Ask people what the word “sushi” conjures up in their minds and you’ll get a variety of answers. Some will immediately envision raw fish, others will think about deep fried soft shell crab with avocado, cucumber, imitation fish eggs and mayo. When I think about sushi, I think about perfectly cooked rice, served cool and seasoned with vinegar, garnished with raw fish.

A excursion to a sushi bar can be indulgent and gluttonous. I highly encourage this experience once in a while. When you make this power play, go all out, no holds barred style. The craziest rolls, sake bombs, splendid, ice-cold Japanese beer, tempura, the whole nine; go for it.

The sushi restaurant can also be a spiritual, healthy experience, as many times as you’d like per week (if your wallet can survive on life support). Even though the rice is the defining characteristic of sushi, when I am eating for nutritional excellence, I plan my experience a little differently.

Here’s my typical nutritionally on point meal.

I start with miso soup, edamame and green tea, then shift my focus to sashimi, just the fish. I’ll grab orders of ahi tuna, yellowtail and Bluefin tuna, about 2 oz of each. Salmon is my favorite fish to eat raw, so I’ll get two orders, roughly 4 oz. I finish with a thin slice of orange.

Let’s examine my meal, nutritionally.

Miso soup is a broth made from bonito (shaved, dried fish) and kombu (seaweed) mixed with miso paste. Usually tofu, seaweed and green onions are added right before serving. It contains roughly 86 calories and six grams of protein per cup. A bowl of this is packed with healthy goodness, including amino acids, fiber, vitamin K, riboflavin, calcium, folate, iodin, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have shown that it also helps to reduce risk of some cancers.

Order a dish of edamame and you’ll be served a bowl of immature soybeans still in their pods. A serving boasts 189 calories, 3.4 grams of sugar and 17 grams of protein.

From WebMD:

The component thought to be at least partly responsible for soy’s health benefits is a type of phytoestrogen called isoflavones. Isoflavones also appear to work with certain proteins in soy to protect against cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Green tea doesn’t have a caloric impact. It’s simply hot water over the dried and crushed leaf of the tea plant.

From BrainHealth.net:

Green tea has been shown to increase fat burning and boost the metabolic rate, in human controlled trials (12, 13). In one study in 10 healthy men, green tea increased energy expenditure by 4% (14). Another study showed that fat oxidation was increased by 17%, indicating that green tea may selectively increase the burning of fat (15).

The salmon, yellow tail and tuna all come in around 40 calories and 6 grams of protein per ounce and I’m scarfing down 10 ounces.

From livestrong.com:

Sashimi is a low-calorie, low-fat source of protein, but it is also an important source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are thought to promote cardiovascular health, improve eyesight, lower bad cholesterol while raising good cholesterol, and combating depression.

The total intake for the meals comes in at 675 calories and 83 grams of protein. I’d always suggest tailoring a meal like this to meet your caloric needs, but you could do a whole lot worse than this health boosting experience.

Now go meditate. That’s the spiritual part.