Because of the inflammatory properties of wheat and their link to muscle soreness and back pain, I was searching out alternatives a couple years ago and discovered the revolutionary Nori Wrap. If you’ve ever eaten sushi, you’ve likely already sampled Nori, a yummy seaweed sheet commonly wrapped around the rice and goodies to form your roll.
Nori is inexpensive, nutritious, and available at most supermarkets. Aside from its obvious use in sushi, you can also use nori in place of tortillas for flavorful veggie wraps. I like to prep all the fillings and leave them in the fridge so I can pack a quick wrap at my leisure.
The benefits of seaweed, or more poetically, sea vegetables, have been explored and celebrated by various cultures for thousands of years. Residents of Greece, China, Japan, and Hawaii (to name a few) collected algae, and even created farms to produce different, nutritious sea veggies used in an array of cuisines and medicines.
Seaweeds are considered a super food. They provide essential human minerals, including calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and iron, especially imperative for active individuals who sweat regularly. A well-rounded profile of vitamins can also be found in sufficient amounts, including B1, B2, B6, niacin, folic acid and Vitamin A, in the form of beta-carotene. Among many benefits, sea vegetables provide excellent detoxification, promote healthy hair and skin, and also boost immunity.
Now that you know how great plants from the sea can be, here’s a simple and delicious Nori Wrap recipe:
You will need…
Nori sheets
1 Bunch of collard greens, steamed
Cooked brown rice
Avocado
Sprouts
Amy’s Green Goddess Dressing (or dressing of your choice)
And of course any other veggies you feel like throwing in!
Place a sheet of nori on a dry surface and add a warm, steamed collard green leaf. On top of the leaf, add brown rice, avocado and sprouts, and top with Amy’s Goddess Dressing and a dash of salt and pepper. Roll into a cone and enjoy as a quick and energetic lunch or snack.
~The Vegan Project
Nice post – sea vegetables are so important and so overlooked in most North American diets. Another easy way to incoporate them is by adding dried kelp to your salt grinder – cuts down on the salt too!
Sea vegetables (particularly kelp) also have lots of iodine, which is sometimes lacking in healthy vegans who eat lots of soy products since soy uses iodine in digestion. Traditional cultures (like Japan) that eat lots of soy also eat lots of sea vegetables, so thanks for posting on the importance of getting more of them!!!