Seaweed Snacks

 

                   

Dae Chun seaweed is manufactured in South Korea

  The Roasted Seaweed or “Nori” or “Laver” – a has becoming a popular ocean treat. Seaweed foods originated from Asia and spread throughout the world. 

Whether they began eating it to enjoy the taste or for the health benefits alone is beyond me. But I couldn’t resist trying it for myself. In fact, the photos I’d seen of Roasted Seaweed looked pretty tasty. 

If you’re a sushi fan, you’re probably familiar with Seaweed in your diet. I for one tried sushi twice and couldn’t even swallow it.  However, seaweed has been used in more dishes than just the rolls of raw fish. It’s uses include Miso soup (which is touted for its extreme health benefits), other soups, salads and more. However, if you are someone who enjoys the taste of seaweed alone, then Chois 1’s RoastedSeaweed snacks are going to be your low-calorie best friend. Seaweed is also a low-fat, sugar and gluten free, and low carb snack. Perfect.

P.S. The white thing you see in the tray is an oxygen absorber.

Chois 1’s Seaweed snacks are perfect for an on-the-go seaweed lover. As you can see in my many photos, they come in a sealed little bag with a tray inside that houses the paper-thin strips of seaweed.

Chois 1’s has a nice variety of different seaweed. They carry an “Original,” which is not flavored, but lightly salted and roasted, so you get the full-on taste of the real deal.

Chois 1 Seaweed Snack trays come with 5 grams of roasted seaweed strips, plenty to fulfill a big craving.

When I first seen Seaweed Snacks, I thought it looked like they would be some type of thin gelatin food with seaweed mixed in. I was wrong. They’re actually dried, very thin sheets of seaweed. They’re somewhat crunchy and once wet in your mouth, has a bit of a slimy texture. This is why I prefer chewing them. You don’t feel that slime.  As disgusting as they may sound, they actually aren’t just flat out disgusting and a lot of people love them. 

Taste: To me, Seaweed has a very potent, deep green-like taste. Too big a bite and the taste is almost overwhelming to my non-seaweed developed palate, so small bites are easier. Chois 1’s seaweed snacks almost seem to melt in your mouth a little. I notice a subtle ocean-y or fishy aftertaste, so fish lovers will enjoy this feature.

If you’re like me and just haven’t fallen in love with the taste of seaweed, but you want to eat it for its health benefits, I’ve good news! I’ve done some experimenting with the Seaweed Snacks from Chois 1 this week and found quite a few ways you can eat roasted seaweed without the overwhelming taste of well, seaweed. 

First, my family and I tried Chois 1’s premium roastedseaweed snacks. The taste was something we’re not at all used to, so I wanted to take some time to keep trying the seaweed and see if I could manage to somewhat adapt to it. I don’t like to just try something once, then write it off for good if it isn’t absolutely delicious. I mean, when something’s new to you, it’s not likely you’ll adore it from the get go.

So, I’ve been tasting some of these Chois 1 Seaweed snacks daily. Just a nibble here and there. I found that after about 4 days, it was a lot more tolerable than my first few tries. 

Then, I really wanted to experiment with the different ways I  could incorporate the seaweed into my diet.  I’m still trying new things, which I will update you with, but I want to share the few I’ve tried and think you guys would like too.

I took one seaweed strip and plucked it apart, creating smaller pieces and sprinkled it inside my sub sandwich. I use oregano, mayo, turkey, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers and pickles on my sandwiches. The bits of seaweed actually complemented the sandwich and I liked it! I could taste it a little, but it seemed to go extraordinarily well with the oregano flavors and the other greens combined. 

If you’re someone who’s tried and disliked roasted seaweed, I implore you to try it in a similar way. Really, you might find you like it after all. I also do really well eating it crunched up in a salad. This is an easy way to get the health benefits of seaweed if you don’t love the taste.  I also plan to experiment by using Seaweed in different soups. I’m thinking an onion-y garlic soup would be good with seaweed since an onion and garlic are both strong and I think the three would complement each other. I’m no chef, though.

Okay, and I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I wanted to try  introducing the flavor of the seaweed into my diet more and more each day that way I’d be more accustomed to it. So what I did was tear off a small piece from one of the sheets in the Seaweed Snack pack and rolled it up and put it in my mouth. 

I leave the pieces to sit for a while and kind of enjoy the flavor. They get very soft, so it’s easy to down it with water without even chewing. So I’ve been using this method here and there just to get the health benefits and I tell you, it’s not bad at all! If you can take a shot of wheatgrass juice and hold it in your mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing (I actually grew to enjoy doing this after a while of using wheatgrass) then you can totally handle this. 

Chois 1 also carries Seaweed “Sprinkles,” which are small seaweed flakes. I could see that being perfect for those who dislike the taste.

I’ve tried it in my wheatgrass drink and found it tolerable. There are a lot of recipes you can use with seaweed. If you do like sushi, you could always make your own at home and use Chois 1’s large or small snack strips to roll it. 

                              Below are some more photos, up-close.

I also think it’d be super easy in a rich-flavored smoothie like banana or a smoothie that has peanut butter as an ingredient, or heck, a green smoothie because as happened with my sandwich and salad, the taste was blended well and somewhat disguised by all the greens.

After taking a couple bites of the strip.

Chois 1 has seaweed in the Premium Roasted and lightly salted “flavor,” which is the original, the “Green” seaweed, Sprinkles and the larger packs, which have larger sheets of roasted seaweed. 

One great thing about Chois 1 Seaweed is that the seaweed is already prepared for you. It’s already roasted, so you don’t have to do that yourself and all you really have to do is either eat it or add it to your own preferred recipe or dish.

What I think would be super delicious is if there was a way to make seaweed chips! Yum. Kind of like those vegetable chips. I love those things, and think seaweed would make a wonderful flavored chip. I am actually in the process of looking for a recipe for this kind of thing. I’ve been thinking the seaweed would make a delicious dip mixed with cheese! Yum. Kind of like a spinach cheese dip, which I love. I’m hoping I may can test this out soon.

                               

Now, if you’re like me and are someone who’s both health-conscious and likes to try new things, you’ll be interested to know the health benefits that come along with the snack seaweed. Here are just some of the many possible benefits:

-          - Seaweed Is rich in vitamins and minerals from the ocean: Vitamin A,  B6,  B1, B2,  B12,  C and E. It contains magnesium, iodine, calcium, sodium, iron, folic acid. It also contains protein from amino acids, which contribute to our health in many ways

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-     - Seaweed is contains one of the best supplies of calcium plant-wise. 

-     - It’s high in dietary fiber, zinc, selenium and copper and omega fatty acids.

-          - The high content of iodine found in seaweed promotes healthy development of fingernails, teeth, hair, skin and pores! This is one thing that is going to keep me eating the Seaweed.

-         - Seaweed’s content of iron and zinc promote health hair and scalp. This gives me the idea that seaweed will become popular among those who are dedicated to their hair health and growth.

-        - Seaweed’s high concentration of polysaccharides mean it can help with cardiovascular health and conditions related to cardiovascular health such as diabetes. 

-          - Polysaccharides increase liver function, stabilize blood sugar levels and even improved endorphin function in the brain.

-          - Ant-inflammatory

-          - Seaweed helps cleanse and nourish the entire body, including the digestive system, which is vital for me, considering I’ve battled (and lost, for the first several years) with IBS. 

-          - Removes toxins from body/skin.

-          - Removes heavy metals from the body – amazing benefit of seaweed since most of us actually have a huge buildup of these, especially due to the foods were fed, vaccinations, etc. I for one have been working on removing heavy metals for about 5 months now due to a series of unwanted vaccines I was given (long story.)

-          - Contains antioxidants, which help fight free radicals that cause disease/cancer.

The above would explain why Seaweed is so good for your digestive system.  Not only could you be getting the loads of nutritional benefits, but seaweed is supposed to give you a wonderful energy boost. 

- Seaweed balances thyroid gland. It’s possible that seaweed could aid in weight loss since it your thyroid gland being in good shape helps boost metabolism. 

One of the things that had me most interested in seaweed (besides the awesome health benefits) was that unlike a lot of the fruits/vegetables we eat, seaweed isn’t loaded down with pesticides and chemicals. It’s still a real food. That excites me.

  

 Some of the health conditions seaweed can treat:

- Goiter

- Radiation sickness in addition to fibrocystic illness

- Irritation/inflammatory issues or diseases like gout, arthritis, etc.

- Bacterial infection

- Promotes bone/teeth health, which is a main reason I want to continue eating it daily. As you guys know, I take a medication to help with endometriosis that causes bone loss. Ya’ll also know about my few dental issues I’ve been trying to heal over the last year. It has more calcium than cow’s milk.

- Viruses

- Digestive system ailments – bloating, gas, nausea, diarrhea, constipation.

- Toxin build-up

- Symptoms of Grave’s disease can be improved.

- Vitamins and minerals in seaweed help strengthen immune system.

- Prevention from colon, prostate and breast cancer. Also aids in prevention from colds, flu, etc. 

- Fatigue. Seaweed is said to help energize even better than coffee! I’ll be putting that to the test.

- Possibly reduce acne and skin issues. I’ve read that is can increase acne and I’ve read it can help clear it up, which makes sense since It is an anti-inflammatory and all.

   *Some of these benefits I’ve read about make me think seaweed could be a very beneficial “vegetable” for my skin. I’ve been tempted to soak a strip of the seaweed and place it over my face, like a mask. Sounds silly, but perhaps I’ll do it & see where it leads. 

 These are the large packs of large Seaweed sheets from Chois 1. These are ideal for using in recipes and such... or for someone with a very huge seaweed apetite. 

This is the original roasted Seaweed.

The back of the package.

The ingredients and nutrition facts are on the front and back of every Chois 1 Seaweed package. The ingredients in the "Original" Roasted Seaweed (including the large and snack-size sheets) are: Laver, corn oil, sesame seed oil, table salt (salt T L - Glutamate)

Imported by Dae Chun Foods USA, Inc.

Manufactured by Dae Chun Foods Co., LTD

Product of Korea

           This is the "Crispy" version of the Premium Roasted Seaweed

Back of package.