Summer is in full swing—full of road trips, sitting poolside, exercising outside in cute new yoga legging shorts and of course, the various bbq, fresh fruits and vegetables. But, before you take another bite out of your corn on the cob, there’s another food that should be a part of your summer diet.

Wakame.

Yes, this edible seaweed used in Korean, Chinese and Japanese cuisines not only has great health benefits, but is easy to cook and can be mixed into summer salads with its combination of a salty, briny and slightly sweet taste. Check out the health benefits of wakame and a simple wakame salad recipe to use this season.

Benefits of Wakame

What vitamins and minerals make up wakame? Wakame provides great sources of iron, calcium, iodine, magnesium, folate, lignans and vitamin A,C,D,E,K and B2. From that, these vitamins and minerals help you keep off extra weight by burning fat, prevent cancer, increase heart health and circulation, increase energy throughout the day, increase your immune system, and if you’re expecting, can increase and protect infant health.

In addition, Wakame has a low calorie count, around 5 calories per serving.

Wakame and Cucumber Salad

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ounces Wakame
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon yellow miso paste
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• salt, for seasoning
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• 1 thinly sliced large seedless cucumber
• 2 thinly sliced scallions

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Once boiling, add 2 oz of wakame and remove from heat. Let the saucepan sit for 20 minutes, uncovered, until soft.

Drain the water and rinse the wakame under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove any tough ribs and thinly slice the wakame.

In a medium bowl, whisk rice vinegar, lime juice, miso paste, ginger and honey. Next, whisk in the vegetable oil, toasted sesame oil and season with salt. Take the dry and thinly sliced wakame and add to the bowl, along with the thinly sliced cucumbers and scallions. Toss the salad and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Because of the dressing, it’s best to eat/serve this salad right away.

(Recipe via Food & Wine)