Sushi

[JustBkind]

I want to be healthier this year and make some good food choices as far as work lunches are concerned. I would love to try sushi and I have an Aldi, Lidl and one stop about 5 mins walk away from work which is handy for the days I haven’t had chance to make my own lunch. I know the Aldi and Lidl definitely do their version of sushi but I have no idea how good it is or if it is raw fish (which puts me off a little). If you’ve tried any sushi from any of these places or M&S/Ocado as that’s where my weekly shopping is from, I would love to hear your reviews, thoughts and advice! Thank you!! (Also any alternative to a healthy shop bought lunch!)

Sushi is not as healthy as it seems, the (usually white) rice is mixed with sugar so it's simple carbs and the amount of protein/veg is relatively low. You'll be hungry again after a couple of hours. I have it sometimes and the only nice ones really are the freshly prepared ones from the bigger Waitroses and Sainsburys.
For a healthy lunch you'd be better off with roasted veg and salmon or similar.

I agree it’s low fat but high sugar/carb and delicious. Waitrose is miles ahead of the others, Sainsbury’s second. What about making a poke bowl? It’s quite fun and you can juggle the ingredients to make it low carb/fat/whatever.?

Lidl sushi is nice enough as supermarket sushi goes. I think from memory the fish one does have raw salmon but they also do veggie sushi and duck sushi if you don't fancy raw salmon. I find it filling enough and I think it is low calories but can't comment on how healthy it is. Not much veg in the fish/meat version so yes you'd probably get more of your 5 a day from a salad. But no harm in sushi every now and again?

I don't mean to sound snobby, but sushi from supermarkets is definitely not the greatest sushi. It's a food that's best very fresh. You could try making it yourself (without fish), it's quite fun! But not the cheapest. Or go to a yo sushi type place.

Why don't you try making something like these rice bowls? www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/easy/g4515/rice-bowl-recipes/

Big Sainsburys do a make your own sushi kit which isn't expensive, and you can use smoked salmon and avocado. It's quite fun (did for DD12 birthday).

Lidl sell two different ‘levels’ of sushi - the more expensive one is worth the extra cost. Same with Aldi, the ‘Eat and Go sushi’ is like average supermarket sushi, but the slightly more expensive (Aldi selected I think - black packaging) is great.

I agree that sushi might not be the best choice for a healthy lunch. M&S have some really nice salad options. Or make your own salad. Porridge is a great if you want an easy, warm lunch for winter.

Thank you everyone! Some great suggestions here, love the rice bowl idea and making my own sushi but don’t think I will have time for that. Salad still a positive and likely option with the odd sushi meal thrown in…but the better expensive ranges where possible! Thank you all for taking time to comment. ☺️

I had aldi sushi for lunch the fancier 2.99 one. It was bloody lovely. The aldi ones come with wasabi and soy and ginger in all their boxes. Tesco and marks sushi you only get wasabi in the big boxes. Aldi are the kings of sushi I've eaten them all!

Supermarket sushi makes me sad, it’s universally pretty awful. Unless you go to the specific sushi counter in places like sainsbury’s

Agree that it’s not that healthy either, a decent homemade salad or roasted salmon with veggies would be healthier

Echoing previous comments - the proportion of rice to fish/meat/vegetables is much higher in supermarket sushi when compared to restaurants, the proportion of 'filling' increases again when you look at what is served Japan.

However, 'heathy' is a sliding scale, and if you are choosing supermarket sushi over a Greggs pasty then it is still a healthier choice, and importantly that is doable for you given you don't have time to cook. You would be worse of fooling yourself into thinking you would prepare you own lunches if that clearly won't happen and you end up buying a 'bad' choice anyway. The only good healthy choices are ones that are realistic.