THE VEGAN NEWS  

Sea vegetables are a very nutritious and valuable addition to the vegan diet. However, they are sometimes ignored, simply because people do not know how to use them. More use should be made of sea vegetables, as they are low in calories, fat-free and contain many vitamins and minerals. They are a particularly valuable source of iodine and also contain useful amounts of calcium and iron.

Packets of dried sea vegetables can usually be obtained quite easily from most health food shops/large supermarkets. However, if you do experience difficulty in obtaining them, then some types are available by mail order from The Fresh Network. At first glance, sea vegetables may seem expensive at about £2.00/3.00 per packet, but because they are dried and swell in size when soaked, only a small amount is usually required. Commonly available seaweeds include: kombu (kelp), wakame, hijiki, arame, dulse and nori. Kelp powder, agar flakes and carrageen are also types of sea vegetables. The most widely available sea vegetables are usually produced by Sanchi or by Clearspring.

There are over 70 species of seaweed which are eaten throughout the world. The red seaweed, laver, is eaten in Wales and dulse and carrageen are popular in Ireland. Arame, nori, kombu, hijiki and wakame are all cultivated in Japanese waters and sea vegetables are frequently used in Japanese cookery to replace garden vegetables. The Japanese Vegetarian Cookbook, mentioned in the April 1997 issue's Book Review, contains many interesting recipes that use sea vegetables. Leah Leneman also has a chapter of good sea vegetable recipes in her book 365 Plus One Vegan Recipes. I would suggest that you consult one of these books for further sea vegetable recipes.

Sea vegetables can be used in salads, soups, stir-fries, casseroles and stews, or as a setting agent to replace animal gelatine. Strips of dulse or nori sheets can simply be toasted under the grill until they are crisp: try giving some to the children as a nutritious alternative to crisps! And, another easy way of including sea vegetables in your diet is to use a sprinkling of kelp powder instead of salt and pepper. Clearspring also produce  a Nori Sea Vegetable Sprinkle that is easily sprinkled on most dishes and on salads. 

The two easy recipes, in the recipe section this month, use agar flakes as a replacement for gelatine. They do not have a seaweed taste or texture and so if you are feeling a bit nervous about eating seaweed, then you might like to try one of these recipes to start off with!