Oil-Free Seaweed Salad

I’ve been making a big push to eat seasonally for years, and I’m especially taking it seriously since I’m in school for Ayurvedic Medicine. If you know anything about Ayurveda, winter is a vata season, and I’m a vata girl living in the coldest place imaginable. Eating raw foods is one of the worst ways to aggravate vata, and if you live in a cold climate, tend to be a person who identifies as being cold all of the time, or have been getting sick quite a bit, put down that salad! There’s a reason lettuces do not grow well in cold climates and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes manage to thrive. When I used to live in Texas’ very mild winters, I used to treat myself to sushi and salads assuming that all health foods were built equally, and often found myself getting stomach aches after. My very wise Chinese Medicine Doctor friend introduced me to the concept of eating seasonally then, and that has forever helped to change my digestion. If you find yourself absolutely craving a salad this time of the year, a great alternative is a seaweed salad. Seaweed is seen as salty, bitter, and slippery in Ayurveda, and these are all good for helping to balance cold imbalances. Plus seaweed is an awesome source of iodine, is good for your thyroid, and it’s a good source of our beloved Vitamin D! This is how we made it:

Oil-Free Seaweed Salad

Ingredients:

2 oz dried wakame

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 scallion, finely sliced

3 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

3 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp grated ginger

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 tsp sesame or hemp seeds

Directions:

In a medium bowl, add the wakame and enough water so the wakame is completely submerged. Let it sit, relax, and rehydrate for 6 minutes.

In a small bowl, add the Bragg’s, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Whisk it all together and set aside.

Drain any excess water from the wakame, add the dressing and carrots, stir it up, and top it with sesame or hemp seeds!

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