Eat Your (Sea) Vegetables: Veggie Quinoa Sushi

Did your mother ever tell you to eat your vegetables?  Well what about your SEA vegetables?  If you thought that vegetables only grew in your garden or on a farm then you are mistaken.  Sea vegetables are underappreciated in the American society but they have been a staple for hundreds of years in places like Asia and the Caribbean.  If you think you haven’t had sea vegetables before then you could be wrong.  Agar Agar (a type of sea vegetable)  is commonly added to things like toothpaste and instant pudding and a thickener.

There are many different types of sea vegetables and they typically have a salty taste to them (hence being grown in salt water).  The two that I use most commonly are Dulse and Nori.  Nori might be the most familiar to you and even if you haven’t eaten it yourself, you would probably most recognize it for being used to roll sushi.

Why might it be important to include sea vegetables in your diet?  Glad you asked.  The sea is a great source of minerals.  Most experts agree that the soil we use to grow a lot of our food is quickly being deleted of mineral content by over farming.  And since we are what we eat, we can only receive as much minerals from our food as the soil can give to the plants.  Our food today is not nearly as nutritious as it was years and years ago.  Now we need to tap into other sources of those minerals to make sure we are getting the nutrition we need.

Sea vegetables are rich sources of iodine, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, manganese…the list goes on for about 56 minerals worth.  You get the picture.  So if that hasn’t convinced you to buy some sea vegetables then what will?  Nori is a great place to start as it is the mildest form of seaweed.  If you are not a fan of raw fish or are vegan, and just don’t eat fish, then I have you covered.  Vegetable sushi is the easiest type of sushi to make yourself and you can customize it to fit your tastes.  Any and all vegetables will work.  You can even use cooked or raw.

I have been making my own vegetable sushi at home for awhile now and I love using quinoa instead of rice most of the time because I feel quinoa is more nutritious.  It is a complete protein after all and rice can’t say that.  I am not an expert sushi roller and definitely shouldn’t quit my day job to become a sushi maker.  It was a mess trying to roll these babies up.  Then an epiphany.  I was at my favorite vegan food truck and they had veggie quinoa sushi on the menu and it was so beautiful.  Their secret to turning quinoa into “sticky” quinoa was by added cashew cream.  Now why didn’t I think of that?  It works beautifully and if you can’t have nuts then easily substitute mashed avocado.  Now I tell you that my rolling skills are still not great but everything sticks together so nicely now and I can eat these with my hands instead of a fork.  I want to make so much sushi now.  How about you?

Print

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2

Author Sara

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups cooked quinoa soaked overnight, drained, rinsed, then cooked
• 1/2 cup cashews soaked for at least 1 hour, drained and rinsed
• 2-4 tbsp water
• 2-4 tbsp sriracha more or less to taste *optional
• 2 Nori sheets
• 1/2 avocado
• Vegetables to slice 4 in long:
• 4 slices red pepper
• 4 slices cucumber
• 4 slices carrot
• handful broccoli sprouts
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
• Soy sauce for dipping

Instructions

1. To make cashew cream put soaked cashews, 2 tbsp water, and sriracha in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth adding more water if needed.
3. Lay out a nori sheet on a board or sushi roller.
4. In a separate bowl mix 2/3 cup cooked quinoa with 2 tbsp cashew cream until coated.
5. Spread the quinoa mixture onto the nori as even as possible.
6. Sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds.
7. On one end of the nori lay two slices of red pepper, cucumber, carrot avocado, and some broccoli sprouts along the edge.
8. Carefully using both hands roll up the nori while pressing everything together.
9. Slice into 8 pieces with a sharp knife.
10. Repeat the steps with the second nori sheet.
11. Serve with soy sauce.

Recipe Notes

*choose organic ingredients when possible.