I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so
I don't know if it's approaching yet another birthday, realizing just how easily I lose weight in Asia and how fast I gain it at home or the fact that my city has a free gym, but I've been on a real health kick for the past several months. Part of that 'kick' has been trying to keep track of what I'm eating everyday on this fantastic website: My Pyramid Tracker. This is one thing the government has done right. You can search for and enter in all of the foods that you eat in a day, choose the amounts and then read a detailed analysis of your fat, calorie, carbohydrate, sodium and vitamin intake. You can also enter in your physical activity for a given day and get the same kind of analysis of the calories you've burned. The site rates and tracks your progress so that you can see whether or not you've improved over time.
Enough about the site; if it weren't free, they could hire me to sell it. What's funny is that in the process of entering my foods every day, I've made a "frequently eaten" foods list that cracks me up to look at objectively. Three years ago if you would have offered me some squid jerky I might have gagged at the thought, but today, it's one of my favorite snacks. So, to humor those of you back home, here are the items on my list that remind me just how long I've been in Asia. What used to seem strange is now oh so commonplace...
kimchi
glutinous rice cakes
squid
dried seaweed
seaweed soup
sesame seeds
soy milk
soy sauce
soybean oil
soybean soup (miso)
tofu
Chinese cabbage
raw garlic
onions
red peppers
rice noodles
rice