Vegan Bacon Will Change Your Life (Even If You Aren’t Vegan)

by Miranda Hammer, RD, NLC Did you say vegan bacon? Yep. The World Health Organization has linked the consumption of processed and red meat with colorectal cancer, which means for all you bacon lovers out there, breakfast might need to start looking a little different. Although there is still gray area in terms of how much is actually safe to eat, limiting the intake of red meat and meat that has been salted, cured, smoked or fermented is recommended. Luckily for many of us, Sunday morning breakfasts tend to offer healthy omelets with a side of greens. But for others, you can hear the gasp when told the Farmer’s Breakfast is no longer on the menu. So what’s a bacon lover to do to get their fix? Make vegan bacon. Seriously! For those moments you just.need.bacon, I want you to look to coconut and mushrooms to satisfy your craving. Here are 3 nutritious, delicious, and healthy bacon alternatives that will leave you healthily and happily satisfied. Oh, and if you do choose to eat real bacon and/or any other red meat, limit your intake and select lean grass-fed, hormone-free options from a sustainable and reliable source. 2 Healthy Recipes with Vegan Bacon, and 1 Turkey Sausage Recipe You’ll Love! Green Salad with Shiitake Bacon Sounds a little weird, but when sliced and baked until crisp, the umami flavor and color of the mushrooms can fool most bacon lovers. Added benefit – mushrooms are one of the few dietary sources of Vitamin D. Get the recipe Coconut Bacon Sandwich: AKA The New BLT Think maple cured bacon, and this is a perfect swap. Sweet and slightly salty with a little chewy texture, coconut bacon is the perfect sub in your new favorite sandwich. Get the recipe Turkey Sausage Patty and Eggs These sausage patties are extremely simple to make and are free of nitrates and preservatives. When selecting your ground meat, make sure that the turkey is pasture-raised and hormone-free. If you can, purchase your meat from the greenmarket and support sustainable agriculture. This recipe makes multiple patties, which is great to have on hand for a quick breakfast, snack, salad, or grain topper. Get the recipe   About Miranda: Miranda Hammer is a registered dietitian, recipe developer, and founder of Crunchy Radish, a clean-eating healthy-living blog. Upon graduating from the clinical nutrition program at New York University, Miranda worked as a dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Currently, Miranda primarily focuses on content and recipe development for brands, websites, and magazines, as well as running her private counseling business.

Edible Sunscreen You Need to Know About

I have one of those love hate relationships with the sun: love being outdoors for play and exercise and adore a tanned hue but hate those damn fine (and sometimes not so fine) lines and knowing what much bigger damage I may be doing by soaking up my vitamin D. If you’ve been looking forward to some time in the sun like me, you’re going to need more than a double digit SPF to protect your glow. You need food. Yes, your favorite sport, eating, can come in handy to protect and repair your skin, and yes, it is basically edible sunscreen. Phytonutrients and micronutrients, found in some of your favorite, delicious, colorful, satisfying foods, support the work of your Coppertone by protecting your skin cells from UV damage and repairing fragile cells with nutrients. Research reveals that certain plant chemicals serve and protect your skin from damage and cancer similar to how omega-3’s protect your heart from disease. But it’s all about quality here, friends. Sorry, cheese fries don’t offer the nutrition your body needs — you can toss ‘em out with those old school sun reflectors that get the thumbs down too. The complicated words I’m about to tell you about are nutrients that chemically protect delicate skin cells from torching UV rays by strengthening them and making them harder to damage. You can think of these nutrients as a little army defending the destruction of the temple of your healthy skin cells. They also act like the Red Cross and speed recovery to damaged cells when you were expecting rain and the day was bright and sunny. One of the best things about living a truly Nutritious Life is all the cumulative benefits. Huh? Stick with me here.  When you eat healthy, exercise, manage stress etc. consistently (notice I didn’t say perfectly or always!) you reap all sorts of benefits. When eating healthy is your norm, that conscious indulgence of a S’more at the fire pit won’t set you back.  Your strength doesn’t disappear because you miss you a few kettle bell workouts.  And, guess what all those antioxidants that you’ve been eating, protect you from… You guessed it… the sun! 4 of the best edible sunscreens to protect your skin: Chow down on these edible sunscreen eats under your umbrella, slathered in SPF, and you’ll be finer than any fine line. The ingredients for these recipes for fabulous skin and sun protection may already be in your home. Pack them up alongside that trashy novel you’re bringing to the beach. Your skin will be grateful. 1. Foods with carotenoids Carrot Kale Salad Carotenoids are pigments found in orange and dark green foods like kale and carrots. They protect the skin from sun damage by decreasing sensitivity to UV light and are best absorbed with fat, so don’t even consider ditching the olive oil in this recipe. 2. Foods with sulforaphane Sauteed Shiitake, Ginger and Watercress A compound found in cruciferous vegetables and watercress, sulforaphane contains anticancer properties which protect skin from sun damage by upping the production of protective enzymes.  These enzymes help the body fight against skin damage from sun exposure. 3. Food with Omega-3 fatty acids Broiled Salmon with Spinach Omega-3 fatty acids, like the kind found in salmon, are skin superheroes. They help strengthen your skin’s natural barrier, lock in moisture, and calm inflammation caused by sun exposure. These healthy fats also protect against collagen breakdown, which means fewer fine lines and a more radiant glow. So yes—your salmon dinner is basically skincare on a plate! 4. Foods with alkaloids Iced Almond Matcha Latte This recipe is full of alkaloids, which are found in caffeine and have been shown to eliminate UV-damaged skin cells and reduce skin roughness. Studies show that the caffeine in your daily coffee or tea helps prevents the formation of skin cancer. Green tea also contains polyphenols, antioxidants shown to prevent cancer cell growth due to UV light damage. Bottom Line Here’s the deal: sun protection isn’t just about slathering on SPF (though yes, still do that!). It’s also about what you’re putting on your plate. When you fill up on nutrient-rich, skin-loving foods, you’re giving your body the tools it needs to defend and repair from the inside out. So, pack that healthy picnic, grab your favorite sunhat, and enjoy the sunshine with a side of science-backed glow. Your skin—and your taste buds—will thank you!