Kate Moss’s healthier sister has taken over the health food world. You may have been hearing a lot about Irish Moss lately. During the potato famine in Ireland, coastal Irish people lived off of Irish moss, which they harvested from the waters of the Atlantic. Today, Irish moss is mostly harvested to make the food additive carageenan, but luckily the raw unadulterated version is growning in popularity because this stuff is magical. Irish Moss is noted to help Varicose veins, Duodenal and peptic ulcers, strengthen connective tissues, hair, skin, and nail, help with swollen joints, thyroid conditions, glandular problems, and even influenza! Hey, can Irish Moss pay my bills too?You can use Irish moss in anything that you want to thicken up – pudding (like the recipe below), ice cream, shakes – you can even make Irish moss into a paste and use it as a body lotion (soak for 24 hours, rinse thoroughly, add water and blend, adding water until it is a paste) It is a common ingredient in cosmetics for it’s skin-softening properties, so slather it on your epidermy!
Try this:
Banana-Macadamia Pudding
This recipe is from Sarma Melngailis’s newest cookbook Living Raw Food Tip: If you don’t have time to make coconut milk, and can’t find it anywhere (we prefer fresh over canned), you can skip it and add an extra tablespoon of coconut oil, and subsitute 1 and 1/2 cups of filtered water instead.
Equipment: Food Processor, High Speed Blender
Ingredients:
- 3 cups macadamia nuts, soaked
- 3 tablespoons coconut butter/oil, warmed to liquefy
- 4 grams (1/2 cup ) Irish moss, soaked overnight
- 3/4 cup agave nectar
- 3/4 cup sliced rip banana (from about 1 large banana)
- 11/2 cups coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preparation: Soak the macadamia nuts and Irish moss in water overnight (or even longer for the Irish moss, up to 36 hrs.) in the refrigerator the night before preparation, drain and rinse both thoroughly before use. Place macadamia nuts and coconut butter/oil in a food processor and process until smooth. In a high speed blender, blend the Irish moss, agave, banana, coconut milk, vanilla extract, vanilla bean, and salt with the macadamia mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a container and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to set.