Recipe: Keep kids healthy, laughing with some carrot bacon

Writer and actor Jenny Mollen has a knack for making her kids' lunches pop. She adds things like candy eyeballs to fruit and cuts funny shapes from vegetables. Her tips are in her new cookbook, 'œDictator Lunches,'ť including one for carrot bacon.

Because a classic BLT is so hard to beat, she didn't want to try to replicate one with any kind of processed, plant-based alternative. Instead, she made her own version with carrot. She doesn't normally use mayo, so instead adds fresh avocado, a dash of salt and some good olive oil.

The carrot bacon is part of a spring meal that Mollen serves with a watermelon radish, cucumber and carrot flower garden, raspberry parfait bites, daisy eggs and dye-free M&Ms, which can be bought at a health food store and online.

CARROT BACON

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 carrots

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoons coconut aminos or soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions;

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Thinly slice the carrots using a mandoline.

3. In a shallow dish, mix the maple syrup, coconut aminos, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Add the carrot slices and stir to coat.

4. Place the carrot slices on the prepared baking sheet, laying them flat and making sure no pieces are overlapping. Bake until crispy, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping the slices halfway through.

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Reprinted from 'œDictator Lunches'ť by arrangement with Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright (copyright) 2022, Jenny Mollen.