Naomi Moriyama’s book, “Japanese Women Don’t Get Fat or Old: Secrets from My Mother’s Tokyo Kitchen,” talks about the seven pillars of Japanese food – fish, vegetables, rice, soy, noodles, tea and fruit. All of which, she believes, are the secrets behind Japanese health and vitality. Of the seven pillars, fish was introduced first and was given much attention to. Since Japan is mainly surrounded by water, it’s no wonder that Japanese diets are fish-based, rich in fish and seafood, with sparse beef offerings (perhaps also owing to limited land space).
However, people must be aware that not all fish or seafood is healthy, especially if consumed in large quantities. A lot of fish and seafood contain high amounts of cholesterol and may not be healthy alternatives at all.
Scientists and health experts believe that fish oil derived from herbivorous fish species like mackerel, salmon and sardines contain natural fish oils considered to be natural anti-cholesterol agents. Fish oil contain polyunsaturated fatty acids, more popularly known as omega-3 that lower blood cholesterol levels and improves blood coagulation properties. They are also proven to prevent the risks of heart attacks, depression and some forms of cancer. Continue reading ‘Japanese Meals: Fishy, fishy, fishy’
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As a child, my dad used to fold a piece of paper, insert into the upper part between the chopsticks and secure it with a string or rubber band. This method allowed me to use chopsticks like a tong until I eventually learned to use them without properly.
Whenever my son is given his set of chopsticks, he commonly uses it to poke the food or to spear whatever is on his plate. Because of this, I employ the same technique as my father applied to me (and my chopstick use) with my son, who manages to pick some food using his mommy-made chopsticks.
According to a popular Eastern legend, the idea of using chopsticks originated from cranes, who would eat their food one bite-sized piece at a time using their beaks. Can this be the reason behind the absence of obese or even fat cranes? Properly paced eating? Maybe, maybe not. Continue reading ‘Japanese-style Eating (how to use chopsticks)’
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I am a big fan of Japanese food, something that rubbed off to my son as well. In fact, we just had shrimp tempura, gohan (steamed rice), kani (crabsticks), tuna sashimi, tamago (egg) and kani salad for lunch. For some reason, I always feel satisfied, full yet still healthy without the supposed guilt of eating too much after every Japanese meal. Continue reading ‘Going Japanese (at least during meal times!)’
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Seeking for more alternative sources of energy, the Japanese found refuge in what they usually eat as nori. Continue reading ‘Seaweed Generates Electricity’
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I haven’t been using the net for leisure lately so I failed to catch this early on. Continue reading ‘Japanese Sauna’
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Media buzz lately has been good to green tea. More large-scale companies like Lipton, Snapple, Starbucks, and even a beer company are increasingly showing significant interest to this new fad that they cannot miss out. As an intelligent consumer, you don’t want to be fooled and realize that you are simply drinking sugar with an itty bitty dash of green tea in it, much like how everyone else thinks that my logo is a toxic waste bin :?, until I tell you it’s the vector counterpart of this matcha green tea cup pictured in this article. 
Sure, you have in your pantry, green tea bags (bad choice), or a stock of green tea leaves, either the Chinese (why?) or Japanese (better but not good enough) variety, but hear me out. Soon, you would want to switch to Matcha for your next tea party.
Continue reading ‘Matcha: Not all Green Teas are the Same’
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