Easy Raw Sushi!

The other day my friend mentioned to me that he was going to try to make some sushi but he didn't even have nori!  I, on the other hand, had a whole package of nori that I had yet to use. So, with a slightly competitive spirit, I set out to make some sushi.  And since my sushi was going to be raw, I immediately decided for myself that mine would be way better than his.  Well, my sushi was a little messy but incredibly yummy and he is now a self-proclaimed sushi master...So I may not have won in the rolling department but I think I win for creativity.  I used zucchini as the "rice" and threw in red peppers, cucumber, and avocado.  Yummmm! Here's what I did:

Easy Raw Sushi (makes about 3 rolls)

3-4 Nori Sheets, quickly brushed over heat (stove-top) to toast

1-2 large zucchini

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (optional, not raw)

2 tablespoons raw agave nectar (don't use if you skip the vinegar)

1/2 avocado, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 cucumber, julienned 

1.  "Rice" the zucchini in a food processor with the vinegar and agave nectar.  Be careful not to over-process as the mixture will get too liquid-y and hard to work with.

2. Layout one nori sheet and place a good amount of zucchini rice on the sheet.  Spread the mixture out a little.  Place the bell pepper, avocado, and cucumber on top of the zucchini.

3.  Roll your nori sheet up tightly.  Slice according to your desired size, my nori sheets had little markers to show the proper size.  

(Again, my rolls were a little sloppy so you may want to watch some youtube videos on how to roll sushi.  I used a little bit of rice vinegar to keep my roll sealed, that worked very well.)

When I ran out of zucchini mixture I decided to try sweet potato.  I riced half a sweet potato with some vinegar and agave nectar and repeated the steps to make the roll.  This version was crunchier and a little easier to roll but I didn't think it was as tasty.  Go ahead and try it if you'd like, they turn out very pretty!

When I got over sushi, I decided to mess around with the rest of the sweet potato I had.  I wanted to do something similar to the pumpkin pie in a bowl because I ended up really enjoying that.  I'm not going to give you exact measurements because I would be making them up.  What I ended up with is very tasty though, so I recommend trying this out too!  I would say I had almost a whole sweet potato; threw that in the food processor with 3 dates, about 2 tablespoons maple syrup(not raw), a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, and about 2 tablespoons of almond milk.  Process that until you've got a nice mushy texture, serve and enjoy. : )

Lastly: a note about attitude and having a positive outlook.  I didn't end up staying 100% raw all last week.  That being said, however, I refuse to say I failed.  What a terrible way to look at life!  I just found that I am not in a place in my life where I am ready to eat a 100% raw diet.  Maybe I will someday, or maybe I will never be 100%, who knows.  The point is, don't set yourself up for failure.  Give yourself realistic goals and guidelines and allow yourself to be human.  Also know that if you don't do things exactly as you had set out to it does not mean you have failed, it just means that maybe you should re-evaluate your goals or plan of action to better accommodate where you are in life.  You do not need to eat 100% raw to receive the benefits of adding more raw foods to your diet.  So don't you worry your pretty little head if you ate something cooked today!  Its not the end of the world, and its certainly not the end of your journey to health.  What I did achieve was getting back into some good habits such as juicing almost everyday, eating fruit until dinner and eating all raw dinners at home, not to mention a little bit of self-analysis and discovery. : )   That's all for today, later punks.

Music Fix:  Romantic-Soulive

Eat Happy. : )