Nori, Nori, Hallelujah!

As some of you may know, this past week I came down with an awful case of the flu (so gross)- From where? I have no idea- BUT, it struck hard Monday night nailing me down with a fever of 102.8. Horrible!
And I’ve been pretty much out for the rest of the week (awful). Good timing in terms of our resolutions, though- being house-bound for THIS particular resolution was probably best due to my fatigue and general listlessness, which also allowed me to easily skirt around the many temptations of life beyond my bedroom. (Not that I was searching for an easy out...)

This week did however allow me to reconnect with Nori (not that I ever lost the love, but it made me regain my gratitude and appreciation).

On Wednesday morning I went to the doctor, where he formally diagnosed me with the flu, and put me on a remedy of rest, sleep, rest and a lot on vitamin C, which was fine by me (I don’t usually like to go on too many medications if I don’t have to). Which got me thinking- How can I get the most bang for my buck with Vitamin C?! Then I remembered my friend, queen of all super foods- NORI.

Nori (and all sea plants) really first entered my life (outside of sushi) about a year and a half ago when I first read Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet.” In her book she explains that all though “eating sea vegetables may sound icky” in trying them you’ll be “pleasantly surprised.”

Alicia goes on to outline many of the “magical qualities” of sea vegetables, such as: they are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, incredibly high in minerals and protein, they are both alkalizing and detoxifying to the blood, they reduce blood pressure, and they make for beautiful skin, nails and hair.

Sea vegetables actually offer one of the broadest ranges of minerals of any food, which contains almost all the minerals found in the ocean (WOW) - and many of same minerals found in our blood.

And if you’re not on-board yet- sea vegetables are an excellent source of iodine, iron, copper, potassium, zinc, vitamin K, the B-vitamins, magnesium, iron, calcium, vitamins C and E.

So, to get over the flu- I needed to cook myself some sea vegetables, and nori, is just one (of many) that I happen to be most familiar with.

Here are two recipes I made myself this week (you’ll notice a lot of the ingredients overlap, which is great) using Nori, they both tasted delicious and I think contributed to a healthier non-flu-ridden me! :o)

Nori Rolls: (I modified my own based on this version)

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked forbidden rice

½ cup of mung bean sprouts
½ cup of grated carrot
½ cup of cucumber, finely diced
¼ cup of daikon radish
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

½ tablespoon of soy mayonnaise

2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of dill weed

1 avocado (thinly sliced)
4 sheets of toasted nori

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients (except the avocado & nori sheets)
Allow the mixture to stand for 1-2 hours.

Set out the toasted nori sheets.
Place ¾ cup of filling on each sheet of toasted nori.

Place avocado strips along slide the filling.

Roll tightly and cut (with very sharp knife) into five slices.

Miso Soup

Ingredients:

"Natural/Instant Miso-Cup" Edward & Sons

1 cup of diced mushrooms

2 cups of diced tofu

2 sheets of nori (torn/cut into small squares)

1 teaspoon of dill

2 tablespoons of fresh parsley

¼ cup of daikon radish
½ cup of mung bean sprouts

1 teaspoon of cin

namon

2 teaspoons of pepper

Preparation:

Add 2 packets of the Miso Cup to 2 cups of boiling water, bring down heat to med/low

Add mushrooms and let sit for 2 minutes

Add the dill, parsley, daikon, mung beans and tofu

Stir ingredients together

Add the nori and stir

Add the cinnamon and pepper

Enjoy!