Hi everyone,

I've sure missed "visiting" with y'all on this forum lately!

I've just spent an hour on Searchopolis trying to find things to do with powdered kelp to not much avail.[Meanwhile,my son and daughter were in the den with me playing calmly until CRASH!My son managed to knock my huge telescope over onto him-poor little guy.He's ok thankfully,and the telescope is repairable.Anyways...]So,I thought "Why don't I just ask the folks on forum?!"

Does anyone have any recipes calling for powdered kelp?[I ordered a pound of it from my natural foods co-op.]

Don't some people make "jello" out of it?[It's such smelly stuff I can't imagine doing so,but...]

Thanks so much everyone,

God Bless and Keep you,~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), September 19, 2000

Answers

Tracy, get some empty capsule and make them up and take them daily. Kelp is excellent for your thyroid. You can also add it to soup and casseroles. I suppose you could make a tea out of it. Yuck. Fishy smelling tea, no thanks.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), September 19, 2000.

I have a friend who mixes it in with the salt in her salt shaker, not very much, every time she puts salt on something she is getting the benefit of the kelp. To me, it smells like the sea- and I hate fish for the most part, so I take my kelp in capsules. Another friend puts it on buttered popcorn, as you would brewer's yeast. I feed the coarsely ground kelp to my goats, who love it, and my grown stepdaughter tried some of the oat's kelp one day. Crunch crunch crunch! She liked it though, just straight like that! So I guess it is all a matter of taste! I think the seaweed that is used to make jellos. etc, is carageenan, not kelp.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), September 19, 2000.

Tracy Jo, glad to hear the son and the telescope will be ok! I've got a little telescope that I lug out and set up on the dumpster. Really enjoy it.

As for the kelp, all I could think of was using it as a seasoning, and that people with pet birds add it to plaster blocks. So I went upstairs and ratted through some stuff. Nothing. I checked vegetarian, vegan, zen, Chinese, herbals, etc. I've seen it in recipes, but they must just consider it a seasoning like salt and pepper, anyway kelp isn't in the indexes of any of the books that have indexes.

From Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts and Seeds for Healthful Living by Joseph M. Kadans, PhD. "Kelp...is the richest source of organic iodine. It helps correct mineral deficiencies and is a good protective food, valuable in overcoming poor digestion, preventing and overcoming goiter, and rebuilding and maintaining the proper function of all the glands....has been reported to be an aid in brain development; it offsets deficiencies of an inferior diet; it is beneficial for those suffering from impotency, anemia and emaciation."

The author goes on to recommend that it be used as a salt substitue on the table.

As for the jelly-isn't that carageen (Irish moss)? Don't remember ever seeing a jelly recipe for kelp. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), September 19, 2000.

Just a note. My daughter tried using kelp as a spice in foods. It tasted like dirt. So much for that experiment!! lol we tossed it. lynne

-- lynne (leaves8@hotmail.com), September 19, 2000.

I know Game Cock Fighters give it to their birds it is suppose to help in clotting of blood.

-- Mark (deadgoatman@webtv.net), September 19, 2000.

Hi Tracy Jo, we sell a good amount af powderwd kelp at the store where I work. Most folks buy it to add to "healthy powder" for dogs, along with lecithin, brewers yeast, bonemeal and vit. E, I think. Agar agar is a seaweed that can be used to make a gelled dessert, for those of us who don't eat animal products. It's very good.

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), September 19, 2000.

We use kelp in the garden as a deer and rabbit repellant as well as for plant food. Very rich in micronutrients. Can also be used as feed supplement for chickens and other critters.

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), September 20, 2000.

I feed it pretty well free choice to my cows starting about two weeks before I turn the bulls in with them for breeding. I get nearly a 100% conception rate and about 90% of my calves within 45 days. I buy it by the pallet. I then resell some, mostly to Menonites who feed it to their dairy cows. Resale cost is $37.50 for a 55-pound bag.

Daily Livestock rates are: Dairy & Beef Cattle - 2-4 oz, Heifers & Calves - 1-2 ozs, Horses, Sheep & Goats - 1/2 oz, Poultry 1-2% of feed, Dogs - 1/2 - 1 teaspoon and Cats - 1/4 teaspoon. It is not recommended for rabbits. Have no idea why not.

Source is Thorvin Kelp, USA (800-464-0417). They are in Salem, VA.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 20, 2000.

This is from Thorvin's brochure:

A renewable resource harvested from Iceland's fjords and dried using geothermal steam dryers.

Healthy animals require a balanced diet, including many vitamins and minerals not found in today's forages or feeds. (E.g., in some places both the soil and feeds are deficient in Selenium.)

Benefits reported by customers:

More efficient feed conversion: better digestion, more weight gain on less feed, young animals grow faster, increased milk and butterfat.

Better health: less disease = lower vet bills, higher resistance to infections, fewer parasites, lower morality. Reduces pinkeye, mastitis and milk fever in cows; coccidiosis in poultry; white muscle disease in lambs and cracked hooves in horses.

Improves fertility: higher conception rates, more regular breeding cycles, easier birthing and larger litters.

Superior stock: better quality meat, milk, eggs and wool and better skin tone and brighter eyes.

It can be applied to crops. Broadcast at 300-400 pounds per acre. In the row at 200-400 pounds per acre. Fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, flowers, roses, shrubs and turf - 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Houseplants - 1 tsp per 6" pot. Compost - 10 pounds per ton. (In another post I recommended sprinking limestone between layers in a compost pile. This would seem a good opportunity add some kelp powder also.)

Three formulations are available: granular (10/70 mesh) (which is what I use for my cows), fine (40/70 mesh) and powder (70 mesh). I am sure you can get it from Thorvin, even with shipping, for way less than at a health food outlet.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 20, 2000.

I had sea-weed jello in a little village in Viet Nam. It tested good, but everytime I ate simething that didn't get much cooking,I ended up spending a lot of time in the bathroom!

-- Darrell Schlueter (schlut@adams.net), September 20, 2000.

I take kelp in capsules. You can put it in empty capsules if you do not like the taste. I use Duluse instead of salt in my cooking.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), September 21, 2000.

Kelp is great for so much!! I put it in a lot of dishes, but then, I like to eat sushi too. To add micronurient boost if you don't like the taste, hide it in chili or stew. Great in soups too. Sprinkle it on your pet's food to show them you love them and improve their nutrition too. My dogs, birds, and horses blossom on it and are in radiant health. My garden produced enormous crops on it (and horse manure -- from the horses on kelp!), strong plants, healthy soil, fat worms!! Wish it weren't so expensive to get.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), September 23, 2000.

Hi everyone!

Wow!!Thanks so much for all the suggestions and info.We've already tried it in veggy soup(my husband doesn't know this...).I can't quite handle the thought of it on popcorn though!I think I'll share some with my chickens and my kitties.

Where does one get empty capsules?I'd like to try this idea too.

We put some on our garden this year(ordered from Ohio Earth Food),and our garden did really well for the most part!Do you put kelp on yearly?

I'll have to get some agar-agar for the "jello",I guess!

Thanks so much everyone,

God bless,~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), September 23, 2000.

I get my empty capsules from the health food store. I have also gotten them from the pharmacy but had to order the right size. I usually use OO. They are large but easy to swallow. Filling them is a pain but it get easier as you go along. I usually use a spoon over a bowl, pushing the contents down with the spoon end to get more in.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), September 23, 2000.