Back when I was taking Karate, I would get serious meat cravings. I was working out enough that I would look in a meat counter at raw meat and actually salivate.
Here in Japan, that happens too, but it's with vegetables. Although the Japanese diet is very healthy (I've lost weight since coming here), it's hard to get any big servings of vegetables -- this ain't California. When I look at a display of nice tomatoes or other yummy veggies, I completely have the salivate reaction.
Veggies here are really nice but ridiculously expensive ($3 per bunch for Broccoli anyone?) so I'm always on the lookout for more. The other day in a British pub I actually ordered the ¥400 "vegatable stick" (aka carrot stick) appetizer just to get some fiber. On the way home the other night, I bought a package of cherry tomatoes (¥380) and looking at them in the store I was totally salivating.
The only vaguely affordable vegetable is carrots -- they're only $1 or so each (Japanese carrots are very thick but short, so they have more volume than a single U.S. carrot).
2 comments:
Ouch. I'd never make it there.
Although that makes sense, I was recently shopping for a maki roll dinner, got the assorted seafoods, the rice, and then had a hell of a time filling up my basket to the usual level with appropriate veggies 'cause I just couldn't think of what, beyond the basics (cucumber, blanched carrot, daikon...) would go well with the other flavors.
My friend Sonoko gave me a good tip I'll have to try out! She pointed out that the American-style steakhouses (Outback, Sizzler) often have all-you-can-eat salad bars...
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