January 5, 2011
(last updated January 27, 2020) 
Glad you all liked the balsamic tahini dressing! I’m still using up my leftovers, and loving it.
As I mentioned before embarking on my week of internet withdrawal, I’m now in D.C., spending some quality time with the boy before orientation and classes begin. This means quiet days, full of blogging, counseling, food making, and food eating. It has been nearly six years since I had this kind of idle time on my hands, and it feels great. I’m sure that, given another month or two of it, I’d be going stir crazy, but for now, it allows me to be pleasantly self indulgent. Especially when it comes to cooking.
You see, six years of 9-5 often pitted my creative impulses as a foodie against my career life. It’s not easy to come up with breakfasts and lunches that are creative and fun in the office kitchenette, or in the process of transporting food hither and yon in tupperware. I would often read food blogs written by women with unconventional working hours with a sense of envy, gazing wistfully at their perfectly tailored bowls of oats, neatly chopped and manicured salads, or—imagine!—hot lunches. Now, as I enjoy a very brief interim between 9-5 life and full time student/blogger life, it’s nice to experience, if only for a week, the fun of full time domesticity.
Case in point: these breakfast sushi. They’re surprisingly quick and easy to prepare, and in fact I think they’d make an excellent portable breakfast option for any busy working guy or gal, but I probably wouldn’t have thought to make them had I not been at home with some time on my hands. Creativity abounds when one has a little time in the kitchen! I’ll definitely be making these a staple, and wrapping them up to take to classes when they start.
Note that I used chard leaves for the sushi wrapper in this recipe. Collards, dino kale, and romaine leaves would all work just as well, though if you’re a little sensitive to the taste of greens I’d definitely recommend using chard, rather than collards. As with all raw leaf wraps, you’ll want to trim the stem quite a bit before wrapping, per the directions below!
Breakfast Sushi (serves 1)
Ingredients
1 banana
1 large Swiss chard, collard, kale, or romaine lettuce leaf
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp agave nectar
Instructions
1) Cut the thickest part of the stem of your leaf wrapper out with a “V” shaped cut, like so:
2) Spread the tablespoon of almond butter into the crease of the leaf:
3) Drizzle it with about a teaspoon of agave—this is optional, but I liked it:
4) Cut your banana in half, and layer it so that it’s straight in the center of the leaf:
5) Fold up all of the edges bottom edges, and then and wrap it up neatly from right to left:
6) Slice into 3-5 pieces (depending on the length) and enjoy!
What an easy, tasty, and fun breakfast! I was totally charmed, and loved every bite:
There are tons of ways to modify this recipe: use any nut butter you like, any other spread (I think an organic an all natural jam would be great), or layer in some dried fruits. I plan on making a version with raisins or dates soon! I also think it would be fun to try this with other fruits: apple slices and almond butter sound pretty great to me.
I’m so often asked what raw foodists (or semi-raw foodists) eat for breakfast, and this is as good a suggestion as any! It’s fast, tasty, all raw, and all vegan, and it’s a fun recipe to try with kids, too. Give it a shot, and let me know what you think!
xo
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what alternative can i use instead of a nut butter? as i’m allergic to nuts.
You can try sunflower seed butter or tahini!
Always looking for new ways to eat collards/leafy greens! Awesome idea! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Can this be made without the agave syrup?
Hi! I usually do this as a salad, but this seemed and also turned out to be very practical! I doubled the recipe though… I don’t know how you guys do it, I just can’t function on so little breakfast. I had endive in the fridge, so I used that and folded them like you would a burrito (left out the sweetener), took ’em with me and had breakfast on the train to work. It got me a few stares and surprised looks (though no one would bat an eye at a sixteen year old boy having two croissants, a chocolate muffin, and a can of red bull for breakfast), but who cares.
Liked it a lot!
Good! I’m glad you liked it, Indi. And I often do eat these with something else — I agree it’s not filling.
I’m not a vegan but I do watch my diet closely and love to try out healthy recipes. This one actually surprised me in terms of how tasty it was! Thanks for sharing :).
We tried this recipe this morning for breakfast. Another home-run! We travel a lot in our little VW RV, and this would be a perfect/easy breakfast to make in our tiny kitchen.
Thanks to you, we’ve now found a couple new breakfast ideas that we love. Thank you! Can’t wait to try some more of your suggestions!
Hooray! Glad you like them, Katie!
Hi everyone,
i’m setting up a new vegan resource website, to promote veganism. Please visit and send me feedback on what else to include!
http://www.easyveganrecipes.eu
Vuchko
i tried wrapping it in a nori sheet. that was pretty good too.
hi
my understanding is that Agave nectar is not raw. Would love to hear your thoughts.
This is a great idea. it taste so good.
Thank You,
mytophealthyrecipes.com
Just tried these as a mini version – with bananas from my own yard (which have been frozen) and collards out of my front yard. I’m now wondering how long I could get them to store in the fridge to use as a running-out-the-door breakfast if I made them up say, on a Sunday afternoon. Any thoughts would be appreciated! (I am totally planning on doing banana, dried cherry, chocolate nut butter as a variation – mmmm!)
I’ve got to try this! Looks so easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
What a fabulous idea. I’ve done the green smoothie thing, and while i like the taste, for some reason I amnever quite satisfied with just a drink for a meal, but this is babsically the same only I get to actually chew it. I am trying to make some major changes to my diet and right now am pretty much failing. I have an almost 3 year old and twins who jsut turned 2, so I am looking for healthy quick meals for all of us. I am also working on getting my family at least me and my husband, to go vegan. I’d love to incorporate a lot of raw in there too!
Can’t wait to try this one! If I’d been told I would drool at the thought of green-clad bananas…
(First time commenting, even though I’ve been following CR for a while now, and enjoying many of its culinary gems. Thanks a lot for sharing your recipes and thoughts with us reading lot!)
I’m going to try this for sure! Thanks for post in!
Gena,
I have never commented on your site before but after making the banana rolls, with plenty of doubt, I have to say how awesome you are for inventing these! B and I both can’t get enough of them! Thank you for being so creative and making my family happy and healthy at the same time.
I made this for breakfast and it is SO SO SO good. Couldn’t be easier and I am sitting at my desk dreaming about it. Thanks for the rec!
I eat avocados+bananas in collard greens for breakfast often. Tasty, filling and fresh.
I love the idea of this.
I think that almond butter with salt and honey (sigh, I know it’s not vegan) tastes as good as caramel dip! I should try it wrapped in greens!
Nice recipe, I always like to have some greens with my fruit. Love the combination of flavors you put together.
I’ve used romaine as a wrap, but have fallen in mad love with kale. Love this idea esp b/c I am GF.
I’ve been lurking on your site for a bit now…and thought I’d invite you to link-up to my Creative Juice party {we feature a lot of recipes}
http://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/01/creative-juice-thursday-6-features-and.html
LOVE this idea!!! I will have to try it.
Keep on enjoying your free time! 🙂
thank you for you sharing.nice post.
I do this exact same thing, except I use real nori. Is that weird? I think it’s delicious!
Those look delicious–I sometimes do the same thing and finish off a nut jar by dipping the wrapped banana in it as I munch away!
Right, I *will* get my mind out of the gutter and stop giggling at some of those photos soon. I will, I will…
What a marvellous idea! I’m still a bit tentative about the texture of raw banana, after spending most of my life hating it, and seeing as it’s summer here I might give these a go with froen banana. To make, erm, Raw Frozen Banana Sushi Ice-Cream Pops?
this is creative, sweet, and fun! great recipe gena!
I thought I’d invented these – I use Boston lettuce and raw honey – and I eat ’em for dinner, not breakfast. But YUM.
Oh my gosh Gena! Sounds awesome I’m definately planning on making this tomorrow morning!
That’s wonderful about the down time, I hope you enjoy it! What a fun breakfast idea, thanks!
Glad you’re enjoying the bit of downtime: those times are few and far between with school, for sure.
Lovely bfast idea, simple and well-balanced. Wouldn’t it be great with some cinnamon also, or other spices?
Ooo, i love this idea! I’ve never been a huge fan of raw chard, i’ll try this with collards instead, for some reason they have a sweeter flavor to me. I’d probably also add a date in there and maybe tahini instead of almond butter. Thanks for the recipe!
Very creative! Looks delicious I will have to try!
this is such a cute breakfast! all i have right now are collards but i’ve got everything else! i love my greens and i know raw collards are a tad bitter but ya know what? i <3 my veg. trying it!
I’d eat it! And so would Gigi. Lulu? Not so sure. But I bet with dehydrated fruit “leather” for the outside, she’d be all over it!
Enjoy your downtime, girl.
At first I looked at this and thought that bananas wrapped in anything green sounded so gross. Then I realized that what you have there is basically just a green smoothie in solid form, not so weird after all. Neat idea!
what a fun recipe!
That looks incredible! I am so going to make that soon with cashew butter and berries.
this is almost a green smoothie if you blended it up!
i’ve seen raw foodies do this with romaine but collards or chard actually sounds more appealing to me. i’d probably do this as a snack.
you deserve some down time with hot lunches and lavish breakfasts. we americans work too hard.
I could see this totally working as far as the flavor palate is concerned! A deconstructed green monster of sorts!
sounds awesome! when i had day long classes, i’d take a variation of that wrap as a snack. whole wheat tortilla smeared with almond butter, flax meal and a banana. this sounds like a great take on that wrap. thanks!
What a fun an fabulous idea! I’m going to try it with some beet greens that I have leftover from my roasting last night of the beets for Leslie’s Roasted Beets with Cocoa Sesame Sauce (which was amazing I might add!). Maybe I can get my kids to eat them? Well, not likely. But I have a feeling this could be a great breakfast for me when I’m just not in the mood for a smoothie.
Fun idea, perfect for kids too! I like bananas with romaine leafs too, yum! Enjoy you little vaca time! Xoxo
Neat– a raw recipe I think I’d actually be able to make and not mess up 🙂
Looks interesting! I will try these this week – I definiatly have all the fixins’ 🙂 Thanks for the idea …
I love these! This is one of my go to bfasts in the summer.. I even used to offer them for breakfast at my last job.. For those who are nervous about the greens, Boston Bibb Lettuce makes a lovely wrapper too.. although I am partial to collards myself.
This is a great idea!! Although I admit I’m still hesitant to be crunching on greens in the morning. I can put them in smoothies, but not sure about eating them whole. I’ll give anything a shot though and maybe spread some of yesterday’s carob fudge in the mix too! 🙂
What a great idea! Something I think many people would not think of, but sounds totally delish!
Enjoy your down time!
~Lisa
that’s a great idea – and portable, which is nice.
Cute idea, Gena! I normally just smear nut butter on a sliced-up banana for either me or Skylar but adding the piece of lettuce would prevent a mess (or hopefully) all over little kiddie hands. I will try this. Plus an extra piece of greenery makes it’s way into the mouth.
Glad you are enjoying your time…I am happy for you that you have a chance to just….breathe. And get centered before you dive in full force to your studies!
Be well! 🙂
i love the way you think. i’m trying this with kale, most definitely.
Love this idea! Have fun with your idle time. Super jealous. 🙂
ok, this is definitely an interesting combination! I’m curious as to what this will taste like…But it surprises people when I tell them kale and swiss chard have really mild flavours. Actually, now that I think about it, the flavour of this breakfast probably isn’t that different my my banana smoothies, where I add in some kale!
Anyways, enjoy your time off!
Yum! Very interesting take on sushi!
Ps how many off days/weeks do you have left?
I’ve got till Sunday here in DC, then back to NYC for one day of orientation and some events/time with friends. I’m back in DC for a few days after that, and class begins in earnest on the 18th!
Two weeks! Much sooner than I’d thought. Savor your freedom 😀
That looks delish! It kind of reminds me of a summer roll. Yum!
Oh my!! That breakfast looks so cute and yummy, very creative Gena! And I’m so jealous of your ‘idle’ time ;). Enjoy DC!
it’s so cute! can’t wait to try it :]
wow, SOO fun! love it.
Love it! I bet the bite/savory addition from the leaf only adds to the flavor. What a cool idea 🙂
LOVE this fun sushi idea!