Itsu Crispy Seaweed Thins

It's one thing to be sent blogger mail but when you're blogger mail is healthy food, it's even more exciting. January has been all about food posts (I've talked about meal planning and shared one of my favourite recipes) so being introduced to itsu grocery snack range this week, couldn't have come at a better time.

In 2012 itsu launched their Sea Salt Crispy Seaweed Thins and have now launched two new flavours of Wasabi and Sweet Soy & Sea Salt flavour which I've been sent to try. Seaweed is one of those superfoods I've heard loads about but never really tried (except in sushi) I know it's full of nutrients, zinc, iron, B vitamins, antioxidants and protein but I've no idea how to cook it or incorporate it into my diet. So to have seaweed available in this snack, crisp like format, might just be the way I can get seaweed in to my diet.

On first look, the individual packs are snack size, have 24 calories or less, weigh a mere 5g and are suitable for vegetarians. Then when I opened the pack I thought they were very odd. Maybe because when I think of 'thins' I think of crackers or crisps so to pull out a tray of thin paper like sheets of seaweed with moisture-free beads, I was just a bit taken aback and honestly found it very unnatural. Then I realised I shouldn't judge the look of them because of what I'm used to. They are literally thin slices of seaweed with oil and flavourings and just not like any healthy crisp I've seen before.

The size of the crisps are quite large for one mouth full so you could chew it like a pac-man just to get it all in at once or you be more civil and break it up into smaller bit size pieces. Either way, because of how thin they are, I found them kind of crumbly and then when I did start to eat them, it's like my siliva was activated and the texture became more chewy then crumbly.

I did however instantly forget about the texture and look when I tasted them. The flavours are insane. Again, because I've never tasted anything like this before, I was taken aback by how intense and powerful the flavour was. My senses were bumped up a notch and it took over my whole mouth. The original sea salt flavour was salty and almost fishy like and tasted like I was eating the sea. The sweet soy and sea salt again had that same sea salt impact with a tiny sweet after taste and the wasabi one was strong and spicy.

So picture this situation, I had all three packets open at once, I had one wasabi after a salty one and then a sweet soy one and then back to a wasabi one, just so I could decide if I liked them or not . It was so funny because it one of those moments where I was continuing to eat them, even though I was put off by the initial first one, I just kept eating them and the more I ate them, the more I wanted them and the more I thought do I actually like these or not.

It came to the stage where I had eaten all three packets, I couldn't believe it, I had really enjoyed them and had found them very addictive. I was surprised to finish them since I had found them very unnatural at the beginning. I then realised I had eaten all my samples and had no products to actually photograph (doh!!) What a silly thing to do (blogger rule number one, photograph product BEFORE eating it). Luckily, I was able to nip out to my local Sainsburys and grab some more. I managed to get the last pack on the shelf (which made me realise how popular they seem to be) and have them for this post (phew..that would have been awkward)

All in all I definitely think these are very hit and miss, some people will love these, some people will hate them. If you don't like strong sea, salt or fishy flavours then I don't think these are for you but I didn't think I liked those flavours and suprised myself with how much I enjoyed these crisps. If you are on the hunt for a new healthy savoury snack that's high in fibre, high in protein and low in calories, or you want to try something a bit unusual or want to incorporate seaweed into your diet then do check them out. You could even crumble them over a salad so you get your seaweed fix without the intense flavour of having them on their own.

As I said, they're available in Sainsburys, along with Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and online at Amazon and Ocado. Individual packs are £1 but I would opt for the multi-packs of 3 which are £1.75 (definitely better value for money).

When I repurchased the seaweed thins to photograph for this post, I also picked up the Sweet Chilli Prawn Crackers which are only 97 calories per serving and honestly taste amazing. They are also a great healthy alternative to have between meals and I already have both snacks serperated into tubberware containers, ready to munch on throughout the day (is it weird my tubberware colours match the colours of the product packaging?!! haha)

I would love you to leave me a comment below on what you think of these products, if you've seen them in your local supermarket and if they're something you'd be interested in trying. You can also let me know on twitter @sarah_hamersley. I have another post of miso soups also from itsu coming very soon so keep an eye out for that if you're interested in hearing more about this range. Hope you enjoyed this post, chat to you all soon.