Diet

So since I've been back in the states, my diet has been pretty piss-poor. Well, ok, maybe not that bad, especially when we eat at home. But overall, I find myself eating out quite a bit, and most of it is unhealthy. I can see how and why obesity is such an epidemic in this country. And the reason why is because it's very inexpensive and convenient to eat poorly here. It's more expensive and time consuming to eat healthier choices. Why should a single mother of three spend $40 to buy groceries and cook a dinner at home, when she can go through the McDonald's drive-thru and feed them for $20, and not have to wash dishes on top of it. When Akemi and I go out to eat, especially on the weekends, we usually only stick to appetizers to accompany alcohol. In Japan, that was great because, as I've mentioned before, most izakaya food is very healthy, nutritious, simple food, much of it raw. But at pubs here, bar food is mostly greasy and deep-fried. Tempting, but not good. I keep pondering the idea if izakayas or izakaya-style drinking establishments would do well here. I've heard that some have opened in more metropolitan places, like New York and L.A. It seems like when those kind of places open here, they come off as being pretentious or snooty (see, "big plate, little food"). I remember two pretty good tapas places in Virginia Beach that were crazy-overpriced. I'm not really sure why - the ingredients were not all that exotic. I think if Americans learned to eat in moderation, those restaurants could flourish and become more widespread and affordable. We can only dream. Maybe after the majority of the population eats itself into oblivion will people begin to wake up and become more food conscientious. ...Or maybe I need to start drinking in moderation.