Nori Wraps

Now remember - Don't knock it until you've tried it...so if you haven't tried nori or you just look at it and go 'eeeeuuuuuwwww' just hear me out...SIT!  Thank you so much.

2 full sheets of nori

Nori, a paper-thin sheet of a roasted and dehydrated seaweed, is used primarily in Japanese cuisine. It commonly serves as a wrapper for sushi rolls. It may also be crumbled for use as a topping or garnish, imparting a sweet but salty taste to dishes. 

However, there's no law that you have to use nori for only Japanese food and certainly no law that it can only be wrapped around rice and raw fish so let's talk nori...

First of all, nori is not a grab and go sort of item.  Once it is wrapped and starts to get moist, it will get a little chewy so wrap and eat one at a time.  Same goes for the cut rolls, try not to let them sit.  Be sure to store nori in a dry place or it will lose its crisp texture.  

Now I wrap EVERYTHING in nori.  And it's darn good.  It's got a nice salty 'snap' to it that I really enjoy.  I will sometimes just eat a sheet of it for funsies.  I keep a package of it on my kitchen table for when the need a fix (of NORI, thank you very much).

• For breakfast I like eggs and avocado wrapped in nori.
• At lunch I might mix up tuna or salmon and cream cheese and cucumbers, or avocado and greens and wrap that in nori.
• For a quick light dinner I have been known to wrap cooked chicken or lunchmeat, cooked veggies and hummus in nori.
• A light lovely dessert is sliced strawberries and cream cheese wrapped in nori.

To review - some things you could wrap in nori and snack on:

Avocado

Carrots, cut into strips

Cucumber, cut into strips

Fresh salad greens

Beans

Eggs, scrambled or hard baked

Cooked sliced chicken, steak or nitrate free lunchmeat or sausages

Shrimp, Tuna or Salmon

Veggies, roasted or grilled

Fruits - sliced strawberries or apples, raspberries, banana

Cream cheese

Hummus

Greek yogurt or sour cream

Almond butter
Rawtella

Here's the 'official' instructions on how to wrap these up, but hey, sometimes I just give it the good ole college try, it looks funny but tastes good anyway.  So don't stress about getting it perfect unless your Japanese mother-in-law is coming over.  (Don't laugh - I actually have one of those!)

Hand Rolls

makes 1 serving

1/2 sheet nori and ingredients to fill it

 

Place nori horizontally in front of you (landscape), smooth shiny side down.  Place other ingredients on the left half of the nori, diagonally (bottom in lower left corner, top in middle top of nori). Take a dab of filling and place it in the upper right corner.

To roll – pick up nori and hold heavy end in left hand, empty end towards you.  Grab bottom left corner and pull it up and to the right WHILE curling the fingers of your left hand towards that corner.  Squeeze gently to firm up roll and use dab of water to seal.

Cut Rolls

makes 1 serving

1 sheet nori and ingredients to fill it

Place nori horizontally in front of you (landscape), smooth shiny side down.  Place other ingredients across the bottom of the sheet. 

Roll tightly, moisten the empty edge and press to seal.  Use a sharp moist knife to cut into pieces.

Chi-Asian Salmon

Let's continue with an entree we can make this week to go with our 'Ideas with Chia'...

Normally Bubba doesn't care for salmon so I've been racking my brain to find something so deliciously Asian that he can't help but like it.  I also took the liberty of removing the skin from his piece of salmon and turned out that was most of the problem right there, just couldn't appreciate a nice crispy piece of salmon skin.  So, if someone at your table is complaining, try removing the skin and see if that helps them (it's a texture thing).

This was just a great quick and easy dinner and while the salmon was marinating I roasted some broccoli to go with it.  I almost thought about making Tamari Broccoli but even I managed to realize that was a bit overboard.  Balance, balance, balance people!

Oh, and coconut sugar is my new favorite thing BECAUSE it's pretty much the brown sugar substitute of the P10 party!  So I gotta say you do want to use coconut sugar instead of just any sweetener 'cause you wanna get that awesome brown sugar/tamari thing going on.

Or, you could serve this nummy piece of fish over a bed of cool crisp greens and add a sliced avocado.  Shoot, now I gotta go make this again so I can try that....

Chi-Asian Salmon

4 pieces of salmon, about 6 oz each (or one large fillet if you prefer)

3 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon chia seeds

In a small bowl mix the sugar, tamari and rice vinegar.

Pour the mixture into a ziplock bag and place the salmon in the bag. Marinate the salmon for 20 minutes.   (this would be a good time to start some veggies roasting in the oven).

Turn the oven on to the broil setting. Cover a baking sheet with foil and put the salmon skin side down on the foil.

For the smaller pieces, broil for about 8 minutes;

for the large whole filet, broil for about 15 minutes or until the fish is thoroughly cooked and flakes easily on a fork.

Sprinkle the salmon with chia seeds and serve.

Garlic Chicken



served with a side of Tamari mushrooms and broccoli
(this piece of chicken would be considered
2 servings of protein for P10)



This dish is a kid and picky person pleaser. 

I found this on one of y'alls Pinterest boards - or maybe it was my niece's....not sure but this recipe from Food.com turned out much better than I expected.  It had mixed reviews but I can tell you that it turned out great and was a big hit with the family.

The chicken is kind of sweet so you'll want to pair this with something salty as a side dish, like Roasted Veggies or Tamari Green Beans.

If you want to add a dash of saltiness to the chicken, then hit it with a splash of tamari but only if you don't already have some in your side dish lest you become redundant and repetitious. 

By the way, the temp on this recipe is NOT a typo.  Seriously.  Yeah, it freaked me out too but I kept an eye on it and it turned out great. 

Garlic Chicken

makes 4 servings

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless pork chops

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons coconut or palm sugar

3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

(soy sauce/tamari)

Preheat oven to 500°F and line a 9x9 baking dish with foil.

In small sauté pan, sauté garlic with the oil until tender.

Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.

Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish lined with foil and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. 



I used three breasts and my cast iron pan to cook these on
the stove and then transfer to the oven



Stir Fry Chicken and Broccoli

This was a quick throw together dinner based on items I had just sitting in my kitchen.  I ended up sauteing some shredded cabbage in butter and serving it as a side dish.  I think this would also be good with Cauliflower Rice or some quinoa (Stages 2-3 only for quinoa).

Sorry my pictures always look so narsty....I'm using my iPhone and I don't have very steady hands.  Plus, my talents do not lie in the photographing of food, just creating and eating it!

 

Stir Fry Chicken and Broccoli

makes 4 servings

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 lb cubed chicken breast

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

4 cups (about 12 oz) of broccoli florets

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon tamari

salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Cook chicken for about 4 minutes.

Add garlic and broccoli and stir fry for approximately 5 additional minutes until the broccoli is crisp.  Finish by adding the ginger and tamari, and cook a few more minutes.

 

Chi-Asian Salmon

Normally Bubba doesn't care for salmon so I've been racking my brain to find something so deliciously Asian that he can't help but like it.  I also took the liberty of removing the skin from his piece of salmon and turned out that was most of the problem right there, just couldn't appreciate a nice crispy piece of salmon skin.  So, if someone at your table is complaining, try removing the skin and see if that helps them (it's a texture thing).

This was just a great quick and easy dinner and while the salmon was marinating I roasted some broccoli to go with it.  I almost thought about making Tamari Broccoli but even I managed to realize that was a bit overboard.  Balance, balance, balance people!

Oh, and coconut sugar is my new favorite thing BECAUSE it's pretty much the brown sugar substitute of the P10 party!  So I gotta say you do want to use coconut sugar instead of just any sweetener 'cause you wanna get that awesome brown sugar/tamari thing going on.

Or, you could serve this nummy piece of fish over a bed of cool crisp greens and add a sliced avocado.  Shoot, now I gotta go make this again so I can try that....

Chi-Asian Salmon

4 pieces of salmon, about 6 oz each (or one large fillet if you prefer)

3 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon chia seeds

In a small bowl mix the sugar, tamari and rice vinegar.

Pour the mixture into a ziplock bag and place the salmon in the bag. Marinate the salmon for 20 minutes.   (this would be a good time to start some veggies roasting in the oven).

Turn the oven on to the broil setting. Cover a baking sheet with foil and put the salmon skin side down on the foil.

For the smaller pieces, broil for about 8 minutes;

for the large whole filet, broil for about 15 minutes or until the fish is thoroughly cooked and flakes easily on a fork.

Sprinkle the salmon with chia seeds and serve.

Potatoes with Tamari Butter

My family has always loved this side dish.  In Japanese, it's called 'shinjaga shouyu bataa'

In the past I always made a special trip to get the teeny new potatoes but one day I was running late and looking for something a bit heartier to serve alongside the Pan Seared Salmon with Ponzu Spinach that I was whipping together.  I thought this would be a good complement to the dish so I threw it together with big old honking russet potatoes instead.  So I decided to post both ways to cook this dish in case you feel the same non-urge to run out and get special teeny taters.

Remember folks, on P10 potatoes are a 'every once in a while' food.  Of course after you eat these you might struggle with that a bit....

Tamari is the wheat-free version of soy sauce so if you're on Stages 2/3 you could just use soy sauce but honestly, the flavor of tamari is so much better and it's worth it to keep some on hand.  It's readily available in the Asian section of your grocery store.


Potatoes with Tamari Butter-baby potato version

1 lb organic tiny new potatoes, washed and unpeeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon tamari
salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Put potatoes in a large pan, cover with water and add enough salt to make the water salty like seawater.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes.  Melt the butter in the same pan and add the tamari.  Mix the potatoes and and tamari butter well, and pour onto a baking sheet.

Roast potatoes for 25-30 minutes until browned and cooked through.  Make sure and turn them a few times.  Serve warm or at room temperature.


Potatoes with Tamari Butter-russet potato version

2 large russet potatoes, washed and unpeeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon tamari

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Stab the potatoes with a fork and microwave for 5 minutes.  Cut potatoes into chunks.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large microwavable bowl.  Remove from microwave and mix in the tamari.  Toss the potatoes and and tamari butter well, and pour onto a baking sheet.

Roast potatoes for 25-30 minutes until browned and cooked through.  Make sure and turn them a few times.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tamari Green Beans

Someone mentioned the other day that they made Tamari Mushrooms and threw in some green beans, and once again, I was like 'why didn't I think of that?'

So I tried the same recipe but used green beans and it was really really really good.  Yes, it gets rated three 'reallys'!

Most soy sauce contains gluten (wheat) but tamari is soy sauce that is more natural and it's not too difficult to find.  If you have an Asian ingredient aisle in your grocery store, check it out.  Tamari is right next to the soy sauce.

Tamari Green Beans

makes 4 servings

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces fresh green beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons tamari

ground black pepper to taste

 

Melt the butter in frying pan over medium heat; add the beans; cook and stir about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic; continue to cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add the tamari; cook the beans in the tamari until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. 

1/2 cup of green beans = 1 serving of veggies

 

Thai 'Rice' with Pineapple and Shrimp

This is yet another one of our family's favorite recipes that has had to go 'bye bye' since we started eating on P10.  It's also based on an old WW recipe and we love this extra kick and refreshing pineapple bite to this one. 


Again, for you Susies out there, feel free to kick up the spices and for those who don't appreciate the spicy, feel free to tone it down a bit.  When I make this I skip the chiles and cilantro and use chili powder instead. 

This could be a quick and easy main dish or a great side dish to a lovely piece of fish.



Thai Rice with Pineapple and Shrimp
makes 4 servings


2 cups Cauliflower Rice
2 tablespoons butter
8 oz canned unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained or fresh, chopped
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1/2 average serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped

4 oz cooked small shrimp, thawed and chopped

2 tablespoons cilantro

Melt the butter in a large pan, mix in the rice and continue heating until rice is warmed through.   Stir in the rest of the ingredients and cook for another few minutes.

Shrimp and Mango Stir Fry

This sweet and pungent combination of mango, shrimp, chilies and cumin is quick to put together as a stir-fry, alongside Cauliflower Rice or as a topping to a fresh plate of salad greens.  You could also put it on corn tortillas and use it for tacos (Stages 2-3 and complaining family members only).

Once again, feel free to adjust the spiciness according to your tastes and what you have on hand.

Shrimp and Mango Stir Fry

makes 4 servings


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound medium or small shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
2 Serrano or bird chilies, or 1 large jalapeño, minced
1 large mango, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 to 5 tablespoons lime juice

Heat a large, heavy skillet or wok over medium-high heat, and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp, salt to taste and the garlic. Sauté, stirring or shaking the pan, until the shrimp begins to color, about two minutes. Add the cumin, and continue to cook until the shrimp is pink and opaque, about three minutes. Add the chilies, mango and cilantro, and stir together for one minute. Stir in the lime juice, and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serve immediately.

Sesame Baked Tofu with Sweet Potato

On P10, both tofu and sweet potatoes are a ‘once in a while’ food and this dish combines both but you’ll find it delicious.  Remember to use NON genetically modified tofu if at all possible.  If you don’t have tamari you can sub soy sauce but tamari is better for you, so please invest in some.  You can find it in the Asian section of the grocery store.

The tofu takes on the flavor of the seasonings as tofu itself is quite bland. The toasted sesame seeds gives the dish some crunchiness and nuttiness. The sweet potatoes baked in foil are moist and sweet and complement the baked tofu well.  I like to serve this with a side of Roasted Broccoli.

Print this recipe: Sesame Baked Tofu with Sweet Potato

Sesame Baked Tofu with Sweet Potato

makes 6 servings
adapted from Chow Times

2 lbs firm tofu, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or scant 1 teaspoon ground ginger)

1/8 cup tamari

1/8 cup water

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

2 sweet potatoes (the orange ones, some of you call them yams)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl.  Combine oil and seasonings in another bowl and mix well, then stir into the tofu.

Place seasoned tofu pieces into a lightly oiled baking pan in a single layer.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Toss with some olive oil and season with salt and ground black pepper. Place the sweet potatoes in tin foil and wrap them into a package.  Bake the sweet potatoes together with the tofu.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

If the tofu looks dry, you may sprinkle the tofu with more seasonings after the baking.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Ponzu Spinach

This healthy salmon and spinach dish uses few ingredients (salmon, spinach, ponzu sauce, and garlic), involves one non-stick sauté pan, and cooks in under 10 minutes.

Ponzu sauce can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store.  It’s a combination of soy sauce, rice vinegar, citrus and dashi broth.  I’d show you the recipe, but let’s face it, if you can’t find ponzu you’re sure as heck not gonna find dashi!

Print this recipe:  Pan-Seared Salmon with Ponzu Spinach

Pan-Seared Salmon with Ponzu Spinach

makes 4 servings
recipe adapted from Big Bold Beautiful Food

4 salmon fillets, thawed

coconut or olive oil

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bag of spinach

1/4 cup ponzu sauce

Pat the fillets dry on both sides. Brush the top with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Take the spinach out the bag. Go through the spinach and remove any big stems and any pieces that are not fresh. Rinse in a colander or salad spinner.

Mince or crush the garlic.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until it's hot. You know it's hot if you hold your hand over the skillet and you can only hold it there for 2-3 seconds, or you can wet your hand and flick water into the pan. If water sizzles and evaporates when it hits the pan, it's hot.

When the skillet is hot, add the salmon fillets, oiled side down, making sure the fillets are not touching each other and there is some air circulation in between them. Depending on how thick they are, you'll cook them a few minutes on one side (see note), until the bottom edges get opaque. While the bottom side is cooking, brush the top side with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Flip over and let that side cook for a few minutes until center of fish is just opaque (see note). Remove from pan and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil into the skillet and swirl around. Add garlic, stir around once, and add spinach right away. If you can't fit all the spinach at once, add as much as you can, stir around until it wilts and then add the rest. Add the ponzu sauce and it will help the spinach wilt and cook. When all the spinach is wilted, turn off the heat.

Put some of the spinach on a plate and place the salmon on top of it.

Note:

• If you have a fillet that's about 1 1/2 inch thick, you'd cook it about 6 minutes on one side, flip it and cook for 4 minutes on the other side.
• If you have a fillet that's thinner, cook it less.
• You should take the fish off the heat when it's almost opaque but still a little translucent in the center. To check the color inside, stick a knife in the center and gently pull apart the flesh. The fish will continue cooking in its own heat when you take it off the stove and become fully opaque.

Asian Caramelized Broccoli

This is a quick and easy Asian side dish to throw together.  If you have soy sauce you could use it, but if you have Tamari (gluten free soy sauce) that would be even better.  It's the quick and dirty stovetop version of roasted veggies and I bet this would work with a lot of different veggies, although I have yet to try that out.

This dish cooks up best in a wide skillet with high sides or a wok, if you have one.

Once again, remember to bring anything you'll put in the skillet to room temperature or you'll just be warming it up instead of cooking it.

Print this recipe:  Asian Caramelized Broccoli

Asian Caramelized Broccoli

makes 4 servings

1 bag of broccoli florets, about 12 ounces

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

NOTE – the broccoli must be DRY or it will steam.  You can buy it prewashed like a bag of ‘broccoli wokly’ or make sure to wash and dry it completely before making this recipe.

Cut the florets into bite-sized pieces.  Make sure they are not still cold from the fridge.

Heat a skillet or wok over medium heat, add the oil.  When oil is fragrant, add all of the broccoli, tossing to coat in the oil evenly.  Leave the pan alone to allow broccoli to brown, then stir around to get brown on all sides.  You want it to appear dark and roasted all over.  Sample a piece until you decide it’s done to your taste.

Once broccoli is done, add soy sauce over the top while still on the heat, cook for another 30 seconds, tossing constantly.

Serve immediately.

Tamari Mushrooms

This was a big hit the other night.  I served it with some salmon that I cooked using the Bronzed Sea Bass recipe I've posted previously.  Bubba doesn't like mushrooms, so he ate one, then first gave one to me, one to the Kid, etc.  He's a smart guy.

Most soy sauce contains gluten (wheat) but tamari is soy sauce that is more natural and it's not too difficult to find.  If you have an Asian ingredient aisle in your grocery store, check it out.

Tamari Mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces white button mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons tamari

ground black pepper to taste

Parsley, dried or fresh

Melt the butter in frying pan over medium heat; add the mushrooms; cook and stir until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic; continue to cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add the tamari; cook the mushrooms in the tamari until the liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle fresh parsley on top for garnish.

1/2 cup of mushrooms = 1 serving of veggies

Print the recipe:  Tamari Mushrooms

Avocado Smoothie

Avocados!  They are really starting to grow on me (pun intended).  I grew up in the Midwest listening to my California mother extol the virtues of these creepy looking things (I could see why they’re called ‘alligator pears’)…she even tried to make us eat one!  And, like mothers sometimes are, she was right – I now love avocados and try to have some every day. 

I found myself trying to eat them all before they went bad or throwing them out and it made me sad.   I was looking up information about them and found this great website that taught me a lot about avocados – including how to freeze them!  Thanks to this article, when I feel them start to get very slightly squishy, I put them in the fridge for a few days and then I don’t waste as much of them. I hope you find it as informative as I did.

After the article I've posted my basic Avocado Smoothie recipe.

1/2 medium avocado = 1 serving of fat

excerpts from an Article by Linda Stradley of What's Cooking America

Purchasing & using avocados

Avocados must be used when fully ripe. They do not ripen on the tree and are rarely found ripe in markets. Fresh avocados are almost always shipped in an unripe condition

To test for ripeness by cradling an avocado gently in your hand. Ripe fruit will yield will be firm, yet will yield to gentle pressure. If pressing leaves a dent, the avocado is very ripe and suitable for mashing. They are best served at room temperature.

Tips on ripening avocados:

To ripen avocados slowly, put them in the fruit bin of your refrigerator (no apples please, that would be mixed signals). Avocados can be kept for up to two weeks this way. They will ripening very slowly, so when you take them out of the refrigerator they will be ready to eat in a couple of days.

To ripen an avocado faster, place in a brown paper bag and set in your oven with only the oven light on.

Once avocados are at a desired stage of ripeness, they may be refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 days.

Freezing avocados

You can freeze mashed fresh, ripe avocados if you want to have an “emergency supply” of avocados on hand for guacamole.

To freeze, mash the avocados with a fork.  Add one teaspoon lime or lemon juice per avocado and mix well.  The best way to freeze the prepared mashed avocados is to use a freeze-weight zip lock bag. Fill the bag with the mashed avocado. Remove the air from the bag and then zip closed and freeze. 

Thaw the frozen avocados in the refrigerator or place the container in a bowl of cool water to accelerate thawing.

Avocado Nutrition Chart:

Avocado - 1 medium
Calories	324
Total fat (g)	30.8
Carbohydrates (g)	14
Dietary fiber (g)	10
Sodium (mg)	0
Cholesterol (mg)	0

Avocados and weight loss (dieting) programs:

The following information is from The Avocado and Human Nutrition. I. Some Human Health Aspects of the Avocado, by Bob Bergh, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California:

Weight Control - Contrary to popular assumptions, the avocado can be a helpful part of a successful weight-management program. It brings several advantages.

Its monounsaturated fat speeds up the basal metabolic rate, as compared with saturated fat.

Its high fat content gives a quicker feeling of satiation (“fullness”), thus helping to reduce overeating.

Its high fat content makes an overall sound diet more palatable, reducing the temptation to binge on foods high in sugars or saturated fats.

Its rich supply of vitamins and minerals also makes the diet more wholesome and satisfying and thus more conducive to overall health.


If you're still with me - let's move on to the Avocado Smoothie, which didn't really sound that appealing to me but I was surprised at how much I liked it.  I had to add protein to it 'cause that's how I roll.  This is a basic recipe, you could search online for ideas to add all kinds of interesting things to it.  After all, isn't that why Al Gore invented the internet?

Avocado Smoothie
makes one large glass

1/2 medium avocado, peeled and pitted

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup half and half

1 tsp agave

1 cup ice

*optional - 1 serving of whey protein powder

Put the liquids into the blender, add the avocado flesh, agave and ice and puree until completely smooth. 

This smoothie is 2 servings of fat and if you add the protein powder, make it also 1 serving of protein.

Click here to print the Avocado Smoothie Recipe.