Trials and errors in the food arena

This is yet another post on food, I'm afraid, but when living in a foreign country - especially one where the diet is so very different from what one is used to - one tends to fixate, not least because food is perhaps the easiest and most accessible way to gain comfort and relieve stress. Or so one would think.


I had the pleasure of being taken out to dinner tonight by one of my private lesson students; she's adopted me as if I were a daughter, to the point of asking me, in a solicitous manner every other lesson or so, if I'm eating right, and tonight telling me to eat another helping of salad because I need my vegetables in order to stay healthy. She's wonderful, and her remarks lead me to meditate on exactly how my diet here has changed and the ramifications of such regarding my own health.

To be certain, it's hard to keep eating a western diet here in Japan, even if I hadn't been reliant on bread products beforehand; baked goods are readily available everywhere, but they do not make up such a large portion of the Japanese daily diet as one might assume from their prevalence in convenience stores and "authentic" French bakeries. Neither am I trying to perpetuate a western menu for myself: I know that not only is it expensive, it's a self-deprivation of sorts, since Japanese food is some of the yummiest out of all Asian cuisine (in my opinion!)

However, certain things on which I had come to rely to supplement my gluten-free, el-cheapo existence are no longer a truism here: as I've said before, vegetables and fruits especially are not cheap. It costs more for me to make a smoothie than it does to pick up an onigiri or mochi and some sweets at the convenience store. Essentially, what I'm saying is that I like to snack. A lot. And healthy snacks here are at least twice the price for half the amount of what you would get if you were buying unhealthy snacks. My choices this season, for fruit, are limited to bananas and mikan (clementines), or small quantities of frozen blueberries. It gets old rather fast. Nuts and dried fruits are quite expensive as well, and the only thing that the Japanese seem to sell in bulk is rice, so I find myself buying expensive things in small quantities, and it's hard on the wallet.

It's also hard on my body. I eat a lot of rice these days, and though that's in theory healthy, it's still a starchy food, and Japanese rice is white, sticky, and glutinous. So it doesn't really even feel particularly healthy to eat it. My baking endeavours, though gluten-free, are probably not calorie-free (especially considering the amount of sugar I put in them), and eating baked goods every day is probably not a good choice if I want my vitamins. Added to this, I have eaten at least one chocolate bar almost every day for the past three months; stress is lovely in this respect. Though I believe my internal freakout is finally starting to calm down, I have now gotten into the habit of eating sweets, as much as I want, whenever I want - I'm an adult! I have full-time job! I have my own apartment! I'm living on my own! Nobody can tell me what to do!

Nobody, that is, except myself: I'm starting to feel the effects of eating unhealthily. I went to the gym this past Friday; today I purchased a backpack and two gym towels, because I'm going to have to be serious about this. Working out not only relieves my stress, but it helps to get rid of the excess junk that I stuff down my gullet in moments of weakness. Perhaps this entire stretch of time in Japan has been one long moment of weakness; my excuses for not cooking vegetables are just that - excuses. I should probably respect myself and my own health enough to buy healthy foods, even if they're pricey, and I should try to find the time and motivation to cook even though it's boilingly hot and the idea of turning on the stove in this weather is anathema.

I'm not a health nut by any stretch, and I've only reluctantly begun to bake because my gluten intolerance forces me to do so if I ever want to enjoy anything remotely resembling baked goods during my stay here in Japan. I try to take my mothers' advice and eat my vegetables, try to balance my diet out, try to take things in moderation, but every once in a while it all falls apart and I have to re-start from scratch. I've given up on making my own food to bring in to work for lunch - it consumes my time, and is probably not a whole lot cheaper, and so I'm only going to be doing it on occasion: bringing in my own snacks and then buying a small bento or onigiri is a better way to free up my mornings, and only costs about 300en more per day. Perhaps slightly more expensive, but less stressful!

Tomorrow I believe I shall make myself some pancakes and then go buy some tapioca flour and asparagus. I believe I shall also start to research a way to wed the two: zucchini bread comes to mind, and I'm sure I can do something with eggplant. The adventure continues!