I’ve been trying to get my family to eat more vegetables and especially more vegan meals, and it’s been sort of a challenge. For one thing, my parents are on a low carb, low protein, low sugar diet and they can’t have pasta, bread, rice or anything else containing white refined starches. I am fully vegan and currently trying to avoid gluten as much as possible. To make something that I can eat and my family can eat has certainly been difficult but I’m getting the hang of it. I did use a bit of flour for this recipe, which makes it not gluten free, and not exactly low carb, but I feel ok about it since it was a small amount and the resulting recipe was truly delicious. I suppose I could have easily swapped cornstarch for flour, but I didn’t have any in my pantry so I had to use what was available.

I’ve eaten collard greens many times before, but I’ve never had them in a luscious cream sauce with smoky maple bacon. Collard greens are one of those foods that I forget about, but I need to remember to buy them more often because they are so tasty and healthy. For one thing, they are a great source of protein in a vegan diet and they are also vitamin and mineral dense. They have been shown to lower cholesterol, which is great for my dad who has struggled with high levels, and they also contain high levels of antioxidants and other essential nutrients.

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The best thing about them though is the taste and texture. Unlike spinach, which can be a little slimy when overcooked, not that I mind, collard greens are a bit more dense and hold their texture a lot better when cooked. I cooked up some delicious cornmeal crusted tofu to go on the side and it was the perfect comfort food meal. If you try this recipe, let us know in the comments below how it turns out.