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Healthy Sushi Options

By Andrew

Mar 07, 2011, Updated Sep 20, 2018

Depending on what you order, Sushi can be a healthful and satisfying meal or it can be a calorie-dense feeding frenzy of fat and sodium.

Beyond your own health, there’s the health of the fish and the oceans to consider. Some seafood species are plentiful and sustainably harvested, others are severely overfished, some species are irresponsibly farmed, and still others contain so much mercury that you should never eat them.

For the best in responsible sushi eating, I highly recommend the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Sushi Guide (also check out their free iPhone App) and the Environmental Defense Fund’s Smart Sushi Choices.

Since those guides are so thorough, I’m going to focus primarily on the personal health aspects of your choices – so here are my recommendations for how to make healthy choices at a sushi restaurant.

Appetizers – Better Choices

Edamame (Steamed Soybeans)
Easily the best appetizer.  High in protein, fairly low in sodium (even with the bit they sprinkle on top).

Seaweed Salad
The shredded kind that’s fairly common has some sugar added — so you may want to ask exactly how they do their salad. Depending on how it’s prepared, it can be a great way to start your meal.

Cucumber Salad
You may want to check on the dressing and decide from there.

Appetizers – Worst Choices

Miso Soup
Although it’s low in calories, it’s very high in sodium — and not very filling.

Tempura Anything
Deep fried.  ‘Nuff said.

Rice – Better Choices

Brown Rice
I think it’s okay to ask if they’ll make your sushi with brown rice instead. Sushi purists will scream when they read that, though, so proceed with caution.

No Rice
Skittish about offending the chef?  Simply order Sashimi — sliced fish without any rice. Problem solved, and you’ll look like a pro.

Rice – Worst Choice

White Rice
Calorie dense, with little other nutritional value.  One cup of rice (which isn’t all that much!) has about 240 calories.

Sushi – Better Choices

Keeping in mind that almost all rolls are made with rice (see above), most of the other ingredients used in rolls (whether cut rolls or hand rolls) are great for you — so it’s really more of an issue of what type of not to get.  Here are some good choices:

Sashimi
Any fish that’s not overfished or laden with mercury is likely a healthy choice. Some good options: Wild Alaskan or Washington Salmon (Sake), U.S. or Canadian Albacore (Shiro Maguro), U.S. Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico Mackerel (Sawara). Check out the resources in the introduction for more guidance.

Nigiri
Nigiri is the “hand-formed” sushi with a small cube of rice with the topping (usually seafood) on top.  Only reason it doesn’t get a green check mark is because of the rice.

Egg (Tamago)
They usually add a little sugar to the egg — but even so I’d consider it a good choice.  I like getting it last because it’s a nice way to finish off the meal and the sweetness adds some nice variety. Get it as sashimi instead of as nigiri and avoid the rice.

Vegetable Rolls (Maki)
Any kind of basic vegetable rolls are great choices. Only reason they don’t get a green check mark here is because of the rice.

Sushi – Worst Choices

Spicy Anything
That delicious spicy sauce?  It’s made mostly of mayonnaise!

Tempura Anything
Tempura translates as “Battered and Deep Fried.”  Next!

Cream Cheese
Rolls with cream cheese add a ton of saturated fat and calories to your meal.  Best to skip those.

Bluefin Tuna
Severely overfished and high in mercury, as a responsible diner you should completely avoid this one, sorry.

Swordfish
At the top of the food chain, swordfish is another that’s on the “never” list due to its extremely high mercury content.  Again: Sorry.

Any fancy, “new-wave” mega rolls
Okay, so you ordered the Flaming Dragon Double-Rainbow Roll.  You just paid $18 for one over-the-top fancy-pants roll laden with cream cheese, tempura, spicy mayonnaise, and a sweet brown sauce. It’s the perfect storm. Go simple and traditional and you’ll be much better off!

Condiments – Better Choices

Wasabi
The green horseradish is great — a little goes a long way.

Pickled Ginger
The ginger is there to cleanse your palate between bites.  As with the wasabi, a little goes a long way.

Lower-Sodium Soy Sauce
There is no such thing as “Low Sodium” soy sauce.  It’s “Lower” sodium — meaning, it still has a tremendous amount.  So dip sparingly!  If there are two bottles on the top, the one with the green top should be the lower-sodium sauce, so it pays to start there.  Also, don’t dip your rice into the soy sauce — dip the fish.  It’s actually proper form, and you’ll soak up significantly less salt.

Condiments – Worst Choices

Spicy Sauces
It bears repeating:  The Spicy Chili Sauces are made with high-fat mayonnaise.  Avoid them!

Brown Sauces
Often sweet and salty, they’re a double-whammy.

Regular Soy Sauce
One tablespoon of regular soy sauce has over 1,000mg of sodium!  Filling that little dish probably  means you’ve poured out three or four tablespoons of sodium —  far more than a day’s worth!

Dessert – Best Choice

Orange Slices
One of my favorite sushi restaurants in Los Angeles serves up complimentary orange wedges (pre-peeled, on a toothpick).  It’s a perfect, sweet bite to finish off the meal.

Dessert – Worst Choice

Mochi Ice Cream
If I really want dessert, I may go for the Mochi, since it’s a more unique flavor and it’s often a smaller serving size than regular ice cream. Careful, though, it’s still high in sugar and fat.

Tempura Ice Cream
Ice Cream that’s been deep fried… need I say more?

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Menu Mondays are my recommendations for the most healthful options at restaurants. Although it may be tough to find “perfect” options when eating out, it’s important to choose “better” whenever possible, and I hope these guides will help make that easier for you.

indicates the “best-of-the-best,” and indicates the “worst-of-the-worst,” more or less.

Photo by gustopher.