Nori-wrapped Quinoa and Veggies

I’ve posted several recipes here with quinoa because I eat it often. It’s a great plant-based protein source that is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and it’s gluten-free which is great news for people who are gluten intolerant or sensitive. And because I eat it so often, I’m always looking for new ways to eat it. The other morning, while lying on my yoga mat, I wondered how quinoa would work in place of rice in a nori roll with lots of veggies. I thought it would be a nice idea as a light meal for summer, instead of a heavier wrap. Years ago in school, a fellow graduate student invited a few of us over and she taught us how to roll sushi. It was a lot of fun and I haven’t made them in a long time. So today, I played in the kitchen with my food. The rolls I made combined the quinoa, avocado, shredded vegetables and nori. The veggies don’t have to be shredded–they can also be sliced into thin, long strips–depending on your preference. Whatever combinations you can think up here, you can create…

Nori-wrapped Quinoa and Veggies

Nori sheets

Cooked and cooled quinoa, seasoned as desired

Avocado, mashed with a little lemon juice

Shredded veggies, such as carrots, zucchini or yellow squash, cucumbers, beets, daikon radish, etc.

Sesame oil

Sesame or hemp seeds

I cooked my quinoa in a dilute vegetable broth and added a little tamari. When it was finished cooking, I added a little bit of sushi vinegar and a few chia seeds. Because quinoa is less sticky than rice, I was thinking that chia seeds that have been soaked for a few minutes then added to the quinoa near the end of the cooking might make the quinoa a little gelatinous. It was a bit late when I added them this time, but I’ll be experimenting with this again. To deal with the possibility that the quinoa wouldn’t be sticky enough, I mashed my avocado and used that as the base for the quinoa to stick to. It worked really well.

If you have a bamboo mat for rolling nori, the assembly will be much easier; however, it is still doable without one. The directions for putting together a roll will be on the back of the nori package, but I’ll give it a try here: Place a piece of nori onto the mat with one of the shorter edges facing you. Onto this end, about one inch from the edge, spread a couple of tablespoons of mashed avocado into a one inch strip, horizontally, from one side to the other. Layer cooled quinoa onto the avocado, then shredded veggies. Press them down to keep in place. Using the mat, begin rolling by lifting the nori’s short overhang up and over the filling then bring it down and back, pressing into the filling to pack it together. Tuck the overhang under the filling and roll it snugly to keep the filling packed. Moisten the free end of the roll with a small amount of water then press it into the roll. This will help to seal it like an envelope. Brush the roll with sesame oil. Using an extremely sharp knife, cut the rolls crosswise into disks about ½ inch thick. Arrange on a plate and sprinkle with sesame or hemp seeds.

Then enjoy! These are light and refreshing and perfect for summer! I know I’ll be making these lots more, especially while the weather is hot. And if you’re planning to take these for lunch, they can be transported whole, then cut when ready to eat or even eaten whole like a wrap. Peace…

Uncomplicated, Healthy Eating

One of the biggest challenges that people face when they want to begin eating healthier is finding the time. There all kinds of systems in place that conveniently enable us to eat unhealthy: fast food restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, etc., but in order to ramp up our diets and increase the nutrient density it takes planning, shopping, and preparing/cooking. Preparing our own food is one of the best ways to ensure that we’re eating the right foods without all the additives and preservatives that are frequently found in processed and prepackaged foods. I understand this more than anyone and I prepare most of my own food, and yes, it takes time. Yet I believe that we make the time for our priorities and eating a healthy diet is top on my list, along with exercise. That being said, food shopping and preparation don’t have to be complicated. In fact, the shopping part actually gets much easier when we decide to adopt healthy eating habits. With a few exceptions, we can virtually avoid the inner isles of the grocery stores where all the processed foods are displayed and focus on the produce, meat, egg/dairy, and frozen food sections. And if you also keep a few “superfoods” on hand, they can very nicely enhance the overall quality of your diet. In addition, food preparation that includes more raw foods and foods that are minimally cooked to preserve their nutrient value often take less time to prepare than foods that simmer on the stove or are in the oven for long periods of time.

One example of a very quick, healthy, and satisfying dish consists of three ingredients: dulse, avocado, and fresh lettuce leaves. This is something that can be prepared in minutes and is loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and good fats. Dulse goes by many names including sea lettuce, and is a red seaweed that grows along many coastlines including the Northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Iceland, Europe, Japan, Korea and the Arctic shores of Russia and Canada. It is a good source potassium, zinc, manganese, calcium and iodine as well as many essential amino acids. Dulse can be found at some fish markets and natural food stores and is sold as the leaves or ground into flakes, which is how I buy it. It can be added to soups, stews, sauces, salads–just about anywhere you'd like.

To prepare, the above dish, mash an avocado, add a tablespoon of ground dulse (you can also soak it briefly in water first if you’d like) and mix well. Then simply stuff it into clean (preferably organic) lettuce leaves and enjoy! It’s easy-creamy-savory-crunchy, and healthy. The dulse avocado mixture can also be spread on toast or even eaten by itself­–it’s that good! I've had it with an egg in the morning for a very satisfying breakfast or had it with a salad or even stuffed additional shredded veggies into the lettuce leaves. It's as versatile as your imagination. I hope you give it a try! : )