Just like land vegetables, sea vegetables, oftentimes referred to as seaweeds are also a healthy addition to your daily diet. They are loaded with nutrients that they absorb from sea water, which is naturally abundant with micronutrients and trace minerals.Some of you are probably not comfortable with the thought of eating seaweeds. But before you completely ditch the idea of consuming seaweeds, you've most likely eaten processed sea vegetables once in your life without knowing it. Some are used as food additives, an extra ingredient to your soup, or as a wrapper for your sushi.
But the best way to consume seaweeds is to eat them in their unprocessed form. They're not only naturally flavorful. They are also well-known to benefit the thyroid and help your body's detoxification.
Care2.com shares with us 8 ways to eat seaweeds and actually enjoy it!
1. Agar Agar
As Sara Novak tells us, agar agar is “a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed, which can be used as a vegetarian gelatin substitute or a thickener for vegan dishes.” Low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and high in folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese, vitamin E, vitamin K, zinc, and copper, agar agar is so nice they named it twice.
2. Arame
Sweet and mild and loaded with iron, calcium, and iodine, arame is just what the ocean ordered for a salad topped with tofu sour cream dressing.
3. Dulse
A very salty seaweed, dulse is often used as a salt substitute in soups and stews. It can also be eaten raw (like jerky). Dulse has been harvested as an iron-rich food source for thousands of years.
4. Hijiki
If you’re cooking for someone likely to be skeptical about seaweed, the mild flavor of hijiki is a good choice to be surreptitiously snuck into a soup or stew. The calcium and iron-rich hijiki is also cost-efficient as it quadruples in size when rehydrated. Try this Hijiki and Wild Rice recipe.
5. Kelp
This sea veggie is rich in carotene, iodine, chromium, and is also known for thyroid stimulation and its cleansing capabilities. “It can be used as a part of weight loss and it’s also great for your skin balance and smoothness,” says Sara Novak. Other claims about kelp’s magic? It has libido-boosting properties, can hydrate the skin in a nourishing seaweed spa bath, and can be used in part of a diet to combat hair loss naturally. For eating kelp, try it in this Soba Noodles with Kelp recipe.
6. Kombu
Whether you buy it fresh, dried, pickled, or frozen, Kombu remains rich in iodine, dietary fiber, iron, and potassium. Actually a form of kelp, kombu is used to support the thyroid, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and prevent a sudden rise of the blood sugar level.
7. Nori
Usually encountered in the thin dark sheets used to make sushi, nori is probably the most familiar seaweed used in Western cuisine. The original plant is typically dark purplish-black, but when toasted, nori turns green and acquires a nutty flavor. Use it in this California Reverse Roll Sushi recipe. And if you have a dog, try sharing some nori with her, as it is one of the ten safe “people foods” for dogs.
8. Wakame
Thin and stringy, wakame is deep green in color and used in making seaweed salad and miso soup. A good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, and Manganese, wakame is popular among those following a raw food or Macrobiotic lifestyle.
Image by ulterior epicure on Flickr.
