Mini Sushi Balls

Hands up who likes sushi? I have to honestly say this is one food that I sit on the fence with. Even with my Welsh blood one, who know's Welsh cuisine, would presume that I would enjoy Laverbread (often referred to as the Welshman's Caviar and a traditional Welsh ingredient) and therefore would I enjoy Nori (seaweed). This is not the case. I grew up in Australia so wasn't really educated nor introduced to eating large quantities of seaweed. In fact I don't recall eating seaweed until Sushi franchises started popping up in food courts and it was the "cool" thing to be eating.

Saying this, I tried several versions of sushi rolls and decided I wasn't a fan of the large amount of seaweed wrapped around all the beautiful clean flavours of the other ingredients. Exploring more options I found that I really enjoy Nigiri and Uramaki - both of these have minimal, if any, seaweed at all but still have the same flavours and idea behind this wonderful finger food.

Obviously fast track now to my late forties and I love exploring and experimenting with food (fun fact - in case you didn't notice). I came across this recipe on several media platforms and knew that I had to try for myself. These mini sushi balls are a creation of Anna Van Dyken, a WW ambassador, who's shared her incredible weight loss journey. This snack, among many others, has been shared by this amazing woman to others on their own journeys. You can find more of Anna's recipes and stories on Feed Me Healthy and on her Instagram page FeedMeHealthy. Please go visit - it's well worth it.

Moment of truth - I have to say that the only thing I found hard about this recipe was cooking the sushi rice - once again something I'd never cooked so my first attempt, lets say, was stuck to the bottom of the saucepan. Second attempt and a smaller saucepan was more successful. The rest of the recipe was very easy, in fact the whole recipe is easy if you know how to cook the sushi rice LOL. The key is to chop the vegetables up very small so they easily mould into to the ball and are not too chunky. And for me, the amount of seaweed in this recipe was perfect!

The size and the flavours make these Sushi Balls a fantastic snack or I would even serve them as an entree accompanied by Wasabi, Pickled Ginger and Soy Sauce.

Mini Sushi Balls

(recipe sourced from myWW - Anna's Sushi Balls)

Serves: 24

💚 1 sp per ball

💙 1 sp per ball

💜 1 sp per ball

1 cup (200 grams) sushi rice 3 teaspoons rice wine vinegar 3 teaspoons sushi seasoning 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated 60 grams Lebanese cucumber, finely diced 40 grams carrots, finely diced 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 1 packet roasted seaweed, crushed 1 tablespoon soy sauce (can be gluten free) 1 teaspoon Wasabi paste (optional)

Cook rice as per packet instructions.

Transfer to a glass or plastic container with a wooden spoon and stir through rice wine vinegar and sushi seasoning. Set aside in fridge to cool.

Add ginger, cucumber, carrot, sesame seeds and seaweed to rice mixture, stir to combine.

Scoop 1 heaped tablespoon of rice mixture and squeeze in between wet hands to make into balls.

Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.