While browsing the supermarket on Friday (payday) I came across crispy seaweed. Nice, I thought, I've never tried that. So I bought a pack. I thought it would have a fresh and salty taste to use as a topping on a meal. I did not even bother to look at the nutrition data, seaweed's a vegetable, how could that hurt?

So I made my big chicken stir-fry last night and decided to add the seaweed. It said just to bake it for 2 minutes in the oven, so I did. Actually, it probably had 3, and it was a bit too crispy.

The first alarm bells went off as I took it out of the oven: there was a huge amount of oil in the dish. Hm. I thought.

I chucked it on top of the stirfry and, while it had an interesting texture, I cannot say it tasted of anything at all. Probably because I'd overdone it. As I ate, I looked it up online and discovered I really had got 200 calories worth of fried grass on my plate. 200!!!!!

It was stirred into the food by then, so I ate it, I had plenty of calories left, if I hadn't had, I would have binned the meal. As it was I binned the remainder of the packet. And I didn't eat the giant fruit salad dessert I'd planned, because there weren't enough calories left in the day.

Moral: don't assume! If it's a new to you food, CHECK THE LABEL!

ps, just ate the fruit salad for breakfast.

Lesson learned...eh? I've been there one too many times myself. Well I'm so glad I read this..now I know I will never purchase any seaweed from my grocery store.

Oh that's a real bummer...but like Delphi said, lesson learned. Thanks for teaching us a valuable one. I am just starting to really read labels, although most of it is Greek to me. Still not sure how much of ANYTHING is a good amount. And at the end of the day how much of each nutrient I should have had. This whole new way of life for me is daunting as I find there is SO MUCH information to learn. If anyone has any suggestions on making it easier for me, I would GREATLY appreciate it!!!

oh yes, definitley lesson learned!

Jacque - if you use an online programme like sparkpeople.com, it tells you how much of each you should be having. It is really easy to be accountable with it.

If you do remember to check the label, don't forget to double-check the serving size. I've been burned a few times that way too!

@ yoyoma ~ Me too! My problem is I'm in such a hurry at times that I simply "misread" the labels and have consumed half my daily calories in one sitting. Now I take the time to actually READ the labels, as opposed to simply glancing at them.

Seaweed is great for you, but not sure if it is good when it is fried...eeks. Was it a brand? Fried in oil?

I usually get the nori sheets and use them as wraps. 1 sheet is like 13 calories or something. I do the untoasted, raw/dried. You can also just get seaweed and that is like 5 or 8 calories, per like 2 tablespoons, something like that.

Wow! Talk about ruining a great food. I've also learned to watch the labels because of the portion size. Just because something looks like one portion doesn't mean that it is.

I guess it was pre-fried in oil but I didn't pick that up. I thought it was just shredded seaweed that I could drop into half a tsp oil or even dry fry.

I'll try the nori sheets next!

Ew...yeah.

Nori sheets are really dry and very thin. You can get seaweed that isn't in a sheet though. That might work better for your stir fry needs.

Health food store should have some or be able to order some for you if you can't find any.

• Thanks...I will check it out

• I have never tried this. Where do you find it? I always think of the stuff that gets around my legs when I am in the ocean...it freaks me out