Greetings from Japan! 日本からのご挨拶 !

I was away visiting various countries in Asia during the month of December.  Lots to write about, lots of pictures to share so keep your yes posted as I find time in between my work to put my thoughts together (and go through all the pictures that both my husband I took together).

One thing that worried me abit in the beginning of my trip was the mainly rice based diet that Asians tend to eat.  Like many diabetics, I try to limit my carb intake to keep my blood sugars from spiking, but with any food, it's all about PORTION control.  All I can say, was I ever wrong about what they eat.  While rice does remain the base of their meals in most cases, they also eat alot of fresh vegetables and fruits.  All very healthy and tasty and the main thing as I've always written about, eating food that is not processed, cooked from scratch is the way to go with being healthy!

One thing I loved to have in the morning for my meal was congee while I was away.  It's basically a rice based porridge (or gruel to some of you).  It can be eaten plain (this is according to research I have done for this short blog), but my morning meal tended to be flavoured with chicken, along with fish or other meat served along it. Along with a scattering of roasted seaweed and some nuts, it kept my blood sugars more stable then my usual oatmeal porridge and my tummy happy until later in the afternoon.  Let's just say, I was pretty impressed with the results of my blood sugars as well.

So, on that note as I'm supposed to be "working", without further adieu, here is a link that I found in my latest Canadian Living that uses your slow cooker to cook up this tasty meal (in their article no reference is made to whether it's for breakfast or dinner ... but who cares!).

And for those of you who poo poo carbs, according to the nutritional breakdown, I can now see why perhaps I was having a few lows as I was guesstimating on the amount of carbs for the portions I was eating.  So, take a peak, I dare you to try something that is different then what you normally eat, and your body may thank you.

If you're wanting to know about the benefits of eating congee then I highly recommend this link to help educate yourselves.\

And with that,  どうもありがとう Dōmo arigatō - thank you very much for reading my dribbles here.  The pictures below are when Sock Monkey and I got to be dressed up in beautiful kimonas by some wonderful ladies in Shimizu, Japan (they say it takes them only 15 minutes to dress themselves up).  Of course, I chose a beautiful blue design for diabetes and yes, the Children with Diabetes bracelet from Friends for Life that I attend back in Niagara Falls, Ontario in early November was still on!).

And of course,

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!  

明けましておめでとうございます

Mount Fuji was very clear that day!

Sock Monkey likes his hiding spot!