Food for November

Dinner! :D
This is the biggest, prettiest dinner I've had for a while.
It is ginger stir-fried vegetables (carrots and komatsuna, a spinach-y plant thing, or a "type of rape, potherb mustard" according to jisho.org.) Then plain yogurt, lentil curry from a few nights ago. Honey for my leftover yogurt and Japanese persimmon (kaki) for dessert. Everything sided with some ginger tea, 'cause if I put the tiny leftover back in my fridge it gets all shrivelly and gross. And, besides, ginger is good for upset stomachs.

Okay, so, I have about 8 blog posts planned for this sucker, and I just pulled 125 pictures off my camera to make that happen, but instead I feel like talking about food.

So, food it is.

For those who have not heard, Japan has been good for weight loss for me. Japan has not been good for eating. I have never had an issue of weight loss because I'm not eating, but... apparently there's always a time to try something new.

Over the past two weeks, I average about a meal and a half a day. I get breakfast, which I count only as a half meal because I'm eating about half the amount I'd normally have in America because my stomach doesn't settle in the short time I have before I get to school, so I can only sneak a bit in when my stomach isn't looking and then rush off to school before my stomach realizes what I did and gets nauseous.

Then I get a nice big lunch. I've fallen into the habit of buying bento, or traditional Japanese boxed lunches, when I'm at school. Three reasons why: 1.) They're delicious, 2.) I don't have to make them, and 3.) it frees up my mornings and evenings from preparation. Usually they're about a cup of rice, and then lots and lots of meaty fried food. Not great for my tummy, and it starts wondering why I'm forcing so much oily food into it. Usually, though, I can convince it that it's all delicious and nutritious. Usually we settle for a truce, with my stomach becoming only slightly uneasy through the afternoon, and me moving slowly and carefully.

Then I get home and toodle around for an hour or two, and it's 7 and I'm exhausted, and I think "Well, I cooooould make dinner, but then I have to wait up for 3 hours, so my tummy's all done digesting and I can go horizontal safely. Orrrr I could just hop in the shower really quick, pop into the warm snuggliness that is my bed, and go unconscious. Yeah, that sounds pretty excellent."

November: 3 months in Japan, 16 pounds lighter, Nanowrimo, and 8 unwritten blog posts.

Love ya'll.



*btw, that's my new kotatsu in the background! It is awesome and warm! <3