sea vegetables
Let’s talk nutritional powerhouses. Foods that are so damn good for you, they practically negate the Dominoes pizza you accidentally ate last week. Oh wait, that was me. Anywho…
I’m thinking about flaxseed. I’m thinking about collard greens. Kale. All those cruciferous veggies, really. Raw milk. Traditionally fermented sauerkraut. Chia Seeds. Sea vegetables.
Well, what would you say if I combined a standard plate of pasta with not one, but TWO of these outstandingly nutritious foods? What would you say if I told you that the result was something your friends and family will totally enjoy, eat with a smile and never even know they were consuming something exceedingly healthy?
Ok, the first was kale. No surprise there. Can you guess the second?
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December 11th, 2011 | recipe, sea vegetables | 4 Comments »
It’s funny – people always expect me to be a vegetarian. Well, I’m not. However, I’ve noticed that lately I am leaning towards a blend of 2 main dietary theories:
Veganism and Weston A. Price
There couldn’t be two more opposite approaches to “healthy” eating. In fact, they downright contradict each other, with vegans staunchly opposing the use of animal products in their food and WAP followers adamantly demanding traditionally prepared meals with grass fed beef and raw milk.
Um. What gives, Michelle? You are a seriously messed up diet flip-flopper!
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October 24th, 2011 | pregnancy, recipe, sea vegetables, vegan, vegetarian, Weston A. Price | 10 Comments »
You know when things just really work? Like you get a shirt from Banana Republic and realize it matches practically everything you own? Score!
That’s how I’ve been feeling about this breakfast – it’s a japanese style rice porridge that flies in the face of everything Dunkin Donuts would have you believe breakfast should be. For starters…rice? Well, why not? In other cultures, rice for breakfast is totally normal. Let’s take a hint from the far East and stop spending $6 on a crappy bagel in the morning. Eat something that serves your body well and costs seriously pennies per serving. I bet you have some leftover in your refrigerator right now.
I do. This recipe is so ea-sy!
And it works. It’s fast, cheap and I think it’s really tasty. Plus, it keeps me full until whenever I get around to eating lunch. Perfect.
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April 20th, 2010 | frugal living, quick and easy, recipe, sea vegetables, skincare, try new things | 9 Comments »
It amazes me that I went through high school and college, was deemed an adult, and walked into the world without a clue how to perform certain basic life functions.
It’s unlikely, but if anyone ever asks me what questions should be on the SATs, I know my answer! Every graduating high school senior should know how to cook a pot of brown rice and dried beans. It could be a short essay.
Beans are ignored far too often. (Except for chickpeas – the darling of hummus!) For such low-cost, high-nutrient dense foods, you would think they’d be a staple in more homes. We complain about the economy, fear for our 401Ks, but do we buy some basic dried beans and feed ourselves well for pennies a day? Do we skip the irradiated, antibiotic-filled supermarket meat and make an affordable, organic choice instead?
I challenge you to do just that! And while you’re at it, teach a high school kid how to do the same. (Expect resistance now, gratitude later.)
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March 9th, 2010 | beans, frugal living, recipe, sea vegetables | 13 Comments »
I’ve seen a lot of recipes like this but never gave it a shot until I saw Happy Herbivore’s version. Man, that girl has a lot of good recipes. Chickpeas make a perfect substitution for tuna! A spin through the food processor and your eye just cannot tell the difference.
Anyway, the reason I love this is because it looks and tastes pretty much like normal, everyday tuna. And you can make a normal, everyday sandwich and no one thinks you’re absurd health girl. But it’s still a totally healthy vegan dish and very versatile. I’d like to try in a few other recipes – maybe a casserole or a nicoise salad. But for now, an amazing lunch came together with some millet bread and clover sprouts. If you use canned chickpeas and a food processor, this recipe will take you 35 seconds. I actually used dried chickpeas because I subconsciously must have felt guilt that this recipe would be THAT easy.
Mock Tuna Salad
with slight variation from Happy Herbivore
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 1″ piece kombu
2 celery stalks, broken roughly into pieces
1 dill pickle
1 tbsp dill pickle water
1 squirt lemon juice
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp tamari
2 heaping spoonfuls vegan mayo
1 sheet nori, shredded
salt + pepper to taste
1. Soak chickpeas with kombu overnight in water. Remove kombu, cook about an hour until beans are tender.
2. Process cooked chickpeas in food processor.
3. Add all other ingredients and blend.
November 18th, 2008 | beans, quick and easy, recipe, sea vegetables, vegan, vegetarian | No Comments »
Sorry for the bad photo, btw. I’m no photographer. Anyway. It’s that time of year I guess – when everyone is like, holy crap it’s the end of August, we better go get a tan and have a party before summer is over! So off to the store for the usual: Salsa and chips. Hummus and pita bread. Potato chips, soda and beer.
Here’s an easy recipe that says “I care enough to bring something homemade” and “You’ll never know it’s so healthy and that makes me giggle to myself”
Red Lentil Walnut Paté from Jessica Porter’s The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics is a really good idea: mixing cooked lentils with onions, sea vegetables, nuts, oil, vinegar and seasonings in a food processor to create your own healthy dip. I served with Rosemary Garlic Toasts:
Rosemary Garlic Toasts
I made this one up myself!
Loaf of whole wheat bread, cut into thin slices
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbl. sea salt
2 Tbl. fresh or dried rosemary
1/3 cup olive oil
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl, mix bread, salt, rosemary and olive oil with your hands to distribute as evenly as possible. Spread ingredients on large baking sheet and be sure to sprinkle the extra garlic, salt and rosemary on top of the bread. Bake for 10-20 minutes until golden.
August 18th, 2008 | beans, recipe, sea vegetables, vegan, vegetarian | 11 Comments »
In the past few weeks I’ve done embarrassingly little in the way of food preparation. Suffice it to say that I write this post while waiting for our chinese takeout to arrive. The wedding may be over but we’re drowning in Crate & Barrel packaging and the back-to-work blues over here!
One meal I managed to scrape together a week or so ago was a Wakame Sea Slaw and Asian Style Tofu Burgers. The burgers were the same as any ‘burgers’ I have tried out of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian – just ok. They’re painfully difficult to flip and I never know when they are done. These were a blend of tofu, scallions, whole wheat panko and asian seasonings. On the whole, unremarkable.
But the slaw was fantastic. The best part is that it includes a sea vegetable called wakame in a way I’d never thought to use it before. Like a salad green! Easy and tasty. Wakame, like all sea vegetables, is super full of nutrients and a healthy addition to any meal. But if you are like me, it’s hard to know how and when to use the stuff.
Wakame Sea Slaw
adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
This recipe didn’t make too much so I’d double it to have a good amount of leftovers next time.
1/4 cup mayo or Vegannaise
2 Tbl. rice vinegar
1 Tbl. tamari
1 tsp. agave nectar
1/2 cup peanuts (i used raw)
1/4 cup wakame
2 cups chopped Napa cabbage
1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
S+P
Whisk the mayo, vinegar, tamari, agave and peanuts in a large bowl. Add the wakame, cabbage, cukes, and pepper. Toss to coat in dressing. It is the liquid from the dressing that will rehydrate the wakame. Mix in cilantro, S+P and serve.
August 8th, 2008 | raw foods, recipe, sea vegetables, vegan | No Comments »
