Seaweed Salad with Cashew Garlic Sauce Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes because it’s delicious, it’s super-packed with nutrition, and it’s relatively quick to make. It’s sort of a spin on a macro bowl, though I don’t always put in a grain or a bean, which are usually signature macro bowl features.

I developed this recipe around the seaweed I use in it, called wakame. I am an absolute seaweed junkie and love every kind of seaweed, but wakame is a favorite. All the seaweeds are super high in nutrition, but wakame is one of the highest in calcium. It’s also high in magnesium (a common deficiency in people), iron, vitamins K, A, C, and E, and lignans. It is also very high in iodine.

It also has sauerkraut, my favorite way to get in probiotics and build up the friendly flora in my digestive system. You get a good dose of greens in by making this recipe, and you can top it all off by smothering it in this delicious cashew garlic sauce!

Without further adieu, here are the ingredients:

Serves 2

Ingredients for salads:

8+ oz of greens (I use mixed spring greens, but romaine or spinach would work well too)

2  TBS dried wakame (it usually comes dried at a health food store)

1/3 cup sauerkraut (I usually use a lot more for me personally because I adore it)

2 green onions, aka scallions, chopped very small

Ingredients for cashew sauce:

1 + 3/4 cups cashews

3 TBS nutritional yeast

1 TBS chickpea miso (another miso would work)

1 TBS sesame seeds

juice from 1/2 lemon

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp olive oil

pinch salt (there is salt in the miso)

1 + 1/2 cup water + more as needed for desired consistency

Directions:

1. Soak the dried wakame in 2 cups of warm or hot water. Wakame expands in a big way! After it has soaked for 5-10 minutes or until it is expanded and totally soft and slippery, drain the water. Then, rinse thoroughly at least twice more.

2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a high-power blender or food processor and process until smooth.

3. Assemble salad ingredients in a bowl and top with dressing. Eat with gusto!

Other suggested additions: diced red bell pepper, cucumber, fresh sprouts, chopped celery. If you wanted to make it a proper macro bowl, you could add in some beans and a grain like quinoa or brown rice.

Enjoy! –Courtney