I love sushi but can't track it!

I love sushi and sushi bars are some of my favorite HH spots. Unfortunately, a lot of the rolls I eat aren't in MFP and I don't know how to track them. Also, I don't really have a good grasp on what's good to order versus what's bad in a sushi restaurant beyond the obvious (you know, fried versus fresh - I get that). Anybody have any tips/suggestions on surviving HH without having to just skip it? And suggestions for tracking?

Replies

  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
    Go with the sashimi (the plain fish) as portions of rice can be difficult to estimate. Learn aprox how many oz are in each piece of sashimi and log accordingly. As appetizers go with low cal, clear broth based soups like miso.
  • tfleischer
    tfleischer Posts: 199 Member
    Track as closely as possible. Try to find similar rolls on the database. The amount of fish in any sushi roll is minimal, it will be mostly sushi rice (which is really carb heavy).
    I personally think most of the cals will be from the rice, not the insides, except for maybe rolls with avocado and/or cream cheese in them, which -- too me anyway -- are not really sushi.
    OOOOOhhh I just miraculously came up with this information out of the ethers:
    http://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-health/calories-in-sushi/
  • Whaaa? No avocado?! Blasphemy! :tongue:

    And OP a lot of sushi places have rolls wrapped in cucumber that have little or no rice. They are still incredibly delicious!
  • tayloryay
    tayloryay Posts: 378 Member
    You'll just have to estimate as best you can. Also avoid anything with a ton of sauce. Most nigiri pieces are 40 to 60 calories if they are of a reasonable size, then of course there's sashimi that skips the rice altogether but you gotta have SOME fun. Most of the special rolls are gonna pack in the calories with tempura, sauces, and tons of rice, so go for the simpler options. Easier to estimate when there are fewer ingredients involved, too.
  • amdarosa619
    amdarosa619 Posts: 98 Member
    I agree with tfleischer in estimating using exisitng items on the database. That's what I do, and guess-timate portion size given any added or omitted ingredients.

    In regards to things to watch for. The sodium-packed soy sauce, cream cheese, and white rice ar obvious ones, along with the heavily sauced ones (like spicy mayo, etc).

    One modification I do is ask for my sushi rolls to be wraped in cucumber. Most places will do it for a small fee and it's super yummy. You dont compromise the taste of the sushi having omitted the rice, and the cruchy texture is a great balance to the smooth fish.

    Hope this helps!
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,788 Member
    If you stick with nigiri sushi or sashimi, you are probably going to take in less than 70 calories each. It's all the fancy rolls that contain all the calories from cream cheese, avocado, etc.
  • UsaJewels05
    UsaJewels05 Posts: 229 Member
    Most items that have cream cheese, avocado or have spicy in the title will be more caloric. Try to stay away from the tempura battered items or the rolls that are friend. Log as close as you can. Sometimes I google sushi rolls that have similar ingredients and then try finding that in the MFP data base. Try to minimize the soy sauce and stick to low sodium. Avoid the thicket sauces.

    I would say as long you are you not eating it every day and are not eating a lot of sushi rolls at each sitting you should be fine. Normally when we go I get a sushi roll and my husband will get one and then we might get a small roll to split. Or if you want vegetables with it split a sushi roll with someone.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    In for sushi...I've really got nothing helpful to add.
  • Emmie112
    Emmie112 Posts: 121 Member
    I love going out for sushi. I'll order 6-10 pieces of sashimi and I'll eat 4-5 oz of fish. I'll order rice and salad on the side. I think this is easier than trying to figure out what when into a sushi roll...