The Raw B.L.T.
Greetings all!
Did the title of this post surprise you? Bet you guys never expected to see diner food here on Choosing Raw.
Well, this isn’t your typical diner food, of course. In my banana soft serve post, I mentioned that I think there’s a delicious, all natural equivalent for nearly every dish to which we’re all accustomed in the Standard American Diet. And the BLT—which is apparently the United States’ s second most popular sandwich—is no exception. Here’s my raw take on the BLT, which utilizes one of my all-time favorite foods: dulse.
Remember my post on iodine? I mentioned that dulse is my seaweed of choice, and with good reason: it’s smoky, salty, not too fishy, and utterly delicious! Inevitably, when I introduce my clients to dulse, it’s love: they start to use it in everything from tossed salads to soups to sandwiches. And all make the same observation: dulse tastes a while lot like bacon.
Well, OK. Maybe not exactly like bacon (roll up your tongues, my carnivorous readers). Even so, dulse is about the best plant-based and natural equivalent you can find for that most beloved of meats: I urge clients to toss it in salads in place of bacon, or even to replace the saltiness of cheese. Ever make spinach salad with bacon or bacon vinaigrette? Try using dulse instead.
Or, use it in a veggie BLT. The idea here is so damn simple: take two slices of romaine lettuce (bacon lettuce or napa cabbage would be great, too), and layer it with tomato, dulse, and the raw mayo I’m about to share. Voila: a perfectly combined and perfectly delicious spin on the old favorite.
Um, minus the white bread and bacon and mayonnaise.
I’ve already shared one recipe for raw mayo with you guys. Here is another, which uses almonds as the base. It’s richer than my cashew mayo, so you’ll only need a tiny drizzle. This would be a great addition to any raw wrap, or even nice as a very decadent vegetable dip:
Gena’s Raw Almondaise
1 cup almonds, soaked at least 8 hours
1 tsp salt
Juice of two lemons
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 cup water
½ cup olive oil
Put all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend very well. Next, drizzle the oil in a thin stream, just as you would to make an emulsified dressing. When you finish, adjust the tartness and saltiness and texture to suit your taste.
Here’s the sandwich, pre-dressing:
The mayo, stored in a traditional-looking diner squeeze bottle:
And the sandwich, ready to be covered.
Yum.
I hope you’ll all love this little spin on comfort food. Soft serve, berries and cream, BLT sandwiches, spaghetti: what’s next, I wonder?
xo
Testimonials
–Lyn D., MarylandBefore I started working with Gena, I wasn’t sure whether it would be worth it, since I knew what I “should” be doing. Her counseling, however, turned out to be a key factor in my success.
Not only does she have great advice when I am struggling, but her realistic approach helped me make major changes despite having no time and limited funds. Her recipes and ideas are for real people with lives beyond their diets, and they are great. Gena is down to earth and non-judgmental. She strikes a great balance between encouraging me to go a little father but to keep things in perspective and have fun with the process.
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FAQ
So where do you get your protein?Ah, the million dollar question. I know that my fellow raw foodists are uttering a collective sigh of frustration with me. But it’s inevitable, so here goes:
I get my protein from a wide array of vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. The notion that we need to supplement our diet with large amounts of protein, especially in the form of animal products, is mistaken: our bodies are capable of assembling amino acids from all of the foods we eat and building the “complete proteins” that we’ve all been told we need to get in a single sitting.
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Recommendations
Juicer (average $50.00 - $500.00)If you’re like me, and juicing is a crucial part of your lifestyle, then the cost of a juicer will absolutely be worth it! It will buy itself back again and again and again. The juicer I recommend is the Breville Two-Speed Juice Fountain Plus. It’s the only juicer I’ve ever owned, and it has never let me down. I recommend you invest in a juicer that has at least this level of performance in order to juice leafy greens.
Some of you have asked me whether it’s wiser to buy a juicer or a Vitamix.
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You keep surprising me with amazing things just when I think there’s nothing left. I had banana soft serve tonight and I was in HEAVEN, so I am expecting the same out of this! I will admit that I never, ever miss meat, but occasionally I crave a BLT. It’s the sweetness of a tomato with the smokey, saltiness of bacon that I enjoyed (but barely remember, just the faint smell…which is weird) so I am excited about this! Question, though: how long does the raw mayo keep in the fridge?
I love seaweed of all sorts … question, does roasting or putting them in hot soup destroy its nutritional properties?? thankss
No, Cecilia, it doesn’t. Some of the vitamin content will be reduced, and the enzymes will be lessened, but the sea veggies will remain nutrient rich and good for you!
Dulse is heavenly. It’s why I love the S&M Salad at One Lucky Duck so much! Haha
So there’s no doubt I’d love that Raw BLT!! Holy yum.
LOVE this idea. So I’m curious…. where might we find dulse?
And I will definitely be making my own mayo ASAP! FUN!
I think we need to rename the sandwich to DLT!
Good call, Alison!
YUM! BLTs are one of my absolute favorites. And about that mayo … do you think it counts as healthy if I dip my french fries in your raw almondaise?
hmmm, raw french fries?
I literally JUST put dulse flakes on my WF shopping list! The container cracks me up though… it literally looks like something you would throw in a fishtank to feed your fish, haha.
I love when you recreate dishes like this – I had about given up on Nutella having a raw alternative but I am currenty experimenting with this and hope to have a good raw substitute to share with you soon!
Yay! I can’t wait for it, Val!
And I will work on more approximations of classic dishes for y’all.
I love dulse, and the almondaise recipe looks great (I make a similar one myself), but comfort food? Really? Couldn’t you do some raw bread or something? I’m vegan and high-raw, but seriously this is just some tomato on some lettuce. I wouldn’t call it an “alternative” to the BLT. I’d call it a snack.
Mmm, another winning recipe Gena! I’ll get some dulse asap! Sounds like a great lunch =)
wow that looks amazing I to figure out where I can purchase some dulse
Looks yum. I would add avocado but I’m just like that.
I’ve never felt compelled to try seaweed before, but you may have convinced me with this one.
Thanks, Gena!
Wow, it even looks kind of like bacon in the pictures. Mmmmm, and with a few slices of avocado on there, I bet it’d be great!
Oh man, talk about transforming an unhealthy sammie into a healthy one! Love it!
And I know what you should do next: raw pancakes! (I have pancakes on the brain due to my pancake challenge… but you should totally join the challenge with a raw version! LOL I didn’t mean to sound pushy, and of course you don’t have to do the challenge; I’m just curious as to how you’d make a raw pancake…)
Love ya, Gena
Nice, Katie! This may be my very first dehydrator challenge
Would you do a post discussing the difference between saturated fat found in animal foods vs. the saturated fat found in, say, coconuts. I know coconuts are good for you. It’s just hard to wrap my mind around any form of “saturated fat” being okay. It’s like retraining my mind. Thanks!
Yum, Gena! This sounds great!!! I would also add some avocado, just for a little extra yumminess!
Gena,
That mayo sounds divine, and I love the squeeze bottle. Reminds me of my beloved Horsey sauce from Arby’s.
Dulse – I need to try this stuff again…it was definitely not love at first bite for me, but I’m willing to give it another chance.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
This looks fantastic Gena! And so easy. I love how most of your recipes don’t require buying a dehydrator or other pricy equipment… Sure makes trying raw food a heck of a lot less intimidating and more accessible to those just wanting to dip into it.
Thanks, Lindsay. I REALLY pride myself on simplicity, so that means a lot to me.
how adorable! dulse is perfection
Yum! That sounds great…I need to get some dulse asap!
Twist my arm, why don’t ya. After my week of belly bomb food, a BLT minus the B sounds just about right!
This might be your most interesting recipe yet!
I’ve never tried dulse before but it sounds like I should! Take care. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you.
Hey can anyone help me out? I was just wondering where soy products like Soy Milk and Tofu fit into the food combining? Everything else is pretty easy peasy but these guys are toughies!!
Island Girl —
Soy products combine as fleshes.
G
so so cute!!!
How long does your “Mayo” last in the fridge? Mahalo:-) Amanda
Amanda —
Should last about 4-5 days, at least.
G.
Gena! I miss you so much! Wish I could give you a HUGE hug.
Love the post… you are always awesome and amazing. Super photos.
XOXOXO,
Kristen
I think it would be more of a comfort food if you’d use some raw or spelt bread?
Eh, maybe. I’m just not that into raw bread! You could, of course, use sprouted or raw bread if you wanted.
This looks so tasty – I wish I could find dulse around here I have looked and looked with no luck. I wish I could try it out!
Michal
Just discovered your site, and feel sure I will be back regularly:)
I love seaweeds, but always put them in casseroles, my partner doesn’t consider a meal is a meal unless it’s hot, so wouldn’t entertain the idea of raw diet.
On the days he isn’t here, though, I can indulge
Thanks for the BLT
Christine
Hey Christine — Welcome! Hope you visit often
I’ve never tried dulse, but I am definitely going to pick some up soon!!
oh man. i realllly need to get my hands on some dulce. this recipe sounds like a must-try. thanx gena!
Yummy, raw mayo looks better than the real stuff
I bought a bag of dulse, and wanted to do something creative with it for my first taste. Thanks for the amazing idea!!!
I made a lazy version of this mayo last night based on a a spoonful of almond butter- it was great! Thanks! Not exactly sure what the oil drizzling part means, but I’m guessing it’s a step I would skip anyway
I was wondering if dehydrated flax bread would be a well combined compliment?!
Sure would! Flax combines with almond mayo
This tasted freakishly like a BLT: sharp and salty. I ended up polishing off the rest of my almondaise by spooning it (it was chunky because I omitted the olive oil) onto tomato slices, and wrapping the whole thing in strips of dulse. INGENIOUS, Gena!
This sounds AMAZING! Wow, I wish I could get my hands on some dulse, not sure they would have it here. Bacon is the one and only thing I’ve missed since going vegan a few years ago, and there isn’t really a decent omni-sub on the market. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
It should be at virtually any health food store, VV! Try it out. If not, you can certainly get it online.
The dulse straight out of the package is somewhat on the chewy/jerky-like side. Do you have any methods for making it ‘crisper,’ or just leave it open and exposed to air for a day or so?
Hi Jordan —
I like the chewiness, though it’s not authentically bacon-like, so go ahead and leave it out for a while — it will definitely crisp up.
Gena
Gena, I’ve been meaning to ask you – sorry if this is a silly question – but do you rehydrate your dulse when you eat it like this? I toss dulse into raw blended soups and into smoothies sometimes, and I use it in cooked foods (where it’s rehydrated), but I wasn’t sure about trying it in a DLT – dry or wet? Thanks!
Hey Shellyfish — I eat it straight from the bag like this. It will get some hydration simply from the tomato, just as it does when you throw it straight into salads.
Thanks! I figured, but wasn’t sure! Have a great weekend!
Okay…so I just found out that I have dulse in my cabinet. I remember that I bought it for a burger recipe and hardly used it since!
Anyway, I’m having it on my salad right now and its LOVE!
Hey, that’s awesome! Watch out — dulse is habit forming! I eat it out of the bag as a snack sometimes