Sea Vegetables

Seaweed has been eaten for thousands of years in the Orinet. It's surprisingly tasty and it has even been noticed that two major supermarket chains in the UK are now selling 'crispy seaweeds' in their cooler sections.

Sea vegetables contain more minerals than any other food source. These sea veggies can contain up to ten times more clacium than milk and eight times as much as iron as beef. There are three types according to how much exposure to light they have recieved. Brown types of seaweed, now widely available in healthfood stores and Japanese and other oriental food outlets, include wakame (a constituent of miso soup), kombu and arame. Red seaweed, used as food, includes dulse (particularly linked with cholesterol reduction). Green seaweed includes nori (often used to wrap sushi). Usually solid in dried form, all you need to do is rinse and soak them and they'll become soft again. They can be used to flavour all sorts of dishes. Try to incorporate them into your diet a couple of times a week.

Arame
Consists of brown stringy strands. Works well when cooked with root vegetables, such as squash, parsnips and yams. Just soak the arame for five minutes until ready to use.

Dulse
Red-purple in colour with smooth flat leaves. Unique spice-like nutty flavour, mild in taste and a great addition to salads as there's no need to cook it (be sure to wash it cerefully).

Nori
Mostyly from Japan, Nori is probably best known for being wrapped around sushi. It varies in colour and is sold in thin flat rectangular sheets. Add it to soups and rice dishes, or use it for making sushi. There's no need to soak it as it's ready to use.

Wakame
It has a sweet flavour and you can actually use it in sandwiches instead of lettuce. Soak for five minutes.

Hijiki
Black, firm and nutritionally rich but quite strong tasting. Soak for twenty minutes then rinse - you will only need a small amount as it swells up hugely.

Kelp
Kelp is available in powder or tablet form if you don't like the idea of eating sea vegetables. It is also used as a seasoning.

Kombu
Used for centuries as a flavour enhancer and food tenderizer, and makes food more digestible.