I had a huge pot of rice left over from dinner last night, so I made it a point to use some for lunch. I’m bound and determined not to let that darned pot of rice go bad this time. I hate being wasteful. It seems so “rude” in this day, age and economy.
So I stomped off to my kitchen, starving and determined as I’ve ever been to create something… anything with rice.
I skeptically opened my fridge to see what I had in there and I was somewhat disappointed as I hadn’t done my grocery shopping for the week yet. But then I saw a light at the end of the starvation tunnel.
I had some carrots. That was good.
I had some chicken broth. Getting better.
I just bought some roasted sesame seeds last week. Things are improving.
I always keep nori in my cabinet. My day has sunshine.
I had a brand new bottles of garlic and onion powder. The clouds have parted and the birds are singing!
So here’s what I came up with while standing in front of that very empty fridge.
Clean Eating Nori Carrot Wraps
Ingredients:- 3 large carrots
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (warmed till hot in the microwave)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (veggie broth if your vegetarian)
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- Roasted sesame seeds
- 4 sheets nori
Directions:- Put the broth into a frying pan.

- Grate carrots into a frying pan.

- Add 1-2 Tbsp. Sesame seeds to the carrots as they cook. (You may have to add additional broth as you cook. Cook the carrots until they are the texture you enjoy most.)
- Add garlic and onion powder.

- Make sure your broth is cooked down almost completely before turning off the stove. Once done, set aside.
- Lay out your nori on a flat surface.

- Spread warm rice over nori in a thin layer.

- Spread carrots over rice and sprinkle sesame seeds to your liking.

- Roll up the nori.

- This is what the finished roll looks like.

- Serve with low sodium soy sauce for dipping.
Other additions: Usually, I’ll add long, thin strips of tofu to the wrap as well, but I didn’t have any due to the empty fridge situation.
You can also add 1 tsp. of ginger powder, or 1 Tbsp. of fresh, grated ginger to your carrots while they cook.
Nutritional Content:
1 serving = 1 roll
Calories: 276
Total Fat: 8 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 gm
Sodium: 108 mg
Carbohydrates: 48 gm
Dietary fiber: 7 gm
Sugars: 3 gm
Protein: 7 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 22
Please Note: Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate and is subject to the availability of specific foods in their database. Where one ingredient is not listed, substitutions must be used. Therefore, you should not refer to this data as being exact. It’s more of a ballpark figure. The Gracious Pantry does not take responsibility for the inadequacies of the nutrition calculator used. This data is provided as a courtesy and general reference only. It is not exact.
Candice says
That looks amazing! As a suggestion to use up the rest of your rice, try making Rice Pudding. On my blog, I posted a recipe for it a while back using leftover brown rice. You can also google and find numerous recipes and then adjust them accordingly to be clean. That is what I did with the one that’s on my blog anyway.
The Gracious Pantry says
Great suggestion Candice! I haven’t done rice pudding yet. I’ll have to give it a try.
Thanks!
savvybrown says
Wow thgis is great! I have some lonely Nori in my cabinet too, and I waondering what to do with it. I’ll try this today!
– savvy
The Gracious Pantry says
Great! Let me know how you like it!
Melody Scott says
Great-looking! I bought some nori and then wondered what the heck to do with it, I’ll try this today, it looks delicious.
The Gracious Pantry says
Melody – Fantastic! I hope you enjoy it!
Mehridith says
Do you add rice wine vinegar to the rice? Is it “sticky” enough without it? I’ve never tried making sushi with anything other than sushi rice, but I’d love to make it healthier with brown rice.
The Gracious Pantry says
Mehridith – For this recipe, I did not. But you certainly could if that’s your preference. It’s been my experience that sticky rice has everything to do with the amount of water the rice is cooked in. I’ve never used vinegar to make rice sticky. But that’s just me. If you know different, by all means, give a try. (And please clue me in!)
To make brown rice sticky, follow these directions: https://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-rice-cooker-sticky-rice/
Hope that helps.
Dani says
LOVE this idea! Sometimes the best recipes come with out a plan:)
The Gracious Pantry says
Dani – So true!!
Melissa says
I have the day off, so I am poking around your site. Was excited to see that you ventured into sushi, but I have this love/hate thing with Nori. I was praying I’d open something that read “inari sushi”, but no such luck. I figure that if you can make clean eating doughnuts, you can tackle Inari pouches-ever tried?!!
Guess I can safely go back to my old way of attempting brown rice (you know-the I sucked at brown rice until I found the baked sort? 🙂 for sushi rolls.
Ever done japchae? bibimbap? or soon tofu soup? These are on my “to do” albeit the lack of gas stove… 🙂
Any idea of sweet potato “glass noodles” are clean?
The Gracious Pantry says
Melissa – Oh boy. You’ve got me there. I have not yet truly ventured into Asian foods that much. I plan to change that though. I’ll keep your list here as a guide. Not sure about the noodles. You’d have to read the ingredients. Sorry!
graciouspantry says
As far as I know, the stuff I purchased was clean. But if you can’t find any in your area, you can also make your own. It’s very easy.
graciouspantry says
I get most of my food at Trader Joe’s and just pick up extras at Whole Foods. Can’t afford to shop for everything at Whole Foods.