Photos by Matthew Strauss
Who says sushi has to be made with seaweed, vegetables and fish? Not here! This summer have a ball with these fun, easy and colorful fruit snacks that you and your family can enjoy making and eating.
Prepare a raspberry dip or other fruit variation to dip your fruit sushi in, and shave some cantaloupe to mimic ginger for the side. Challenge yourself and roll your favorite fruit in sticky rice using a rolling mat and garnished with sesame seeds or toasted coconut. Make sashimi topped with a piece of sweet mango and garnished with a blackberry.
It’s truly endless what fruits and spreads you can combine. Just remember to have fun and pass the chopsticks!
Strawberry and Kiwi Sushi Balls
½ cup sushi rice
1½ cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries, hulled
2 kiwi fruit, peeled
4 fresh mint leaves
Put the rice, coconut milk, sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan over high heat. Once boiling, simmer on the lowest heat for 12 to 15 minutes or until tender. Let cool.
Slice the strawberries and kiwi fruits as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Set them aside.
Using 12-inch square pieces of plastic wrap, spread strawberry or kiwi slices in the middle of each square, leaving a 3- to 4-inch perimeter around edge. Top the strawberries (or kiwi) at the center with 1½ tablespoons of cooked rice. Close the plastic wrap, and form a ball. Twist the plastic wrap to tighten around the fruit and rice. Carefully unwrap the plastic wrap from the sushi ball.
Garnish with mint or strawberries.
Sushi Roll-Ups
4 all-fruit, fruit roll-ups
2-3 bananas (no mushy or hard ones)
¼ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
Peel bananas and cut off the tips. Peel plastic from fruit roll-ups and lay flat. Place banana on roll-up. Roll the fruit leather tightly around the banana.
The fruit roll-up should be sticky so it will seal itself and wrap around the banana. Cut each rolled banana into 4-6 pieces.
Optional: Dip both ends in shredded coconut.
Banana and Peanut Butter Sushi Rolls
1 large banana, peeled
¼ cup peanut butter OR Nutella or a chocolate spread
1/8 cup coconut flakes
Chocolate chips
Cut the banana into eight pieces about 2 inches long. Using an apple corer, remove the middle of each banana slice. Fill the hollowed-out banana slices with peanut butter or chocolate spread.
Sprinkle with coconut and top with chocolate chips.
Lucia Schnitzer and her husband, Ken, own Luci’s Healthy Marketplace in Phoenix. The local coffee shop and marketplace opened in 2009 in Lucia’s honor after her successful battle with breast cancer. She successfully manages her career, her growing family (four children), her personal well-being and the countless demands of the day.
