Sushi Cheat-Sheets

It has taken me a while to jump on the sushi bandwagon.  I would try it if someone else offered me a piece, but I never had a desire to go and get sushi.  Until now.  Something changed and now I really love sushi.  Maybe it’s the fact that the two places I’ve tried sushi in Kansas City were both amazingly delicious.  And then I found some in my workplaces’ cafeteria.  Win for them.

But then the questions start popping up in my head.  How much sodium is in this?  What is the calorie count?  Can sushi be made to order or is it something that you don’t mess with and eat as is?  I did some investigating and found some good information.  Several sites recommended asking to switch the white rice with a  brown rice, avoid “tempura” dishes, and be cautious of spicy dishes.  Spicy generally means a higher calorie count (although there are always exceptions).  A common thought about sushi is that it is a low-calorie food.  But the per-roll calorie count can vary greatly from 140-500 calories.  Some top picks for rolls that are lower in calories per six pieces and a little lower in sodium are:

• Veggie Roll
• Tuna (Maguro) Roll
• Avocado Roll
• Cucumber Roll
• Salmon and Avocado Roll
• Yellowtail Nigiri
• Shrimp Nigiri
• Rainbow Roll
• Salmon Cucumber Roll
• Mackerel Roll
• Sashimi

I’m guilty of ordering two-three different kinds of sushi every time I’ve had it.  I want a variety of flavors to try and it’s just so easy to order several.  However, that means I’m eating two-three servings for one meal.  One website had this to say about serving size:

Portion size is very important when it comes to sushi. For most types, six pieces is considered one roll, or one serving. Since each piece is practically bite-sized it’s easy to eat a bigger portion than you mean to. So stick to six pieces and add a salad, steamed veggies, or a bowl of soup.

Below are some good websites I found that offer great guidelines.  The first link is an easy to follow list of what’s good and what’s bad on sushi menu’s.  The second list is a compilation of “6 Best Low-Calorie Sushi Rolls” that breaks down their nutritional information.

http://www.eatingrules.com/2011/03/healthy-sushi-options/

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/meal-ideas/6-best-low-calorie-sushi-rolls

Honey Lime Tilapia

I tried this dish a long time ago and realized I never posted about it.  When I find a recipe I like, I automatically save it to my WordPress account and go back through to pick one to try.  I was going through all my draft posts this morning trying to find something for dinner and saw this one.  I don’t normally cook fish, but have been wanting to learn to expand my cooking horizons.

I remember not having a lime but having one of those small lime juice containers, so I used that.  When I made the marinade, it seemed like it wasn’t quite enough to cover my fish.  I would recommend adding a little bit of volume to it (don’t go nuts).  This dish was very refreshing and delicious.  Now it might be a little out of season, but I still would encourage you to try it!

Honey Lime Tilapia.

Seafood Stew (originally Shrimp Etouffee)

I made this with my mom and we tweaked it a bit.  We did about 1.5 times the shrimp stock that was listed in the recipe.  This help spread out the calories in the flour and provided more liquid.  We also skipped the rice and ate it like a stew.  It give it more umph, we added white fish, scallops, and imitation crab.  And finally, we used “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better” instead of real butter.

Therefore, this recipe is no longer technically, an etouffee.  It’s more of a stew.  Eitherway, it was very tasty on a cold day.  We combined everything in a crockpot instead of a dutch oven.  We did the first few steps on the stove, but put everything together to cook in the crockpot to cook.

Shrimp Etouffee Recipe : Emeril Lagasse : Food Network.