JSL: April 8th-18th
Please note that the American menu provided is from my middle school in the US. It is meant to serve as a comparison.
I started the Japanese lunch project last year but lost all my pictures and information in a hard drive crash in January. Rather than continue and end up with an incomplete archive, I decided to start over. Luckily, the new school year started in April so I can actually do this.
This time, I decided to include lunch menu information from both my local Japanese schools and my local middle school. While it can’t be representative of all school systems in both countries, it does highlight the similarities and contrasts in a regulated diet. Unfortunately, I can’t provide pictures of the American food.
This project is mostly for my benefit (and yet another reason for the kids to think I’m weird) but I hope you find it interesting. I may even end up using it for graduate work. Who knows?
| April 8, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
|
Rice |
Forgot to get it…I’ll add this data later |
| Other Notes | |
| You bring your own rice and the kids have a great deal of fun comparing bento designs. The soup is also tepid. | |
| April 9, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
|
Barley rice |
Tuna salad on a croissant Pickle spear Grapes Brownie Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| I couldn’t find inoshishin in any dictionary but I’ve been told it’s some kind of seaweed. | |
| April 10, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
| Amanatto (sweet red bean) bread Seashore soup Yakisoba Coconut milk fruit salad Milk |
Tomato soup Crackers Cheese sandwich Mixed vegetables Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| Seashore soup is basically a seafood soup with seaweed, clams, or other shellfish. | |
| April 11, 2008 | |
|---|---|
| No image | |
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
| Barley rice Mixed ingredients miso soup Salt grilled spring salmon Kinpiragobou (shredded burdock) Summer mandarin orange Milk |
Soft pretzel Taco salad - meat, cheese, lettuce, corn, and salsa Raisins Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| I was sick this day, so I took the day off. My actual lunch was 2 manju, or steamed buns, brought by one of my friends from work. | |
| April 14, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
| Barley rice Japanese pork curry Soysauce pickled vegetables Seaweed salad Fruit mix with gelatin Milk |
Domino’s Pizza Garden salad Crackers Dried cranberries Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| Something went wrong today…the soysauce veggies are generally pretty good but even the kids agreed they tasted strange. | |
| April 15, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
| Brown bread Western style oden Boiled sweet potato and apple Almonds and dried baby sardines Milk |
Sloppy joe on a bun Oven fries Cherry crisp Cookie Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| Western style oden is actually more like chicken soup. The almonds and dried baby sardines didn’t go over well because they were insanely difficult to eat with chopsticks. Everyone resorted to using fingers. | |
| April 16, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
|
Rice |
Forgot to get it…I’ll add this data later |
| April 17, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
| Milk bread Corn soup Spaghetti with meat sauce Fake crab salad Banana Milk |
Chicken patty on a bun Green beans Baked apples Chocolate pudding Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| The spaghetti on my plate is actually 1/3 of what I was served…I saved my waistline and dumped the rest on a student’s plate. He was more than happy to get extra food. | |
| April 18, 2008 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese Menu | American Menu |
| Onigiri Kenchin soup (mixed vegetables) Chicken grilled in miso Vegetables with sesame dressing Milk |
Fish Treasures Roll Corn Sweet potatoes Milk |
| Other Notes | |
| On Onigiri Day, you have to bring your own onigiri. I got mine at a local convenience store because my seaweed went bad the day before. | |
looks healthy. i like it there’s milk for every meal. ^^