Shakai Sushi

Sometimes when I go out to eat, I want the bang for my buck. I tend to eat pretty healthy at home, so I’ll splurge when going out. Other times, I try to keep my calories and portions a little more in control as to not regret the meal later.

When Everyday Health, a website dedicated to all sorts of healthy living resources, reached out to me to share their guide to The Healthiest Choices at the Sushi Bar, I immediately found it applicable to my life. After all, I love sushi and eat it often. Everyday Health has MDs medically review their articles, which adds a layer of credibility.

I grabbed some of my friends/coworkers to accompany me for a sushi lunch today so I could put Everyday Health’s guide into action at Shakai Sushi Lounge in downtown Orlando. Shakai used to be Ichiban, where I celebrated my last birthday. They revamped the space and menu to be more of a late night destination and expanded the bar.

As the guide suggested, I started out with an appetizer of edamame to avoid over-ordering the sushi. Broth-based soup is another good option they mentioned.

Now for the main event. Everyday Health suggests ordering rolls heavy on the vegetables and swapping out white rice with brown rice. They also said to avoid battered rolls and ingredients, cream cheese, mayonnaise-based sauces and chili oils.

Shakai does serve brown rice, but they were unable to make rolls with it, so I decided to just leave the rice out altogether.

I ordered the sashimi platter, which had a nice variety. The guide lists salmon, tuna and halibut as prime sources of Omega 3s, but you also have to be careful of the amount you consume in your diet due to mercury concerns.

The guide suggests avoiding the salty soy sauce and using the wasabi and ginger for flavor instead. Skipping the soy sauce was hard. I used the wasabi and ginger but missed the taste of it all mixed with the soy sauce.

With the absence of the rice, I was afraid my lunch wouldn’t fill me up, but the protein in the edamame kept me full for the rest of the workday. It felt great to not feel like I was in a food coma when I had to go back to work for the rest of the day.

My dining companions ordered an assortment of rolls and seemed to really enjoy them.

Everything at Shakai Sushi tasted very fresh, and the menu had a variety of options. They offer hot dishes in addition to sushi, and I’m excited to check out their evening scene. They also have some very reasonable lunch options.The décor inside is very reminiscent of a spa. Everything felt very tranquil.

I’ll also have to revisit on a splurge day.

What are your tricks to eating healthy when eating out?