Sushi for meeeee!

Sushi has been my fixation lately however it hasn't been the best choice when it comes to following the rules. A few weekends ago we decided to change all that and it unleashed a monster.

The classic white rice is what you get after brown rice is robbed of it's color and nutrients during processing. After raping and pillaging the helpless morsels it is left without nutrients and all of the calories it had before.
Brown rice in its original state is a whole grain... a delicious whole grain.
Now because I luuuuuv sushi, let's compare the brown and white versions:


Four-pieces of your average white rice veggie roll has 160 calories, 30 grams of carbs, 2.7 grams of fat, 260 milligrams sodium and .67 grams of fiber.
The brown rice version has all that as well but you gain healthy stuff like 2 more grams of fiber, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, manganese and zinc.
The biggest difference for me is that brown rice has more fiber which leads to a better fight against hunger. It also has a slightly lower Glycemic Load so it helps keep my blood sugar steadier.
On average, eating 4 pieces of sushi with brown rice would cover one serving of whole grains (3 a day are recommended).

Remember I mentioned I have turned into a sushi monster... well for me this is a perfect lunch and so I've eaten it almost every lunch this last week.


Sunday night I made the sushi rice and it has lasted me all week:
2 cups uncooked brown rice cooked according to the package instructions.

While it is cooking, mix the following on the stove until it is dissolved.
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
Put the cooked rice in a pyrex bowl and pour the vinegar mixture on top. Mix well and then take a baking sheet and use it to fan the rice down to room temp.
Now there are about a billion ways to make sushi, but my favorite this week has been a spicy California roll.

I made the spicy sauce by combining fat free mayo with Sriracha until it was just the right shade of spicy orange for me.
Then I shredded some imitation crab meat and mixed it in with the spicy sauce.
After you place a sheet of Nori on your bamboo sushi roller layer the rice on top. If this is too annoyingly sticky for you try wetting your fingers with a mixture of half rice wine vinegar and half water.
Now the fun begins! Decide what you want with it and layer.
Here I chose spicy fake crab, carrots and cucumber.

All you have left after that is to roll it and slice it and eat it.

Along with this roll I also made another for my husband. He had spicy crab, fat free cream cheese, carrots and cucumber. I also learned a horribly good trick here, that I am reluctant to share because it certainly brakes the rules.....
Ah what the heck, just eat this in moderation please.
After you have made that delicious spicy crab roll with the cream cheese, give a saute pan a quick spray of oil and place a few of the rolls in the pan. Let them warm through and get brown on the bottom. Eat it while the cream cheese is still melted. I'm pretty sure I could eat a whole roll that way.

So 4 pieces or half a roll is one serving of whole grains about 1 ounce of protein. Add this to a cup of steamed green beans and an apple for a well rounded meal that is oh so good.

As long as you keep the ingredients simple it can be a very low cost party dish. Make up several of the same types of rolls and stagger them throughout the evening.
Don't forget the ginger, wasabi and soy sauce!