Nutritional Information for the California Roll

The California roll was first created in the 1970s by chef Manashita Ichiro at Tokyo Kaikan restaurant in Los Angeles. It was designed as a form of sushi to please customers who did not feel comfortable eating raw fish. As with most sushi, when it comes to nutrition, the California roll is low in calories and high in healthy fats.

Ingredients

A California roll consists of sushi rice, sushi nori, avocado, cucumber and crab. The crab meat can either be fresh cooked crab meat or imitation crab meat. Sushi is generally considered healthy, and the California roll made with imitation crab meat offers diners a few options.

Serving Size and Calories

Duck Fat and Cholesterol

Learn More

One sushi roll is equal to one serving. For ease of eating, a sushi roll is cut up into pieces. One California sushi roll cut up into 8 pieces contains 255 calories. The calories indicate the amount of energy it provides. Your daily calorie needs vary depending on your age, weight, height, sex and activity level.

Fat

Each California sushi roll contains 7 g of total fat. Most of the fat in the California sushi roll comes from the avocado. Monounsaturated fat makes up the majority of the fat in the avocado. The American Heart Association recommends you limit your total fat intake to 25 to 35 percent of total calories. A diet that includes foods high in monounsaturated fat can help lower your bad blood cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of heart disease.

Protein

Calories in Prosciutto Ham

Learn More

One California sushi roll contains 9 g of protein. Most of the protein comes from teh imitation crab meat. Imitation crab meat is actually made from fish, usually Pacific whiting or pollack, and flavored to taste like crab meat. As an animal source of protein, the protein from the imitation crab meat provides all of the essential amino acids making it a complete source of protein. Healthy women need 46 g of protein a day, and healthy men need 56 g of protein a day.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide your body with energy and should make up 45 to 65 percent of your total calorie intake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On a 2,000-calorie diet that means 225 to 325 g of carbohydrates per day. One California sushi roll contains 38 g of carbohydrate. The rice provides most of the carbohydrate in the sushi roll.