Life in Fukuoka "English"

【Vegetable Day】

This morning, I've got a topic that will hopefully make you want to eat your veggies! August 31^st is Vegetable Day, because August 31 can be read as Ya-Sa-I in Japanese. Did you know that the daily recommended amount of veggies for an adult is about 350 grams? That's not really a lot if you think about it, but according to research, most of us are about 60 grams short of getting our daily total in! That's easy to fix though. All you need to do is add one dish of leafy veg to your meal.  A side of sauteed spinach or a mini veggie stir-fry or even a little green salad will do!

I bet there's been times though when you've gone to the store to buy your veggies, not quite getting through all of them before they went off and ended up throwing them away. It hurts. The key to avoiding that is getting cut vegetables. You can get pre-cut vegetables in single serving portions at a number of supermarkets and convenience stores. If you are worried about all that packaging, you can also prep cut veggies yourself and store them in the freezer. You just need a little time and possibly a quick YouTube tutorial viewing. Having pre-cut veggies on hand is convenient because you can make soup in little time, throw some extra veggies on top of your ramen or whip up a stir-fry, making sure you get in your 350 grams a day!

I actually did a challenge with my friends once in which we had to try to eat at least 10 kinds of vegetables each day for a month. It sounds hard but it's actually quite easy with a little creativity. I think I managed 20 different vegetables in one day! Nabe or hotpots are a easy way to eat lots of vegetables but mincing carrots, onions, mushrooms and garlic and adding them to burgers is another sneaky way of getting plenty of veg in!

【Disaster Prevention Day and Stockpiling Encouragement Week】

Now, I have some information from Fukuoka City. Disaster Prevention Day is an annual awareness day and is on September 1^st. And in Fukuoka City, the week of the 1^st to the 7^th of September is Fukuoka City's Stockpiling Encouragement Week. Stockpiling refers to keeping a good supply of food and other necessities in your home. And through this one week event, the city hopes to raise its citizens' awareness of disaster prevention, including the need to stockpile in both our homes and workplaces.

So why do we need to stockpile? Well, if there is an earthquake or typhoon, even if you aren't in danger, without food or water, we can't survive. If the stores shut down, we can't buy the food and drinks we need. If our water system is stopped, there's no water to drink either. And, if the electric and gas are out, there's no way we can cook food. So, in order to really be safe, it's important to keep a rolling stock.

Alright, so what should be stockpiled?

You should have drinkable water and 3 days worth of food. One person needs roughly three liters of water per day, something to keep in mind. Emergency foods like freeze-dried rice, canned foods, biscuits, chocolate bars and hardtack are some things that are good to have on hand. Food that doesn't need to be cooked is essential.

If you have a radio and flashlight, make sure they have batteries. And if you take medicine, or need bandages or anything like that, make sure you have extra supplies in with your first aid kit. If there is an infant in your family, make sure you have diapers in your supplies as well.

In addition to the water you'll need for drinking, you'll also need water for flushing the toilet and other sanitary needs. Keep a water tank full of water on a daily basis or fill the bathtub so that you do have that extra water on hand.

Buy a little more than you usually do, of the foods you normally eat, and as you use them up, make sure you replace them so that you always have a little more than enough in your house. This is your rolling stock. This is recommended because then you don't have to worry about expiration dates like when you keep a bag full of emergency food in your closet.

We get typhoons every year, so take a look at what you have in your home and make sure you are prepared.