Tip# 27 Quick Greens
WOULD YOU BELIEVE: One of the most convenient ways to add greens to your menus is to use sea vegetables (seaweed).
SOME FACTS: Most sea vegetables (seaweed) are much like dark, leafy greens in that they are quite high in calcium (see table on page 262) and other nutrients and have practically no fat. Most people, however, don't know how to use them. Most of them are sold dried and thus keep well without refrigeration.
Three of the most convenient are dulse, wakame, and nori. Dulse, a dark, leafy seaweed used in Ireland and New England, is sold in dried leafy pieces. They can be used as snacks or in salads, stews, bean dishes, and others.
Wakame, another leafy seaweed is usually sold dried in long stringy lengths or flakes. All you have to do is add water and it turns into a full-bodied green in minutes. You can add it to stir-frys, salads, soups, or any other dishes. It can even be portable. Try taking some in a plastic bag to a restaurant and add it to a soup like a condiment.
Nori, commonly known for its use as the black wrapper for "sushi," is sold in paper-like sheets or as sprinkles known as "furikake" (a Japanese word for "sprinkle over").
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
• Try dulse in salad as in the recipe below.
• Take some wakame flakes (or cut- up pieces of stringy wakame) and add them to any soup, salad, or cooked dish.
• Try nori as a snack or as sprinkles on rice.
Mediterranean Sea Dip
2C Hummus
¼C Dried dulse
1C Green onion, stems included, minced
dash Paprika, to garnish
sprigs Parsley, to garnish
Stir dulse and onion into prepared hummus. Serve to bowl and garnish with paprika and sprigs of parsley. Serve as chip dip, or in the following sandwich recipe. Makes 20 portions.
(1 portion = 75.8 calories, 1.0 grams fat, 22% protein, 67% carbohydrates, 12% fat)
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