Whether sushi is a truly healthy food is up for debate. Some reports say sushi is a good choice for health. But, like most foods, the way sushi is prepared can certainly spike up the calories. And as for the potential mercury issues with sushi? Just ask Jeremy Piven.

But there's no debate over the nutritional quality of seaweed (or nori). It's a good source of magnesium and potassium and is very low-calorie. "Glamour" has an idea for making your own sushi-like roll with nori, brown rice (which is decidedly non-sushi material, but way more nutritious than white sticky rice), and sliced veggies. Sounds yummy to me!

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Day 3: "Let's go out for sushi," my husband says. Our kids are at Grandma's for the evening, and it's our date-night tradition.

I raise an eyebrow at him.

"What? Really? Even sushi?"

Yes, even sushi. It's definitely a bummer, but I stick to my guns. I make a spicy hot dish for dinner instead, something that the kids would have never eaten.

Though sushi is generally a healthy meal, calories can quickly sneak up on you. And if you go for a spring roll or tempura, you're piling on fat grams as well.

The chicken enchiladas I made instead were low-cal, packed with veggies, and even made with whole grain tortillas (extra fiber that can't be found in sushi's white rice). Sure, we had to do our own dishes, but we used the cash we saved to take in a movie ... where I didn't let hubs talk me into a box of popcorn.

TV's cutest secretary manages to look great, despite spending her time behind a desk at The Office. Jenna Fischer, aka Pam, recently shared her healthy habits with the folks at Health.com. "I tell myself that from Christmas to New Year's, I'm not going to worry about what's happening foodwise," she says. "The start of the year is an easy time to commit to a new health plan. If I know I'll be eating a lot around the holidays, I make sure I set up extra training sessions. And I'm fortunate to live in L.A., where I can go hiking and be active outside year-round."

But what about the rest of the year? Her goal is to avoid preservatives. "I spent two weeks in France last summer. I ate everything and came back 2 pounds lighter. Someone told me it's because of all the fresh food I had while I was there. So now I try to eat preservative-free."

She does treat herself every so often -- to sushi, her favourite meal. Sounds like my kinda girl.

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That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader! We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind. Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Everlast and Everlast Woman are giving gorgeous workout T-shirts to each featured member! To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Janeen Glenn

Age: 35

Occupation: Retail Management and Mom

How often do you exercise? Five times a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Running and working out with exercise DVDs.

To see how Janeen's fitness level landed her a spot in televsion production read on!

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If you missed our daily postings this past week, we invite you to take some time to catch up on our prior week's news and gear up for a new week of healthy living information and inspiration.

Want to eat right but don't think you have the time? Chris has tips for eating healthy in a pinch.

L.A. kids get a sushi robot. Now someone tell me where I can get one.

Oh no, they didn't. DWTS men called these women fat. What do you think?

Are your phobias keeping you from exploring the back country? Find out how to overcome them.

Faith Hill -- not afraid of a bikini cover at age 41.

Need a new tote for going to and from the gym? We're giving away a Palie bags Harison tote. Get your comment in by Wednesday, October 29th.

Trying to get more exercise? Why not try parking your car and walking? Here's how it worked for me.

Fitz doesn't want you to eat candy. But if you must, here's what she recommends.

Have a great week everyone!

Proper nutrition (or lack thereof) in schools s a hot topic these days -- parents, teachers, celebs and even some health-conscious kids are fed up with the amount of junk food available and the amount of healthy food not available in places of education -- so much so that they're doing something about it.

Take the Los Angeles Unified School District -- years ago, they bought a TS4 Sushi Robot with the intention of getting kids to eat healthier. Now they're finally putting it to use at Santee Educational Complex. The machine will be used for educational purposes in culinary classes, and the sushi produced will be featured in the school's student restaurant.

It's too bad the machine wasn't used sooner, but it's great that healthy sushi will be made more available to these kids. Maybe every school should have a sushi robot -- and a salad robot, a whole-grain sandwich robot, a fresh fruit and veggies robot ... well, you get the picture.

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If such a thing existed, I'd be a card-carrying member of SLA -- sushi lovers anonymous. I'm addicted to the stuff. In fact, I could probably eat it every day. I don't, but I could.

There are worse addictions, of course. Sushi is low in fat and high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, so it's no wonder the Japanese are some of the healthiest people in the world. But we Westerners have a tendency to take healthy things and and 'Americanize' them -- also known as doing whatever we can to make them tastier and more marketable.

Sushi is no exception. What started as rice, fish and seaweed now comes in hundreds of different flavours and colours. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not complaining about those spicy mayo-laden tuna rolls I love so dearly, but I can't help but wonder what we've done to the nutritional value of sushi.

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Each week, we'll be naming a Super Food and offering unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

When I feel sick, when I feel nauseated, when my stomach hurts, I hit the bottle -- of ginger ale, that is. My mama always told me that ginger would make me feel better, and it does. It's not just all in my head either -- it's a well-known fact that ginger can provide relief to nausea, ulcers and other digestive issues. But that's not all -- in addition to spicing up your food and adding a one-of-a-kind flavour, ginger has lots of great health benefits.

In studies, ginger has been shown to alleviate many common ailments, including pain, swelling, inflammation and even the common cold. Got menstrual cramps? Have some ginger. Headache? Grab some ginger. Gas? Yep, you guessed it -- ginger will help. It can reduce your fever and reduce your LDL (bad) cholesterol. It's also widely believed to help slow down or even stop the spread of some cancers. Pretty impressive, huh?

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 something I learned yesterday, which made me regret all those times I went to a Japanese restaurant and thought I was eating healthy when I ordered sushi. It turns out that those tasty, little rolls pack quite a wallop in the calorie department. I'm talking a real wallop -- like more calories than a Mars bar!! Surprised? Yeah, so was I.

I of course was aware that sushi is wrapped in white rice, which by itself isn't exactly the healthiest food choice. In fact, it's probably wise to avoid simple sugars of this kind altogether, if possible. Instead, reach for brown rice sushis, the healthier option. Still, whether the rice is brown or white, there are some serious calories to contend with. For example, an eel and avocado roll has 372 calories and 17.5g of fat!! Granted, much of this is "good" fat, but still, that's a whole lot of calories for a damn roll of sushi. And, if you make the mistake of getting something fried, you're in even bigger trouble. Remember that shrimp tempura roll you ate? Well, I'm sorry to break the news to you, but it had 544 calories and 13g of fat in it!!

This is not to say that you should avoid eating sushi. But, you may want to give more thought to what it is you're actually eating. Oh yeah, and another bit of bad news regarding sushi -- it's typically very high in mercury. Go to www.gotmercury.org and you'll see for yourself. Again, this does not mean that sushi is the enemy. Just try to be more discerning when it comes to what kind you eat. If you're still not sure, click here for a good article and caloric breakdown of the different types of sushi.

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Love sushi? Much of the time it loves you back. High in protein and low in fat, what's not to like? But reports out of Japan have gastroenterologists serving up some new advice for sushi lovers: If you suddenly fall ill with stomach pain, cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea, make sure you tell your doctor what you had for dinner.

That's because raw fish can contain the larvae of a small parasite called Anisakis. It can't survive for long inside your body, but while it's there it can give you some serious digestive trouble, trouble that may cause your doctor to go looking for more ominous causes, like bowel obstruction or appendicitis. But since the treatment for Anisakis infection is usually fluids and bed rest, by telling your doctor you ate sushi for your last meal, you might be able to save yourself expensive or invasive tests and treatments.

As an aside, when fish has been commercially frozen, parasites are killed, so you're only likely to be at risk from infection if your sushi is very, very fresh.

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Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

I know I've brought some crazy foods to the forefront in this feature, from lacto-fermented vegetables to broccoli sprouts, but now I am going to ask you to think about eating seaweed.

Huh?

You mean that stuff that wraps around your legs when you body surf, and makes the sunny beaches smell like dead fish? Why would you ever want to eat seaweed?

Kelp is rich in all the minerals found in human blood, pretty nourishing I'd say. High contents of folate, vitamin K, iodine for thyroid heath and calcium, not to mention cancer-fighting lignans, can all be found in kelp.

So why would you not want to eat seaweed, with all that it has going for it, and you?

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Though I love to cook, I'm prefer the simple life. If I see a recipe with too many ingredients, I'm likely to pass. I'm also likely to avoid it if it contains ingredients I've never heard of, are too hard to find, or if I don't keep many of them on hand. And if it takes longer than 30 minutes to prepare, forget about. That's why I was so pleased when I reviewed the 150 recipes inside Ric Watson's and Trudy Thelander's The Mediterrasian Way. Not only do their recipes promise to be full-flavored and nutritious, they also look relatively simple to create.

Recipes aren't all you'll find in this interesting volume. Watson and Thelander discuss how adopting a "Mediterrasian" lifestyle can protect your health and prevent disease. Adopting cuisine from both Mediterranean and Asian cultures, the authors have created dishes that are rich in whole grains, healthy fats, and fresh fruits and vegetables. They also encourage activity and time to reflect.

This is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. But adopting the Mediterrasian Way will prevent obesity and help you trim pounds along the way. Learn more at their website, and take a minute to look through the recipes there as well.

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The Japanese seem to go in extremes when it comes to weight -- they're either very slender or they're a Sumo wrestler. It seems like you rarely see a 'mildly chubby' person from Japan. So what's their secret (for the skinny, not the sumo)? According to this article it's probably these 5 things:

• In Japan more people walk or ride their bikes to get around, and few drive. Natural, built-in exercise.
• The Japanese eat more fish than any other culture. Sushi, of course, but also many other types of cooked fish and seafood.
• Tofu is a staple of most Japanese diets and it's been shown to reduce risk of heart disease and cancer.
  
• People eat slower in Japan. Partially it's the culture, and partially it's the chopsticks, but it serves the purpose of giving the brain time to realize the stomach is full before they overeat.
• People in Japan generally eat more fresh vegetables, and less canned and frozen ones. They also eat more vegetables overall than Americans (and other cultures).

Via Fitsugar

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Remember this thing? It made me seriously consider the unhealthy influence that the American diet has over the once-healthy eating habits of other countries. Now I'm even more convinced that the Japanese are on the slippery path to deep-fried gluttony that North America slid down many moons ago because of this: Mayo Margaritas.

Wait, that's not all. Mayo is taking Japan by storm and is now served in or alongside fondue, cocktail weiners, fried chicken, soba noodles, cocktails, tempura -- you name it. Aside from the occasional blot of mayo on a sushi role, I can't see mayo being a tasty addition to Japanese cuisine, but they love it. Those who are especially fond of mayo even have their own nickname: Mayolers.

They certainly could have picked a healthier item to be crazy about -- mayonnaise is notoriously high in calories and fat. But I suppose it's the creaminess that makes it craze-worthy, and creamy seems to go hand-in-hand with fat and calories. Still, I'm not going to become a Mayoler anytime soon. Are you?

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