Raw food is good for you. Vegan food is good for the animals. But raw vegan screams boring. Plus, let's face it: Trying to make anything appetizing that is both raw and vegan isn't easy. And it's certainly not something that's on everyone's to-do list.
But if eating healthier, more nutritious foods is a path you'd like to venture down, substituting a few SAD meals with a raw vegan dish every now and then couldn't hurt. SAD stands for "Standard American Diet," our nation's daily menu of cooked meats, dairy, and processed, high-fructose-laden foods the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine believes is responsible for more than 60 percent of deaths in the U.S.
Still, there's only one problem: You want something that's good for you and tastes good to boot. Vegetarians and vegans can extoll the virtues of veggies, wheatgrass, seeds, and bean sprouts all they like, but such a limited ingredient spread can get pretty bland and boring, pretty fast.
Enter Hippocrates executive chef Ken Blue, who has more than ten years of experience whipping up healthy -- as well as flavorful and delicious -- raw vegan dishes for the students enrolled in the West Palm Beach institute's three-week signature Life Transformation Program. Part of that role means instructing people on ways to prepare equally tasty, raw vegan eats at home.
Here, Blue shows us how to make one of his favorite raw vegan snacks, a dish almost anyone can appreciate: a vegetable nori roll.
See Also:
-- Hippocrates Health Institute Serves Raw Vegan Eats in West Palm Beach
-- Hippocrates' "Sex" Salad Recipe
-- How to Grow Your Own Sprouts
"This is one of the easiest things you can make at home, and with very few ingredients," Blue told Clean Plate Charlie during a recent interview. "But just make sure you're using untoasted nori. Toasted nori means you aren't eating raw, and that means less nutrients."
Making your own sushi is also an inexpensive raw vegan snack, and it's actually a lot easier than you may think. All you need is sharp knife and a bamboo sushi mat. We found ours for less than $3 at a local Asian market, a bargain compared to all those fancy, expensive tools necessary for cooking, heating, toasting, searing, and baking foods that need to be cooked.
What You Will Need:
A sharp knife for cutting vegetables
A bamboo sushi mat
A small cup for water
Ingredients:
4 to 6 sheets of dried nori seaweed (un-toasted)
1/2 to 1 cup julienned cucumber slivers
1/2 to 1 cup julienned carrots slivers
1/2 to 3/4 cup thin-slices avocado
2 to 3 cups sprouts (alfalfa, broccoli, clover, etc.)
Soy sauce, sushi vinegar or miso to taste (or any vegan dressing)
1 cup of water
