It's sushi night, which means it will be pretty easy to find healthy options at any Japanese restaurant with the wide array of good-for-you foods. However, always keep in mind what choices are better for you than others. Pick the edamame instead of the tempura or the raw rolls instead of the fried.
With some help from nutrition expert Hope Warshaw's Eat Out, Eat Right: The Guide for Healthier Restaurant Eating, you'll be eating well and saying "mi-so full" in no time!
Green Flag Words
The asterisks (*) denote foods that are high in sodium.
Ingredients
- clear broth
- vinegared, seasoned, or su rice (vinegar, salt, and sugar added)
- vinegar sauce*
- soy sauce*
- teriyaki sauce*
- miso dressing*
- dipping sauce*
- udon, rice, or bean thread noodles
- seafood (raw and cooked finfish and shellfish)
- chicken
- cucumber
- avocado
- spinach
- tofu
- soybeans (edamame)
Cooking Methods/Menu Descriptions/Names
- steamed (mushimono)
- sautéed
- nabemono (one-pot meal)
- braised
- simmered (nimono)
- marinated
- pickled
- raw
- broiled (yaki)
- barbecued
- grilled (yakimono)
- on skewers
- boiled
- served in broth*
- with vegetables
- salads
Red Flag Words
Ingredients
- fried bean curd
- cream cheese
- mayonnaise-based sauces for sushi
- Cooking Methods/Menu Descriptions/Names
- deep-fried, battered and fried, breaded and fried
- tempura
- agemono (deep fried)
- katsu (fried)
- pan-fried
At the Table
- soy sauce*
Excerpted from Eat Out, Eat Right by Hope S. Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE. Copyright © 2008 by Hope S. Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE. Excerpted by permission of Surrey Books, a division of Agate Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
