I am conflicted. On the one hand, some of the generalizations related to American diets here really upset me bc no, we don't all eat hamburgers and pizza daily, and also, many of the things the author says work for Japan are only possible because Japan is small and semi-homogeneous. The US is made up of so many cultures and we all interact with our food in different ways, some spiritual just like any Japanese person, some not. And also, everyone's socioeconomic status greatly affects how accessible healthy foods and diets can be. Sadly so many things vary between states, regions, communities, and neighborhoods. Also, Clearly, the author was meeting with middle to upper-class white Americans because no working-class mother, esp POC, would have the time or money to feed her kids pizza Every Day for Every Meal. Tbh I have a lot to say but I will attempt to control myself

I do appreciate the insight into Japanese food culture that the book gives, not all of it is completely new to me. Perhaps the author should have kept to that side of the story, enlightening us about Japanese food culture instead of constantly saying "Japan's way of doing it so much better, not like in America". I'm sure there could have been more we could have learned about. As for the nutritional side of things, I have opinions but generally, I do agree that not enough people, not just American, are not educated about what goes in their bodies and what should/shouldn't. And our ignorance is better for the people on top/businesses

Overall, the book didn't go as in-depth on any topic as I would have hoped, which is a bummer

Ps. Why did the author not talk about convenience stores in Japan? I'd be curious to read about that

Ch 1-5

I love the idea of shokuiku, the Japanese way of healthy eating, but the delivery is a bit off putting. This book comes off preachy.

Obsessed with bento boxes. There should be more of these, and not just for health.

American junk food is definitely the enemy, but we don’t all eat this all the time. And we’re not the only guilty parties. I snacked on dumb shit in Japan.

To be fair, Marie says you can practice shokuiku with any culture’s food. However, she doesn’t really give any examples. I was surprised when the recipes given mentioned brown and wild rice. Asians don’t eat a lot of either. I’m Asian American. I eat brown rice now as an adult, but I did not eat it growing up.

Japan does have the longest life span and lowest obesity rate. I’ll give them that. And there is a lot of white rice eaten there. Not that that’s the enemy.

There are classes about healthy eating in Japan. Wish they had those in the US. And things about saving money and building credit. That’s unrelated.

This shouldn’t be a shock, but what you eat goes into your breast milk. They obviously eat more salmon and fatty fish in Japan, but it was curious to see that a protein in their milk was 1/3 more effective.

I’m going to need more of those rice ball recipes. Not the one with ketchup. Ketchup is disgusting.

I never blame children that are picky eaters. I blame their parents.

Triangle eating is a very curious concept. I tend to only do it when I make and eat Vietnamese food at home. I’ll have to incorporate that more.

The US could use school nutritionists. Someone needs to be in charge of healthy lunches. Michelle Obama tried. Republicans said she was taking away children’s freedom.

I’m not sure ADHD symptoms can be alleviated by a diet change, but lowering your sugar intake can’t hurt the rest of your life.

Ch 6-9

I know you're supposed to eat without distractions, but I'm very guilty of reading while eating.

You get all of your fat cells as a child. This is a prime time to eat healthy.

Sleep more. Great advice. I will get right on that.

Another great one is eat until you're 80% full. I suck at this. I will try harder.

Sugar free yogurt? It wasn't until recently that we learned that fat isn't the enemy. Sugar is. But I find low anything kind of questionable.

Gut health is so important. Get you some good bacteria!

I love a hamburger steak. With gravy. And rice. Because Asian life.

I miss miso. And tofu. Maybe not tofu casserole. This soy allergy is really ruining my life.

Soba for New Year's Eve! Soba for all of the time! I weirdly adore the Pioneer Woman. Her simple sesame noodles are the best. As she lives in the middle of nowhere, she uses whatever pasta, but I find these are best with soba.

There is valuable, and perhaps even useful information in this book. However, the delivery was so entirely off-putting that it detracted completely from its stated purpose. The concepts of shokuiku are not new or novel to me as someone with Japanese heritage. I have no complaint or problem with shokuiku itself. But this book oversimplifies so much of it, and comes across as patronizing. It's like the author didn't truly stop to think about their intended audience. At many points, it comes across as holier-than-thou and preachy; so much so that even when there are nuggets of gold, they are overlooked. There is a complete disregard for the many factors that influence how people nourish their children and families, and the illustrations were often fatphobic. Hard pass on this one.

Shokuiku is a topic not unknown to me as I raised a child in Japan during her formative years. I do believe the Japanese way is much better than the American way of feeding a child. However, some of the sweeping generalizations in this book bothered me and much of it just seems like common sense.
However, I do think this is a good introduction to the Japanese way of eating. Will it work for non-Japanese? WIthout the culture that supports shokuiku, I am simply not sure. But I think this is worth reading for whatever ideas you can take away and use with your own family.