In all honesty, I am a huge fan of fresh fruits and vegetables, and would probably be satisfied just crunching on raw broccoli for 90% of my meals.  But when I went RAW I was warned about ‘raw-burnout’, a sort of boredom that sets in from eating too many similar foods.  I suspect this affliction is most prevalent in people coming from SAD-style eating (that’s ‘standard American diet’) who are used to rich and artificial flavors polluting their food.  Thus far I have been totally stoked on my fresh flora . . . but of course, I’m freaky like that.  I just dig on real foods. 

Still, I’m never one to pass up an opportunity for gastronomical exploration.  I prepared for this month with bit of specialty shopping, and one of the items I picked up happened to be Kelp Noodles.  Little did I know, this new product is all the latest rage in the RAW community! 

Kelp Noodles are just what the name implies – fine, long noodles made of sea vegetables.  They are translucent and have virtually no flavor of their own, which makes them ideal for dressing up as diversely as your imagination allows.  The package retails for around $5 and holds enough noodles to feed four people.  I was able to get multiple meals out of a single package, which allowed me to play around a bit.  I quickly came up with these two awesome, easy recipes: 

Walnut Pesto

2 cups basil

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup raw olive oil

3 cloves garlic

squeeze of lemon juice

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and thoroughly blend.   Toss noodles to coat, adding cherry tomatoes or the veggies of your choice.

Spicy ‘Peanut’ Sauce

1 tbsp cashew butter

1 tbsp almond butter

2 tsp miso paste

1 tsp nama shoyu

1 tsp raw agave

2 tsp rice vinegar

1/2 jalapeno, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed

water to desired dilution

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to blend.   Toss noodles to coat, adding cherry tomatoes cilantro, and green onions.

Overall, I was so-so about the noodles, due to their strange texture.  It’s difficult to describe, but they’re almost crunchy in that agar-y, kelp-y sort of way.  Very reminiscent of lychee candy, which is great as a treat but not so good in a savory, noodley dish.  However, a little poke around the internet revealed that there is a way to get diminish the crispiness.  By presoaking the noodles in an acid, such as lemon water or vinegar water, you can get them to plump up and relax.  These noodles passed the Husband Test, so I will definitely be getting them again and attempting the soaking technique.  I have all sorts of recipe ideas . . .

Have you tried Kelp Noodles?  What do you think?

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Tags: gluten-free, products, RAW

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