A friend of mine is a sushi connoisseur. Every time we go out to eat, I'm tempted to join him. But so far, I've only tasted what I fondly call "wimpy sushi" -- the vegetarian California rolls and fully cooked shrimp sushi. Maybe someday I'll get braver!

As far as sushi's nutritional value, they're pretty much winners across the board when it comes to calories. 12 pieces of California roll have roughly 361 calories and also provide some beneficial monounsaturated fat from avocado. 12 pieces of salmon roll may have up to 500 calories, but they're so loaded with heart-healthy omega-3's it's a good trade off. 12 pieces of tuna roll have around 450 calories. (All calorie counts may change based on ingredients and preparation, of course.) The sticky rice is refined, so it doesn't offer much nutritional value at all. But the nori (seaweed) is rich in nutrients such as iodine, vitamin A, calcium, and vitamin C.

Pair a plate of sushi with some green tea and you've got a healthy meal. I guess my friend is on to something.

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Here's an ingenious suggestion from Working On My Fitness -- use Bento Boxes for portion control. Bento boxes -- those cute Japanese eating 'plates' that have little compartments for each part of your meal -- would be ideal if you're trying to follow the food pyramid. Put your veggies in the largest compartment, your grains in the second largest and your protein in the smallest. There might even be room for a small (healthy) dessert.

What's great about this idea is that you can't just heap your plate full of food like you can with regular plates. And your meal doesn't have to Japanese to use the Bento box, but it can't hurt since Japanese food is one of the healthiest cuisines out there.

So what would go in your Bento box?

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What is a Bento box? Traditionally, it's a Japanese single-serving takeout meal served in a box. Bento meals can be very sophisticated, and the food is arranged in a visually pleasing manner and artistic touches are often added.

So what's Bento-licious? It's one woman's project that combines healthy eating, photography, and art all in one yummy looking Flickr set. Each weekday, she creates a Bento box, then takes a picture of it. Just flipping through her photos makes me hungry!

Looking at these beautiful, fresh, natural lunches makes me wonder why a Big Mac ever sounded like a good idea. Go take a peek and get inspired.

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