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Posts Tagged sea vegetables

Blackberry Spread

Oct 17

Posted by Shari B. in Recipes | 6 Comments

Where on earth is this month going? I can’t even believe it’s past mid-October and that Halloween is right around the corner.  It’s the middle of the day as I type this and only 46 degrees outside (brrrr!).  I have my space heater pointed at my feat already.  I can’t complain though because Saturday it was 84 and GLORIOUS.

I was excited to see that you like the idea of a series of “Recipes to Inspire” and that you like to see how I would go about tweaking them.  I’ll be sure to do more posts like that!

I was also recently inspired when someone asked me about making a healthier version of jams/jellies since so many of them are so high in sugar, and often times you find a lot of extra stuff in them, whether it’s artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup or preservatives. I instantly suggested using the sea vegetable agar agar along with blended fruit.

So of course I had to give it a try!

If you are new to agar agar, don’t let the fact that it’s a sea veggie deter you from giving it a try.  It’s very similar to using gelatin, but in a vegetarian version derived from red algae.  It provides fiber and volume without adding any calories.  And all you are going to taste is the food you mix it with – I promise your jam won’t taste like seafood!

Gingered Blackberry Spread (“Jam”)

by Natural Chef Shari Becht
Yield:  ~ 1 cup

1 cup frozen organic blackberries

2/3 cup water

1 ½ teaspoons agave nectar (or other sweetener of choice such as raw honey or organic maple syrup)

1 teaspoon minced ginger (I use a jarred version by The Ginger People)

Pinch of stevia (optional)

2 teaspoons agar agar flakes

In a blender, add all ingredients except for the agar agar.  Blend until puréed into a liquid.

Pour the purée into a medium saucepan and bring to a light boil over medium-high heat.  Once the purée is bubbling, add the agar agar flakes and stir vigorously at first to dissolve the flakes and avoid clumping.  Allow mixture to bubble for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from heat and carefully transfer into a glass jar.  Set aside at room temperature for 10-20 minutes, long enough to slightly cool and stop steaming. Place in the refrigerator (uncovered) for 2 to 3 hours to chill, which allows the agar agar flakes to ‘gel’ fully.  At this point, a lid can be placed on the jar.

Notes:

1.)    People/kids who are used to eating a much higher sugar content in their foods might find this to be less than sweet on their palate so feel free to add a little additional sweetener during transition.  I tried to keep the sugar as low as possible while still having a somewhat sweet flavor.

2.)    Make in small batches in order to use within a week or two.

3.)    Play with flavors you like – I used frozen blackberries because it’s what I had on hand, and ginger pairs well with blackberries.  Be creative with what you have in your kitchen – you might come up with an amazing combination!  (Agar doesn’t play as well with citrus fruits though, just as an FYI – you need more flakes for acidic blends/juices.)

Slather this on your toast (and your kids’ toast) knowing that they are getting a much healthier alternative. I could even see this being a fun way to make CRANBERRY SAUCE for Thanksgiving! Let me know if you try it!

– Shari B. =)

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Shari Becht is a Certified Natural Chef, Fit Living Coach and ACE Certified Personal Trainer.  She is extremely passionate about teaching people how they can take steps to fit healthy habits into their busy lives.   If you or someone you know would like to learn how to eat more healthfully, achieve a healthy bodyweight or incorporate more “FIT” into life, please feel free to email her at shari [at] fitfeat  [dot] com.  For more information, click here.

 

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Kelp is Kool

Mar 5

Posted by Shari B. in Cooking, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Oh what a glorious start to the weekend already!  We were finally able to get the dogs out for a nice 5K wog this morning!  Sun was shining, not too much wind.  Chilly at 32 degrees, but I was cozy in my awesome birthday beanie from the talented Cindy!

If you say the words “WOG”, “WALK”, “PARK” or really any phrase that starts with “Do ya wanna go for a _____??”,  Rascal perks right up!  Look at this face!

I LOVE starting my days outside almost as much as the dogs do!

It’s amazing what 5 days of eating and exercising back in my own routine again has done!  I was experiencing a bit of digestive stress during most days of school, and I attributed it to a combination of things:  rushed eating, too many types of foods in one meal, and STRESS!  This week after being back to my more simplified approach to meals, I feel great.  And I’ve been fortunate to get to work out every day.  I am back to using my “no slacker tracker” and so far all 5 days of March are filled in!  I’ve done 250 minutes of exercise in 5 days.  Perfect!   A little strength training, some cardio, some iron yoga (Bob’s yoga yesterday means sore traps and obliques today!).

I did do a little running Thursday night with my friend Jen, but other than that none of my cardio has been running much over the past months.  I thought I might miss running more, but I don’t (yet).  I think when spring fever sets in I might be itching to throw on my five-finger shoes and hit the trails.

Before I switch gears to some food talk, I want to send a big shout out to Sunshine Burger for putting my blog post on their Facebook page and Twitter yesterday.  It’s always such an honor – and I love that it creates conversation with some new folks!

So one of the meals I showed you in my last post was the Tempeh Spinach stirfry with Kelp noodles.  A classmate gave me a package of kelp noodles on her last day here because she was moving back to her home state and she knew I was excited to try them.  I have yet to find them in my local Whole Foods or Vitamin Cottage, so I might order them online.  They are by a company called “Sea Tangle“.

OH.  MY.  These things ROCK! It’s like eating zero calorie food!  OK maybe not ZERO.  But SIX, which is practically ZERO!  A full 4 oz serving of these noodles is only 6 calories!  When cooked they remind me a little of rice noodles.  And they are a sea vegetable, which you all know I believe to be a fabulous addition your diets.

These are a great way to get that “noodle” feel into a meal without breaking the carb or calorie bank with regular noodles.  Even gluten-free noodles (while better for us than refined wheat noodles) still add up fast in calories if you aren’t careful with portion size.

I will definitely be experimenting with these more in the future, because I love noodly meals!

Have you ever had kelp noodles? What’s your favorite dish to eat them in?

Hope that you have a SUPER Saturday!

– Shari B.  =)

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Natural Chef Culinary School – Sea Veggies

Oct 26

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 5 Comments

Hi friends!

You’ve heard me sing the praises of seaweed before on this blog, so you can imagine how excited I was for Sea Vegetables class!

I regularly use dulse in my kitchen, adding strips to my salads and flakes to numerous other dishes in place of sea salt.  I’ve used kombu when cooking beans.  And nori for miso soup and sushi rolls.  But my horizons have been broadened after this class!

One of the best uses I learned for seaweed that day was with one called agar agar (kanten).  You may know this one from science class, as it’s often used as the culture medium in petri dishes.  But because of its ability to gel, it is used in the culinary world as a thickener.  One of my classmates was assigned Apple-Pomegranate Kanten with Cashew Cream.  The agar agar was dissolved (and boiled) with unsweetened fresh apple juice, then apple pieces and pomegranate seeds were suspended while it was cooling.  The result was a dish similar to a Jell-O salad, but without all the sugar and artificial ingredients.

I was so excited to make a version of this at home for MSP.  He picked unsweetened grape juice and here is the result (recipe at the bottom of this post):

I garnished it with a little TruWhip and some ground flaxseed. (A shout out to my grandma for handing down her wine glasses to me, which also serve as beautiful dessert dishes!)

Agar agar is pretty cool, huh?  What a great way to make desserts for kids that are natural, high in minerals and fiber and FUN!  You would NEVER know you are eating seaweed – there is no flavor from the agar agar.

This is also a good substitute for gelatin in a vegan diet, since gelatin is an animal product.

The recipe I got to work on that day was Sea Vegetable Caviar.  We used wakame for this dish, but to make it look like little caviar ‘eggs’, arame is the suggested option.  You soak the seaweed to reconstitute it, sauté it in some sesame oil, add some water and tamari, bring to a boil then let all the liquid cook out.  Add in some sauteed minced garlic/shallots, a little ginger and lemon juice to taste, place on top of a flax cracker, and you have a fun appetizer sure to be a conversation starter at your next dinner party!

You can tell your guests all about how full of minerals sea veggies are, how well they detox the body and that they are a highly alkaline food, helping to cut down the acid in the blood.  And they are easy to make look pretty on the platter – this was probably my best plating presentation yet!

A couple of other dishes we ate that day included nori-wrapped whitefish:

And sesame sweet potatoes with wakame:

Do you use seaweed in any of your daily nutrition?  If not, are you convinced to give it a try? I was a seaweed lover before but am even more excited now to incorporate these amazing superfoods into my daily recipes, knowing how FANTASTIC it is for our bodies.  I’ve already picked up some arame at the store and made a seaweed salad for dinner Sunday night.

Have a FABULOUS day friends!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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If you weren’t online over the weekend, check out the previous recap post about Grains, Legumes, Nuts and Seeds.

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Edited to add Agar Agar “Jell-O” recipe by popular demand ;)

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Choose your favorite juice (preferably fresh squeezed and unsweetened)
  • For 6 servings that are wine glass sized like I made, use 2 cups of juice and 1 to 1.5 tablespoons agar agar. (I used 1.5 and feel that it could have been dropped down to 1 tbsp. if your package has you using one tablespoon to one cup liquid, ignore it!  Mine did too!)
  • Mix them together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and continue stirring to ensure the agar agar is fully dissolved.
  • Pour into 6 wine glasses or dessert dishes.  Let them sit for 10 minutes while you chop up your favorite fruit to ‘suspend’ in the dessert.  At school we used pomegranate seeds and apples.  Pick something that matches with your juice selection.  I only needed 1 apple (finely diced) and the seeds from half of one pomegranate.  More or less to your liking will work!  Add the fruit to the glasses and then refrigerate for at least one hour.
  • You can garnish with some TruWhip like we did or you can make a homemade vegan cashew cream whipped topping, like we did at school.

Let me know what your friends and family say when you serve this!  :)

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Natural Chef Culinary School – Week 1 Recap

Sep 23

Posted by Shari B. in Natural Chef Culinary School | 10 Comments

My first two days of school are already behind me!!  Time is flying by!!

We got our coats yesterday and now my uniform is almost complete.  My pants should arrive today or tomorrow (we had to order those on our own -  I’m one of those people who has to try on a lot of pants to find a good fit, so having to order these online should be interesting.  However, it’s not a fashion show, so I’ll take what comes!)

If it WAS a fashion show, I’d be in trouble!  How ’bout that sexy cheffer skull cap??  Hahahaha!

The good news is we can wear pretty much any type of hat.  So most days I’ll be rocking a baseball cap of some sort instead:

My friends, family, and clients will all tell you that I feel naked without a baseball hat on!   And this week I realized how much hair I actually have when I tried to contain it all rather than just wear a ponytail – it’s A LOT. Might be time to cut some off… :)

In addition to the books we had to buy prior to the start of class, on the first day we also received a canvas bag filled with 4 other books, including this gargantuan binder.  I’m really wondering if I can exchange this 15 lb workbook for the Kindle version?

And the workbook we use in the kitchen.

The first few days have been great.  My brain has been so jam packed with new info that both nights after school, I’ve literally fallen asleep on the couch before 7:00 PM while trying to do my reading.

The format for each day is set up like this:

  • 90 minutes of lecture time
  • followed by a quick healthy snack
  • then kitchen skills/cooking time
  • then late lunch as a group (eating what was just prepared in the kitchen)
  • during which time we are to critique the food
  • the last 30-45 minutes of the day, we get busy cleaning up all the messes that were made: scrubbing floors, washing dishes, resetting for the next class.

The time absolutely flies by.

During this first week our instructors are demonstrating all of the cooking for us (recipes from the workbook shown above), until next week when we get to start prepping and cooking.  The recipes typically will correspond with what our lecture covered for that day.

Day 1 recipes included an Heirloom Tomato Soup with Red Miso and a wonderful Latin Quinoa Salad.  In fact that soup was so amazing I had to make a half-batch at home on Tuesday.

Mise en place:

Practicing my knife skills by making my mirepoix (we learned that a traditional mirepoix is 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrot):

The onions were potent:

Will I build up a tolerance to chopping onions or will they always make me cry?

My finished product:

It’s SO good. It took a few hours to make, but it was worth it.  MSP even liked it and ate it for dinner.  :)   I will be putting the rest in the freezer today to save for those cold winter months (or when a guest comes over that I’d like to impress!).

My home batch tasted a little different than the one they made at school but our instructor told us that when we each cook from the same recipe, everyone’s will taste a little different because we’ll each have our own styles and energies.  She said by the end of the program, she can usually put on a blindfold, taste each of our meals and know who made it because she’ll come to learn the uniqueness in each of her student’s cooking.

I can’t share the recipes for what I make at school because they are from our workbooks (and copyrighted).  But by mid-term we’ll be developing our own recipes so I’ll have a lot to share then.  I will tell you that two of the ingredients in this soup (mirin and miso) were used in ways I’ve never used them and the flavor they produced was amazing!  The mirin was used as the deglazing liquid for the mirepoix vegetables, and the miso was stirred in after blending.  And I’m sure that using a homemade stock makes a ton of difference too.

On Day 2, our instructors made us a Millet, Lentil and Chard Cake (in a springform pan) and a Wilted Spinach Salad with a Warm Balsamic Vinaigrette and Toasted Dulse.  You know I’m at the right school when you see that salad had dulse and nutritional yeast on it, right?  Sounds like a lot of salads I’ve made in the past!  Only this was elevated beyond my normal salad (and I may never buy bottled salad dressing again).  It was amazing!  I already know I’ll be making my own version of this salad for lunch or dinner today.  I’ll be massaging the olive oil onto the spinach leaves first, warming my vinegar in a pan with some sort of nut or seed and then enjoying.

As far as the mix of people in our class, three of the seven are from out of state and living here temporarily until the program is done.  One from Maryland, one from Pennsylvania and one from Indiana.  To me that speaks volumes for this school, knowing how far people have come to be a part of this particular program.  I feel so honored to be a part of it.

I haven’t whipped out the camera yet at school – I’m waiting until I get to know everyone a little better and if at some point it feels like it is acceptable to take photos during our kitchen time, I will.

Day 3 tomorrow will consist of ALL class time because we’ll be doing Culinary Math all day, so I don’t imagine I’ll have a lot of exciting news to share.  Instead, the next post will include a killer upper body/core/cardio workout that you can try!

Fun tip to share:

GHEE (clarified butter) doesn’t contain the casein or the lactose that you find in regular butter.  We’ll be using this a lot to cook and sauté with because it’s very stable at higher temperatures.  As someone who doesn’t like to eat cow’s dairy specifically because of the casein in it, I was happy to know that GHEE doesn’t contain it (be sure to look for one that says “casein free” and “lactose free”).

OK friends, I have a LOT of homework reading to do and I have to go try & buy my required 8″ chef’s knife today.  I’ll see you next time!  Make it a GREAT day!

– Shari B. =)

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Super Seaweed

Dec 19

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 6 Comments

Happy Saturday FitFeat friends!  I hope your weekend is off to a FANTASTIC start!  I am hoping to get OUTSIDE for a run sometime this morning – but it’s currently 19 degrees (and I’m a cold weather sissy!)  Can’t decide if I want to bundle up or treadmill it!

Yesterday was a great Friday.  It started with a Tabata workout, just something quick to give a little ‘jumpstart’ to my day.  I upped my weights from the last time for all exercises in this session.

Friday Morning Tabata JumpStart:

  • 5 min TM warmup then arm swings and circles
  • Smith Squats 4 minutes
  • Seated Row 4 minutes
  • ValSlide Rear Lunge with KB 4 minutes (alterating legs)
  • DB Chest Press 4 minutes
  • Rear Delt Static Holds 4 minutes
  • Overhead 1-arm KB Shoulder Press 15R, 15L

Personally, I don’t feel I’ve had a good workout if I don’t FEEL it the next day.  I can say that today I DO feel it!  :)  Love that! 

After my workout I had a jumbo green smoothie.

  • 10 oz water
  • Rice protein
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 large peeled cucumber
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 pear
  • lots o’ spinach
  • a few turnip greens
  • sprouts
  • 2 stalks celery

Then I made another one to take to work.   This one was minus the chia seeds and the rice protein.  I figured the chia seeds would swell way up and I did not want to eat my smoothie with a spoon like some sort of green pudding.  :)

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My mid-morning snack was a Cashew Cookie Lärabar at my desk: 

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Lunch was the travel smoothie shown above.  My afternoon snack and dinner kind of ran together:  movie popcorn.  :) MSP and I had a date to go see a movie.  We chose “Avatar” in 3D and all we have to say about it is that it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.  A great movie with so much to look at.  I highly recommend splurging on 3D if you decide to see this movie, especially with all of the computer-generated scenery and effects.  Just BEAUTIFUL.  Two thumbs up and maybe even a couple of TOES up as well!

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OK, let’s segue from movie reviews to food ‘reviews’, shall we?  Yesterday I mentioned that I’d be back today to talk a little bit about DULSE.   

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What is Dulse?

Dulse is a dried sea vegetable.  I’d read about the benefits of seaweed years ago but the best I did to incorporate them into my diet at that time was a sprinkle of kelp powder on my salads here and there.  And probably not nearly enough for my body to even notice it!  I was reacquainted with sea vegetables (seaweed) again when I started receiving acupuncture therapy and began to do a lot of reading on Traditional Chinese Medicine and healing, alkaline foods.  According to Paul Pitchford in Healing with Whole Foods, “Sea plants contain ten to twenty times the minerals of land plants… In addition to a wealth of minerals, vitamins and amino acids, seaweeds are especially excellent sources of iodine, calcium and iron.”  They assist in detoxifying and alkalizing the blood.  

Another great read,  The Thrive Diet by Brendan Brazier, further sold me on this group of superfoods, especially when I read that they contain “10 times the calcium of cow’s milk and several times more iron than red meat” not to mention that they are the “richest source of naturally occuring electrolytes.”

Why Do I Eat Dulse?

Having struggled off and on with iron-deficient anemia since high-school, the information about the iron and mineral content of seaweed was important to me, especially because I’d stopped eating meat.  And moreso because I am a runner.  Runners have a higher tendency toward anemia due to the destruction of red blood cells each time their feet make impact while running, often known as footstrike anemia.  Typically when I end up at the doctor’s office feeling really fatigued and low, it’s due to the anemia and it’s almost always around spring when the weather turns nice and I’m out a lot more often for runs on concrete and pavement.  Now that I’ve been through this ‘cycle’ a few times, I know to really boost my intake of foods with naturally occuring iron in them whenever my running mileage increases.

I also liked the idea that sea vegetables are rich in calcium, since cow’s milk dairy is something I don’t typically consume anymore either.  Additionally it has a great potassium:sodium ratio.  Take a look at the nutrition facts from the package:

Dulse Nutrition Facts (sorry for the blur!)

Dulse Nutrition Facts (sorry for the blur!)

 

Dulse happened to be one that I found at the local health food store and thought I’d start with it first .  I like this one so much that I haven’t tried others yet.  But I should because there are so MANY from which to choose!

How Do I Eat Dulse?

Currently, the main way I eat my dulse is as an add-in for my salads.  I’ll pull a palmful from the bag and tear the strips into bite-size pieces.  When you see photos of my big “Shari Salads” that dark purple stuff you see is the dulse.

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The package says you can bake it into chips, but I didn’t care for it that way and ended up using what I’d baked as a crumbled topping on my salads.  Dulse gives a great ‘salty’ flavor to your salads without the need for adding any extra salt.  You can add it to stir-fries, to soups or broths, or sandwich fillings.  Pretty much anywhere you’d use another leafy green.  The book I referenced earlier, Healing with Whole Foods, even has a recipe for Sauerkraut with Dulse. :) Not sure how soon I’ll try this one, but if/when I do, I’ll let you know!

I hope this dulse info interests you enough that you’ll try some in your next salad!  It’s inexpensive, about $5.00 for the size bag I buy – but it lasts me quite a while.  I’d say that’s a bargain for the amount of nutritional punch packed into such a tiny food.

Today’s questions:  Have you tried dulse or some other version of sea veggie?  What made you try it initially?  If you don’t currently eat seaweed, do you think you might now? 

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All this talk of seaweed, green smoothies and Lärabars has made me hungry!  I’m off for some pre-run fuel and then hopefully out the door!  Have a SUPERB Saturday!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

 

 

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