

**Addendum:I now prefer baking it. It’s much easier, less time consuming and has better results.Do everything the same, but after dipping the rice strips into the batter place them on a baking tray.When you’re done bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes. This will make them crispy, so if you want more chewy pieces, cook for less time.

How to:

I like to make these in a cast iron skillet, so it might be different if you’re using a nonstick.

•Turn on the eye to just over medium so that the skillet can heat up. I’ve found it’s best when the skillet is hot!

•Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Set asideLiquid ingredientsDry Ingredients

•Wet both sheets of Rice paper and stick them together.Wet Rice Paper

•Use scissors to cut one strip at a time from the rice paper. Don’t cut them all at once otherwise you’ll have a sticky mess.

•Take your strip and dip it into your mixture, coating both sides evenly.

•Place the seasoned strip into the hot skillet and let it sizzle! Cook both sides.

•Repeat with all strips.

Notes:
-I like to cook them on one side until it’s browned and then flip them and crinkle them up a bit. It gives you that uneven bacon texture.

-Keep the skillet hot and clean, if some of your mixture sticks to the pan, scrape it off before adding more.
-Watch your bacon! It takes some time for it to get crunchy (if you like crunchy), but once it does get crunchy it only takes seconds after to burn!
-I’ve found that once I take it off the skillet (and drain onto a paper towel) it will continue to stiffen up sometimes if it’s been cooked long enough, so don’t worry if it still seems a big squishy when you take it off heat.
-If you like squishy bacon, just don’t cook it as long. Cook it both sides until browned and remove.

Some health info for omnis:
Why would you want to eat this vs animal bacon?

I’m big on what you eat and how it effects your health. So, if you’re interested in the same, buckle up for some learning!

What does bacon increase the risk of?:
-early death
-diabetes
-prostate cancer
-stroke
-heart failure
-weight gain
-bladder cancer
-colorectal cancer

What does it reduce?:
-Sperm quality

(Source: https://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/diet-cancer/facts/bacon-causes-cancer )

Why these rice paper bacon slices?

Well the obvious answer is it’s healthier, like ten fold!

The nooch adds in protein, fiber, B vitamins (including b12, which yes omnis you need too, just like us vegans. Unless you’re eating dirt 😉 ), and it also has a ton of minerals you need like iron and selenium!

(Source: http://chooseveg.com/blog/7-reasons-to-feel-great-about-your-nutritional/ )

So eat away!! Eat all of the rice paper bacon! It’s especially good on BLTs! But also good by itself!