Monday, 29 December 2008

• What?! There's Fat Sushi?

  Guest blog by smellslikeme. Originally post on Yahoo!
  
  Traditional Japanese sushi is a dieter's dream, thanks to its heart-friendly, low-fat ingredients. But leave it to us Americans to supersize it. What started out as truly lean cuisine now arrives in platters for one that could feed a family of four.
  
  Likewise, Japanese sushi kitchens don't use oil or mayo, says Hiroko Shimbo, chef and author of The Sushi Experience -- yet chances are your favorite sushi bar serves fried shrimp and spicy tuna plumped up with mayo.
  
  What's a calorie-counting sushi lover to do? Don't tackle a 20-piece sushi boat yourself! And follow our lead: Here's the skinny on the 4 fattest and leanest choices. Meshi-agare (Japanese for bon appétit)!
  
  THE CHUBBIEST CHOICES
  

  • Tempura rolls Any tempura dish -- read: deep-fried -- is a big-time diet buster. A shrimp tempura roll, for example, can deliver 500 calories and 20 grams of fat. Plus, breading and deep frying boosts the cholesterol too.
  • Spicy tuna and other mayo-based rolls. Before you order, ask if the minced fish is mixed with mayonnaise. If so, that delicate roll may harbor as many as 11 grams of artery-clogging fat and 450 calories.
  • Philadelphia rolls Unheard of in Japan, this salmon and avocado wonder is schmeared with something a sushi purist wouldn't even consider: cream cheese. Calories for a roll start at 300 and rise depending on how much cheese is used. A clue: Two tablespoons of cream cheese add 10 grams of fat (6 saturated) and some recipes use four times that amount.
  • Dragon rolls and pretty much anything else made with eel and/or toro. Just one ounce of raw eel has 3 grams fat and toro -- sliced from the fatty belly of tuna -- packs a shocking 7 grams per ounce. Even though their fat is the heart-healthy omega-3 kind, all fat is still loaded with calories and the trade-off here is too high.

  THE SKINNIEST SUSHI
  

  •  Assorted sashimi - Sashimi is sliced fish a la carte, and by omitting the rice that would make it sushi, you save 30 calories per piece. Plus, says Shimbo, eating an assortment of fish -- white, red, oily -- creates delicious synergies: you get the flavors and benefits of each. For instance, delicate white fish have fewer calories, while richer mackerel and salmon have more omega-3s.
  •  Veggie rolls Cucumber rolls and tangy, pickled vegetable rolls are fat free and provide a pleasantly crunchy contrast to the soft texture of fish sushi -- and at only about 150 calories a roll. For a vegetarian entree that packs heart-friendly fat as well as some iron and protein, try a shiitake, avocado, and pickled ginger roll. That little sheet of seaweed that holds it all together? It gives you calcium, vitamins C and K, and folate.
  •  Edamame (soybeans) Okay, okay, they're not sushi but they're a staple at sushi bars and one of the healthiest menu choices you can make, brimming with fiber, folate, iron, and protein. Half a cup of steamed edamame has 127 calories and a whopping 11 grams protein -- hence its nickname: "meat from the vegetable garden."
  •  Tako (octopus) or ika (squid) Though high in cholesterol, both are even higher in protein, B vitamins, iron, selemium, and taurine, an amino acid that helps keep your arteries, heart, and eyes healthy -- for only 25 calories an ounce and almost no fat.

  Does this change your diet when eating sushi, or doesn't make a difference at all? Did you know there were fat and skinny sushi?
  
  

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