About Me
I am a working mother of three, living in Japan and balancing my career with raising my children.
I studied food and nutrition at university and am a registered dietitian in Japan.
Although I have never worked as a dietitian in a hospital or other healthcare facility, I draw on my knowledge of nutrition and try to put it into practice in ways that fit naturally into everyday family life.
As of 2026, my two older children are in elementary school, and my youngest is still in preschool.
Mornings can be hectic, and evenings seem to fly by.
Even so, the time I spend in the kitchen at the end of the day is also a time when I can slow down and feel at ease.
The Roots of My Relationship with Food
I grew up on a farm in the countryside, surrounded by nature.
My parents and grandparents grew rice and vegetables, and seasonal produce was always part of our family meals.
We bought meat, fish, and soy products from the store, but we were almost entirely self-sufficient when it came to rice and vegetables.
Behind our house was a large vegetable garden, along with fruit trees such as grapes, persimmons, and figs.
Whatever was in season grew in the garden. In summer, I would pick tomatoes and cucumbers straight from the garden and eat them while playing outside. In autumn, I would reach for grapes from the vines that were within my reach and eat them right there.
We even kept chickens when I was little. Going to the chicken coop in the morning to collect eggs and eating them fresh was simply part of everyday life.
Behind the house were two traditional storehouses, one for rice and one for miso. That was where we stored our rice and homemade miso.
I can still remember the distinctive smell inside those old storehouses.
We also made our own pickles, of course.
In early summer, we would start making umeboshi, Japanese salted plums. I would watch the plums drying in the garden, gradually turning red in the sun, and sneak a taste before they were completely finished.
In autumn, my grandmother would start making dried persimmons.
The eaves outside my room were the spot where we hung them, because it was one of the places around the house least exposed to rain.
She would peel the persimmons and tie them, one by one, onto strings in alternating directions. Once they were all neatly arranged and hung up, they looked almost like a curtain.
Throughout the autumn, I would watch from my room as the bright orange persimmons slowly became smaller as they lost moisture, their color deepening as their natural sugars became concentrated.
At the end of the year, the whole family would make mochi, traditional Japanese rice cakes, together.
And we actually made them the traditional way—with a wooden mortar and a wooden mallet!
We steamed glutinous rice in the garden. My grandfather and father took turns pounding the rice, while my grandmother and mother turned and folded the mochi between each strike.
Once the mochi was ready, everyone worked quickly to shape it into small round pieces.
Making the mochi was a race against time, so even the children had an important job to do.
One of my favorite memories is dipping freshly made mochi into satō-jōyu, a simple mixture of sugar and soy sauce. The taste of warm, freshly made mochi with that sweet and salty sauce was something special.
Because I lived with my grandparents, most of our meals were traditional Japanese home cooking.
I still remember that when we occasionally went out to eat, I would order things like gratin or pizza—foods we didn't normally have at home.
Our everyday meals were not about having anything special. We simply ate what was available at the time.
We ate homegrown seasonal vegetables throughout the year and made our own preserved foods according to the season. Processed foods rarely appeared on our table.
Looking back, I realize what a rich and special childhood that was.
At the same time, my parents were never particularly strict about food. I also ate brightly colored sweets and other snacks that probably weren't the most nutritious.
Now, when I look back, I feel that those everyday meals from my childhood became the foundation of the way I think about food today.
How My Love of Food Began in the Kitchen
Growing up in that environment, I loved being in the kitchen from an early age.
The steam rising from a pot.
The sound of a knife chopping vegetables.
A basket filled with seasonal produce.
The little joy of being allowed to taste what my mother was cooking.
The conversations I could have with my mother only in the kitchen.
And the sweets I made on my own, with a recipe book spread open in front of me.
I still remember the day I was trusted to make dinner by myself, cooking with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
Those memories of time spent in the kitchen have stayed with me.
My mother also used to say something to me often while we were in the kitchen:
“The body you have today is made from what you ate ten years ago.”
As a child, I didn't think much about those words. But now that I am raising children of my own, I understand what she meant much more deeply.
Rediscovering Food Through Raising My Children
I watched my babies grow day by day as they ate the food I prepared for them.
And I have watched my children grow, little by little, nourished by the meals I make.
Since becoming a mother, I have felt more and more strongly that people really do grow from the food they eat.
It may seem obvious, but perhaps because it is so obvious, it is something we can easily forget in the midst of our busy lives.
Eating is not simply about filling our stomachs. The food we eat helps build our bodies and support our health, and it becomes part of our children's future.
At the same time, preparing nutritionally balanced meals every day while raising young children is truly challenging.
I want my children to get the nutrients they need.
Whenever possible, I want to give them homemade food that I feel good about serving.
But there are days when things simply don't go as planned.
Our family has days when we rely on prepared foods, and days when I make do with whatever happens to be in the refrigerator.
Even so, I believe that small things, repeated meal after meal, can make a difference:
- Eating even a few bites at breakfast
- Having a bowl of miso soup
- Serving some fruit
Even small things like these can add up over time.
My goal is not to use what I learned about nutrition to create perfect meals.
It is to turn that knowledge into something that can actually be practiced and sustained in our everyday family life.
That is what I am trying to do now.
I also want to pass on some of the food experiences from my own childhood to my children.
We live in the city now, so, unfortunately, keeping chickens is not really an option. But I try to bring some of those experiences into our lives in small ways—buying seasonal vegetables from local farmers, and making simple pickles and dried persimmons at home.
My father used to say:
“Children don't get to choose what they eat.”
The meals our children eat are entrusted to us, their parents.
I keep those words in mind as I prepare meals for my children each day.
What Matters to Me About This Blog
On this blog, I write about:
- Nutrition and everyday food, based on my knowledge as a registered dietitian
- Simple ways to make food easier for children to enjoy
- Easy recipes that can be made even on busy days
- Japanese food traditions that I hope to pass on to the next generation
I hope to share these ideas and experiences with you here.
Not complicated things, but small ideas that you can put into practice at today's table.
A little reassurance for the family table, even on the busiest days.
It doesn't have to be perfect.
There will be days when things go well, and days when they don't.
Even so, I believe that small things, repeated day after day, can eventually become part of our children's future.
For me, taking care of our meals is first and foremost about caring for myself and my family.
But if sharing those everyday efforts here can bring a little reassurance to someone else, I couldn't be happier.
All the photographs on this blog are also taken by me.
They may not all be picture-perfect, but I hope you enjoy them as little glimpses of everyday life with young children.
Sally