10 legged mythical creature from the deep seas… I’ll take two please!

Posted: May 15, 2012 in Cook
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

The giant squid

Okay, when I think of squid, for some reason the ginormous one which attacks Captain Nemo‘s submarine in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea comes to mind.  Sadly, the commercially caught species is nowhere near as cool or as large as its giant squid cousin, which can grow up to 60 feet long and can even give the mighty sperm whale a good fight.  Luckily, this fact doesn’t diminish from the taste and nutritional content of the stuff, which you can usually find in any Japanese supermarket.

That brings me to today’s topic, which is a simple, new dish I’ve made from dried squid.  And when I say dried squid, I don’t mean the shredded stuff that is full of preservatives, MSG and God knows what else.  I’m referring to the simple, additive-free kind that comes in flat sheets, head, legs and all, which is called するめイカ in Japanese.

Squid is a good food source for zinc, copper, selenium, vitamin B12, and riboflavin (this information isn’t for the dried form, which would be even denser nutritionally).  Even better, according to this source, 100 grams of it in its dried form packs a whopping 60 grams of protein!  However, it’s very low in calories at a mere 350 Cal/100 grams, so if you want to make a meal out of it, adding some fat would be a good idea.

What drove me to buy dried squid in the first place was a rock climbing trip up north in Yamanashi Prefecture.  I bought an 8-sheet pack of it at Hanamasa (roughtly 1050 yen) figuring that there wouldn’t be much grub near the campsite and certainly no refrigerators, so I brought some dried squid to help supplement my protein intake while in the mountains.  Turns out there was a decent supermarket nearby after all, so I didn’t need to dig into the squid very much and took most of it home.  So here’s what I did with all the leftover squid…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I decided to experiment.  The stuff is even tougher than the toughest beef jerky I’ve ever had in its dried form, so I first tried soaking it in water overnight to see what that would do.  Sure enough, when I checked it in the morning, it was 1000 times more pliable and so much easier to cut and deal with.  Since I bought a ton of coconut oil recently, I decided to cut 3 sheets of the squid that had soaked overnight into 2 inch by 1/2 inch strips and fry it in coconut oil.  For seasoning, I somehow figured hot and spicy was the way to go (Asian-style, I suppose) and threw in some taco seasoning (as in Mexican food, not the 8-legged mollusk) and some 唐辛子（とうがらし).  I then threw in some pumpkin seeds (which had been soaked to remove the phytic acid) for a little crunch.

I’ve got to tell you, I had low expectations, but I was SHOCKED by how good this new dish of mine turned out, which is why I wanted to share the recipe with you.  Cheap, rich in protein and many nutrients, easy and quick to prepare and delicious…  I have a feeling fried squid will be working its way into my regular meal rotation from now on (^_^)

Alright JLPT N1, the application is in the mail… it’s on!

Posted: April 27, 2012 in My World
2

You all probably thought I was just bikini-watching at the beach every day while I was in South America, right?  Well, while I did do a lot of that, I was also keeping up with my Japanese studies.  Actually, I’ve been toying with the idea of taking the internationally recognized level 1 JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) this summer for some time now.

It turns out the time I spent studying paid off.  I took a mock test yesterday and was surprised by how good the results were!  After seeing the results, I decided to register for this July’s test.  For those of you unfamiliar with the JLPT, here is a brief summary of the JLPT testing system, especially regarding N1, the test I’ll be taking:

＊There are 5 levels, N5-N1, N1 being the most difficult, which is aimed at advanced Japanese students.

＊Tests N5-N1 all have vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and listening comprehension sections.

＊N1 can contain all of the 1945 Chinese characters supposedly in regular use.

＊A vocabulary set of at least 10,000 words is recommended for N1.

The most difficult part is going to be without doubt the reading comprehension section, which covers long, complex and often abstract topics.

As you may know, I’m translating this blog into Japanese for www.primaltokyojapanese.com, the Japanese companion site for this blog (for my Japanese readers).  Preparing for this test will undoubtedly make my Japanese better and my ability to translate naturally and faster stronger.

Anyway, the test is on July 1st.  Wish me luck!

The best protein supplement in Tokyo award goes to…

Posted: April 23, 2012 in Go Shopping
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

I love meat just like the next paleo guy, but sometimes I just need some quick protein without the hassle of cooking something up.  The word in most training camps is you should be getting 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.  For me that’s about 160 grams, so being able to supplement this critical macro nutrient would be very convenient.

So what’s a guy/girl to do in this situation?  Most protein supplements have so many additives and fillers as to make them taste horribly unnatural and/or disgusting.  Even more importantly, what’s the extra stuff doing to our bodies?  Give me the pure stuff, man!

That’s where whey protein isolate comes in.  I know what you’re thinking…  It’s too expensive, right?  I thought so, too, until I came across this product on Amazon.co.jp.  Due to the use of cross flow micro filtration technology, the fine folks at Fine Lab (say that 5 times fast!) were able to achieve an extremely high 95.4% protein content if you get the plain-flavored variety, which I highly recommend.  Compared to your average whey protein supplements (often called “whey concentrate”), this means more protein, less fillers and additives and less lactose and casein, which can cause problems for a lot of folks.

According to the manufacturer’s website, it’s a Japanese company that was founded in 2002.  I love the fact that it’s a Japanese company since that means you don’t have to deal with Japanese Customs and the delivery time is much quicker.  Here’s the MSRP price list according to the same site:

  • 1kg  5,985円（税込）
  • 2kg  11,025円（税込）
  • 4.5kg  18,900円（税込）

18,900 yen isn’t too bad for 4.5 kg, actually.  That’s 4,200 yen per kilogram, which you would likely pay for lower quality whey concentrate at any nutrition shop.  But a seller on Amazon.co.jp can even beat that with a super low price of 15,580 yen for the same 4.5 kg, which roughly comes to a very reasonable 3,462 yen per kg (free shipping, too!).  We’re talking about anywhere from 6-12 months supply of high quality protein here!

Well, I bought myself 4.5 kg of the stuff and let me tell you, I love it.  It mixes perfectly with water and it tastes natural like…  well, like the milk it was made from.  The taste is barely noticeable, which makes it ideal for mixing with all kinds of shakes and foods.

So, how do you use this stuff?  I take 50 grams in water every morning upon waking, as suggested by Mark McManus of musclehack.com.  According to a 2008 Dutch study, doing so can as much as treble your body’s production of growth hormone, which is a very welcome benefit, especially if you’re a hard-gainer like myself.  Another big bonus is I find that it wakes me up and makes me feel alert almost immediately, perhaps even more than coffee does.  If you go this route, after waiting a bit, eat your regular breakfast (or fast until lunch like I sometimes do).  I personally prefer to follow my workouts with a protein and fat-rich meal instead of another protein shake.

I also like to add this protein powder to Mark’s tuna burger recipe, as it helps give the tuna burger a more solid form.  I like mine cooked in ghee or butter with a little sea salt, oregano and cheese on top and smothered with tomato sauce.  It kind of resembles a pizza and tastes quite nice.  I’ll upload pics the next time I make some if I can remember.

Anyway, don’t blame me if your workouts are more productive or if you look or feel stronger after upping your protein intake ;-)

I wanna go to the gym, but… (excuse)

Posted: April 14, 2012 in Get Fit, Go Shopping, The Gear
Tags: , , , , , ,
1

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m guilty of using the title phrase time and again, too, like when it’s a rainy day and I want to shoot bad guys instead :-)

Well, sometimes the excuse or reason is really sound.  For example, when I was traveling in South America, I was often in places where there simply wasn’t an available gym or the daily rates were just too expensive.  Of course, being sick or injured is always a solid reason not to go.

But who ever said you needed a gym to work out?  In Rio de Janeiro people are lucky to have pull-up/dip stations placed along the beach which they can use 24/7 for free.  What’s more, they have outdoor gyms with free weights made from cheap, simple materials like concrete, buckets and metal poles that anyone can use at any time, as well.

For lack of a proper gym, I decided to use a nearby pull-up/dip station every other day and the outdoor gym once a week for my legs.  I was almost immediately shocked.  Judging from the pump I got from just using pull-up/dip station, used properly it was a nearly complete upper body workout!  Plus, it was free and could be done in a relatively short time.  The only muscle groups missing besides the legs were the shoulders, which I later learned I could easily hit with hand stands or hand stand push-ups in my room.

After a week of working out like this, Mark Sisson seemingly read my mind by linking to body weight trainer Al Kavadlo’s promotional video of his new pull-up bar-based e-book Raising the Bar.  I was super impressed by how strong Al looked and what he could do with his body in that video and immediately purchased his e-book ($40 if I remember correctly).  The e-book was useful in that it tells you how to start if you’re new to the pull-up bar and what exercises to progress to once you get stronger and more experienced with it.  The pictures of all the exercises were especially helpful, as well.

By now you might be saying, well Rio de Janeiro sounds great, Jarrett, but I live in Tokyo, man…  And the truth, unfortunately, is that Tokyo has no such outdoor gyms.  Also, public park pull-up bars that are high enough for adult use are a rare thing indeed (the only park with awesome equipment that I know of is on the west side of Ikebukuro Station).  So if you don’t live in Ikebukuro, what do you do?

If you’re a renter like me and don’t want to risk losing part of your deposit by installing a pull-up bar in your apartment, a stand-alone pull-up bar is a good option.  I just bought one myself and I LOVE it!  I’ve placed it on my balcony so that there’s plenty of clearance above the bar so I can (eventually) do  muscle-ups.

I’m now doing Al’s suggested Level 3 workout, which consists of:

2 sets of pull-ups (10 reps max)

1 set of chin-ups (10 reps max)

1 static hanging chin-up until failure (recently 30 seconds or so)

1 static handstand for about 1 minute (this is a warm-up for the next step)

2 sets of handstand push-ups (10 reps max)

3 sets of hanging leg raises (10 reps max)

3 sets of decline push-ups (10 reps max)

1 static tuck front lever until failure (recently 20 seconds or so)

This can all be done in less than 30 minutes with short breaks.  Having that pull-up/dip standalone station on my balcony means that this includes commute time, too!  I’m shooting for 3 or 4 times a week, because I really want to build my body in preparation for some outdoor climbing this spring and summer.  If you’re new to the pull-up bar or haven’t used one in a long time, maybe start with two workouts a week.

Although I don’t usually buy Chinese-made goods, I can definitely recommend this pull-up/dip standalone station, which is reasonably priced and feels tough and durable.  Plus, unlike a simple indoor pull-up bar which is often installed in door frames, this station has built-in dip bars and push-up bars, which are nice to have around.  It goes for about 10,000 yen, shipping and handling included and if you’re in the Tokyo area you’ll probably get it within 3 business days.

As for hitting your legs, while you can work your legs out with body weight exercises (I believe Al has e-books on this subject, as well, although I haven’t bought or read them), personally, I would much rather do weighted exercises once a week at the gym.  I usually make it an olympic lifts day of sorts and do bench, squat (quickly followed by leg extensions), dead lifts and calf raises.  There’s many ways to do squats, so choose the way you feel the most comfortable with.  I’m going to experiment with the single leg split squat on Monday.  Look for a post on gyms in Tokyo in the near future.

So, does anyone else have home gym recommendations or know of parks with decent training facilities?  Let us know down below in the comment section!

Back in Tokyo and lovin’ it! So why do I feel so good?

Posted: April 9, 2012 in Get Healthy, My World
Tags: , ,
2

Hey Primal people! So can you guess which arm is mine?  If you said “Uh, duh, the darkest one since you were in South America for like 2 months”, you’d be correct!  Now if I can just keep my tan until summer …

Anyway, I’ve been back in Tokyo for a few days now and I FEEL GREAT!!!  I was expecting to experience jet lag for at least a week or two like I have in the past, but it took just a couple of nights to get adjusted.  Needless to say, this was a pleasant surprise considering 1) Brazil and Tokyo’s time zones are 12 hours apart, 2) in the past I’ve been extremely sensitive to jet lag and 3) I couldn’t keep regular sleeping hours on the 30 hour flight/transit to Tokyo.

Here are some factors that I think helped…

1) I fasted during the flight, abstaining from all the carb-heavy airline food and sugar water (read: fruit juice, soda, etc.), drinking only coffee and water.

I’d read this tip somewhere online in the paleo blogosphere before leaving for the airport and I do think it helped.  I’ve known for a while that IF (Intermittent Fasting) in general is a great way to reset things, although I haven’t fasted for this long before.  I didn’t fast the whole 30 hours, actually, although I suppose I could have (being paleo helps make IFing much easier).  I did snack on some paleo-friendly trail mix and beef jerky during my layover at JFK, New York City.

2) Two days before leaving Brazil I went to bed much later than usual.

3) I’ve been outside as much as possible since arriving.

I figure nothing is more helpful to restart your circadian cycle like real sunlight and the lack of it at night time.

4) I immediately made beef stock after going shopping on the first day and have had some nightly since.

This stuff is not only amazing for your body with loads of healthy fat, collagen for your skin, gelatin for your joints, vitamins and minerals, but it also seems to improve sleep quality when I have some in the evening.  I’ve noticed it helps improve my digestion, as well.  My favorite way to make simple soup from the stuff is to just quickly boil a frozen stock cube (from the ice tray of stock I froze in advance), add minced garlic, oregano and a dash of sea salt.  Deeeeelish! :-)   If you’re new to making stock, you can buy bones and hooves at Hanamasa for cheap.  Boil them for 3-8 hours (I find 5 hours works best for me), the longer the better quality the soup.  Add an onion and/or carrot towards the end for extra flavor.  Strain and freeze the liquid portion for later use, using ice trays for convenience as I mentioned before.

5) I’ve been wearing a bra-shaped eye mask while sleeping to further improve sleep quality.

Sure, wearing a mini bra on my head seemed strange at first, but due to the shape, no part of it actually makes contact with your eyes and all light is completely blocked out.  Actually, I like it so much I might keep using it regularly.

Besides taking these steps, I’ve gotten back to my regular exercise and diet regimen, which was sorely missing when I was traveling.  Judging by how fantastic I feel and how quickly I recuperated from my trip, I’m more convinced than ever that living paleo/primal is the ideal lifestyle :-D

So did I miss anything?  What helps you get adjusted or readjusted to different time zone?

Travel and how to stay healthy while away

Posted: April 1, 2012 in Get Healthy, My World
Tags:
0

Greetings again from Brazil!  I’m writing from Rio, where I have just a few short days left until I’m back in Tokyo.  You can be sure I’m maximizing my beach time before I go.  While it’s been a fun trip and a wonderful experience, I’m ready to come home.  It certainly wasn’t easy being without a computer while traveling, but things being how they are in South America, I knew not bringing it was the right choice.  Plus I think it’s nice to be off the grid from time to time.

If you’re interested in seeing some pics from my trip to South America, it’s all posted on my FaceBook page now.  It should be easy to find me since I’m apparently the only one in the world with my name: Jarrett McAnally.

Travel sure is wonderful in that adapting promotes personal growth like nothing else I know.  On the other hand, it sure can play havoc on your system, what with the new foods, bacteria, eating/sleeping schedule and just being away from your normal everyday routine.  However, I have a few tips on how to stay strong and healthy (and paleo-ish), which is what I’d like to talk about in today’s post.  I’m going to make this a Q & A with myself to make it (hopefully) easier to follow.  Hey, nice tan, me!  Thanks!  Alright, on to the questions…

Q1: I don’t have a gym.  How do I stay in shape and keep from losing my gym gains while traveling?

A1: If you’re in one place for a while, a local short-term gym membership might not be a bad idea if it isn’t prohibitively expensive.  I did this for half my trip and it was a great way to meet local people, which was a bonus.  Otherwise, there’s plenty of body-weight exercises you can do including push ups, pull ups, dips, squats, handstand push ups and so on.  I recently got turned onto Al Kavadlo’s style of workout which just requires a chin-up bar, which can be found just about everywhere you go.  Check out his promotional video to see what the beast can do.  I was so impressed by his video and functional strength that I’ve decided to try his workout program for a month.  At the very least, all the pull ups will undoubtedly make me a better climber.  This video is even more impressive, but it seems like rings are a big part of the program and that’s just one more thing you have to carry.  Ah, and the yoga/stretch routing I talked about in my post on stretching a few months back is perfect for keeping limber after long flights and bus rides.

Q2: Christ, there’s bread and potatoes everywhere!!  How do keep my carbohydrate intake down and avoid feeling bloated all the time?

A2: Tough question which gave me some problems.  The side dish in most South American countries is either a potato in some form, rice, bread or a combination of these items.  I partook and almost immediately regretted it a few times.  Potatoes and rice are one thing, but bread is not kind on my gut.  Always try to book accommodations that have a kitchen.  Most hostels do.  Boiling eggs the night before going to a new place and taking them with me helped keep me sane.  Eat them whole with the shell (mmm, calcium!) for extra simplicity.  Otherwise, you can order a meat dish, abstain from the carby side dish and steam some veggies when you get to your hotel/hostel.  I found nuts (protein and fat) and the fattier yogurts (probiotics) very helpful and easy to eat on the go, as well.  And fish oil (capsules or canned sardines) and a decent multivitamin are a must!

Q3: How can I avoid jet lag?

A3: I wish I had the perfect solution for this but some tips have helped me.  A lot of paleo/primal people say IFing (intermittent fasting) helps and I think it does for shorter flights.  Plane food is always crap anyway, so you might as well skip it and start eating at regular meal times once you arrive.  In my case, it’s a 26 hour flight back, which is a bit long to fast for me, so I’ll probably bring a dozen hard-boiled eggs and some nuts which I’ll eat between 10 am and 6 pm Japan time (breakfast and dinner time for me).  Hopefully I can get the eggs through security or else I guess I’ll end up fasting after all!  Speaking of Japan time, everyone always says to set your watch to the new time as soon as you board the plane, which I agree with.  To me this means changing your sleep schedule on the plane.  Ear plugs and an eye mask are a MUST!

Okay, so my next post will be from Tokyo!  I’m looking forward to eating decent sashimi again!  :-D   Speaking of fish, here’s a fun one that everyone should be familiar with that I fished out of a river.  Look at the teeth on him!  You actually might be surprised by how good piranha tastes fried with salt and a splash of fresh lime.

Anyway, I’m hoping being back in Japan will motivate me to finally start translating my posts into Japanese again.  The JLPT 1 test will be in July for me and I’m sure the extra practice with polite Japanese will help.  Another hurdle is locating a dependable proofreader to check my Japanese translations at the right price and I hope to find one soon so I can start.

If you have any travel tips you’d like to share or personal recommendations for a Japanese proofreader, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.  Thanks!

Indoor climbing in Tokyo (after a quick update)

Posted: March 5, 2012 in Get Fit
Tags: , , ,
2

So, I have a month left in South America and here’s the tentative plan I cooked up yesterday…  1) Iguazu Falls (Brazil/Argentina), the worlds biggest waterfall by water volume -> 2) Bonito, Brazil for some cave repelling, scuba and snorkeling -> 3) Montevideo, Uruguay -> 4) Buenos Aires, Argentina and some other Argentinian cities – world-renowned beef and wine! -> 5) Santiago, Chile – visit a buddy from university days, more beef, more wine :-) -> 6) back to Rio -> 7) back to Japan!

I’m thinking I’ll leave my laptop at the apartment in Rio since it’ll be safer there while I’m on the move.  This will make it harder to write new posts until I get back to Rio, so this will likely be my last one for 2-3 weeks.  I’ll make it a good one, I promise!

One of my favorite things to do so far was a hike/climb of Sugar Loaf in Rio, one of the top 3 most famous hikes in the area and has an interesting 10-20 meters of rocks to climb in the middle.  I was lucky to have an awesome guide, who not only kept things safe during the climb, but was kind enough to take a pic of me during the hike.

Enjoying the Sugar Loaf hike

As you can see, all smiles!  I don’t know what it is about hiking and climbing, but both just feel… wonderful!

All this hiking and climbing inspired me to write about today’s topic, rock climbing in Japan.  Well, sort of.  While I have run and hiked some trails just outside of Tokyo, all of my climbing has been indoors.  However, a paleo friend I became acquainted with a few months back is big into climbing and we’re hoping to do some outdoor climbing when I get back to Japan in April.  So you can look forward to a future post on that.

But anyway, indoor climbing, can be great practice for the “real thing” and is an extremely fun way to get a full-body workout even if you never intend to climb outdoors.  Actually, climbing indoors has a few advantages, as it is so much more convenient than climbing outdoors, can feel real enough for many people and is completely safe.  Every gym I’ve been to provides climbing shoes (you’re going to want to wear these and buy a pair of your own at some point if you go often enough), although you do usually have to pay a rental fee, which is usually under 500 yen.

Speaking of fees, every gym in Japan I’ve been to has charged a one-time registration fee for new members, which I’ll list with the gyms below.  Because of these fees, it can be tempting to just stick with the gym closest to you and that’s fine.  However, know that every gym is different, with different routes, equipment and people and as they say (and I heartily agree with), variety is the spice of life.

On to the gyms!  Living in Mejiro and working mostly in Takadanobaba, the most convenient gym for me is Gravity.  It’s a relatively small gym and since it’s a one-story gym, the wall isn’t very tall.  However, the nice point about this is you’ll never have to use a rope and harness.  If you fall off the wall, the max you’ll fall is 2-3 m (6-9 ft) and the pads below are plenty thick so you can climb with confidence even if you’re a beginner.  Plus, climbing isn’t only an “up thing” and even outdoor climbing requires some horizontal movement, which can be just as fun and challenging.  Gravity’s one-time general registration fee is 1500 yen and the climbing fee everytime (which you have to pay the first time, too) is 1500 yen, as well.  Like most gym’s, though, Gravity offers a discount in the evenings.  In this case it’s 1200 yen after 7pm.  Shoe rentals are 300 yen if you don’t bring your own.

Next is Pump.  I’ve only climbed at Pump Kawaguchi, which is a bit north of Tokyo, but there are also the Pump Ogikubo, Pump Akihabara climbing gyms, as well as some outside of Tokyo.  The Pump chain is especially nice if you can’t speak/read Japanese.  Even the general site and sites for each branch is set up nicely in English.  At Pump Kawaguchi, the staff were very friendly and one of them spoke some English and was very helpful for my foreign friends.  There was a ton of variety with the routes and climbing surfaces, with a column that kind of feeds into a horizontal ridge which feeds into a wall, all very climbable.  That’s the best I can describe it!  Anyway, Pump Kawaguchi is more expensive at 2100 yen registration and 2100 yen climbing fee with evening discounts.  Check the other gyms for pricing, though, as they may be different.  Two things I didn’t like about Pump, at least Pump Kawaguchi, is that the registration only applies to gym you register at and that Pump Kawaguchi was far from the station.  Otherwise, a great climbing experience, with rope climbing or without (horizontal bouldering).

There are many other gyms worth trying in Tokyo, but the last gym I can write about, having climbed there, is T-Wall, which has branches in Ookayama, Edogawabashi, Higashi Murayama and Kinshicho.

Here’s a shot of me on the wall at T-Wall Ookayama enjoying myself thoroughly…

They don’t have an English site, but it’s a great gym with the cheapest registration fee at a very reasonable 525 yen (and this membership card can be used at ALL locations!!).  Climbing costs 2100 yen generally and goes down to 1575 yen after 8pm (make sure you check each gym for pricing).  The gyms I went to were in Ookayama and Edogawabashi.  They were both a blast with tons of various climbing surfaces and rope climbing at Edogawabashi (great tunes there, too!).

They didn’t have any rope climbing at Ookayama, but according to the site, there is also rope climbing at Kinshicho.  By the way, for rope climbing you do need a climbing harness, which you can rent from them for a few hundred yen.  Rope climbing can be a lot of fun and since you can go much more vertical, it’s more similar to outdoor climbing.

So I think that should be enough information to get you started with this fantastic sport/hobby.  Let me know if you’re looking for places to buy shoes later and maybe I’ll do a post on that, as well.

If you have any of your own recommendations on places to climb, I’d love to hear those, as well, and I hope you’ll write them down below.  Happy climbing! :-D

Older Entries