Mini Ninja Sushi School at YO!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that getting children involved in the kitchen will make them more inclined to eat a variety of meals. If you have fussy eaters, fun cooking projects might help them to be more adventurous when it comes to food.
Sometimes I despair at my own family, who simply don't want to try new foods or recipes.

Many chefs (like Jamie Oliver, for example) say that if kids are involved in growing and cooking food, then they're far more likely to eat it. It doesn't always work 100%, but it's certainly worth trying and trying and trying.
Eddie's quite fussy when it comes to food. I find it exasperating that he is so stubborn. It's not that we don't expose him to a variety of foods. He just refuses to even try them.
My husband and I love sushi, and I often buy them, especially on Sundays. Until yesterday my mulish child has refused to try any of them.

When I received an invitation to a sushi-making masterclass for children at YO! (Japanese street food and sushi restaurant chain), I knew it was a great chance for Eddie to see how sushi is made, to make it under the chef's guidance and hopefully eat it.
I told him: please try, nobody is going to force you to eat anything. He was rather suspicious of my motives but agreed to take part. I think what sold the whole concept to him was the name of the class - "Mini Ninja Sushi School". Who doesn't want to be a ninja?!

YO! rolls out sushi-making classes throughout the autumn break across the country.

Yesterday morning we jumped on the bus to Oxford and arrived to YO! Oxford (George Street).
We were the first to arrive. We were greeted and taken to the working stations, where everything was prepared for the children's sushi class.

While the class was going on, the kitchen staff were busy preparing a selection of sushi.

Children are invited to prepare three different sushi recipes, under the guidance of the Ninja Master aka YO! chef.
Classes run from the 18th to 27th October on Wednesdays, for an hour from 11am, at just £15 per child.
This scheme was launched during the summer holidays, and it was so successful, the class has been relaunched to entertain and educate children during this midterm break.

Class materials + Ingredients

Mini Ninjas learn to make three varieties of sushi - cucumber maki, salmon nigiri and Californian rolls (vegetarian options are available).
Our chef - Tamas - looked the part of the master ninja in his black outfit with a headband. He is a good teacher, friendly and patient, explaining step-by-step and all secrets of creating sushi.

Children have to wear plastic gloves so everything is hygienic and clean.

It also makes it easier to handle sticky rice.

The first recipe was Cucumber Maki.

preparing cucumber maki

We learnt which side of nori (seaweed sheet) should go up. Take a big handful of sushi rice and spread it over the nori, leaving a 1cm gap on top. Sprinkle sesame seeds in the middle before putting the thin strip of cucumber on top and rolling the sushi, using the bamboo mat.
Once we had a big long sushi roll, the chef has sliced it into neat pieces.

cucumber maki

I was curious to see if Eddie would eat any of his first ever sushi. He had a cautious bite, then another, pronounced them tasty, ate two, and left the rest to take home to show his grandma and Papa.

Salmon Nigiri is an easier sushi to make, just roll the rice to make a rounded block and top up with a slice of sashimi grade salmon. If you fancy some heat, add a small blob of wasabi under salmon.
We decided to leave one sushi plain, and surprise Papa with a generous helping of wasabi. Eddie kept giggling, expecting his father to eat that hot sushi.

The last roll to master was California handroll, the trickiest of them all. It is made with sushi rice on top of a sheet of nori, with a helping of surimi crab mix, an avocado slice and sesame seeds.

You roll it into a cone shape.

After the class was over, Tamas also taught children how to eat with chopsticks, which was great fun.

Children were offered a mini game of picking soya beans with chopsticks.

They were also offered a chocolate flavoured dessert made from glutinous rice. I had a tiny bite, and it was unusual but delicious.

After completing the class, all participants receive a Mini Ninja certificate, their own paper chef's hat and a special YO! bag to take home, plus of course, the sushi which were made during the lesson.

Eddie was so happy with his class and enjoyed the taste of sushi so much, that he wanted me to buy him a sushi making kit to take home with us (at £20).

Many thanks to Tamas and Sunny for the most enjoyable hour and inspiration!

If you'd like to enroll your children in the sushi-making class, have a look at Mini Ninjas schedule for early November. Classes may very per site, and must be pre-booked online.

Disclosure: We were offered a free session in return for a review. All opinions are our own.

Itsu Crispy Seaweed Thins and Miso

Dry January, Veganuary, any other new year's resolution, you name it, I haven't joined in.
While it makes sense for many people to begin a new year with a series of resolutions, I'm in the grumpy old women's club, thinking January is miserable enough without giving up nice food and drink.
I looked today at a row of healthy kale and chia seeds smoothies at Waitrose, and found them very depressing. For me that would be like a punishment.
I'm all for healthy food, but it has to taste good.
When you are feeling peckish, it is not easy to resist temptation, and reach for the tin of biscuits or a box of chocolates, open a bag of crisps or salted nuts.

Itsu Crispy Seaweed Thins are my latest addiction. I have first come across them last July, when there were a couple of seaweed thins in Degustabox food box. Since then, I've been buying them regularly (found in Waitrose, Sainbury's, Tesco etc) .
They are tasty, and they are healthy. Hallelujah! I'm happy to eat them any time of the year, not just January when people are encouraged to eat healthy meals and snacks.

Itsu Crispy Seaweed Thins which come in three flavours - sea salt, sweet soy & sea salt and wasabi - are new vegetable crisps. One pack provides 22-24 kcal which makes it an ideal snack for anyone on a diet.

Seaweed is set to be the superfood of 2017. As Jamie Oliver says, seaweed is "like dynamite - fibre, nutrients, all the minerals, aids digestion - unbelievable!"
While I'm not sure about the dynamite reference, I'm a big fan of seaweed. When I was a child, my Mum used to buy tinned seaweed salad, and I loved it. I have never been able to find anything like that in the UK.

Seaweed, the green superfood is naturally packed with nutrients, zinc, iron and B vitamins. It's a great source of iodine. The seaweed for this snack is harvested from the crystal clear seas around South Korea.
The thins melt on the tongue, leaving a flavour of the sea in your mouth.
These snacks are low calorie (22-24), so basically guilt-free. And they are highly addictive. I can easily eat the whole packet of 3 mini boxes in one go, so have to limit my intake at one 5g packet per day.

I have tried all three flavours, and sea salt is my top favourite.

Nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed helped to create an Eat Beautiful Report for itsu. According to the report, 31% of the UK's new year's resolutions in 2017 will be eat healthier.
"Japanese life expectancy is currently one of the longest in the world and their dietary habits are often heralded as part of the reaso for this long lifespan", says Charlotte.
The traditional Japanese diet features plenty of nutrient-dense foods particularly seaweed and miso.

Itsu miso soup is an instant miso made from soya paste with seaweed and soy sauce. It contains 42-44 calories per serving.

Miso soup is a great lunch option. Itsu miso soups come in convenient pouches. All you need is squeeze the paste in a mug and pour boiling hot water, stir it and the soup is ready.
Miso soup is a fermented food and a great boost of protein (especially important for people on vegetarian and vegan diets).
 Charlotte says: "Many people are unaware that although low in calories and fat, miso soup is also high in protein, which is important for muscle and bone health. As well as containing protein, soya beans are a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals".

I do enjoy miso in a mug, though I am not going to swap a cup of coffee for miso. When I want a coffee, I want a coffee, and miso soup is not a substitute. As a lunch meal, it's perfectly fine.

Itsu miso is a paste rather than powder (like some other brands of miso soup), which gives it a much fuller flavour and lovely texture. I love the seaweed pieces floating in the soup. Add a little bit of shrimps which are naturally low in calories, some shredded Chinese leaf or Savoy cabbage, and you get quite a substantial meal.

Two years ago, when I was on a 5:2 diet, I often had miso soup for lunch, with shredded cabbage and chopped quorn sausages and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions. Add a rice cake (28kcal), and the total lunch would be less than 150kcal.

Miso soup with shredded Chinese leaf

You can also use these pouches of miso soup as ingredients for cooking.
Cheryl from Madhouse Family Reviews has recently cooked a stir-fried miso turkey breast with bok choi. It is a healthy and tasty recipe. Inspired by Cheryl, I am going to cook chicken stir fry with miso tonight.

Miso chicken stir fry with Chinese leaf and rice noodles

To learn more about the itsu range, visit Itsugrocery.

Disclosure: I received a selection of itsu products for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are my own.