Adding Sea Vegetables to Your Diet – 7 Easy Ones to Try

I don’t know about you but if someone plonked a pile of seaweed on my plate, I would be a bit sceptical.  Washed up on the beach, sure.  But to eat?  However, there are lots of cuisines that make use of seaweed and other ingredients that are known as sea vegetables.  So, what are they, why eat them and what you can make with them?

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What are sea vegetables?

The term ‘sea vegetable’ isn’t an official category but rather a series of ingredients that are used in different cuisines around the world that come from the sea – but aren’t fish or seafood.  Mostly, they are seaweed but there are others and we’ll meet a few in a minute.

In fact, there are believed to be over 10,000 types of edible sea vegetables, each having its own taste and texture.  Here in the UK, we have examples such as sea lettuce, kelp samphire grasses and dulse.  In the US, some parts of the coast are rich in things like dulse, kelp, sea lettuce and nori.

Benefits of adding sea vegetables to your diet

So why would you eat sea vegetables, apart from having the urge to try something different?  Well one of the main reasons is that there are lots of good minerals in particular in them that make them a great way to balance your diet and give your body what it needs.

Because they come from the sea, they are salty but also have lots of other minerals in them.  Iodine is one example that we used in thyroid function as well as calcium and potassium.  Sea vegetables give lots of iron and also some unique components called fucans, mostly in the brown versions.  These have been shown to help with inflammation and even in weight loss.

Any downsides?

Apart from not liking the taste or texture, which is something I would definitely have an issue with, the main downside of sea vegetables is their absorbing capabilities.  This means they suck up things from the water they are in and in some areas, that isn’t all good.

The solution to this is to only buy organic varieties.  This means they have been grown in safe conditions and you don’t need to worry about them having absorbed nasty stuff like heavy metals.

7 easy sea vegetables to try

So, there are no shortage of examples to choose from but here are a few of the better known ones, what they are like and why you might want to get them into your diet.

Arame

Arame is also known as sea oak and is a type of kelp that is best known for its use in Japanese dishes.  It is a brown algae that is normally sold in a dried state and has a mild flavour.  It is great to add to meat or fish as well as in soups or salads and has a semi-sweet flavour.

In terms of health benefits, it has lots of iron, magnesium, calcium, iodine and even Vitamin A.  These help with things like improving the condition of skin, hair and nails.  It also has a lot of Chlorophyll in it which is great to help flush your system and give it a natural detox.

Dulse

Dulse is also known as sea lettuce flakes or red dulse and is found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  It has been harvested for over 1400 years and is a common snack food.  In Iceland, it is very popular as a great way to get dietary fibre.  It is a red algae that is used as a protein source for vegans and can be eaten in sandwiches.

It contains a selection of vitamins and minerals that offer a boost to the body, particularly for heart and digestive health.  It also contains polyphenols that have anti-cancer properties as well as helping with blood sugar control.

Wakame

Wakame is an edible seaweed with a strong, sweet flavour and texture that is most often used in Japanese soups and salads.  It is sometimes known as sea mustard in English.  It has been cultivated by Japanese and Koreans farmers for many centuries and is now grown in other locations.

It is a brown algae that contained fucoxanthin – this is helpful to burn off fatty tissue and help with weight control.  There are also lots of minerals and vitamins in it including magnesium, calcium, iodine and iron.

Nori

Nori is a red algae that is best known for its use in sushi where it is made into sheets and used to wrap the other ingredients.  The process to make these sheets is similar to papermaking!  It is also used as a garnish and in noodle and soup recipes, usually having been toasted first.

Full of B vitamins, it is also a good source of protein and unsaturated fatty acids.  It is often used as a healthier option than bread and contains a high content of iodine.

Kelp

Kelp is a familiar sight in some parts of the world where it grows in ‘kelp forests’ that can cover thousands of kilometres of seabed.  They can even grow up as far as 200 feet in search of sunlight.  As well as supporting many animals, some of the 30 varieties are also cultivated to be eaten. 

Kelp is used in many different dishes including dried or pickled in Japanese cuisine where it is served with green tea.  A popular type is called kombu and is used to make kombucha in Japan (although this is different to the US version of the drink)

There’s plenty of good stuff in kelp including amino acids and dietary fibre.  It contains iodine to help with thyroid and also fucoidan which has that anti-cancer element.  Other vitamins and minerals help boost red blood cell production and improve bone density.

Agar

Agar is known as ‘China grass’ and is a jelly-like substance that comes from red algae.  It is used in desserts in Asian cuisines and can work in place of gelatine for vegetarians as well as thickening soups and ice cream.

It has good amounts of iron and calcium and also lots of fibre.  It also contains no sugar or fat and hardly any carbohydrates yet has a sweet taste so is ideal to swap into dishes to cut down on sugar content.

Spirulina

Spirulina is a blue-green algae that has become popular as an ingredient in smoothies and juicing and creates a very cool colour to anything featuring it.  It is usually sold in powdered form.

This sea vegetable is 70% protein and was declared on the ‘best foods for the future’ back in the mid-1970s due to the high number of vitamins and minerals that it contains.  NASA even incorporated it into the diet of their astronauts because it was nutritionally so impressive.

How do you use sea vegetables?

Apart from their taste and health benefits, sea vegetables are also easy to use, and this makes them accessible in all kinds of ways.  A few simple examples include:

• Soaking dried strips in water then adding to salads
• Slice seaweed thinly and fry in sesame oil then serve with vegetables and Tamari
• Sprinkle flakes into a soup, stew or curry
• Make homemade sushi with sheets of dried nori
• Add powdered forms into smoothies or smoothie bowls

You can also add them to lots of recipes to boost the health benefits.  For example, pop some kombu into a miso soup or add a little dulse to a sandwich.  If you aren’t keen on the texture, opt for powdered forms like spirulina and mix into shakes or other drinks.