EPISODE 8. DIET

As a homemaker responsible for the kitchen, I always have a lot to say about food, cooking, and diet. There are still moments that surprise me. One of the things that amazed me was how Italians view their daily diet as a whole, thinking about what they had for lunch and then deciding what to have for dinner to maintain balance.

In contrast, traditional meals in East Asia (Korea, China, and Japan) tend to have similar portions and importance for all three meals. With the influence of Western diets and busy lifestyles, people often opt for more straightforward breakfasts and dinners, but traditional ways taught by parents and considered correct still hold firm in people’s minds.

Maintaining balance in your diet while eating what you want isn’t easy, but here’s a tip: when mixing Western and Asian diets in a day, it’s important to balance your daily sugar and carb intake. For example, if you had sushi or Chinese food for lunch, you might skip an afternoon snack. Or if you had a full-course Western meal, you could have a simple salad for dinner.

I also came up with some tips for using leftover Italian ingredients. These days, people eat a lot of beans, right? Here’s a useful method: East Asia has long used soy protein in various ways, and now Westerners are embracing these methods for health and natural living. I’m take pride in that! For example, you can mash mung beans like in Korean bindaetteok (mung bean pancake), add meat and vegetables, and fry them—delicious and without needing much flour.