Sushi

Sushi certainly has its place in a slim and healthy lifestyle - if it's done right. The "right" types of sushi are low-fat and low-calorie, loaded with nutritional benefits, and DELICIOUS! The "wrong" types are pretty easy to spot, since they don't even really qualify as traditional sushi; you know, the arm-sized rolls stuffed with cream cheese, mayonnaise and other fatty ingredients, coated in two inches of batter and then deep-fried into oblivion. Still, when you're trying to stick to a specific diet or lose weight, it's important to know how even the "healthy" rolls rank related to one another.

EAT THIS

* Good Sauces - Soy sauce, Kabayaki  (seasoned soy sauce), wasabi, curry sauce.
* Edamame - this is a great appetizer choice, as it is high in protein and fiber. 
* Miso Soup - this great-tasting, broth-based soup is low in calories, fat and carbs (though it may be high in sodium.)  Adding chunks of tofu makes it even more fulfilling and satisfying.
* Sashimi Sushi and Nigiri Sushi - Sashimi is by far the best choice, because it's just the raw fish without any rice, sauces or other ingredients. Nigiri sushi is raw fish on a bed of rice, without any sauces or other ingredients, so the rankings will follow along with those for sashimi sushi (just with more calories and carbs because of the rice.)


Less than 30 Calories/2g Fat per Ounce (Less than 50 Calories/2g Fat per Ounce of Nigiri):

• Flounder
• Whiting/Whitefish
• Sea Bass
• Red Snapper
• Scallops (Hotate)
• King Crab

Less than 60 Calories/4g Fat per Ounce (Less than 60 Calories/4g Fat per Ounce of Nigiri):

• Yellowtail Tuna (Hamachi)
• Albacore Tuna (Maguro)
• Bluefin Tuna
• Mackerel (Saba)
• Salmon
• Surf Clam (Hokkigai)
• Octopus (Tako)
• Roe (Tobiko)

* Plain Veggie Rolls - avocado rolls or cucumber rolls (kappa maki) are the best choices as far as rolls go, since they are lowest in calories and fat (but also the most boring, in my opinion.) The stats below are for the entire roll (usually 6-8 pieces):

• Cucumber roll: 136 cals, 5.7g fat
• Avocado roll: 140 cals, 5.7g fat

* Sushi Rolls (Maki) - these will vary widely depending on their ingredients, sauces and how they are prepared, but the best choices will mostly contain raw fish and veggies. The stats below are for the entire roll (usually 6-8 pieces):

• Tuna Roll: 184 cals/2g fat
• Salmon Skin Roll:  245 cals/4g fat
• California Roll: 255 cals/7g fat
• Spicy Tuna Roll:  290 cals/11g fat
• Salmon & Avocado OR Tuna & Avocado Roll:  304 cals/9g fat
• Philly Roll (salmon, cream cheese, avocado): 319 cals/7g fat
• Rainbow Roll (California rolls wrapped in avocado and sashimi): 360 cals
• Spicy Shrimp OR Spicy Scallop Roll:  392 cals
• Spider Roll (fried softshell crab, avocado & masago):  408 cals

AVOID THIS

* Bad Sauces - Chili sauce,  "Spicy" sauce (usually found as an ingredient in specialty rolls, or in the mame of the roll itself) is surprisingly high in calories and fat, and is only permissible on rolls that are otherwise very lean (such as a simple spicy tuna roll.) 
* Tempura - the word "tempura" literally means "battered and deep-fried," so stay away from anything with tempura in its name.

* Spicy/Mayonnaise/Cream-Based Sauces - knowing which sushi rolls contain these hidden fat traps is really just a matter of experience and research. Almost all "spicy" rolls that are doused in the "spicy" sauce contain tons of high-fat mayonnaise.
* White Sushi Rice - if you can, request that your sushi be made with brown rice.  The white "sticky" rice that is traditionally used in sushi is one of the worst kinds of rice out there.  It is off the charts in carbs and empty calories!