Job Discussion Forums

[Yawarakaijin]

That little sandwich thread got me thinking. We all know that there are the obvious choices in Japan when one is trying to stay healthy but how does the busy man/woman eat healthy here? I know im brutal when it comes to preparing meals. I love cooking but it usually involves copious amounts of meats and a bbq. What are some of your selections for trying to keep it semi healthy while eating on the run?

[Eva Pilot]

I haven't tried for a day to eat healthy. I'm still alive and skinny that's all the matters right?

[ndorfn]

I reckon basically cook for yourself is the rule as most stuff in restaurants has very little vegetable content.

I hate cooking, but luckily the missus is good at it. Loads of tofu, natto, and in-season vegetables (I'm a vegetarian). we order brown rice and gluten products off the net.

[Vince]

[gaijin4life]

Vince wrote: That's pretty much what I did. Steamed vegetables, protein (usually chicken, fish, or tofu), and brown rice is a quick and easy on-the-run meal.

I cook a similar type of thing when time allows. One of my favourite meals is simple - brown rice (preferably organic - I wasnt concerned about this until a discussion with someone who said that organic brown rice is better due to less pesticides ... ?); steamed or lightly stir-fried vegetables (I try to buy locally grown rather than imported - again Ive been freaked out by people telling me about the abundant use of pesticides in some imported fruit/vegetables ..) and some meat or fish. This can be spiced up with some kim-chi and I sometimes add tofu for added protein, a dash of soy or usu (the soy sce with lime juice..) - an easy meal and taste sensation -

I try to avoid food with MSG in it as I really cant stand the strong, salty taste - its very difficult to do so though ...

[TokyoLiz]

I make my own obento lunch four days a week. My guide is a recipe book called Gofun de Dekita Obento - Obento Done in 5 Minutes.

Most of the recipes call for meat or fish, but you can easily modify recipes.

My favorite thing in a bento box right now is moyashi mix veg (comes prepared in a bag) pan fried with pork, ginger, soy sauce, ponzu.

I do a lot of stir fry over brown rice, pickled vegetables (chop carrot, cabbage, cucumber, salt them and leave them in the fridge overnight), spinach ohitashi.

My coworker does pickles with a salt and a little red wine.

Another easy, economical and healthy thing to prepare is soup. I put a little dried seaweed, miso paste or hondashi powder in a small plastic container. At work, I put it in a mug with hot water. Way better for you than the nasty prepared stuff in a plastic bag you get with some obentos.

[DNK]

Not having lived in Japan, but having attempted the same in the US...

Mass production works well. Why make one dinner a night when you can make four dinners in one night, and then only have to worry about reheating for 2 min all week? The fact is that throwing some noodles, tofu, peppers, etc, in a pot and cooking it for one meals takes about the same amount of time as doing it in bulk. Then just microwave some vegetables for 2min and you're done.

So I look for things that can be made thusly, and try to do this once a week. The other two nights can be a quickie whatever (veggie burger + couscous usually, or a microwavable dinner from a health brand), and the third would generally be a night out anyway. Hell, I do it even when I'm not rushing all over the place. It just makes things easier.

[JimDunlop2]

I'm going to break the mold here, because even as I agree with the posters about cooking your own meals involving tofu, steamed vegetables and other healthy stuff, I can relate to the OP's concerns..... Especially if you are brutal at preparing meals.

Conbinis CAN actually be your friend. Last year I started on a nutrition system/exercise plan that had me substituting my 3 meals a day with 6 smaller ones, at 3 hour intervals. Yeah, it's kinda a pain in the a$$, but I was able to comfortably keep it up using MOSTLY pre-prepared, pre-made meals from my local conbini, and STILL not only lose weight, but increase my lean mody mass AND reduce my overall body fat.

How?

Step one: (this isn't meant to be a plug, but it really helped me)... Read this book: "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle". http://www.burnthefat.com/

Step two: Pay extra attention to the sections on nutrition and how to eat.

Step three: When you go to the conbini, pick out balanced meals that fit into your calorie count... (Yes, it can be done -- quite easily, in fact).

The only downsides to watch and be careful of, is as the other thread pointed out, a calorie isn't a calorie. You have to also watch your sodium and fat intake and make sure you balance your carbs with your proteins. But if you shop carefully, it's not rocket science -- just a lot of label reading.

Hope that helps.

I also talked about this program briefly in a previous thread here:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=46024

[Apsara]

I tried the "make 3-4 days worth of meals and then freeze them" thing when I was on a tight budget a few years back, but I discovered that a) having the same meal 4 days in a row is really boring and takes away my appetite and b) just-cooked veges taste great, veges cooked 3 days ago and frozen do not, so I gave up on it. Veges cooked, frozen and eaten several days later have probably lost most of their nutritional value anyway.

Now if I cook something and I haven't eaten it within 48 hours it usually ends up in the rubbish.

[TokyoLiz]

I'm with Apsara. The only food that I find I can tolerate more than two days in a row for lunch is curry rice. In the summer, it's hard enough to eat, as the heat and humidity supress appetite.

Today's lunch was combini food - instant harusame soup and sankaku sandwhich of egg and tuna. The soup has lots of veg and seaweed in it, and the sandwhiches give me a whack of protein, but high on cholesterol, I suspect. It was satisfying enough.

[Sweetsee]

How about keeping the earth healthy at the same time and only eat food you have prepared?
I'm on the run five mornings a week with a thermos of black tea, a two-liter thermos of juice flavored Crystal Clara water, bread with butter and jam for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and sometimes a banana or two. Never tire of home baked bread!
Enjoy,
s

[Quibby84]

How do you bake bread?
All I have to cook on is a hot piece of metal (not two, one) and absolutely no counter space. It is really hard to cook every night (although I have done it for 5 days a week for 6 months), and it is even harder to cook healthy. We have to eat rice SO much, that is a lot of carbs. I usually cook rice, put a meat, lots of onions, and frozen vegetables (not enough space for fresh). Sometimes I boil noodles in the microwave. But still I cant be as healthy as I wish I could....it is harder for me here...maybe it is because of the sucky kitchen....

[Sweetsee]

Costco's bread maker.

[MrChips]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned vegetable juice. There's such a large variety in Japan.

[Vince]

A few homemade onigiri and a small container filled with assorted vegetable sticks is also a good way to go. I used brown rice for the onigiri.