Wakame Seaweed; Seaweed Salad Nutrition Facts, and seaweed health effects.
Think you've never eaten seaweed? Think again.
Processed sea weed is commonly used as thickeners or stabilizers in a variety of common products, from instant pudding to toothpaste, and icecream!
We spread seaweed on our gardens for fertilizer, use it for dye, the Romans used it for animal feed, the Welsh put it in their bread, and we have biscuits and soups with seaweed. Is is chewed like tobacco, crunched in a snack, burned to ashes for its extracts in Norway, and distilled to make brandy in Britain. The French enjoy it for dessert and in Japan it is eaten raw, boiled and dried in soups, salads, and stir fries.
Because it is a particularly rich source of minerals, trace elements, and other nutrients, seaweed is an ideal human health food, animal feed supplement, and plant fertilizer.
Seaweeds are especially rich in calcium, iodine and supplies chromium (essential for glucose utilization), zinc (for collagen strength and healthy skin), iron, potassium, copper, sulphur, silver, tin, zirconium, phosphorous, and silicon (crucial to skin elasticity), magnesium, manganese, boron, bromides, and other trace minerals necessary for health.
The most important nutrient provided by kelp is iodine.
The amount of iodine in sea plants exceeds that found in inland plants by as much as 20,000 per cent.
Kelp iodine facilitates the passage of nutrients into the mitochondria (small components of body cells). It also helps to nourish the thyroid gland.
This link below is Wikipedia's definition Wakame, please note the reference to fucoxanthin and the research being done on it at the Hokkaido University.
Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) is leafy and mild in flavor. It is usually collected in the cold waters off the island of Hokaido, Japan. Wakame is a good source of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, sodium & other minerals and vitamins. It is the best way to get natural iodine. A great food for weight loss, cellulite control, detoxification, beautiful hair and skin,
Wakame Seaweed Characteristics and uses
Sea vegetables expand three to seven times their original volume when reconstituted, so small amounts go a long way, just like Wakame Seaweed.
Wakame Seaweed Characteristics
Deep grayish-green in color, Wakame Seaweed is the most tender of sea vegetables.
How to use
Soak it for 10 minutes. Wakame expands to seven times it's original size. After being soaked then cooked, the long fronds of wakame become silky, almost melting in your mouth. In addition to adding variety to soups, Wakame Seaweeds mildly sweet flavor also works well in stir fries or even raw as an easy snack right out of the bag. Dried wakame can also be roasted and sprinkled on salads or stews as an easy way to add minerals to your favorite foods.
It makes a refreshing salad with orange slices and chopped scallions or combine with marinated vegetables. Add to miso soup, split pea soup or other bean dishes.
Other Seaweeds
Arame
Characteristics
Thin and wiry black shreds with a sweet, mild flavor.Nutrition
Supplies calcium, iodine, potassium, vitamin A and dietary fiber.How to use Rinse thoroughly then soak in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking. Delicious in quiches, omelets, stir-fries, pasta salad or tossed into a cold salad with a light vinaigrette.Have a go at this one!Simmer with tamari, lemon juice and rice wine (mirin) for 20 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve as a side dish with fish, grains or beans
Dulse nutrition and uses
Characteristics
Reddish brown in color and available in whole stringy leaves or powdered as a condiment; chewy texture with a slightly salty finish.
Nutrition
Supplies potassium and protein.
How to use
Pan-fried in sesame oil, dulse becomes feather light and crispy and can lend a savory flavor (some liken it to bacon) and crunch to almost any sandwich or salad. For a healthier alternative, bake dulse without oil and use as a garnish for soups. Many people eat it straight from the package like a jerky.
Tasty mixed into coleslaw with shredded cabbage, carrots, scallions and olive oil. Excellent when rinsed and then placed atop tofu or mild-flavored white bean spread sandwiches
Kombu
Characteristics
Dark purple in color, comes in thick strips or sheets.
Nutrition
Supplies iodine, calcium, magnesium and iron.
How to use
Adding dried (not soaked) kombu to the cooking liquid for rice, beans and soups will enhance their flavor.
Cooking a stamp-size piece of dried kombu with beans will help make them more digestible. Kombu doubles its volume and readily soaks up water, so add extra liquid to broths, beans and stocks whenever you add dried kombu.
Small pieces of kombu can also be cooked down with tamari and used as a condiment.
To make a kombu broth, soak a ribbon of kombu overnight in water. The next day, heat the soaking liquid to boiling with a sliced onion and carrot. Simmer for twenty minutes, and after cooling, reserve the broth for further use.
Nori Seaweed nutrition and uses.
Characteristics
Dark purple to marine green in color, usually comes in squares, toasted or untoasted, and is typically used for sushi rolls.
Nutrition
Supplies iodine and vitamin C. How to use
As a sushi wrapper, nori is probably the most widely used sea vegetable. It can also be used as a condiment for rice, soups, salads, casseroles or grains when crushed into flakes or cut into strips.
Sea Palm nutrition and use
Characteristics
Brownish-green sea palm resembles a miniature palm tree. From America's pacific coast, sea palm or American arame, has a sweet and salty taste. Nutrition
Supplies vitamins A and D.
How to use
Sea palm is delicious raw or sauted and added to soups or salads. Add toasted sea palm to your trail mix or granola.You can also marinate sea palm and other sea vegetables in a mirin-tamari-ginger juice sauce for a sea vegetable salad.
Try this Combine soaked and drained sea palm with grated daikon, carrot and green onions and then toss with tamari and sesame oil.
Health effects of Seaweed
New studies conducted at Hokkaido University have found that a compound in wakame known as fucoxanthin can help burn fatty tissue.
Wakame is a rich source of EPA, an ¦Ø-3 essential fatty acid. At over 400 mg/100 cal, it has one of the higher nutrient:calorie ratios, and among the very highest for a vegetarian source.
Fucoxanthin is a brownish pigment that gives brown seaweed its characteristic color. It is found at high levels in several different types of brown seaweed, including a type of kelp that is used in traditional Japanese miso soup. Using Wakame Seaweed to cook with is really good, because it does not upset the flavor of your meal, so any of the Wakame Seaweed is good. for cooking.