Hi all,
Interested to know what you thing of sea vegetables and how often you incorporate them in to your diets. I am relatively new to raw and right now my diet consists primarily of seaweed! I am trying to eat more leafy greens as you have suggested but I wonder how much seaweed everyone eats.
Also, how long do people soak chickpeas before sprouting them for raw hummus?
Thanks so much,

Eh, when you say your diet consists primarily of seaweed, exactly how much are we talkin'? I eat maybe a dusting of dulse or kelp flakes every few weeks, which is very little.

The only seaweed I get regularly is the tiny amounts in my seaweed sea salt. I would like to eat seaweed more but it's pretty expensive and I found it started to ruin my salads with its gumminess!

Yeah, kelp can get gummy!

In terms of amount, we're talking about 5 sheets of nori and a healthy portion of hijiki or wakame every day. Too much?!

There are some problems with seaweed. I think its OK for occasional usage, but everyday might be an issue.

The problem is that the oceans are quite polluted. And seaweed are filters for the ocean, absorbing the various heavy metals and toxins that can be found in ocean water. Also, there is the issue of all the salt that is normally found in seaweed. Its best if you can rinse off the salt from the seaweed you eat, but if you are eating nori sheets, you really can't rinse them off. For this reason, eating whole dulse (or any whole seaweed) is a better option.

I eat several sea vegetables daily. I use dulse regularly in my smoothie and dehydrated breads. I have sea spaghetti about once or twice a month using Sirova recipies. I like arame from whole foods for my salads. And I have nori rolls and kelp noods once or twice a month.

I enjoy fresh, whole dulse almost every day. Occasionally some nori or wakame, although usually I eat these more in the colder months with some warm miso soup. Since I never add any type of salt to my food, the saltiness in dulse and miso helps to balance things out, especially since I practice Bikram Yoga in room heated to 105 degrees.... you sweat lots!

I have spent a few years by the see (travel rep) and locals told me this: "You can eat everything from the sea". Now I live in Indiana, hardly any sea here , but I would experiment if I lived at the coast somewhere. Pborst, you must be somewhere by the sea?

What do you guys eat every day? I keep a strange schedule... I actually am co-owner of a restaurant in Boston (go figure!) and end up eating at weird hours. For me, sprouts, seaweed, avocados and fruit have been mostly "it" for the last month.
Still waiting for the glow...

I eat the same things you eat tdquigley, except that I also eat a variety of raw nuts and seeds (in moderation).

Welcome to raw!

Green smoothies are the basis of my diet (based on carrots and all fresh greens I can get locally, with bananas for taste and avocados). I also eat all kinds of fruit and walnuts, hazelnuts and sesame seed. That's it. I am experimenting a little every day with different greens, but no seaweed yet.

The smell of rotting seaweed on beaches has put me off even thinking about trying seaweed. Yep, to each his or her own!


My favorite raw vegan

I comb the lonely beaches off the Massachusetts coast, avoiding the occasional rotting or dried heaps of it and going for any variety that looks interesting and fresh, up to a lb/day but averaging a couple oz. It sits and combines well no matter the variety, even more so than land veggies. Hijiki is the only species I'm aware of with health advisories on it in some countries, having higher levels of organic and inorganic arsenic, part of the nature of that seaweed, Whole Foods having an article on it but not too concerned because a very small amount of *organic* arsenic is healthy and even useful in humans.

Chickpeas are good soaked overnight and sprouted a day or two, I'm enjoying them with carrots, coconut, chives and a dash of sea salt.

Don't know if people might ever be concerned; but if so, some may consider the possible importance of having a reliable source of iodine in a raw food diet.

Seaweed supplies iodine, and my understanding is that no other raw food vegan food is a reliable source. Sufficient iodine is considered to be very important for numerous healthy body functions, including thyroid function.

Of course, if this isn't important to the reader, ignore please (don't mean to be pushy, just to inform [if appropriate and welcome]).

Good to know Suncloud. Also, how many is too many nuts, in your opinion? Several handfuls a day is okay?

tdquigley, I kind of go by what feels good to me. I think if a person is eating all raw foods and is also physically active, then going by how things feel can work out pretty well.

In my own experience, the amount of nuts/seeds that feel good to eat each day really seems to depend on the level of physical activity for that day, and overall for several days even.

For example, if I'm regularly running 4 miles a few times a week, working out with weights, plus doing yoga, I can very comfortably eat 3 or 4 handfuls of nuts in a given day (or the equivalent of that amount of seeds, avocado or coconut). In fact, I feel much more comfortable if I do eat a fair amount of nuts/seeds than if I don't.

But if I haven't been physically active for several days, then even 1 handful of nuts/seeds doesn't feel comfortable (though I still might eat that much).

I like to eat, and I don't like feeling uncomfortable (or gaining weight), so that's a great incentive to stay active as much as I can.

I would really like to add sea veggies but my budget cannot be stretched by buying expensive bottles or any other form. I am not sure if there is any way to buy them in bulk, grow them, collect them etc.

I will search...but I think the best way is to move closer to the sea.

Hummus: I find chickpeas spoil really easily when you sprout them and then the hummus is only so-so. Find a recipe for zuchinni-based hummus - MUCH more like the original version.

I live near Chinatown so I'm spoiled for choice on seaweeds (cheap and lots of selection). I like to throw wakame or lavera in onion-y, garlic-y "soups." Better than piling on the salt I suppose.

Awesome to know! My chickpeas are soaking as we speak but I will give the zucchini recipe a try too. I bet it's easier on the digestion as well.
Speaking of which, what does everyone here think of hydro colon therapy, ie colonics?
I've heard great things from a colleague of mire but I'm a little afraid...!

ive never had a colonic done but have numerous friends who have braved it and had them, most of them say they are brilliant and make you feel really refreshed.

a couple with digestive problems have said they werent so good though.

Find out about the Japense cultural diet as they eat plenty of fresh sea life which includes seaweeds and sea veggies, octopus, squid, fish, etc. I think they on avg. eat about 3 lbs. per day of sea life and much of it fresh or raw, or fermented. Too much salt though, but you can cut back on that..but I think there is a reason why they add the salt as it may balance their diet in some ways. As with so much, it takes research and experienmenting.

Japense people are very healthy when they stick with their normal diet, only when they incorporate western habits do they become ill with things they normally don't have.

Love,
Prism