Crazy Kelp Berries

I talked about the general malaise a little while ago, and since then have talked to more and more people all across the country who know exactly what I'm talking about.  At this time of year we are quite desperate to overcome this issue.  My sister and I each have our own businesses that bloom in the last few months of the year.  Between The Essential Herbal deadlines, Lancaster County Soapworks, regular everyday business, and some happy surprise projects, we're pushing it.  The tree farm gets busy, and we have to work around that schedule to get everything done - so it gets a little stressful in the best of times.

In a conversation last week, someone mentioned iodine for thyroid support, and it was as if I was in a V-8 commercial being bonked on the head.  Being of a certain age when women's thyroids can get wonky, and having mostly given up table salt through attrition, I decided the iodine rich powdered kelp that I got on a whim from Mountain Rose a couple months ago would be a great idea.  That evening, I mixed a teaspoon of kelp with a glass of water.  The taste was okay to me, but it took about an hour to clear the powdered kelp from my throat.  However, the next day it was clear to me that there was a slight shift.  I'd been taking B and D vitamins, and the kelp gave me the little shove over the hill.

This is where it gets a little crazy...
The drink was rough (smoothies would be great, but I do nothing regularly).  How to take a reasonable quantity daily without making everything taste vaguely like seafood?  Food as medicine is my favorite method, but one must be realistic and honest about it.  I knew I wouldn't do that.  So I decided to try making a thick paste with honey, and rolling it into balls. 

I used a couple of tablespoons of honey with 1/2 cup of kelp.  That wasn't quite dense enough, so I added perhaps a tablespoon each of dulse and bladderwrack that were purchased along with the kelp.  The balls are about the size of blueberries, and rolled in 10X sugar so they don't stick together, and rest on a bed of 10X and honey/ginger crystals. 

They aren't delicious, but they're not terrible either.  They're small enough to swallow whole, but I usually give them a chew or two before washing them down with water.  It solved a problem.  Capsules would work too - but that would be too easy - lol.

Next time, I'll probably try it with tahini and then roll them in sesame seeds.  Although the flavor of the seaweeds isn't as strange with "sweet" as one would think, it just might be good with sesame.  Coconut oil might be a good solution too, and kept in the fridge they will stay very firm.