Eat a Little Seaweed Today!

Seaweed For Lunch? OH NOOOOO!!!!

I walked out of the seminar with my eyes wide open! Last year there was a free seminar in our area discussing edible algae's and its amazing composition putting it in a super food class of its own! Now I am not talking about those so called "Miracle Blue Green Algae Capsule" that were promoted about twenty years ago. I am referring to freshly cut and harvested seaweed as well as two other pure forms of algae, spirulina and chlorella, which are both edible.

For all of you who have been following my blogs hello! This is Stephen C. Sharp from FloridaHerbHouse.com here to give some insight on a couple of our exciting new products which have been selling like wildfire in our retail store as well as online since last fall!

Many people are not familiar with the many uses of seaweed and other algae products for various health benefits not do many know where they can actually buy these type of products packaged and ready for any culinary or medicinal use. We now sell about eight different kinds of seaweed and algae products in original and powdered form such as Kelp, Irish Moss, Bladderwrack, Dulse, Kombu, Chlorella, Nori, and Spirulina.

Algae's Defined:
While you may think of algae as plants that float in the water, but that’s not exactly correct. Like plants, algae make their own food by photosynthesis. But algae aren’t planted in the ground, so they aren’t really plants. Furthermore, some algae don’t live in the water, they might live in the soil or in the snow, and some algae have even been found floating in clouds. So you can think of algae as photosynthetic life forms that usually float in the water. There are huge numbers of algae. Everything from the tiniest photosynthetic bacterium to a giant kelp that grows 200 feet tall are considered algae.

Interesting Algae Facts:
Algae produce more than 71% of the Earth’s oxygen; in fact, some scientists believe that algae produce 87% of the world’s oxygen.

Algae help remove huge amounts of Carbon Dioxide from the air. Carbon Dioxide causes global warming, so algae are one of our most important allies in the world! Algae may help us with global warming!

Naturally growing seaweeds or "aquatic algae" are an important source of food, especially in Asia. They provide many vitamins including: A, B1, B2, B6, niacin and C, and are rich in iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium. In addition commercially cultivated microalgae, including both Algae and Cyanobacteria, are marketed as nutritional supplements, such as Spirulina and Chlorella.

All seaweeds are high in fiber. Those in the brown family supply large amounts of algin as well. Each seaweed contains a wide range of essential nutrients, including enzymes, nucleic acids, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, and A, B, C, D, E, and K vitamin complexes. Seaweeds offer us zest for life and the perfect medium for electrical nerve flow.
Benefits from a wise woman alliance with seaweed - glossier hair, more luminous skin, less digestive distress, renewed energy and stamina, rekindled sexual desires, and reawakened delight in life - will be noticeable in about 13 weeks.

Nutrient Rich Super food!
As just an example of the abundant nutrients available in say our pure kelp flakes lets take a look.

Kelp is 28% minerals by weight, and includes a large number of trace minerals. The minerals are naturally chelated to enhance the bio-availability. The primary minerals contained in Kelp are as follows:
Calcium
Copper
Iodine
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sodium
Sulphur
Zinc
Plus Many Other Trace Minerals

Kelp contains the following amino acids!
Arginine, Cystine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Serine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Valine,

Kelp contains the following vitamins!
Carotene, Choline, Niacin, Riboflavin

Approximately 20% of Kelp is healthy fiber and proteins! As we do not want to bore you with the nutritional analysis of each and every class of seaweed and other algae's we do want to educate and excite you to try a recipe or health shake using some. I shrugged the first time a had a taste of a dish containing Nori and Bladderwrack seaweed in it thinking it was the same as eating say a pig's ear, but after the first taste I was convinced that it is not that hard to add a wealth of health into the foods we eat. Email us anytime with questions or visit us 24/7 at our web site listed at the end of this article. We would love to see you! Below are some of my favorite recipes using our very own seaweeds, organic herbs and spices!



TWO OF OUR FAVORITE "NORI" SEAWEED RECIPES!

Chicken Aloha!
What you need :
2 lb Chicken thighs (or your favorite part)
4T Cornstarch
4T Organic flour
4T Organic sugar
5T Organic soy sauce
2 Eggs
1/2t Sea salt (organic if available)
1c water
2 Organic cloves garlic
1/4c Organic green onion
Nori Sheets (seaweed)
1 tsp Organic ginger powder (optional)

What to do
Cut chicken into pieces. Mix all ingredients together (not the chicken!) into bowl and marinate at least 4 hrs (overnight better). Cut nori into strips and wrap the nori around the marinaded chicken parts. Fry these in a skillet until golden brown. It is best to place the chicken on paper towels so that the excess oil will be removed.

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Smoked Salmon With Nori!

Preparation Time - 30 minutes
Makes - 24 rolls

Ingredients
300g sliced smoked salmon
100g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup pure cream
1 tablespoon chopped pickled ginger (see note)
3 nori sheets (see note)
1 small avocado, peeled, stone removed, thinly sliced

Method
Place one-third of the salmon, all the cream cheese, cream and ginger in a food processor. Process until smooth.
Cut nori sheets in half. Place 1 nori sheet, shiny side down, on sushi mat. Arrange one-sixth of the remaining salmon slices in a single layer on 1 nori sheet, leaving a 1cm border along the long edge opposite you. Thinly spread one-sixth of the salmon mixture over salmon slices to cover. Arrange avocado in a row along side of nori sheet closest to you.

Using your thumbs and index fingers, pick up edge of mat closest to you. Use other fingers to hold filling in place. Roll mat forward tightly to roll up nori. Repeat with remaining salmon slices, nori sheets and salmon mixture. Cut each nori roll into 4 pieces. Serve.

Notes & tips
Pickled ginger: Pickled ginger, or gari, traditionally is used to refresh the palate between pieces of sushi. It's made by marinating finely-sliced ginger in rice vinegar, water and sugar. You can find it in the Asian section of your supermarket.

Nori sheets are thin layers of dried seaweed, commonly used to enclose Japanese sushi rolls. They can also be broken up and added to soup, noodle and salad dishes. You will need a sushi mat for this recipe.


Our Favorite Seaweed Tea!
Gently simmer a handful of Bladderwrack for 15 minutes in enough water to cover. OR, fill a quart jar only full with dried bladderwrack; add boiling water to completely fill the jar.
Cap and let steep overnight. Next morning, strain (give the seaweed to the nearest patch of earth), warm and enjoy, seasoned to your taste! One thing good about this recipe is the chicken can be served hot or cold! It makes a great picnic snack.
Do not reuse the marinade. Discard immediately.

Our Favorite Two Kelp Recipes!

Corn Bread w/Kelp

3/4 c. whole corn meal
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. white grape juice
3/4 c. organic skim milk
2 egg whites
2 tbsp. safflower oil
3/4 tsp. kelp flakes

Sift together corn meal, flour, baking powder; add remaining ingredients. Mix. Bake in muffin papers coated with vegetable spray and dusted with corn meal at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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FETTUCCINE ALFREDO - VERY YUMMY!

1 lb. fettuccine noodles
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. milk
2 c. Parmesan cheese
Vegetable seasoning
1 tsp kelp flakes

Cook fettuccine in boiling water until tender while noodles are cooking melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add milk and cook until warm. Drain noodles and place in bowl. Pour butter and cream mixture over noodles and toss. Add cheese and seasoning and mix well.

We appreciate all the bloggers who have emailed us and thanking us for the many blogs we have been writing. Please visit us any time or email us with any questions you may have on our seaweeds, herbs, spices, or any of our products!

Sincerely,

Stephen C. Sharp
www.SharpWebLabs.com