Saitaku Japanese Nori Snack Review

Since discovering just how low in calories nori seaweed is, I’ve been on the lookout for any nori-based snacks. Fortunately, with the growing popularity of sushi, it’s not too hard finding them.

I’ve already reviewed the seaweed snack from Itsu and another from Selwyn’s. This time I’ve found a Nori snack by Saitaku, producers of authentic Japanese ingredients. They’re 100% ‘all natural’, seasoned with olive oil and salt and the whole pack has only 28 calories.

With a daughter who loves all things Japanese, she’s a regular sushi maker in our house. This means we have a well-stocked cupboard with ingredients such as sushi rice, nori sheets, rice vinegar and soy sauce, many of which are made by Saitaku.

Nori snacks come in a small individually wrapped pack, with around 10 nori sheets sitting in a clear plastic tray. In common with the other nori snacks I’ve tried, they’re quite greasy to hold. In fact, nori only accounts for 52% of the ingredients, with olive oil and salt making up the rest.

The first time I tried these, I didn’t like them. They tasted too strongly of the sea! However, I’ve since eaten more of them and, to my tastebuds, whatever I’ve eaten before seems to affect what they taste like. Strangely enough, eating them after a cup of tea works best for me.

Normally I’d be scared off by the high oil content, but because the portion size is so small, it’s not a concern. The high salt content does make me thirsty, so I usually have a cold drink afterwards.

Besides being low in calories, nori is also rich in the mineral iodine which is essential for making thyroid hormones. It’s high in protein and is a good source of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, and C.

Per 100g, it’s high in fat and salt so should be eaten in moderation!

Unfortunately since I wrote this review, it appears this snack is now out of stock in the UK.


Nutrition information per 100g: 570 calories (28 calories per 5g pack), 27g protein, 21g carbs, 42g fat, 3.9g salt.

Ingredients: Dried seaweed (52%), olive oil, salt.

© Diets and Calories