Sushi Rice Cubes

It's the time of year we all start talking about eating healthier meals.  One way I get my kids to eat healthy is to involved them in the food preparations. These bite-sized sushi rice cubes are so easy to make, a 9 year old can do it...and she did- all by herself!  In fact, she entered them into a healthy eating cooking contest.

 The key to this dish is the handy little rice cube maker that my mom brought home from a trip over the summer.

 You just pack your fresh ingredients; in our case...sushi rice, chopped carrots, edamame, and cubed avacado.  Slide the two pieces together and hold tight for about 5 seconds:

 Out comes a tightly packed rice cube.

 She topped her rice cubes with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds:

 Lastly, she garnished the cubes with fresh grated carrots.

 She even did her own photography- little blogger-in-training.

Her entry:

She was selected to be one of 7 finalists for the healthy eating cooking contest hosted at a nearby elementary school.  Grandma was so excited that she stayed up late into the night sewing her a new apron.

Here she is being interviewed by the local paper who featured her dish:

 She is explaining how to assemble the rice cubes:

 Judging time. Chef Kelly Liken (Top Chef & Iron Chef America) was a judge for the contest, along with a woman who runs the greenhouse program at their elementary school and the Colorado winner of the National Healthy Lunchtime Challenge for 2013- he was only 8 years old!

Her words about the competition:  "I wasn't one of the top three, but I still had a really fun time creating the sushi rice cubes.  I think I will make more to take for lunch or make for a snack.  They are really good."

When the judges were finished and told the kids they could eat any of the left overs, most of the kids dove after the rice cubes.  There were several really good healthy and creative dishes created by kids ages 8-12.  It was a great experience.  Look for the 2014 healthy lunchtime challenge presented by Epicurious later this Spring.  Get your kids cooking!