Vegetables of the Sea
Seaweed. Icky, slimy, stinky, comes to mind for many. But sea vegetables aren’t so bad. You may not salivate when you hear the word, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Like land-grown vegetables, sea vegetables are low in calories and full of vitamins and minerals. Staples in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, the $5 billion industry is slowly gaining acceptance in the Western diet.
What are Sea Vegetables?
Seaweeds grow in all oceans around the world. They play an integral role in the ecosystem of ocean coastlines. China stands as the biggest producer of edible seaweeds worldwide. Edible seaweeds are usually classified as green, brown, or red algae. The names of individual sea vegetables are more familiar to those who eat them on a regular basis. Some to look for are Wakame, Nori, Irish Moss, Kelp, Kombu, Dulse, Hijiki, and Arame.
Eat Your Minerals
Sea vegetables should be enjoyed in small quantities because of their high concentration of iron and iodine as well as their tendency to absorb heavy metals from the water it grows in. While there is variance in the amount of vitamins and minerals that seaweed contain depending on the type and location they are grown, sea vegetables generally have ample amounts of calcium, B-vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin A. A ½ cup serving will run you anywhere between 15 to 30 calories and you’re looking at a good amount of soluble fiber as well.
Sea Vegetables You Already Eat
Many Americans’ association with seaweed is from eating sushi, as it is used as a wrapping, and as an ingredient in miso soup. But what you may not know is sea vegetables are used widely as food additives. You may have seen what are known as hydrocolloids in the ingredient lists of many processed foods. Agar, alginate, and carrageenan are the most common. The foods you may be eating every day that include these food stabilizers include soy milk, ice cream, mayonnaise, processed meats, margarine, diet soda, and low-fat spreads.
What to Look For?
You may have to go to health food stores or Asian markets to find a variety of sea vegetables. Although available fresh as in seaweed salads, they are generally sold dried and then reconstituted in water for at-home cooking. There are also powders and flakes available to add to soups, stews, and salads. The dried varieties have an indefinite shelf life and maintain their nutritious qualities. Well-known brands in America include Eden Foods, Maine Coast Sea Vegetables and Rising Tide Sea Vegetables.
Your thoughts…
Would you try incorporating sea vegetables into your diet? Why or why not? If you have eaten them, what advice do you have for starting out?
Comments
| maky - Nov 12, 2011 11:28 AM | New Comment |
I LOVE seaweed salad from Whole Foods. Now I have a few recipes found online, I make it myself. I find that every few months I actually CRAVE the stuff! I have made it with dulse also and it is delicious and good for my hypothyroid condtion too.
I absolutely love making sushi (and there is absolutely no asian background in my family, I'm dutch-canadian), you can make the sticky rice with splenda or stevia instead of sugar and it gives the same taste. Many people think of sushi and they think of fish worse raw fish, and that is simply not the case. You can make sushi with just about anything. If anyone wants an easy sushi rice recipe send me a message I'm happy to share it.
I love avocado, cucumber, avocado mango, sweet potato and asparagus rolls (I'm vegetarian) but I don't like miso soup and have not yet tried a sea vegetable salad. I've seen it on menus, but have been a little timid. I think I'll need to muster up the courage and give it a try!
This is a great solution to the iodine deficiency associated with thyroid problems in vegetarians.
sea vegetables have a wonderful chewy texture and adds body to any dish, i grew up drinking seamoss as a cold drink made with spices and milk. I love any stirfry, and make this on a regular basis, adding a little sea vegetable to this dish is absolutely tasty,it is inexpensive and a little goes a long way, soak a small amount of dry seaweeds in hot water and after blooms keep in refridgerator for up to one week and use as desired. the water it is soaked in is also delish, but watch for the sand. I am not asian but the taste of spices and vegetables with sea vegetables incorporated is so very tasty. enjoy
Growing up in Hawaii seaweed is always in the house, usually in several forms, ocean salad, dried for sushi and miso soup, and dry roasted with salt or a spicy flavoring just for a snack. I actually have to sneak the stuff because all the animals (dogs & cats) love it too and if I don't sneak I barely get any.
My husband and I have discovered kelp noodles. We use them in stir fries in place of Chinese noodles. They are really good, a little salty and have six calories per serving.
I like seaweed in general, used to eat them as a snack or when eating sushi or rice balls. But when I went to Japan I saw my host mom ate them (flavored, dried seaweed) with white rice as a side dish (stuffed one piece into her mouth and followed by rice). I tried it and it was really delicious. I started eating them as a side dish sometimes ever since I came back.
I almost always have some dried/roasted Nori/kelp on hand. The snack packs available at a local 'global' store are incredible. I have to watch myself so I don't eat them all at one sitting, they just melt in your mouth, sooo good! I'll eat some instead of crackers with any Asian based soups/meals. Dulse flakes also add great flavor to miso and hot and spicy egg flower soup. I've gotten my dad to love it, still working on my mom and husband . :)
I love seaweed and always have some in the house for a snack or when I make miso, which my daughter loves. As a kid in the village, we used to get fresh seaweed when we'd go down to the beach. It's very tasty!
I am insane over seaweed. I do have it every day! I was iron deficient for years but since going gluten free and having nutritional habits like the Okinawa diet, minus wheat products and rice, my iron is fantastic! I eat a pack of nori seaweed about every day and wakami seaweed as snacks. I have also used spirulina quite often but doue to how expensive it can be I havent lately except in my Spirutine soy protein.
I love nori. I'll be trying more of these veggies. Japanese cuisine is one of the healthiest :3
Hooray! Yummy and delicious!
I've tried seaweed before and I did not like it. I am willing to try again, but since I do not eat seafood I haven't really been around much seaweed.
Where does one get kelp noodles and is there a searchable brand name?It's good stuff, but whenever seaweed is mentioned, I want to point out the situation with sea vegetables and B12: there isn't much bio-available B12 in sea vegetables.
If you are vegan, please make sure you are relying on other sources of B12, rather than seaweed.
"I love avocado, cucumber, avocado mango, sweet potato and asparagus rolls (I'm vegetarian) but I don't like miso soup and have not yet tried a sea vegetable salad. I've seen it on menus, but have been a little timid. I think I'll need to muster up the courage and give it a try!"
Maybe start out with a hiyashi wakame salad... it's mild with a slight crunch... something like hijiki is very earthy, has a strong taste... you might have to work up to that. But why don't you like miso soup? I personally love it, especially for colds, even better than chicken soup!
I'd be willing to try seaweed as itself, though I suspect my appreciation of it would greatly depend on the preparation.
the real trick for me is FINDING any. There's nothing nearby me -- no Whole Foods, no Trader Joes, no Asian groceries, heck we don't even have a standard co-op store. And I'm not willing to spend an arm and a leg on shipping so internet stores are out too.
I must say, I was a little fearful of seaweed at first, as I can be very turned off by any sort of fishy flavor, so was skeptical to try seaweed outside of wrapping my sushi in it, but after trying a seaweed salad at a Japanese restaurant I am hooked. It tastes really good and has a wonderful crunch and texture to it. Try it if you get a chance.
Ooooh! Speaking of seaweed,..the best Salsa I have ever eaten was made by an Elder in Hawaii,.(on Molokai,where I used to live) She used Limu Loa(ogo,in Japanese) Seaweed,and it was amazing!! There are places that you can purchase it. I've been checking online to find a place to get it,and have found a couple of places.I plan to send for some when I get paid again.Yuummm!!
american
apples
asian
beans
beef
blog
bmi
breakfast
calcium
calories
cheese
chicken
chocolate
coffee
confidence
cooking
dessert
diabetes
diet
dieting
dietsinreview
dinner
eggs
emotionaleating
exercise
family
fiber
fish
fitness
fruit
goals
healthyeating
hunger
hungrygirl
inspiration
italian
mediterranean
mexican
mindset
motivation
nuts
obesity
party
pasta
portioncontrol
protein
quinoa
recipe
recipes
salad
salmon
self-esteem
sleep
snack
snacks
soup
spinach
stew
stress
successstory
sugar
support
tbl
thebiggestloser
tips
turkey
tv
vegan
vegetable
vegetables
vegetarian
water
weightloss
workout
yogurt
