My kids, 8 and 11, love sushi.  Yeah, the real stuff, especially maki — typically made by spreading a layer of sushi rice over a seaweed wrapper (nori), adding raw fish, rolling tightly and then slicing into thin rounds. 

They’ve enjoyed eating sushi since they were toddlers and it is still a favorite today. They also like seaweed salad, miso soup, and other Japanese dishes. 

Even if your kids aren’t interested in raw fish, I bet they’ll enjoy this dessert variation. 

It is colorful, fun to make, and even fun to eat.  Just be prepared for a major sugar rush after they eat more than a piece or two of this tasty treat.

To start, make up a batch of crispy rice treats.  The recipe that follows is for a full batch, but you probably will only need a half or third of it, so feel free to adjust accordingly.  Or, go ahead and make the full batch, keeping some aside as plain cereal treats to tuck into lunch boxes later in the week.

You’ll need:

6 cups crisp rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies®)

1 10-oz. package of marshmallows

3 tablespoons butter

1 box of green fruit rolls (we used Fruit by the Foot by Betty Crocker)

1 package Swedish Fish candies

For safety, an adult should prepare or clsoely supervise the preparation of the "sushi rice" (rice treats) and the "sushi ingredients."

To make the "sushi rice”:

Melt butter and marshmallows in a saucepan.  Add cereal.  Mix with rubber spatula to coat cereal with melted marshmallow and butter.  Spread in an even layer on a wax-paper coated baking sheet.  Set aside until cool.  Once cool, rice can be cut into small rectangles of taking in teaspoon scoops for use in the "sushi."

To prepare the "sushi ingredients":

Unroll one entire fruit roll and use knife to cut in half the long way.  This will give you two long strips of green “seaweed” to work with.  Cut each strip into 3-5” pieces.  Continue to cut up additional rolls as needed.

Swedish Fish can be left whole or cut in half, as desired.

Assembly:

Take one 3” piece of “seaweed” and spread with “rice.” Add a fish to the center.  Roll up.  Press seams of “seaweed” together to hold together. 

Substitutions/additions:  You can use any candy along with or instead of the Swedish Fish.  We’ve also used gummy worms and sour patch kids.  You can use other colors of fruit rolls, although green makes for the most “authentic” looking sushi. 

Experiment and have fun with it.

Enjoy!