Making a "Right-sized" meal with Sushi

I try to change up my menus each week. It makes planning interesting for me and hopefully makes the eating experience for my family tasty and satisfying. This week I am concentrating on sauces...like soy sauce.

Since I plan balanced meals which fit within a calorie range it means I learn a lot when designing menus. An eye-opener for me this week was how many calories there are on average in a piece of sushi. It was humbling.  The veggie sushi has a little less but still has about 40 calories per piece. The meat sushi has a fairly big range but if you stick to the simple Tuna or Salmon sushi, for instance, it runs about 50 calories per piece. As recommended by Liz Vaccariello in 400 Calorie Fix I gave each person 4 veggie (without avocado) sushi and 4 fish (salmon & tuna) sushi. I added 1 cup of edamame and 1/2 cup blueberries.

Having never eaten less than 15 pieces of sushi at a sitting, I was wondering how satisfied I would feel by just eating 8 pieces. Amazing how I continue to discover how my own habits and expectations influence the quantity of what I eat...without me ever challenging them. So this was a test.

I am happy to report that 8 pieces of sushi, along with the other parts of the meal, was indeed plenty. I felt full and satisfied. I think having the others eating the same amounts also helped. I wasn't being denied something others were having. There were more edamame and blueberries for others to eat but the sushi was the same. Total calories for the meal was 517 which included 2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce. An indulgence in salt but worth it on occasion.

I am very happy to have discovered that sushi can remain part of my "regular" and "right-sized" meal planning. Made my daughter happy too!