Recipe: Creating healthy nori wraps at home

Do you want to start eating a bit healthier? Try something new and fresh such as a nori wrap. It is a colorful snack similar to sushi but without all the raw fish.

 

Ingredients:

4 sheets of nori seaweed

A small bowl of warm water

1 small carrot

1/4 of an English cucumber

1/4 of a yellow or red bell pepper

1/4 cup of chopped radishes

1/4 cup of sprouts. (alfalfa, broccoli, sunflower, lentil, etc.)

Chopped cilantro. (optional)

Hummus (optional)

Directions:

You will get two wraps out of this recipe.

1. First, peel the carrot and slice it along with your cucumber and bell pepper. I used red bell pepper but a yellow, orange or green pepper will taste great in the wrap as well. You could even mix them up if you want! Make your cuts as thin as possible and into long sticks. Simply trim the radishes and cut into short sticks.

Tip: If you look at the bottom of bell peppers, you will see that some have three bumps and some have four bumps. The peppers with four bumps are “female” and are full of seeds. They are sweeter and are more suited for eating raw. The peppers with three bumps are “male” and are better for cooking. For this recipe, I would use the “female” pepper.

2. For the wrap itself, lay out two nori seaweed sheets on a flat surface, side by side. Dip your fingers in the warm water and moisten the edge of one nori sheet. Take the second piece and lay it on top of the first so that the two edges overlap on the moist part. Both pieces will stick together and will form one long nori sheet. I had to make this recipe twice before I finally got the sheets to stick correctly. Keep experimenting with the size of the wrap until you get it right.

3. Along the longest edge of the big nori sheet, spread some hummus. You could make your own or use store bought hummus. Hummus is surprisingly easy to make with only five ingredients. I suggest that you make the layer fairly thin and leave about one or two inches on the left and right sides so that you can wrap everything up in the end.

Tip: A good hummus recipe can be found here.

4. Add in your vegetables and sprouts. Throw in a couple leaves of fresh cilantro, if desired.

5. Wrapping is always the hardest part. I still haven’t mastered it. Fold the left and right edges in and then roll the whole nori wrap away from you to form a roll. Some of the vegetables may fall out but you could stick them back in or just leave them out for a snack.

To finish, moisten the edge of the nori wrap with some warm water and lay the wrap seam side-down until the seaweed dries. It will take a few minutes. Just repeat this process for the second wrap. You can enjoy the nori wrap on its own or with your favorite Asian style dipping sauce.

This recipe was adapted from this healthy clean recipe.