Kelp Noodles AKA Your New Favorite Food

Kelp noodles are quite honestly, the bomb.  Yup, I feel that strongly about them.

Why are they so great?

Allow me to list the ways:

1. Kelp noodles are made purely of a seaweed called kelp.  Seaweed is a hugely beneficial food to add to our daily diets as it’s full of iodine and helps nourish our thyroid (which helps regulate our metabolism!).

2. Kelp helps you focus.  Have a looming writing deadline?  A morning packed with meetings?  Plan some kelp noodles into your day and you’ll feel totally focused.  You can even take kelp tablets to up your results.

3. As my YHY community knows I am not a calorie or carb counter BUT that doesn’t mean I don’t get super jazzed when I find a product that is high on nutritional value for very few cals.  An entire package of kelp noodles contains only 18 calories and zero carbohydrates.  There are 3 grams of carbs listed on the nutrition facts label, but these carbs are made up entirely of fiber so your body processes it differently than a typical carbohydrate.

4. Kelp noodles store easily, don’t require prepping or cooking, have a long shelf life and make a great base for sauces and dressings.  WHOA!  I love me some convenience foods.  Additionally, they are 100% raw, vegan and gluten-free.  Having a well stocked fridge and pantry is the key to cooking easily and healthfully (which really is the key to long term weight loss), and kelp noodles brilliantly hit the mark on all these fronts.

I could keep going on and on about how great they are, but I want you to try them yourself!  Kelp noodles used to be carried at only a few select health food stores but with the recent popularity of the Paleo diet (my friend Jenny over at Healthy Crush gives a great overview of Paleo here), I’ve started seeing them more and more in places like Whole Foods and even Amazon.com.

One major thing before you start diving in – the noodles themselves are totally neutral tasting (no fishy taste, really no taste at all), and have a slightly gelatinous and crunchy consistency meaning they just simply can’t go naked!  But have no fear, with the right sauces (tahini dressing, marinara sauce, pesto, peanut miso and more are all yummy options), they are absolutely delicious.  I’ve included a great recipe for Kelp Noodle Salad with Peanut Miso dressing below.

Give this awesome new food a try and it’ll too be your favorite food in no time.

Kelp Noodle Salad with Peanut Miso Sauce

Ingredients:

1 package Kelp Noodles (Sea Tangle is a popular brand)

½ cup cucumbers, thinly sliced or julienned

½ cup carrots, thinly sliced or julienned

½ cup peppers, any color, thinly sliced or julienned

Sauce:

2 tsps miso paste

1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

3 tbsp nut butter, peanut butter works great

½ cup water to thin

Dash of white pepper

1 tsp of Sriracha or chili flakes, optional if you want it spicy

Directions:

1. Rinse the noodles according to package directions.
2. In a large bowl mix all the dressing ingredients with a whisk until blended well.
3. Add noodles and chopped veggies to dressing and toss well for a couple of minutes to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Enjoy!

This article was originally written for and published by the on-line Magazine Bella Life.