Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Vegan Kickstart Day 12: Sushi Night!

Day 12 of the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart plan started with my least favorite breakfast — a smoothie. Nothing against smoothies, but I view them more as snacks than meals. No matter how much I cram into a smoothie, it never fills me up for more than 2 hours.

Anyway, my Mango Delight Smoothie of mango, banana, orange, soymilk, and hemp protein was pretty tasty:

But my tummy was growling by 11 a.m. Even still, I waited until lunch for this giant Baked Potato with Coconut Butter and leftover Farmhouse Salad:

The plan didn't suggest coconut butter, but I feel like I could really use some good, healthy fats. I haven't even had peanut butter in 12 days! That might be a record for me. I believe the Kickstart plan is designed for people looking to lose a few pounds, but that's the last thing I need. Besides, coconut butter makes the world's best topping for a sweet potato.

My snack was Curry Popcorn, but I forgot to take a picture. I'd never thought to season popcorn with curry powder before, but it was delightful. I'll be subbing curry for nooch next time I make popcorn.

Dinner was Dining Out: Sushi Night! My boyfriend and I had plans to eat at Blue Fin sushi lounge downtown, but he called after work saying he didn't feel so hot. He had a 102 degree fever, and seeing as how he's a dude, this meant he thought he was dying. Guys are such babies when they're sick. So we went to the doctor instead of going out for sushi.

The doctor visit lasted 2 hours and I was starving! Luckily, I packed a Ginger Snap Larabar in my purse. Not in the plan, but since it's just dates, nuts, and ginger, it seemed perfectly appropriate. And it held me over until dinner. By the way, the boyfriend's fever went down and he was negative for the flu, so it's likely just a bad cold.

We were both famished after the appointment, so we swung by Midtown's Sekisui for to-go sushi. I ordered a warm bowl of Miso Soup:

And a Veggie Roll and Soybean Roll:

God, I love sushi! I would eat it every day if I could. But I'm always too lazy to make it at home. Inari is my fave but I didn't see it on Sekisui's menu. The soybean rolls, also called natto rolls, are a close second though.

What's your favorite veggie sushi?

23 comments:

James said...

Hey Bianca,

Have you ever tried natto (fermented soybeans) on its own? Really sticky and stringy but it is a staple in the Japanese breakfast, along with rice and miso soup. A safe bet for vegans living in Japan, natto is also really cheap. That said, there is a big stereotype that foreigners living in Japan either are too afraid to try natto, or have tried it and despise it. Its pungent smell and strong flavour do turn off the unacquainted taste buds of some, so I can understand, but I don't think it's as big a deal as they seem to think.

Theresa said...

I cheat by adding oats to my smoothies. If you let them soak overnight (or for 20 minutes if you don't plan ahead) before blending, they make it thick and more filling without being crunchy!

The Health Sensei said...

i feel the same way as you do about sushi. i could easily eat it daily. hell, i DO eat sheets of nori daily! gotta get my sea veggies :) miso soup + sushi = one of my fave meals, period

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I LOVE adding coconut butter to sweet potatoes - yum!

Favorite veggie sushi = avocado rolls.

Emily said...

A place in Atlanta called RuSan's has grilled sweet potato sushi! It is the best ever. They also have dried cranberry, tofu and.....FRIED BANANA! They are all delish.

VeggieLow said...

RuSan's is the best... i lived in ATL for a while and frequented it! avocado rolls are my fav! I always thought miso soup wasn't vegan... so excited that it is! i've never added coconut butter to my sweet potato, but i'll try that this week!

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

Avocado rolls...I love avocado! I'm going to try curry popcorn after I stop my cleanse. Why didn't I ever think of that before? I usually go with olive oil, sea salt, and nutritional yeast on popcorn.

Serina Hardiman said...

First off, LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog! We started the 21 Day Kick Start this week and have been loving it. As for sushi, I'm in Atlanta and I absolutely love RuSans and the fact they have a large selection of veggie sushi. We typically get the tempura tofu, roasted garlic, avocado and the occassional pickled garlic. Just tried the grilled sweet potato and have to agree with Emily. They are killer! As for homemade I will whip up some teriyaki mushroom rolls to nosh on.

Vic Robinson said...

Looks like a great night! :)

http://www.haymarket8.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Oh mine would have to be the deep fried tempura roll :) Especially when they batter and the fry the whole roll, not just the veggies. On the healthy side my favorite is something called a "frida roll." We get it at our local sushi joint and it is a basic veggie roll but its topped off with avocado slices, thinly sliced lime and a tad bit of sriracha...Yum!

Cat said...

A girl after my own heart! Inari could be my favorite veg sushi item, but it's a photo finish with a miso tofu roll I used to get at a little place in WA state. Soft tofu is fried in a light miso batter and the rolled w/ rice and nori. SO GOOD!

The Kuntrageous Vegan said...

That coconut butter just looks so tasty on your sweet potato...i know what part of my dinner will be now!
My favorite sushi in Nashville comes from a place on the East side (close to The Wild Cow actually...) it's a locally owned place called Watanabe. They have pickled squash rolls. It says 'squash' on the menu but it's really japanese pickled squash. It's the color of tuna actually...but it's sooo good. I've never seen this on the menu anywhere else that I've been.

Sandy said...

looks so delicious! yummy

Amanda @ Hungry Vegan Traveler said...

I love asparagus rolls, shiitake mushroom rolls, and just nice mixed veggies rolls with sprouts, avocado, pumpkin, etc.

Also, why not combine the curry AND the nooch for the popcorn? Ehhh?

happynaps said...

Girl I love Osaka(think I spelled that correct) out in Cordova, everytime I come back to Memphis that has to be one of my stops. I live in Hoover, right outstide Birmingham and haven't found a decent Sushi place yet.

Anonymous said...

Sweet potato and avocado rolls are delicious!

Chloe said...

Miso soup is almost always not vegetarian; if it tastes good it probably is made with dashi, a fish stock.

Unknown said...

Woah! This looks amazing!
Where did you find the hemp protein for your shake?

Anonymous said...

"and seeing as how he's a dude, this meant he thought he was dying."

I laughed so hard at that! My fiance drives me insane when he doesn't feel good. I don't know why men are such babies about it! I haven't been into smoothies much lately, but whenever I do make them are a snack for me. I don't know how they keep anyone full for very long!

Bianca said...

Hi Chloe! Some places may use dashi, but Sekisui lists all their ingredients for the miso and it just says "miso, tofu, and nori."

Anonymous said...

I love your blog, what a relief as I have been so bored reading yoga blogs, lol! Keep the great posts coming....how do I follow you?

Tanya said...

well, unfortunately there aren't a ton of choices here when it comes to veggie sushi. Usually: vegetable roll (the usual cucumber, asparagus, avocado, and maybe something pickled). Still good and I could still eat that a ton! The other day one of the places we frequent had a veggie dragon roll that was awesome. It was topped with smoothed over avocado..so good. But I did have a sweet potato roll once (although it was probably deep fried tempura sweet potato)...and it was amazing!!

SushiTail said...

I love Natto. I could eat it everyday, but I have to weird out my wife every time I eat it.