Sea moss. How I love you! I had no idea that you have been missing all my life. Anitanja, our fearless culinary mistress during my sweet Nourish Your Soul retreat found numerous ways to incorporate this Caribbean staple into our daily diets. Anitanja, with her sweet modest nature, was rather nonchalant about her endeavors in the kitchen but we were forever amazed at how she used this mild tasting sea vegetable to thicken our smoothies into lush dessert-like treats, add a creamyness to our morning cocoa tea and even turned some fruit juice and a little sea moss into the most amazing all natural jello dessert.
As I am a super nutrition nerd, I had to look a little more into this amazing sea vegetable that we have been finding washed up on the beach this last week.
Sea Moss (also known as Irish Moss), as it turns out is nature’s only plant based source of thyroid hormones, or at least that’s what sources have revealed. You listening ladies? DI-Iodothyronine (DIT), what T3 breaks down into is found in abundance in brown sea moss and for this reason it has been used as a treatment for thyroid disorders. That sure beats the pharma version if you ask me. Thyroxin (T4) and Tri-iodothyronine (T3) have been found as the main organically bound iodine compounds in several brown seaweeds (sea moss). Given my little thyroid challenges, it looks like I won’t just be coming home with smuggled branches off the aloe plant, handfuls of cacao beans, some fresh vanilla pods, bundles of lemon grass, but bags of sea moss are being added to that. I think I’ll just leave all my clothes here… I’ll be back anyway.
Sea Moss is also jam packed full of Potassium. The cells of the body cannot function without potassium though strangely, our bodies do not have a mechanism to conserve potassium. Adding high-potassium foods like Sea Moss to the diet can significantly improve behavior and mental functioning (hello ADD children!). High potassium foods are also very helpful for fibromyalgia, moodiness, agitation, depression and anxiety disorders. This food is like a warm cup of tea and good book by the fire for the nervous system. Hmmm…. maybe that is why I have slowed down to the Caribbean pace!
Then of course there is the Iodine, more concentrated in sea moss than any other food and this is serious fuel for the thyroid. Selenium is also present in abundance and is a necessary factor in thyroid hormone production.
If all that wasn’t enough- Sea Moss contains Algin. This phytonutrient has magical therapeutic value as a heavy metal detoxifying agent- meaning it helps pull heavy metals out of the tissues of our bods. Additionally this food is a healing agent to all mucous membranes (great for external skin health and internal digestive tract health). I could go on forever on this goody, but for now I will leave you with the simple ways to prepare it.
You’ll have to venture to the local Caribbean markets to find this one, though through my research, seems it is abundantly available by online ordering.
Preparing Sea Moss
If dried: soak it for a few hours in water.
If fresh: clean the fresh moss of all other bits of seaweed, and wash thoroughly to remove sand and grit.
For both: simmer the moss in the water until tender.
I have no recipes for you on this, but just you wait. Experiments are brewing! I am thinking adding to oatmeal, adding to my raw hot chocolate, adding to salads, and looking into brewing up my own jello!
For now… sea moss creation eye candy for you! Sea Moss layered jello!
Beet, Pineapple, Mango, Sea Moss Smoothie!
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Where does one find sea moss?
So, is Sea Moss a natural source of Agar Agar or Carageenan? This might be just the ticket for my readers who love all natural protein shakes/smoothies (including myself)!
So being landlocked, I’ll have to scout out an internet source of sea moss, unless Neptune delivers.
This one leans to towards the cargeenan side of things.
Whooa! Cool!
I think sea moss is in my green powder that I put in my breakfast smoothie…great to know it does all that good stuff!
And yeah, I’d also like to know if you’ve come across it in TO?
I was just declaring today that I think I need more sea vegetables in my diet…and then I read your article! While I am currently living on an island, I don’t think I would trust anything that washes up on these shores. I will start searching the internet and look forward to future recipes that you come up with! Your photos from your latest retreat are fabulous!
wow I can’t imagine what it would be like to put sea moss into my food on purpose. I never would have guessed. Can’t wait to see the recipes that pop out of your head.
I fell in love with sea moss too!! And my sea moss made it home from St. Lucia with no problems
I will surely be stocking up on this delicious good-for-your-thyroid food!! Still amazed at how Tanja and her family created all those wonderful dishes without recipes.
Yeah but have you turned it into jello yet?
Wow Meghan….this is so exciting! I’ve struggled with hyothyroid for years and have been looking for a more natural way to help it function better. I can’t wait to try any recipes you come up with!!! The pictures of the jello & smoothie look sooo yummy! Thanks!
There was a very good article on Irish Moss in Cdn Geographic a couple of months back.
Afraid my subscription on that one ran out
How amazing — I just did my first Irish Moss experiment this evening! Cafe Gratitude uses it a lot in their desserts. Though they do use a lot of agave as well so I’m still experimenting
Hoorah for natural ways to help our thyroids!
Hope you’re enjoying — I’ll be there next year, fingers crossed.
A rainy, happy hug from Londontown.
Gabriela
http://www.thepickyfoodie.com
That’s really interesting, I wonder if it’s something you can buy in the store? I know that a raw food place we have here uses some kind of seaweed for her deserts, when she opens in the spring I will have to ask her!
I heard that irish moss is sometimes used in raw dessert recipes like raw “cheesecakes” and such, and now I know why… it would make for a fabulous texture! I knew sea vegetables were good for you, but I didn’t know why exactly. I might just start including this into my diet, it certainly couldn’t hurt!
Wow! I love hearing about super foods like this! I knew kelp and seaweed were supposed to be great health wise but didn’t know about sea moss!
Have you seen this source for the moss? https://www.seaveg.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=25
I never thought I’d say this: That jello looks really good. You may have just opened me up to something. I’m falling in love a little, and I’ve never seen it up close or tasted it. I want to be there when you open your suitcase.
[...] milk and sea moss smoothies we both thought how amazing it is that we were so excited about a sea moss smoothie (recipe coming soon!). We have each made these transitions over the course of a few years, and it [...]
Hi Meaghan – I couldn’t see a reply to the question about whether you can buy Irish Moss in Toronto? I have been trying to find it in order to do a raw desert recipe and no one I have asked has any idea what I am talking about. I know you can order it online from the U.S. but I would love to be able to buy it here in Toronto.
Thanks heaps!
Meghan, can you please point me to the online source your recommend for purchasing sea moss? I need some of this to heal heal heal!! Thanks
Hey Emily! You are on the up and up! You might be able to find in health food stores or ethnic grocers- also called Irish Moss. I was just sent an email from a company in St. Lucia who distribute through texas. http://betafe.farming.officelive.com/default.aspx If you send a message- let them know I sent you. I am awaiting my delivery from them too!
[...] I bring home seaweed. When I was in Ireland last May, I brought back a local harvest of dillisk (similar to what we know of as dulse). From St. Lucia, I smuggled back a garbage bag full of sea moss. [...]
[...] been doing on its wondrous powers. If you have never heard of sea moss or irish moss before, read this and then come back [...]
[...] been doing on its wondrous powers. If you have never heard of sea moss or irish moss before, read this and then come back [...]
Have just ordered some sea moss for my first sea mossing adventures. Thanks for this.
we’ll have many more recipes coming soon with sea moss. My assistant Jen is totally obsessed…as am I sit here sipping a sea moss creamy chocolate mug of love
[...] it to soup, what you get is a beautiful smooth and silky texture. And it is delicious. Okra, aloe, irish moss, chia, soaked flax seeds all have this similar property. We call it ‘mucilagenous’ and [...]
Irish Moss is amazing for sure! I have been eating it for 4 yrs now as I am a high raw food eater! I have a website of recipes, which are for raw foods. But I have a recipe on making Irish Moss gel. I hope you don’t mind me throwing in a link to it. This is a magical ingredient as to what it can do to a recipe!
http://nouveauraw.com/?p=1040
amie sue
[...] post my own version of this punch in the recipe section soon! For now, you should head over to Meghan Telpner’s blog: Making Love in the Kitchen to learn about some of the fabulous health benefits of sea moss and a few great [...]
Please publish a “jello” recipe using sea moss! my kids love jello but i can’t stand to give it to them since it is truly one of the most nefarious cocktails of sugar and chemicals.
sea moss, where have you been all my life!? http://t.co/NQ9e1UDf
[...] more on info on the powerhouse that is Irish Moss check out this post. And for [...]