School of fish off Bonaire
History, despire its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. ~Maya Angelou
For a long time I ate seafood and avoided meat, but last year I reversed the situation since seafood has become overfished, and there are more and more responsible meat producers. This leaves me feeling conflicted over sushi, a former meal staple, especially during the summer when the last thing I want is hot food. I've been avoiding sushi, but there are times when I end up at a Japanese restaurant. Happily I found some great resources to help me order sustainable sushi, with simple principles like the 4 S's.
What to do - Order Sustainable Sushi
- Download this pocket-sized sushi guide from Monterey Bay Aquarium that you can keep in your wallet, or download the iPhone application.
- Order vegetable sushi. I am partial to avocado and mushroom rolls.
- Talk to your server/sushi chef and ask where the fish is from, how it was raised, and how it was caught. Order the sushi that is a "Best Choice" from the sushi guide in step 1.
- Order with the 4-S rules in mind. I found 4-S from fish guru Casson Trenor, and they are awesome and simple.
- SMALL - order small fish since they are more resilient to overfishing. These include sardines (iwashi), skipjack tuna (katsuo), horse mackeral (aji).
- SEASONAL - fish are seasonal, and it's best to order off the specials list.
- SILVER - you know the sushi that still has silver skin on it? Order that. It's high in omega-3s and tasty. This includes mackeral (saba and sawara) and Pacific saury (sanma).
- SHELLFISH - foods like oysters, mussels and clams are easy and environmental to farm.
- Avoid tuna. Especially blue-fin tuna, which is endangered.
Want to learn more?
- Issues around seafood and overfishing
- Sustainable sushi - website and book from Casson Trenor
- Monterey Bay Aquarium sushi guide
What I ate: 16 oz. chocolate milk, brown rice + tofu salad, 12 oz. hemp milk, 1 handful Mindful Mix, 1 pint blueberries, 2 handfuls cherries, 1 mango, 1 large latte, 1 hardboiled egg, Pirate's Booty, dried sliced mangos, cheddar cheese Del Posto dinner: 4 risotto balls, 2 prosciutto balls, 2 parmesan + balsamic vinegar, veal meatball in pastry, lobster salad, 3 steak tartare on crackers, bread + butter + lardo, shrimp salad, garganelli + bolognese, lamb chops, chocolate tartuffo, 60 oz water
Exercise: ran 8 miles
