Rainbow Rice Rolls

Rice paper has a light and fresh taste and highlights your ingredients.   Nori sheets can be used for extra iodine which is great for immune and thyroid support. Alternatively, you can wrap all your ingredients in collard greens, bibb or romaine lettuce for extra green power!

The ingredients below are a great starting point. You can also add variety using other ingredients of choice: green onion, jicama, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, pressed tofu, snap peas, sprouts, sauerkraut, shrimp, and leftover chicken are other delicious ideas.

Ingredients:

• 5 sheets rice paper (can find these in the Asian isle of any grocer)
• 1 large carrot julienned or sliced lengthwise
• 1 cucumber julienned
• ½ red pepper julienned
• 1 avocado sliced
• ¼ cup shaved purple cabbage
• Small bunch of Thai basil, whole leaf or chopped
• Small bunch of mint, whole leaf or chopped
• ½ cup mixed greens or 2-3 romaine lettuce leaves sliced lengthwise
• Sea salt to season
• Optional protein: nuts, seeds, chicken, tempeh, shrimp, salmon etc.

• For dipping sauce:
• 2 TBSP olive or sesame oil
• ¼ cup almond butter, tahini, or peanut butter (or a combo of these)
• 3 TBSP fresh lime (a little over half a lime)
• 2 TBSP  tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1-2 tsp honey (add to taste)
• 1-3 tsp water to thin as needed
• Optional: 1 clove of garlic
• Optional:  ½-1 TBSP peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger

Instructions:

Julienne the vegetables by slicing in long strips. Set aside while you prepare sauce

Make the sauce. If only using the first 5 ingredients, add the almond butter, lime and tamari and stir until smooth. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Add water as needed.  If adding the garlic and ginger, you will want to use a blender or food processor.  Add all the sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust to taste.  

Make the wraps: Lay out a tea towel on counter for rolling your wraps. The towel helps prevent sticking! Fill a large bowl with hot tap water. Dip one rice paper into water and submerge it for about 5 seconds until it starts to soften. Place it carefully on the tea towel undoing any rolls that formed on the edges.

Add the filling ingredients of choice. I like to start with a few leaves of basil and mint so that I get an herby taste in every bite. Layer your other ingredients to the middle of the wrap. Be careful not to overfill, these wrappers are delicate.

Roll the 2 sides of the wrapper inward and the flip up the bottom over the filling and roll forward (like making a burrito) Place roll on a plate and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat this with all the wraps.

Serve rolls with dipping sauce. If stored in a air tight glass container, the sauce will keep up to a week in the fridge and can be used to dip cut up veggies throughout the week. The rolls will last 1-2 days in the fridge so they can be made the night before you want to eat them.