My diet has changed a lot since moving to Japan. Most notably, I don’t eat out as much. This is a good thing. I also cook very differently. This is in large part because I no longer entertain in the home. This means I don’t cook my party staples such as lasagna or homemade mac n cheese. This is because most of my friends do not come to my house. In Japan, the home BBQ is not really done, and I no longer have a yard to BBQ in. Plus, our son (Rasta) is grown and out of the house. This is the biggest change because when he moved out, Chad decided that he no longer wanted me to cook for him because we have very different tastes which means for about 18 years, I cooked three meals. One the way Rasta wanted it cooked, one the way Chad wanted it cooked, and one the way I wanted it cooked. Sometimes, we could all agree on how a dish should be made, but most often I cooked things three ways. I was a very picky eater as a child, which led to a lot of ridicule and punishment and caused me to vow never to food shame anyone. Hence, the cooking of one meal three ways.

Now that I am just cooking for myself, I find that I eat a wide variety of vegetables, most notably the Japanese eggplant. Chad does not like any variety of eggplant. I love it! I also find that Japan’s vegetables are smaller and more flavorful. If you have the opportunity to try kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) I highly recommend it! I still eat a lot of pasta, which was a favorite of mine in the US, but now it is always a pasta vegetable mix. I look to cook my vegetables until they are so soft that when you mix them with the pasta they disintegrate and create a vegetable coating. Sorry not sorry if that sounds unappealing. I am cooking for my enjoyment. Another thing that has changed is my conception of fast food. In the US, I would not have considered tempura, curry rice, or sushi fast food. In Japan, although you can get upmarket versions of these, they are also fast food. You can get reasonably priced sushi delivered like pizza. I emotionally can’t accept the concept of delivery sushi. As with most of the changes to my habits, I struggle to tell the difference between how age, Rasta moving out of  the house, and living in Japan have played a role when it comes to how I have changed.