I grew up in a family with elaborate food culture. My dad was a Japanese chef, and come holidays and weekends, he prepared the most mouth-watering dishes you could imagine. My mom was a food dynamo in her own right, creating three-course meals on a daily basis and five- or ten-course meals on holidays. Today, she’s an encyclopedia of healthy food, infusing her dishes with influences from the macrobiotic and raw vegan worlds as well as from her upbringing in Japan and adult life in New York.
When I started making my own food, I thought the process was supposed to be elaborate. Twenty ingredients, ten steps, fine: get the saffron and dulse, spend three hours, try again. I ran into wall after wall, growing increasingly frustrated with the amount of time and money I was sinking into cooking vaguely edible food. Sure, the food was nutritious and… there. Better to have food than not, I figured. But where was the joy? The satisfaction? My time?
Over a decade of food-making, I’ve made some changes. My food philosophy today: It must be good for my body, good for my palate, simple, and quick.
Food that fits my parameters lights me up; I’ve learned that the cooking process doesn’t. Identifying recipes I might enjoy is fun; planning them to fit my needs and resources is, oddly, fun; cooking? No, thank you. Gathering, washing, chopping, sauteeing, blah-blah-blahing–nope, not my jam. I can do these activities for fifteen minutes, but beyond that point, my mind starts wandering: I wish I was playing piano, reading a book, tinkering with a new system, or working on almost anything else that would fill my bucket.
In recent years, I’ve become better at honoring those wishes. Filling my bucket is essential. When I regularly spend time exploring my curiosities and passions, I am happier and more creative in every area of my life.
I also have a husband and toddler whom I feed. Since I’m passionate about what I put in my body, I prefer to be in charge of food-making, even if the hands-on activity is not my favorite. Over the years, I’ve learned that my body feels better with no dairy, lots of veggies, mostly plant-based protein, some animal protein (no red meat), a smattering of whole grains in the morning, no coffee, and non-stimulant foods for extra energy. My family doesn’t eat exactly how I do, but when I’m in charge of meal-making, I get to eat what I want, and they eat some of what I make and supplement the rest.
So what do I eat on a daily basis?
Early Mornings (within 30 minutes of my workout):
- Superfood Oatmeal
- Maca Latte
Late Mornings (snacks):
- Baby Carrots + Vegan Caramelized Onion Dip from Trader Joe’s (TJ’s)
- Microwave-Steamed Broccoli + Nut Butter Sauce
- Cacao-Avocado Pudding
- Sweet Superfood Treat
Lunch:
- Green Smoothie
Afternoon (snacks):
- Bell Peppers
- Dr. Praeger Burger
- Savory Superfood Treat
Dinner:
- Veggie side (usually something frozen that gets microwave-steamed or air fried)
- Rice (cauliflower rice from TJ’s for me; brown or white rice for husband and kid)
- Main course (many options, sourced from books, the internet, trial-and-error, and my Japanese-chef dad and health-encyclopedia mom)
I love food, especially when it’s delicious, nutritious, and quick. I hope to document more of food explorations here.