So Glad To Be Back

It’s good to be back home.

I like to write occasionally about eating healthily, cheaply, and deliciously, but since I’ve been in Japan for the last year, I don’t think that much of what I’ve been writing has been particularly relevant to most of you. Frankly, it hasn’t been that relevant to me either, insofar as being in Japan generally requires me to sacrifice one of the three; Japanese food is delicious and healthy but not cheap, and my own cooking can be cheap and healthy but it’s not usually particularly tasty, especially because most of the ingredients I know how to use are expensive overseas.

Pictured below is today’s Welcome Back lunch: Black beans, spinach, chorizo, and two eggs (not pictured) with mozzarella cheese, all over some basmati rice. I got a light morning workout in (4×2 minute rounds of alternating between burpees and shadowboxing every thirty seconds, then some crab walks, frog walks, etc.) so I’m not sweating the carbohydrates too much. 

To put the US – Japan price difference in perspective:

18 eggs here cost me the same as 10 eggs there, spinach was about 3x as expensive there, and you can forget about black beans and chorizo.

But! Living with the lady, who has been reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, has motivated me to start buying higher quality groceries. Well, next time, anyway.

In fact, a blog entry on Pollan for competitive athletes – which he is most definitely not – might be some interesting stuff for this blog.

Next, the gear porn, as promised:

The shirt is one of my favorites – an old Millenia Fight Team shirt from my former BJJ instructor Gabe Ruediger’s first WEC title match, I believe. I like the logo, though it’s a little crowded. The shorts are nothing special – picked ‘em up at Uniqlo for about $9. Cheap, comfy, but I wouldn’t train in them.

The centerpiece here, of course, is the Reversal Black Belt. Sadly, it’s not “real” – it just holds up pants – but man, it’s cool.

pat m.