Fun Raw Food-How to prepare Nori Rolls

One of my favorite Raw Food recipes is for Nori Rolls. I am big sushi fan, and share the love of sushi with my partner who didn’t even want to touch a California roll when we first met. Now we have chop stick wars over the last piece of Unagi Roll.

Since the Raw Food course I took, I am more aware of what I want to be putting into my body and even though we still go for sashimi or our favorite dynamite roll, I am trying to stay on the raw food diet as much as possible. One of the recipes we learned in the course was for Nori Rolls, all raw, all veggies, all good!

Nori Rolls are a great appetizer when friends come over or when you are attending a pot luck dinner. Nori Rolls will be a nice treat to add to the pot luck event.

There is no extra prep time, but best to prepare before serving

This will make 14 to 16 1 – 1 ½” rolls

What you will need (and each time you make Nori Rolls you can personalize them to you and your friend’s tastes)

2 Raw Nori Sheets (dried, not toasted or roasted- can be bought in any health food store)

2 Romaine or Kale leaves (dry leaves)

1 stalk of celery (cut length wise of each stalk into 4 strips, only 2 of the 4 strips are needed)

1 Avocado (small to medium) cut into ¼” thin slices

1 large carrot (peeled and granted)

½ cup red pepper (cut into long strips)

½ cup purple cabbage (grated)

1 cup sprouts (optional)

· Lay your nori sheets (shiny side down) on a dry surface (I use my large cutting board after I’ve prepped every thing)

· Ingredients are only put on half of the nori sheet so they end up the in the middle of the roll.

· Place dried romaine of kale (or one of each) on half of nori sheet. This will be helpful to keep the nori sheet from getting wet.

· Place half an avocado on each leaf

· Put one slice of celery on each sheet; let the celery strip stick out each end of the sheet. You can use two slices of celery if you wish, it’s tasty and crunchy but will help with rolling.

· Add carrots, purple cabbage, and with the red pepper and sprouts let some stick out the ends of the sheets.

· Roll each sheet very tightly, starting with half of nori sheet that has ingredients. Moisten the end of the nori sheet with water or lemon so it will stick to form your Nori Roll. Allow to dry for a few minutes (about 5 minutes will work), then cut in 1” or 1 ½” pieces using a sharp or serrated knife. Stand each piece on the cut so you can see the ingredients.

 If you have a sushi rolling mat go ahead and use it! It took me a few nori rolls until I got the hang of rolling by hand.

Be creative with your presentations, it’s fun healthy food!

You can serve a raw Tahini sauce or raw sweet and sour sauce with pickled ginger