Seaweed products

Curious about seaweed but not ready to jump into the waves? Here are a few ways to get your feet wet.

Roasted seaweed. A low-fat, low-calorie snack food, sometimes with added flavoring, that some find yummy and others, not so much. Comes in packets that go easily into school or work lunch boxes.

Seaweed bath: A seaweed-based formulation to be added to the water in your tub. Said to rejuvenate your skin and your spirits.

Dried seaweed pieces: A garnish for salads or warm vegetables or, alternatively, a substitute for table salt. (Seaweed does have relatively high sodium content, but that’s only a problem, Pappo says, “if you’re going to be eating bowls and bowls of it.” In any case, seaweed has much less sodium than table salt.)

Seaweed for pets: Seaweed granules meant to rectify nutrient and mineral deficiencies due to inadequacies in pet food formulation and/or inadequacies in your pet’s natural foraging skills.

—Karen Ravn