Should I eat sushi to lose weight?
Japanese food, especially sushi, looks simple, minimum and something you can eat a lot without feeling guilty. But it’s an illusion, especially if you think what you eat at your local restaurants means “sushi” for you.
Authentic sushi is very expensive for its amount. It is so because it has to use the finest ingredients for everything, which obviously costs a lot. Affordable sushi uses lower grade ingredients, and add either excessive quantity or excessive additives to make it dangerously addictive.
If you want to eat sushi without worrying about your weight, the best thing is you make it at home. Here’s how.
Sushi rice is dangerous!
Did you know that Japanese are trying to stay away from rice these days, even though it’s been their staple for thousands of years? It’s because the current rice species are very high in carbohydrates. It’s ever a good idea to eat it a lot. In addition, sushi rice uses rice vinegar and sugar, which means more carbohydrates! Dangerous sweetness in sushi rice comes from whole bunch of carbohydrates.
When you make sushi at home, go to a Japanese grocery store and pick high-grade rice, and try to minimize the amount of vinegar or sugar. The most commonly used amount is about four tablespoons of rice vinegar and sugar for three “go” (180 ml) of rice. “合 (go)” us a Japanese measuring unit for 1 serving of rice. Japanese rice cookers come with an accessory cup lets you measure one “go (180ml)”. As the quality of rice determines the quality of sushi, do not compromise. If the quality of the rice is not good, you would need to add more additives to compensate for it.
How much condiments?
It may not contribute to your weight gain, but too much sodium is not good for your health. And soy sauce has a lot of sodium. Always remember that soy sauce is not a dipping sauce- you only need just a little bit.
Next comes wasabi. Ideally, it’s 100% natural made of wasabi plant. But as it’s difficult to get, most commercial wasabi is made using a lot of additives: vegetable oil, sodium, artificial colors, spices etc. If not labelled “natural,” packaged wasabi can be pretty un-natural.
Also, cream cheese, mayo, ketchup, spices and other condiments used abundantly in sushi, especially in rolls, are not authentic. While they may trick you to believe that they are the sources of deliciousness, they are often killing the natural flavors of the fresh ingredients, and adding even more sodium and carbohydrates. So think about that.
Traditional and authentic sushi condiments are natural: sesame seeds, sansho, grated ginger or green onions.
How much fish?
Fish quality matters a lot for sushi. You may want to pick high quality fish, but then it easily gets pricey. You can use other ingredients to go with them, especially when you do “temaki (hand roll)” sushi. Common ingredients that go well with fish: eggs (tamago-yaki), cucumbers, kaiware (sprouted daikon radish seeds), shiso (Japanese mint), lettuce or avocado. If you add good amount of crunchy vegetables, you could have sushi salad, which would be much healthier than eating excessive amount of rice and protein.
Roll your own sushi
It’s always good to know what you eat. Instead of eating sushi at a restaurant, buy ingredients and have a “roll-your-onw” sushi party.
