Monika’s Wakame Salad – How to make Seaweed Salad at home

If you love Sushi as much as I do and Millions of North Americans as well as Millions around the world, then you must know the bright green colored wakame salad.

My family always ends up fighting over the little wakame salad box because it’s so darn tasty! You probably wondered why you can’t find wakame seaweed in the Asian grocery stores to make your own seaweed salad at home.

What is Wakame?

Sea farmer in Japan and Korea have grown this healthy treat for hundred of years. Wakame is a sea vegetable which is mostly used in soups and salads.

It’s a bit tricky to find things at the Asian markets and grocery stores, everything is written in Japanese or Chinese. There is no sign on the wakame seaweed stating “This is the thing you need to make your own seaweed salad you like out of the sushi case”! And, they don’t tell you, that they mix the wakame with some Agar Agar. The chewy more translucent strand in your wakame salad are agar agar strands. Agar-Agar is a natural vegetable gelatin counterpart. White and semi-translucent, it is sold in packages as washed and dried strips or in powdered form. Agar Agar is made up of 80% fiber so it makes a wonderful intestinal cleanser and regulator. Most Asian gelatin desserts are made with Agar Agar.

Now that you know that seaweed comes in a dehydrated form, you’re ready to find the right kind of product.

You’ll go “Wakame” for this seaweed salad recipe!

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 of the 2oz pack of Wakame (dehydrated sold in bags in the nori section)
• 2 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp and 1 tsp of vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup less 1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Toasted Sesame
• little Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp or to taste Sea Salt
• Agar Agar (optional)

Prepare your salad:

1. soak your Wakame in some warm water (please use drinking water, not tap)
2. keep the wakame submerged in water for about 5 -6 minutes, the seaweed will expand enormously
3. meanwhile, prepare your dressing
4. mix the rice vinegar, oils, salt, sugar, sesame seeds (red pepper flakes optional) and set aside
5. drain the wakame and press the water out.
6. take the drained wakame and cut into strips with a very sharp knife.
7. mix with the prepared dressing and let it cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes
8. adjust your dressing to taste, more sugar or more sesame seeds or oil…

Wakame Salad is perfectly fine on its own or with lunch or dinner and sushi of course. It keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes well too.

Stay Healthy and Enjoy!

Monika Baechler

P.S. Let me know how your wakame salad turned out and what you pared it with, thanks.

Mayonnaise Free Tuna Salad

I was trying to figure out what to put in my starving stomach.

Wondering around in my kitchen I found a jar of roasted eggplants, which I neglected for a while. Since eggplant dip is very low in fat and has no nonsense put into it, I thought I give it a try in my tuna salad.

This is what you will need:

• 1 can of tuna in water, drained (of course you knew that!)
• 4-5 black Spanish olives, pitted
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 stalk celery
• herbs or salt free seasoning
• some garlic salt to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons of roasted eggplant dip

Just mix everything together. You can even add a green salad or more vegetables. Add black olives to taste, but remember that about 4-5 olives have 1g of fat. This tuna recipe is very low fat but creamy and delicious because of the added eggplant. Even if you don’t like eggplant, you should give it a try!

Why not wrap it up in a whole wheat tortilla and take it to work or give it to the kids for lunch. Kids like anything in a wrap, specially tuna salad!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, I know I did.

Once a week or so I will try to post one lean-mean recipe, so keep an eye out for that.

Bon Appetit!

The Potato conspiracy?

Why do we always hear only the bad side of the potato. Everything “they” tell you is, it makes you fat, high glycemic index, to much sugar…! What happened with all the healing properties and vitamins and minerals of the potato?

Potatoes help you to keep your acidic body in check. The Potato is a very low calorie food, high in nutrients and starch. What do you think how the potato measures up compared with fresh soft cheese, eggs and cheese if it come to vegetarian protein? Actually, the potato has more vegetarian protein than any of these choices. Only meat exceeds the potato in their bio availability of protein, but it does not attack your arteries!

Most of the vitamins and minerals are right under the skin, so if possible, get young organic potatoes and do not peel them. The best way is to bake or steam the potatoes to keep most of the vitamin C and minerals inside.

Warning about the green spots on Potatoes, they contain solanin, which is not good for our bodies. You can get head aches, sore throat, stomach aches and diarrhea. Please make sure to cut around green spots and discard it.

Monika

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