Okinawa food style!

"American dog", "Turkey rice". We are nervous for Japanese food, but don't care for non-Japanese food or non-traditional Japanese food. ha!

And do you know Taco rice? It's an original food in Okinawa which has Taco items on rice. Weird? but try it once, it's delicious (and maybe healthier than taco shell). Okinawa is well known as place where people have long life.　Maybe you have a healthy, good image for Okinawa style, Okinawa diet etc. But Okinawa has the worst obesity index in Japan. Did you know that?

I don't think it means they will lose No.1 rank of the long life chart anytime soon. It could mean Okinawa people aren't  nervous about their diet and enjoy food without stress. Maybe a little plump body will be better than skinny. And of course Okinawa food is really healthy. So why are Okinawa people obese? Some said it's because Okinawa eating habits are Americanized because of the U.S military base, especially "Burgers" being bad.　But as far as I checked some Okinawa food, the problem is not burgers. It's because the portion of each food and dish is so BIG in Okinawa.

Here are some samples.　Well each meal is a stack of mixter-maxter. Most of all, the one in the first photo is awful. It would be over 1000 calories easily. That one is called "A-lunch" in Okinawa. Usually A-lunch is a set of rice, soup and big fried pork and hamburger steak and salad or potatoes like this. Since "A-lunch" is a general name like "taco rice" or "Turkey rice" you can eat it for breakfast or dinner. They have C-lunch and it's a smaller size of A-lunch but there is no B-lunch.

I am not sure Okinawan people eat such a huge meal everyday. Actually today's portal Z post is a Tokyo guy goes to Okinawa to eat "A-lunch". But he couldn't eat it all at once, so took the rest in a doggy bag, enjoyed some with beer in the Airplane, again when he got home, and also the next day at the office.....formidable A-lunch. I feel Okinawa will lose the No.1 of longevity ranking.

Comments

there food are terribble. and they need a chef
to cook. anna etheridge

[Guy]

I don't know how one came up with the 102 year life expectancy for Japanese females.
I think someone on TV said Japanese female
life expectancy is 85 years.

[jaswong]

Yeah I read something similar about Okinawa obesity at
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/okinawa-crisis-more-obese-japanese-japanese-diet-under-threat/
It's so sad young people are getting obese.

[Mari]

Hi There
I love taco rice and goya chanpuru. Unfortunately Okinawa restaurant in Tokyo serve very small meal and expensive. I really hope we can have reasonable and authentic okinawa style restaurant in Tokyo.

[Okinawa Diet Fan]

Don't confuse the contemporary eating habits of the Okinawan people with the traditional Okinawan Diet.

The contemporary diet of Okinawan has indeed been Americanized (more fat, sugar, meats, processed foods, bigger portions) and younger Okinawans are now all dying ealier of the same things like heart attacks and obesity related diseases that were unheard of in previous generations of Okinawans.

The traditional diet of Okinawa, on which The Okinawa Diet Program is based (Okinawa-Diet.com), is a very different sort of diet that is mostly vegetable based, low in calories and high in nutrients. It is exactly the sort of diet all modern nutritional science says is the best for you.

"Taco rice" is also in America although made differently. It is very much an "A-Lunch" here, too. Most Mexican food has meat, rice and beans with tomato and vegetables. Putting all ingredients in a bowl is easy to eat.

"C-Lunch" would be taco salad using lettuce instead of rice. Rice has very many calories so people will eat salad instead. Still, meat, cheese, sour cream and guacamole all have high fat so I am careful to use these ingredients as flavoring. The taco shell is not as bad because its mass is not so great compared to other ingredients.

[bshock]

The Japanese people in general (not just Okinawans) have a remarkably long life expectancy. I don't have a link to back up this assertion, but I have been told that the average Japanese female born this year has an estimated life expectancy of 102 years.