Sea Vegetables

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Arame, kombu, agar, wakame—these strange-sounding words are actually different types of sea vegetables and adding them to your diet is an easy way to increase your intake of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and digestive enzymes. Also known as seaweed or ocean vegetables, these highly nutritious foods are a dietary staple to coastal cultures in many parts of the world.

Sea vegetables contain vitamins A, C, and the entire B-complex. They are also rich sources of easily digested minerals such as calcium, iodine, iron, potassium, sodium and magnesium, as well as important trace minerals such as chromium and selenium. Trace minerals are often lacking in our diets since the soils in which many of our foods are grown are often deficient in minerals. In addition to all the nutrients they contain, sea vegetables are low in calories and virtually fat-free.

Some of the more common types of sea vegetables are listed below:

• Kelp is the largest variety of sea vegetable. It is high in iodine and is light brown to dark green in colour. Kelp helps make beans more digestible.

• Kombu is a member of the kelp family and has a mild flavor. It is a food tenderizer and flavour enhancer. Kombu can be used to make soup stock and to flavour stews and rice. Like kelp, when it’s added to beans during cooking, it makes them more digestible.

• Nori is most commonly available as paper-thin sheets and is used in Japanese restaurants for making sushi. It is deep purple in colour and turns green when toasted. It can be eaten as a snack right from the package; dry-roasted and then crumbled and added to soups, salads, or grain dishes; or filled with grains, vegetables, and/or protein foods and rolled up like a wrap.

• Dulse is reddish in colour and has a salty flavour. It can be eaten straight from the package or it can be served in soups, salads, stews, casseroles, stir-fry, sandwiches, or as a side dish.

• Wakame is black or dark green with a mild flavour. It is rich in calcium, niacin and thiamine.

• Agar (also known as agar-agar) is usually sold in flakes or powder form and has very little flavour. It is a natural vegetarian gelatin that can be used for making jams, jellies and aspics and also as a thickener for soups and sauces.

• Arame is a brown algae or kelp that has a mild, semi-sweet flavour. It is rich in iodine, iron and calcium.

Sea vegetables are available in dried form in most natural food stores and in some grocery stores. They should be rinsed in cold water prior to use and then soaked according to package directions. They can then be cooked (if needed) and added to a variety of dishes such as casseroles, bean dishes, grain dishes, soups, stews, salads, vegetable dishes, baked goods, sandwiches, etc. Sea vegetables can also be dry-roasted in a skillet for 5 to 10 minutes after they’ve been soaked and then crushed and added to the aforementioned dishes. Nori sheets and dulse are two exceptions to the soaking rule—they can be eaten straight from the package.

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