When I started "Instant Meals," which are a bit different from so-called "meal prep"

I cook all my own meals, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, 365 days a year, but I only spend "actual cooking (work)" in the kitchen for a few minutes in the morning.

Without even thinking about what to make, before I know it, various things (not just cooking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, but also other chores, work, etc.) get done on their own—

That kind of eating style supports my daily life.

Going back a few years to my student days

I started living alone and began cooking everything from scratch, but at the time, my life involved leaving around 7:00 AM and returning home between 8:00 and 9:00 PM.

In a rush to save time and money, I would microwave everything before leaving for school or after coming home before bed, making little bits of meal prep, and...

eating things I couldn't honestly say were delicious as if forcing them into my body for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—eating with the mindset of "as long as I'm getting some nutrition, it's fine."

That continued into my first year as a working professional, and without finding any real joy in eating, I ended up collapsing with depression due to overwork and other factors.

Since I've had a stoic personality since I was a child, even though I didn't enjoy cooking for myself, I suppressed those feelings

and kept doing it for the sake of saving money and for my health, I think.

In the midst of that, I suddenly started using

a cooking method called "frying pan + steaming plate" for "low-temperature steaming."

I'll skip the details since I've summarized them below, but

once I started cooking for myself using this method,

Not only did I gain benefits beyond "steaming at low temperatures makes things sweeter and brings out the umami," but

the impression that "steamed food equals time and effort" was wiped away, and that is where I am now.

Using steaming not to "finish" a dish, but to "prep" it

is the home cooking method that fits me best right now.

From here, I will summarize the contents and procedures of my meals for a certain day, but before that, I will roughly outline my home cooking style.

In other words, rather than making all of my meals for several servings in the morning,

I "prep" them so that I can arrange them however I like later, according to my ever-changing physical condition and mood.

And, instead of spending time only on cooking, while things are steaming or cooling down, I do all other housework and work at the same time.

That is the feeling.

By doing this prep in the morning,

—in other words, as the title suggests, I can be satisfied with every meal without burden through "instant meals," so

I feel that this naturally leads to that.

When I wake up in the morning,

I proceed with steaming, work, breakfast, and housework all at the same time.

5:00 AM

• Get out of bed

• Use the restroom, brush my teeth, and wash my face

• Do some light yoga while boiling water

Once that's done, first I lay out the vegetables from the fridge, the beans I've been soaking, and dried goods (like dried kelp) on the table.

5:15 AM

Those who know my cooking style are aware that my recipes do not involve steps like "finely chopping raw vegetables, rehydrating, boiling, or soaking in water".

It's not so much that I try not to do them, but by using low-temperature steaming, all of this effort becomes unnecessary on its own.

So, once the ingredients are ready, all I do is steam them.

Once the first stage of setup is done, I drink the hot water I boiled after waking up while I:

• Reply to DMs

• Write in my diary

• Prepare social media posts

• Recipe trial planning

and other tasks will be carried out.

5:30 AM

At this point, I thought, “I should make the mini red radishes into crunchy pickled radishes” so I decided to take them out at the perfect timing for crunchiness (*).

Returning to the work for a bit to continue steaming, the remaining bean sprouts and dried daikon radish were finished nicely, so I transferred them directly to a storage container.

Once there's a gap, move on to the next...!

There was still some room, so I decided to add just a little bit more.

It's cleared up quite a bit, so

Large beets with leaves attached placed on top along with komatsuna and garland chrysanthemum and then return to PC work, and continue steaming for a while.

5:45 AM

DM replies, social media post preparation, and diary tasks are finished.

Finished the cutting work, and will return to PC work for a bit. (+ started the washing machine)

6:00 AM

The end of the first stage of steaming is finally approaching.

At this point, thewater under the steaming plate was quite dirty from scum and such,so I decided toreplace it with fresh water.

Since there are many hard ingredients, I'll let them steam for a while, and have breakfast for now.

I'll add more details later, but since breakfast is just gathering pre-cooked brown rice and side dishes only,

I quickly dish it out and eat it slowly and quietly.

6:30 AM

By the time I finish breakfast and clean up, the zucchini has become melt-in-your-mouth soft.

Now I'll steam the rest of the zucchini, but I'm in the mood to "keep it crisp, and finish it off with a refreshing touch of lemon."

6:45 AM

While working on my PC, I finished hanging the laundry, and the steaming process was also complete.
I took out the remainingonions, carrots, and chickpeasto finish them off.

Even at this point, I haven't thought about what I'm going to make (lol).

What I do after cutting isn't seasoning, but

preparing to "draw out the flavor."flavor.

Unlike adding store-bought sauces or dressings (= seasoning), by adding salt-based items + seeds, etc. (= preparing to draw out the flavor), you can

• further enhance theumami and sweetness of each ingredient that emerged from low-temperature steamingeven more

• If youstore them like this, each one becomes amain-dish quality side dish, and when you're busy, you can justgather them together for a very satisfying meal

• You can turn them into soup later, make hamburger patties, or bake brownies,arranging them in endless ways by changing the combinationsas you go.

With that in mind, I believe I can bring out the flavors and expand the potential of the ingredients.

By the way, every time, the combination of salt and seeds is random, and I put the salty components into all the storage containers, and then,

the rest is just adding the seeds based on my mood at the time. (Though I do try not to use the same ingredients.)

So, even when I'm just waking up or tired and my brain isn't working, I can prepare my "flavor drawers" without hesitation, which is a huge help every time.

The 11 items I prepared this time are

as follows.

In this way, finishing the tasks and chores I want to do in the morning and making staple side dishes were accomplished at the same time.

I often hear people say that “steam cooking = time-consuming and laborious” so it's a hassle, and it can only be done when you have spare time, but

that depends on your way of thinking and ingenuity; I believe “low-temperature steaming = a way to create spare time.”

If you cook with low-temperature steaming,

• there is no need for finely cutting raw vegetables, rehydrating them in water, or soaking them

• the time spent standing in the kitchen (in front of the stove or cutting board) working is only a few minutes

• while steaming, you can get other things done

which means, furthermore, nutrient loss is kept to a minimum and you can enjoy the ingredients whole without waste, so

I can't help but feel every day that it can also be called “low-temperature steaming = cooking that doesn't waste flavor, nutrients, or time (= creates spare time).”

7:00 AM

With that said, once I finish my morning routine, I shift into full-on work mode.

Until lunch, I spend my time doing PC work while also working on prototypes and taking photos.

9:00 AM
For a change of pace, I start making staple snacks to eat for my 3 o'clock treat.

For my moist and fluffy cake, soft vegetables are easy to use, so I use zucchini from ❾, but since I have chickpeas, I'll add ❸ as an accent.

This recipe is an arranged version of the daikon radish brownie that I featured on the cover of my recipe book.

Regarding the "Daikon Radish Brownie" recipe in the book

I've tried changing it like this. (No need to drain the puree.)

Once it has cooled and been refrigerated, back to work.

10:55 AM

As lunch approaches, it's time to prepare lunch...! (I always eat lunch at 11:00.)

That said, instead of doing things like cutting, sautéing, boiling, or seasoning from scratch,

I just "finish" it using "pre-processed ingredients."

I get it ready quickly just by doing that.

I was in the mood for "potage rice" for lunch, so I decided to combine and remake ❶・❷・⓫.

11:00 AM

With lunch ready like that, I eat at a leisurely pace.

Instead of seasoning them, I am combining items that have already had their individual flavors brought out so,

far from the flavors clashing and becoming strange, they transform into something where you can enjoy new depths, umami, and sweetness.

Each of the staple side dishes (pre-processed ingredients) becomes more flavorful and delicious as time passes after being made, but for anything that feels like it lacks salt, I sprinkle some on as needed while savoring it slowly.

After finishing my meal, I stay seated to continue my PC work, tidy up the dishes, and then proceed with more work, prototyping, or photography.

3:00 PM

After finishing a light cleaning of the room, I take a break.

The zucchini and chickpea brownies I prepared in the morning have been chilled in the refrigerator for about half a day, and the flavor and texture have settled nicely.

I cut it up, freezing half and keeping the other half in the fridge to enjoy over several times, and for this day's snack, I savor 1/4 of it. (The whole cake is a 10x10cm mini square size)

3:30 PM

Once I finish eating, I return to work, and when things settle down a bit, I head out to the garden for about 30 to 60 minutes.

Forgetting various things in a good way, I immerse myself in weeding, watering, and harvesting before returning to my room.

4:30 PM

It's almost time for dinner (we always eat at 5:00 PM), so let's get dinner ready.

Just like with lunch, I won't be cooking from scratch,

but rather enjoying it by "arranging"

"pre-processed ingredients."

Since I'm taking photos anyway, I thought I'd try something new, so I thought I'd try my hand at making onigirazu (rice balls) for the first time! but...

I had half a sheet of roasted seaweed left over (and I wanted to enjoy a few different flavors), so

I decided to make a few mini onigirazu by folding them up like a three-fold roll.

First, I'll combine ❶ and ❼ from above to make the filling for the onigirazu (croquette style).

While the burgers from above are baking, since I have chickpeas, I'll make a flavor-changing sauce.

I'll transform ❸ from above.

First, the first type is pre-processed ingredients + chickpea sauce.

I'll make the remaining two types (pre-processed ingredients / pre-processed ingredients + croquette style) in the same way.

It was my first time and I was flustered, but I managed to roll them, so now onto the finishing stage.

5:00 PM

After that, just gather up the pre-prepared ingredients (pre-processed materials) and dinner is ready.

Even if you are eating the same things, just changing the way you finish them makes it a completely different dish and increases satisfaction so

I don't usually go out of my way to wrap things in nori (bitter laugh), but I deeply feel that sometimes this kind of onigirazu is nice too.

I eat slowly, clean up, continue my PC work, do some exercise while watching videos, take a bath, and go to bed (10:00 PM)... and that's how the day ends.

The next morning

Following the same procedure as I mentioned at the beginning, the routine of steaming vegetables and beans while doing housework and work begins.

For breakfast, just like other meals, I don't cook from scratch, but instead

"maximize the use" of the "pre-processed materials" from the morning of the previous day

and enjoy it to the fullest.

Since I do steam cooking after waking up in the morning, I want to enjoy the meal I eat in the background stress-free by gathering up my stock,

so I combine everything except ❺ and ❾ from the pre-prepared ingredients above into one bowl, Buddha bowl style.

To repeat, as time passes, the flavor of the side dishes deepens so,

The side dishes for the next morning somehow have the strongest umami and sweetness, and are the most satisfying.

Enjoying breakfast while feeling that way, I move on to cleaning up, finishing up the prepped vegetables, working, and doing chores...

That is precisely whymy days naturally and smoothly flowwithmy day starting with "low-temperature steaming."

I wrote that, but

to be honest,

even if I don't arrange the pre-processed ingredients for every meal,

even if I justgather side dishes together or just combine them with ricelike a Buddha bowl for all three meals,

I am perfectly satisfied every single day.

• No stress from preparation or cleanup

• Each side dish isn't "bland (lacking)," but rather the "taste of the ingredients (the true umami and sweetness hidden in the ingredients)" isbrought to the forefront.

• It's not just one item (one type of vegetable), but because there aremultiple items (several types of vegetables),there isa breadth of flavor equal to that number.

• Not just salt, but things like seedscan supplement the nutrients I need(= the nutrients my body craves are satisfied), somy satisfaction naturally increases.

Because of all this, my daily meals are almost always enjoyed as brown rice + a collection of pantry staples.

"I don't work from home, and

it's impossible to cook while doing other things in the morning..."

I'm sure I used to think that way. Until I discovered low-temperature steaming.

After going through being a student, a company employee, and a freelancer (while working part-time every day), when I was mostly working outside, I only had 30 minutes of cooking time in the morning at most.

When I went to bed early but came home late, the time I had before going to sleep at night was 30 to 60 minutes.

I didn't notice when I was busily doing microwave cooking or stir-frying for the sake of "saving time!" the "accumulation of small efforts"

—the accumulation of efforts like chopping raw vegetables while they scatter, peeling, soaking in water, soaking in water to remove harshness, draining, etc.—

was what was causing me to lose my composure, both in terms of time and mentally, which I now understand painfully well.

By the time I started to realize that, I spent my days using ingenuity precisely because I was almost never home, and eventually I stopped using the microwave, rice cooker, and large pots for boiling.

I think that the trial and error I did every day to be able to have meals that are efficient in many ways is

the foundation of my current "day that runs on low-temperature steaming."

Because if you think about it too much, you'll get stuck.

While you're not used to it, start by "steaming".

Of course, there are failures you'll fall into if you don't keep in mind the points of low-temperature steaming, such as "if you do this, the color will fade, harshness will remain, the texture will be bad...".

But, put that aside for now,

with that as your goal, if you steam something every day, you'll gradually grasp the tips on how to do it.

&If you start steaming at this timing, it will be easier laterto do

You'll start to get therhythm of—I feel like that's how I've made it this far.

And what I arrived at was

• not deciding what to make

• the ingredients on handare juststeamed whole

• not creating empty timeso that I amdoing something

• not toadd flavor, but as preparation tobring it out, tossing them withsalt + seeds, etc.in advance

This series of steps,

not just for meals, butalso makes other housework and work go smoothly—

I am helped by that every day, andI am able to live while juggling many things—that is who I am now.

Now that choosing the latter has changed my meals for the better,

"Returning to the essence"is not just about food,

but also important for everything in daily life,such as work and human relationships,

I feel like I am being taught that by my daily low-temperature steaming.

Airi