Healthful, Easy, and Inexpensive Meals - Japanese Style

 

Song:  Old Man

Artist:  Neil Young

As I had moved to another state...

and will have to rely on my sisters sending me pictures of my mother...

I will, in the meantime...

be publishing articles of some of the things I do

as an elderly man (I will be 65 yrd old shortly).

For elderly people...

the following two light meals are not only supremely healthful...

highly digestible, and very tasty...

but they are very inexpensive and easy to make.

Although I usually add some kind of greens to my meals...

on some nights...

I am not so hungry.

Regardless...

Unagi (freshwater eel) is a favorite quick meal for me.

Japanese food is my overall favorite type of meal...

although I love Mediterranean food as well.

Unagi is very healthful as it is a highly digestible protein...

which...

like other fatty fish...

are high in Omega 3s and other nutrients and vitamins.

I really love Unagi...

especially as it has the health benefits of sardines...

and yet...

are less expensive...

and are, to me...

 much more delicious

It is also a very satisfying meal...

and so...

you will not eat so much of it.

The red circular objects in the upper left container are Japanese salted pickled plums...

called Umeboshi.

I often eat these with most Japanese dishes.

They provide just the right tartness to accent the meal.

I also have a small rice cooker...

which when I cook a full batch...

gives two full meals worth.

This way...

the rice I cook will last for a supper...

and then for breakfast in the morning.

That is what I had done here.

Last night I had eaten Unagi with rice.

I then refrigerated the rice...

and finished it off with my breakfast.

This is one of my favorite breakfasts...

Natto mixed into rice...

accompanied by Umeboshi...

and sometimes with Miso soup.

I left the Natto over the rice just to give an idea of how much

Natto is use for a meal.

After I had taken this picture...

I thoroughly mixed the Natto into the rice.

They often come in three packs at the Asian markets...

and although some people use just one pack per meal...

I use all three.

The Natto may be frozen...

and then defrosted in the fridge over a couple of days.

You then put the Natto into a small bowl and mix in the included

ingredients:  a light sauce...and a mustard pack.

Some people don't like the smell or consistency of Natto.

For me...

Natto smells like coffee...

and the "sliminess" pretty much goes away once mixed in with the rice...

but even so...

 I like it just as much as I like okra.

Natto has a plethora of healthful benefits 

(look up Natto...you will be convinced to try some just for the health benefits)...

besides being a wonderfully light meal...

and yet...

ever so satisfying.

Actually...

I really don't like typical American breakfasts.

I only had to make some before because I hadn't...

at that time...

gone to the Asian market.

The boxes on the 2nd and 3rd shelves of my washroom vertical deep freeze

are the packages of Natto...

bundled in sets of three.

As soon as I have more room in my freezers...

I will be buying many...

many more packages of Natto.

I will soon begin making my own yogurt...

as well as dehydrating lots of veggies so I may use them in my cooking.