Raw B.L.T. Snacks

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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. And the BLT—which is apparently the United States’ s second most popular sandwich—is no exception. Here’s a raw snackfood 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. 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 snack. 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.

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:

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The mayo, stored in a traditional-looking diner squeeze bottle:

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And the sandwich, ready to be covered.

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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

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Categories: Snacks
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Raw

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    55 Comments
  1. It’s actually a great and helpful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

  2. 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 😛

  3. 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!

  4. 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

  5. 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.

  6. 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!

  7. I was wondering if dehydrated flax bread would be a well combined compliment?!

  8. 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 😉

  9. 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!!!

  10. 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

  11. 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

    • Eh, maybe. I’m just not that into raw bread! You could, of course, use sprouted or raw bread if you wanted.

  12. 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

  13. 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!!

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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!

  17. 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!

  18. 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 🙂

  19. 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.

  20. I remember getting dragged to Johnny Rocket’s once in college and ordering “a BLT, hold the bread, hold the bacon.” Your version will be much less confusing for everyone involved 😉

  21. 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.

  22. 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?

  23. 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!

  24. 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.

  25. 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!

  26. 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?

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