California Sushi Rolls

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My daughter loves the idea of sushi and I never squander an opportunity to expand her palate, so we make these simple vegetarian rolls together. On Sunday’s, my husband and I prep our veggies for the week so that they are easily available for grab and go lunches and snacks. Also, anytime I have rice on the dinner menu, I make extra to use for sushi the next day. This takes out all of the prep work and leaves only the assembly.

This recipe yields 2 hand rolls or 12 sliced rounds

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup white rice
  • 1/2 avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 1/2 cucumber, cut into small sticks
  • 1/4 carrot, grated
  • 2 large seaweed sheets (nori)
  • Tamari or coconut aminos to taste
  • 128 g white rice
  • 1/2 avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 1/2 cucumber, cut into small sticks
  • 1/4 carrot, grated
  • 2 large seaweed sheets (nori)
  • Tamari or coconut aminos to taste

Directions

  1. Make the rice in a rice cooker. 

  2. Place cooked rice, avocado chunks, cucumber sticks, and grated carrot in a seaweed sheet and roll. Can be cut into rounds maki-style or eaten like a hand roll. 

  3. Add tamari or coconut aminos to a small dipping bowl. Can also be packed to go in leakproof pods like these, as well.  

Tips

**I use large pre-packaged squares of seaweed (nori) to make these sushi rolls 
**Sushi sticks together better if the rice is slightly warm or if you lightly dab the seaweed sheets with water.
**Feel free to add cooked shrimp, spicy tuna or any of your favorite proteins or other vegetables.

 
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Ethiopian Stew

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Brazil Nut Milk

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I love homemade nut milk. It makes coffee, smoothies and even SIBO-approved pancakes better. My SIBO diet allows for all nuts except cashews and pistachios. Further, I am always mindful of rotating what goes into (and on) my body. This is so I don’t end up creating new food sensitivities and also to spread out and maximize the nutrients my body is getting. In my search for alternatives to almonds, which are all too easy to eat in excess if you’re gluten or especially grain-free, I discovered brazil nuts.

Turns out, brazil nut milk is creamier and more satisfying than regular almond milk. My secret is doubling the amount of nuts, adding a pinch of Himalayan pink salt and vanilla bean.

This recipe will yield about 40 ounces (over a liter) of milk, equaling eight 5-ounce servings.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups raw organic brazil nuts
  • 5 cups water
  • ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • 1-2 vanilla beans
  • 475 g raw organic brazil nuts
  • 1 liter water
  • ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • 1-2 vanilla beans

Directions

  1. Soak Brazil nuts in water for 8 hours, at room temperature, covered with a flour sack towel or cheese cloth. (3-4 hours is fine - add a pinch of sea salt and a splash of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to help activate faster). I use this glass pitcher because my nut bag fits over the sides and it’s easy to pour into the blender.

  2. Drain and rinse the nuts and add them to a 64 oz Vitamix or other blender, along with 5 cups / 1 liter of water.

  3. Arrange your nut milk bag in the glass pitcher you used to soak your nuts, trying to get the edges of the bag over the rim. I stick to organic cloth nut bags like this one.

  4. Blend nuts on medium working up to high until smooth and creamy, about 45-60 seconds.

  5. Pour liquid through nut bag back into glass pitcher and strain out the pulp. The pulp can be saved, even frozen, for baking and other uses that call for almond or other nut meal.

  6. Pour nut milk back into Vitamix and add salt and vanilla. Blend until smooth and well-mixed, about 10-15 seconds.

TIPS

**For a sweet nut milk, add maple syrup or chopped dates.
**Save in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
**A note about water quality. I have a whole house water filter, so even my soaking water is filtered. I also have an alkaline water maker built in under my sink and I use that one for the nut milk. Whatever your setup is, use as clean a water source as you can. If you live in the mountains and have delicious unpolluted alpine water, even better!
**Benefits of brazil nuts include this, as well as the trace mineral selenium, which also counteracts mercury toxicity.
**If your vanilla bean pods are grade B or dried out, soak them along with the nuts to soften them to more easily scrape out the paste.
**Vanilla beans can be replaced with vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract.
**If you don’t want to blend twice, you can skip the extra step and add your flavor ingredients before blending the nuts. It just seems wasteful to me to lose any of the precious vanilla beans to the filtering process so this is how I always do it.

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