Kelp Noodles

I played it risky on the last order I put into Upaya Naturals,

I have to say that the Kelp Noodles were quite a hit!

As soon as the children unpacked the box of stuff, they were all interested in what was in the noodle package. It was moist, and squiggly, and somehow appealing to them. It was only mid-afternoon when I was tired of all their questions, and figured that I should present these noodles when their interest was still at a peak.

The children weren't at all interested in a stir-fry, and the salad recipe on the package didn't sound good to them (sounded great to me.....noodles, with shredded carrots, chunks of cucumber with mustard salad dressing), so we agreed on making wraps for an early supper.

You just rinse some of the salty water off of these noodles, and viola! they are ready to be used. So, as we drained them in the collander each of us had a try at these foreign looking wigglies. They are rubbery noodles in the fingers, but basically tasteless (a slight salty taste) in the mouth, but really crispy crunchy when you bite into them. Hmmm! Interesting, that's for sure.

Anders took a little bit and said "I not like it". So, I chopped some finely to sneak into Anders' wrap, while the rest of the children put the long mess of noodles right into their wrap with the rest of the fillings and chowed down. They all liked it. Well, everybody except Gaelyn.

Before I got the left-over noodles packaged up for the fridge, I found Anders helping himself to the noodles right out of the collander. I guess he changed his mind. Three year olds are allowed to do that.

Today we had a 15 bean & veggie soup for lunch, and we put handfuls of kelp noodles into our bowls. It was really yummy. It was something firm amidst the soft textures of the cooked beans and veggies, and ohhhh how I love noodles in my soup. So it was a great replacement for any kind of pasta.

At Tommie's blog Awesome to be Rawsome she has pics and recipes she's used with Kelp Noodles.

Well, I've done some more research about kelp noodles, and have discovered that although labeled a Raw Food, because there are no laws regulating the labelling of Raw Foods, anybody can claim that on their packaging. So, after considering what kelp looks like in the ocean just outside our front door, I got to thinking that it is likely very processed. After a little looking, I found John Kohler's video about kelp noodles. (2nd video down)

So, here's what I think, for my family.
We still miss eating pastas, but I especially don't want Anders eating much wheat, and I personally don't like rice or corn or other kinds of pasta. I think these kelp noodles can still be a replacement for the wheat, and provide iodine that is still needed by our bodies. So, I won't be ordering them often, like I originally thought I might. But I won't live under condemnation for the times that we choose to eat this packaged food.

Here's the manufacturers info page if you want to educate yourself a little more about kelp noodles

Question for You: Do you eat any type of sea vegetable?