Low-Carb Cauliflower Sushi

Low-carb cauliflower sushi is the perfect and healthy alternative to regular sushi. Leave the regular sushi for someone who is carb loading.

My easy and simple blender recipe requires ZERO cooking. It is perfect for a healthy packed lunch for work or school. Low-carb sushi is also a nutritious snack.

P.S. I hate to be the one to tell you, but regular sushi isn’t the health food it’s cracked up to be … read on and just look at the image further down the page.

Low-Carb Cauliflower Sushi

So cauliflower and sushi isn’t exactly a well known combo, but you heard it here first. Cauliflower is the new black and I am a cauliflower ninja.

So why cauliflower? It is such a versatile and low-carb nutrient dense vegetable, I use it whenever I can and when in season, because the price skyrockets at certain times of the year.

Many people don’t like cauliflower because of the smell, but if you learn a few tricks how to remove and cope with it, you have such a useful weapon in your low-carb arsenal.

NB: See how I use cauliflower in so many ways at at the end of this page.

Is Sushi Healthy?

How many friends do you know choose sushi a lunch because it is the “healthy option”? Well take a look at the image below, and you’ll never touch it again.

If anyone asks me what I think of sushi, I politely tell them that rice is 80% carbs, then they impolitely eye roll me and tell me I’m ridiculous. They then quote the old golden nugget that Asians are never fat. Read below how to dispel that myth.

I should really keep this image on my phone. It makes such an immediate impact.

Photo Credit: Glamour.com

Carbs In Sushi

Sushi is packed with high carb rice, and then there are the sticky high-sugar sauces.

The high starch rice variety is chosen because it is sticky and holds well together. And to make it worse, there is often sugar and flour added to the rice to make a firm sushi roll.

As you sit down to eat a regular California roll sushi pack, it is the equivalent of eating 4 slices of bread, with a teeny weeny amount of imitation crab (packed with starches, colours and preservatives) and a token piece of cucumber, avocado or other vegetable to give it that “healthy halo”.

Sorry my friends, but sushi is one of those “health foods” which should be avoided and left to someone who is carb loading. Yes you may be able to choose sushi with fresh salmon, but take a closer look next time to see how little there is inside. Carbs, yet again, are the cheap bulking agent.

But do no fear, you can make better choices at the sushi bar. Why not choose sashimi  which is raw tuna or salmon without the rice. I urge you to try it next time, it is incredible and filling (albeit expensive). Another healthy option is a naruto roll – which is simply thin slices of cucumber rolled over salon and avocado for example.

The Asian Paradox

Yes, Japanese have been eating sushi for centuries, but it is only a small part of their incredibly diverse diet.

They rely heavily on fresh food. They eat a variety of small dishes, bone broth, soups, meats, steamed vegetables. They eat smaller portions than us. They don’t snack. They don’t live in the gym but their daily activity is higher than ours. Many don’t have cars so walk or catch the train everywhere. They enjoy slow meals with family. They don’t sip on sugary soda or juices continuously. Rice is not a toxic carb like wheat is. Their wheat consumption is low.

But the Asian diet is changing. As modern, western junk food is becoming part of their society, obesity and rates of type two diabetes are increasing at an alarming rate.

To read more:

• Mark Sisson: The Asian paradox. Why Asians can eat so much rice and not gain weight.
• China Study: Wheat flour, rice and cardiovascular disease. Rice intake displaces wheat and wheat intake displaces rice. “The higher the consumption of wheat flour in a country, the higher seems to be the mortality from all cardiovascular diseases.” “Rice seems to be protective, as long as intake is not too high”. 

And therein lies our problem. Sushi per se is not an issue when eaten in small quantities and with real fresh fish inside. But when you add it to a diet already high in wheat, carbs toxic oils, soda, sweets, ice cream … stress from work, hours at the gym, eating on-the-go. I personally choose to avoid it.

Low-Carb Sushi

So how do I make my low-carb sushi? I make it super quickly in the food processor.

Yes, no more steaming or cooking the cauliflower, then squeezing out all the liquid, making your kitchen a disaster zone covered in cauliflower crumbs and your house stinking like a teenage boys room.

I throw chunks of cauliflower into the bowl of the food processor, blitz until tiny but not smooth. If you blitz the cauliflower sushi rice too far, you’ll end up with cauliflower puree and you won’t be too popular with your kids.

I then add the cream cheese and other goodies in there, blitz again. Done. All you have to do is add your fillings and roll it up.

How To Make Low-Carb Cauliflower Sushi

Once you have made you cauliflower sushi rice, spread it over your nori sheet as shown. Place your choice of fillings down the centre, then roll up tightly. Remember to dampen the final edge of the nori sheet so it will stick tight.

I like to use a  bamboo mat to roll it up tightly, however, you may choose to use a sushi making kit.

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Low-Carb Cauliflower Sushi

An easy and simple blender recipe for healthy low-carb cauliflower sushi. It is perfect for a healthy lunch for work or school. Low-carb sushi is an amazing nutritious snack.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Lunch boxes, Snacks

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 119 kcal

Ingredients

• 500 g raw cauliflower including the stalk cut into chunks
• 100 g cream cheese full fat
• 1 spring onion thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetables of choice (see recipe notes)
• fish of choice (see recipe notes)
• 4 nori sheets

Metric grams - US measurements

Instructions

1. Place the raw cauliflower chunks into your food processor with the blade attachment.

2. Blitz with the blade until small pieces of cauliflower rice appear. 

3. Add the cream cheese, spring onion, vinegar, salt and pepper to the food processor. Blitz until thoroughly mixed. You don't want any visible chunks of cream cheese or cauliflower, but you don't want a puree either.

4. Taste the cauliflower rice and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Some like it with more salt or more vinegar than others.

5. Spread the cream cheese cauliflower rice mixture along the nori sheet, leaving 2 inches of the nori sheet bare. 

6. Place your selection of vegetables, avocado and fish along the centre. Dampen the bare edge of the nori sheet then roll up tightly.

7. Repeat with the remaining nori sheets and fillings. Slice with a sharp wet knife. 

8. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce or coconut aminos. 

Recipe Notes

The nutrition values have been given for the low-carb cauliflower sushi only. You will have to add the carb values from your choice of vegetables, avocado and fish because these options will vary considerably.

The nutrition value is for 1/4 of the recipe which is 1 whole nori roll. It is up to you how small or large you want to slice each piece. 

Sliced Vegetable Options

• Avocado
• Cucumber
• Peppers
• Asparagus

Fish Options

• Fresh raw salmon
• Smoked salmon
• Fresh raw tuna
• Canned tuna
• Tuna with mayonnaise 
• Cooked crab meat
• Cooked shrimps
• Cooked prawns

Nutrition Facts

Low-Carb Cauliflower Sushi

Amount Per Serving (1 whole nori roll)

Calories 119 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 8g 12%

Total Carbohydrates 7g 2%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 3g

Protein 4g 8%

Vitamin A 9.9%

Vitamin C 74.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More cauliflower recipes you may like:

• Mashed cauliflower
• Cauliflower pizza
• Whole roasted cauliflower
• Cauliflower rice
• How to be a cauliflower Ninja
• Cauliflower and broccoli bake