Eating Japanese

Now, not because I am going to Japan at the end of the year... ok, partly!

But mainly because I am intrigued by the Japanese diet. Lots of fish, lots of omega-3 fat, lots of soy, small portions, green tea, lovely presentation, lots of veg from the land and the sea. Something in that combination spells good health or Japan would not be the nation that has the longest lifespan, the lowest rates of heart disease, stroke, lowest levels of obesity.

So I started reading The Japan Diet by Naomi Moriyama and checking out the food plans. Baby steps to change: I started drinking mugicha (barley tea) for every meal at home. Trin loves it! And cutting back on the soft drinks while outside. In kopi tiams, green tea and nothing else. (ok, the green tea sold in cans is still sugarised but it's still better than a whole lot of other soft drink options!) For a soft drink/sugar addict like me, this is major change!

I also plan to cook one Japanese meal a week for a start. Yesterday we had Oyako-don. Next week, I don't know! Maybe some chirashi-sushi again. Or I may try some wakame udon.

Health aside, I think it's a good idea to get the kids to try different types of Japanese food so that by the time we get to Japan, they would be more familiar with the options there.

Can't live without my sambal and curries so the Japanese angle will be just that - an angle, not the whole shebang. A foot in the door to change.