One of the most rad things about eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet, apart from satisfying shits on the daily (yes, that’s plural), is the range and amount of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that you get from eating whole plant foods. 

There is no other style of eating that provides the nutrient density that the Whole Food Plant Based diet provides. This is simply because whole plant foods are packed full of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. 

I will talk about this in depth during my Whole Food Plant Based workshop next month. If you haven’t signed up yet, get your booty over here and then come back to the fuckery at hand. 

Getting all of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs when you’re a plant muncher is easy as long as you’re eating a wide range of whole plant foods and taking a vitamin B12 supplement and possibly a D supplement (More on this during the workshop). 

Meaning, don’t make and eat the same shit over and over. Except of course Tahini Crack. Make Tahini Crack ALL the time.

Otherwise, mix it up. Incorporate kale one day and then reach for the collard greens the next time you reach for greens. Make pinto beans one week and garbanzo beans the next. Stock up on grapefruit, berries, apples, and kiwis,instead of just bananas. Throw buckwheat and farro into the mix instead of brown rice and quinoa over and over again. Top your oats with pumpkins seeds or sunflower seeds sometimes instead of walnuts every single time. 

The more variety, the better. And this makes sense since each plant food is made up of a different chemical structure and has different vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Some veggies are really high in vitamin A (I’m lookin’ at you, carrots), whereas others shine in the K department (hello parsley). Some foods are bursting with potassium (play on, white beans), and others are calcium allstars (holla holla collard greens). 

This is exactly why I don’t cream my pants over “superfoods”. All plant foods are superfoods, and it’s the combination of lots of different nutrients interacting with each other in your beautiful bod that ignites their superpowers.

Plus, $25 for a bag of Goji berries is a fucking rip off and totally unnecessary. 

Here’s the deal. There are a few important plant foods that even the plantiest of eaters tend to forget about. These foods aren’t more miraculous than other plant foods, these are just the ones that most people skim over and don’t eat on a regular basis but should, because of their unique nutritional profiles.  

These foods are: 

• Seaweed
• Flaxseeds 
• Miso 
• Turmeric 
• Pomegranate
• Sprouts 

Today I’m putting on my bikini and swimming with seaweed and I'll cover the rest next week. It’s a two part fuckery, or tuckery if you will. Deal?

Okay - let’s dive in. 

Here’s what you should know about seaweed apart from the fact that sea veggies are delish. 
 

• They contain phytochemicals that land veggies don’t. 
• They have anti-cancer properties, especially against breast cancer. One sheet of Nori a day may cut the odds of breast cancer in half. Studies have shown that the more seaweed we eat, the less estrogen we have in our system, which may lower breast cancer risk. 
• They help lower blood pressure, especially wakame. 
• They are loaded with vitamins, including B, C and A, and minerals, including iodine, a trace mineral that’s important for thyroid health. Dairy eaters get plenty of iodine because iodine is found in milk and milk products. This is because iodine disinfectants are used to disinfect milk tanks and the iodine leeches into the milk. Screw that. Get your iodine from sea veggies and be done with it. It’s important to note that too much iodine can also contribute to thyroid issues. So just like anything, eat seaweed in moderation and don’t binge on it. 
• Seaweed is one of the only plant sources of  DHA and EPA. DHA and EPA are long chain fatty acids that are important for cognitive function and depression (my fatty acid fuckery is coming in a few weeks).  

Here are the most common types of seaweed and what to do with them. 

One - NORI

Nori comes in flat sheets that are used for making hand rolls and sushi rolls. You can also make gluten free wraps or burritos out of them. Keep in mind that unlike tortillas, they are fragile. Also, once a hot ingredient touches the nori, the nori becomes mushy and hard to eat. 

Wrapping cold ingredients in them is the best way to go, or you can eat them as is. I like to make hand rolls out of them because it’s a super fast lunch. I also like to cut strips of nori and add them to salads. 

You can buy toasted, or untoasted nori. Both are beneficial - don’t overthink it. Once you open the bag, store the remaining sheets in an airtight bag, otherwise they will go soft. If they do go soft, either toast them in your toaster, or carefully heat them over your stove for a few seconds and they will crisp back up.

Seaweed snacks (like the ones from Trader Joe’s) are yummy, but they usually have lots of oil and salt, so try to stick to plain nori as much as possible. 

Two - DULSE

You can buy dulse in lots of different forms. You can buy the whole leaf, dried, you can buy dulse flakes, granules or powder. I buy the flakes or the powder. The sea flavor is perfect for seasoning chickpea tuna, and other dishes that need a savory, fishy taste.

If you toast a piece of sprouted bread and add avocado, thinly sliced red onion and sprinkle a little dulse flakes on top you’ll be a happy camper (without actually camping. Thank god). Keep in mind that a little dulse goes a long way - a sprinkle here and there is all you need. 

Three - WAKAME 

Wakame is a type of kelp. Wakame is typically added to miso soup and used for seaweed salad. It comes dried and you have to soak it in cold water for about 10 minutes to rehydrate it. Some varieties of wakame need to be cooked for quite a long time or cooked in the pressure cooker for 5 or 6 minutes. Refer to the instructions on the back of the package before you do anything with it. 

The color of wakame after it’s rehydrated should be a deep green color with a hint of brown. If you ever come across pre-made seaweed salads that looks bright, almost fluorescent green in color, skip it because that bright green color is due to added artificial color. This is usually the case with seaweed salads at Asian grocery stores and sushi restaurants.

The star of today’s recipe is wakame, so get ready to have your mind blown, like only a vegetable from the sea can. 

Four - KOMBU

Kombu is a type of kelp that’s typically used to make broth. Kombu also helps us fart less when we eat beans (a fucking win in my book). 

Kombu contains enzymes that help break down the raffinose sugars in beans. These sugars  are fart producers and once they are broken down, we're able to absorb more nutrients from the beans, and we pass less air out of our ass. This is the best example of a win win that I've encountered all week. 

Add a 4-6 inch strip of dried kombu to your dried beans when cooking and then discard whatever kombu hasn’t evaporated when they’re done cooking. #easyfartfix 

Five  - HIJIKI (or Hiziki)  

Hijiki is not recommended to eat because unlike other sea veggies, it soaks up large amounts of arsenic like a sponge. So although you can buy hijiki at some stores, stick to the seaweed varieties above and skip the hijiki. 

There are lots of other types of sea veggies, but these are the ones I recommend starting with because they are the most common and the easiest to find (except Hijiki - don't eat that one). And remember, don't go overboard with it because you don't want too much iodine in your system. Just eat a little seaweed a few times a week and you'll be good.

Sprinkle a small amount of dulse on your food, eat a nori sheet here and there, make today's recipe, and add kombu to your beans. Easy peasy. 

If you're worried about radiation on account of the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011, I recommend buying seaweed that has been harvested from the North Atlantic region.

This company harvests their seaweed off the coast of Maine and they test the radioactivity levels every year. 

It’s also worth mentioning that the health concerns of eating fish due to their mercury and other heavy metal content do not hold true for seaweed. The reason for this is because of a little something called biomagnification. 

Let’s work this smarty pants word out with a quick example. 

• Mercury is absorbed by bacteria and phytoplankton.
• Let's say some small fish come along and they eat the bacteria and phytoplankton because they're hungry and they need a snack. The mercury then accumulates in their system.
• Then let's say some larger fish are hungry so they eat those smaller fish. The mercury from those smaller fish then accumulates in their system, increasing the level of mercury in the larger fish.
• This keeps happening until eventually humans eat the fish who ate the fish who ate the fish who ate the bacteria and the phytoplankton. And by the time fish is consumed by humans, the concentration of mercury is really high, and it makes its way into the tissue of seafood eaters. 

Seaweed on the other hand isn’t swimming around eating fish, making biomagnification not applicable. Ta da. 

Screw eating lower on the food chain, eat the lowest on the food chain and stick to plants, including plants from the sea. 

You can start by making the recipe below, right after you sign up for next months Whole Food Plant Based workshop. 
(It's the best $1 you will ever spend). 

Cold Tofu Poke (usually made with raw Tuna/Ahi) 

Serves 2-4 people. Make half of this recipe if you're cooking for one. 

1 14 oz. package extra firm tofu, cut into bite sized cubes 
2 tablespoons dried wakame soaked in water for at least 10 minutes (4g // check the instructions on the back of the package. You may have to cook your wakame depending on the brand and where it's harvested from. If you're adding wakame that has been rehydrated, you want to add about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons soy sauce 
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (20g)
2 teaspoons lime juice (or lemon juice if it’s more convenient)
2 garlic cloves, minced 
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced (60g) 
1/2 teaspoon ginger, peeled and grated
2 green onions, chopped - use the whole thing 

• Place the dried wakame in a medium sized bowl and cover it with two cups of water. Set this aside for now. Or cook it, depending on the instructions on the package. 
• Rinse the tofu with water and then extract as much liquid as possible by placing it in a pie pan and stacking some plates on top of it. Let it sit like this for 20 minutes or so while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Alternatively, you can use a tofu press. I use the plate method. 
• In a large mixing bowl, add the soy sauce, sesame seeds, lime juice, garlic, red onion, ginger and red onions. 
• Take the tofu out of the pie pan, cut into bite-sized cubes and add to the mixing bowl. 
• Drain the water from the seaweed, rinse it with water and then press as much water out of it as you can. Add it to the mixing bowl with the tofu. 
• Gently stir until all of the ingredients are combined.
• Eat right away or chill in the fridge. Serve cold.

Wising you a happy weekend. May you make your grocery list with intention and variety. May you also dabble in sea veggies.

xo 
 

support@cleanfooddirtygirl.com 

If you have someone in your life who wants to eat plant based but doesn't know where to start, will you do me a solid and forward them this email? They can sign up for their very own Saturday fuckery right here.

Sources:
Omega 3s in Vegetarian Diets
Which Seaweed is the Most Protective Against Breast Cancer
Bioaccumulation