For Moms, Moms-to-be, & Toddlers+
It’s amazing to me to see how young some children are when going out to eat. I’m not talking about parents bringing their infants to dinner. What I’m referring to are the toddlers who are actually eating the food. And I don’t mean your typical chicken finger meals.
Specifically, I mean the 1-2 year olds who are sitting up at the sushi bar, enjoying rolls and wraps with the rest of us. How lucky they are*! I wasn’t introduced to sushi until I was at least 15, and even then it was the wannabe California Roll that did it for me.
Yet with all the information out there about how healthy the Japanese are with their sushi-infused diets, it’s no wonder that the love has spread over to this side of the world. And it’s not just the fish that is so good for us, but the seaweed that is really the superfood in disguise.
However, taking our young children out to sushi all the time can definitely get expensive, and thus, I don’t recommend it. But who’s to say that you can’t bring the sushi experience home and give your children the taste of sushi without forking over all the dough?!
The Product: Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks
Thanks to Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks, you and your children can now experience the taste of sushi as often as you want. Available in convenient On-the-Go packs, these Roasted Sesame Seaweed strips can be eaten straight out of the bag, or added to salads, stirfrys, etc. to give your meal an “Asian-flair”.
You can even make mini sushi rolls by pressing rice on one side and wrapping them around your favorite veggies. Or make a “sushi bowl” by throwing together brown rice, carrots, cucumber, and avocado, adding the Seaweed strips on top, and then sprinkling the entire thing with sesame seeds. Add a touch of soy sauce (and some crab or other fish if desired) and your sushi-inspired meal is complete!
Nutrition-Wise: At a mere 30 calories per serving, 20 of which come from fat, Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks are not only delicious, but also nutritious. Full of Vitamin A, at a whopping 35% per serving, they will also help to satisfy your Iodine need, a vital nutrient which aids in metabolism health and helps to keep up your energy by ensuring that your thyroid is functioning properly.
Plus, these snacks contain 1 gram of protein and just 3% of the daily allowance for sodium, all good when it comes to a snack food.
Synopsis: Ever since first trying sushi, I have been addicted – albeit I wasn’t too into the “fishy-fish”. However, over time my tastes have “matured” and now it is all pretty much fair game (although I do avoid the salmon as it is generally farm-raised, and I only eat small amounts of ahi tuna and other large fish [ie, swordfish, shark, tilefish and king mackerel], due to their high levels of mercury). Yet, because of the cost of sushi dinners, it’s definitely not something I do multiple times a week.
Well now, thanks to Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks and the convenient strips that they come in, I can satisfy my sushi craving on a much more regular basis. What’s even more appealing is the fact that I can make my Japanese meals even healthier than they would otherwise be, since I can add brown rice, fresh, organic vegetables, and skip the mayo and other fat-laden sauces that the typical sushi restaurant typically adds to their menu items.
Plus, for those pregnant momma’s out there, you too can enjoy sushi by using ingredients such as Smoked Salmon and cooked crab or shrimp, instead of the raw stuff. That’s what I did when I was pregnant and trust me, it definitely helps with the cravings!
For more information on Annie Chun’s Seaweed Snacks please visit their website and check them out on Facebook!
*Serving young children raw fish is not recommended, due to their lack of antibodies that are used to fight food-borne illnesses. Young children — along with pregnant women, older adults and people with compromised immune systems – are advised by FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition to avoid raw fish or shellfish.
For these reasons, I would wait until at least age 5 before introducing raw-fish. However, feel free to start your toddlers off with the “safer” forms of sushi such as California Rolls with imitation crab meat and Salmon Rolls made with smoked salmon.
Moreover, a group called KidSafe Seafood, a coalition of chefs, pediatricians and sustainable seafood experts, has identified the best seafood choices for children ages 3 and up that contain acceptable levels of mercury and other contaminants. These include: Wild Alaskan Salmon, Tilapia, Farmed Blue Mussels, Northern U.S. and Canadian Shrimp, U.S. Farmed Crayfish and Farmed Bay Scallops.
And remember, fish is a very healthy source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, so introduce it to your children when they are young so that they will grow up with a healthy and varying appetite.