Nori Wraps

Nori Wrap

 Want a really simple way to get raw stuff and sea vegetables in your day? Nori Wraps are a quick, delicious, high nutrient-low fat meal that can be made with whatever you have on hand. The one pictured here was my dinner from last night and had cucumber, tomato, apple slices, romaine, avocado, 1/4 cup brown rice, hemp seeds, a torn basil leaf and a piece of umeboshi plum . Lay the full piece of nori on a plate, place the rice in the center and add slices of each veg, basil, hemp seeds. Roll into a cone, dab a little water on the edges of the cone to "glue" it down. Voila! So much easier than making sushi!!! Seriously, sushi is fun to make but is so involved, it is something I only do once in a while. Nori wraps could be an every-week meal!

Here are some other ideas for what to stuff in your nori wrap: any combination of pea shoots, cilantro, fresh mint, apple or mango, brown rice or quinoa, cucumber, radish, tomato, avocado, hemp seeds, kimchi , leftover 100% buckwheat soba noodles, baby spinach, julienne carrot, baked tofu. I'm sure you'll come up with even more ideas (let me know!!). The main idea here is to keep it simple and use what you have on hand.

For those of you who are interested in the nutrition info as well as the tastiness of your food, each sheet of nori provides 1g fiber, 1g protein, 0g fat, 5 calories, and 70% of your daily iodine requirement. 

Nori and other sea vegetables keep for a long time in the cabinet so its easy to have some on hand.Make some today and don't forget to let me know what's your fav filling! Happy wrapping!

One Lucky Duck Raw Vegan

We ate lunch at One Lucky Duck Chelsea Market on Sunday. Had the Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps (delish!) & Spicy Sesame Salad (YUM!), chocolate ganache tart & a raw lemon bar. All food is raw, organic, vegan. The desserts are very rich and the prices are very very rich too but all was incredibly delicious and held our appetites for hours. The main restaurant is  Pure Food and Wine , also raw organic vegan. Looking forward to eating there some day.

Chia: It's Not Just for Pets Anymore

Remember Chia Pets, those little clay pots with seeds that you watered and then became "hair" on the "pet"? Well, now you can skip the clay pot, the water and the pet and just eat the chia seeds directly. Known botanically as Salvia Hispanica L., chia seeds pack a lot of nutrition in a small portion. 2 Tbsp chia provides about 6.6g fat, 9g carbohydrate, 8g fiber (wow!!!) & 3.3g protein. Each Tbsp boasts about 70mg calcium! and over 4000 mg of Omega-3 fatty acid. Just to get an idea of how amazing those little seeds are, 25-40 g fiber is recommended for good health so 2 Tbsp chia gets you about a third of the way there, and 140mg calcium in 2 Tbsp chia represents approximately 14% of the recommended 1000mgs calcium per day without dairy products! Chia seeds are sold whole such as this Shiloh Farms package, or under the brand name Salba (hulled chia seeds).

Another way to eat chia is in this raw, gluten-free cereal called Ruth's Chia Goodness, a combination of hemp seed, chia seed, and raw sprouted buckwheat. Chia seeds absorb twice their weight in water, forming a gel which can be used to replace eggs in recipes (used as a binder, not as a leavening). Sprinkle chia on salads, in your morning hot cereal, over yogurt or fruit, add to smoothies, or make this chia pudding.

Chia Pudding

Place 3 Tbsp chia seeds in a bowl and cover with 1/3-1/2 cup almond milk. Stir in 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract and stevia or agave to taste. Use a small whisk to mix in the cocoa, and be patient as it doesn't take to the cold liquid very well. Once fully mixed, wait 10-15 min until it is pudding-like in texture. Enjoy!

Chia Seeds