I’ve been pretty obsessed with photographing my daily food intake lately. My sister (a personal trainer who is training me for my upcoming wedding) is making me complete a daily food journal, and I thought it would be a fun idea to document everything that I put in my month, to accompany it.

This is like the modern version of “enikki,” a picture diary that we had to keep in elementary school in Japan.

Breakfast: I had breakfast at 10:45 this morning – a very late start. I started checking work emails and lost a track of time. I had a bowl of rice, miso soup using the leftover broth from last night’s mizutaki, and natto.

Natto is a Japanese delicacy made out of fermented soybeans and is usually enjoyed poured on top of steamed white rice. We Japanese eat this for breakfast, while our American cousins eat eggs and bacon in the morning.

I was a bit hesitant to post a fairly large photo of this dish because the visual of stringy rotten beans can be Fear Factor-ish and understandably unappetizing for some. Thank goodness there is no “scratch and sniff” feature here … as natto can be pretty stinky.  But it’s actually very delicious once you overcome the initial fear, and its health benefits are second to none.

Lunch (2:30 p.m.): I made a harusame soup thing, using the leftover miso soup from the morning. I boiled  ¼ head of cabbage and added some harusame to the broth, and enjoyed it with some gomadare, ponzu, and Sriraccha.  I wish I had some green onions to sprinkle on top for some crunch and color.

Snack (3:45 p.m.): A cup of Costa Rica coffee brewed using the French Press, with a splash of almond milk and homemade caramel for the at-home version of designer Caramel Maccchiato. I’m convinced that the French Press brews the best coffee.  I also ate one stick of the Korean chocolate bar.

This is the homemade caramel sauce I received as a Christmas gift from my soon-to-be sister-in-law. She is a wonderful cook and an amazing woman. And as for the gift … this is the best caramel sauce I’ve ever tasted. I have to be careful not to polish the entire jar in one sitting.

Dinner (9:00 p.m.): I had my favorite smoked salmon sandwich (with mayo, onion, and avocado) after I returned home from playing tennis with Shannon (and burned what we think or hope was about 450 calories). It was such a fun workout session and even funnier because I don’t know how to play tennis  … at all.