If you’re a regular reader of the Shop & Enroll blog, you’ll be familiar with why seaweed is a superfood. It’s not something you find in a ton of recipes, though. So how do you work it into your diet?
The simplest way to get the health benefits of seaweed is as a substitute for salt. Seaweed salt, aka dulse flakes, are easy to sneak into even the pickiest eater’s dinner. All you have to do is sprinkle some into food to add sodium. Seaweed salt is available on Amazon or at your grocery store. You can also learn to make it yourself at home, but make sure the water and seaweed are clean first!
Nori Chips
Making chips out of nori seaweed is one of the easiest ways to enjoy seaweed (second only to seaweed salt). This simple recipe also has a lot of room to customize the seasoning to your liking. Nori chips offer everything that potato chips have, and the benefits of seaweed.
Nori Chip Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of nori seaweed
- 1 tsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp of salt
- ½ of pepper
- ½ tsp of onion powder
- ½ tsp of garlic powder
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Lightly brush olive oil onto the nori sheet, seasoning each side before flipping.
- Place the nori on a covered baking sheet.
- Bake for 2-4 minutes, until the sheet is at your desired crispness.
- Remove from the oven and slice nori sheet to desired size.
- Serve!
Keeping it Light with a Salad
If you have ever been to a sushi restaurant, there’s a chance you’ve seen a seaweed sushi. It’s a robust, flavorful way to take advantage of the healthy benefits of seaweed. Most seaweed salads use wakame seaweed, which has a slightly sweet flavor. Usually, you can buy a dried variant of wakame at the store.
To get started, check out this great recipe for a traditional seaweed salad!
Food.com’s Seaweed Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce dried wakame seaweed
- 3 tbsp of rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of sesame oil
- 1 tsp of sugar
- A pinch of Red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp of finely grated ginger
- ½ tsp of minced garlic
- 2 thinly sliced scallions
- ¼ cup of shredded carrot
- 2 tsbp of chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tsbp of toasted sesame seeds
Seaweed that Tastes like Bacon?!
We saved this one for last because it’s not as healthy as the previous entries. It’s certainly healthier than the alternative, though. That’s right, if you pan fry a certain kind of seaweed, it tastes similar to bacon. What is this magical veggie? The previously mentioned dulse! Not only is pan fried dulse lower in fat with less grease, it has all the benefits of seaweed. The future is here, people!
Much like bacon, it’s better as a topping or addition than by itself. Try adding it to a burger or omelet for a healthier, salty, crunchy treat!
Seaweed ‘Bacon’ Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 oz of whole leaf smoked dulse (Smoked dulse’s flavor is closer to bacon)
- 1 tsbp of vegetable oil
Directions
- In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Add dulse, turning after a few seconds (seriously, it cooks really fast!).
- Because of how fast dulse cooks, start with frying one piece at a time. Once you get the hang of it, you can try more, but sticking to doing one or two at a time is smart.
- When both sides of the dulse has turned a dark green, remove from the skillet.
- Place dulse on a paper towel covered plate and late cool.
- As the dulse cools it will continue to crisp.
- Enjoy!
