You don't often see fat Japanese people.

So, I'm going on our belated honeymoon in four weeks time to Belize. I'm very excited about it because it's one of the best diving destinations in the world and the places we're staying are tiny resorts with very few people and dinner seems to consist of whatever they've pulled out of the sea that day. Can't think of a better way to spend ten days. And I'm hoping I'll come back with some interesting culinary influences to play with too. But I digress, the reason I mention the honeymoon is not to be smug, but instead to explain that I am currently living in the hell of needing to be in a bikini in four weeks with the weighing scales telling me I've gained about 10 pounds since the wedding. Couple that with a diving holiday where I need to squeeze myself into skin-tight neoprene twice a day every day and I am straight into panic diet mode. So, my thighs are burning from the run I went on yesterday and I'm weighing myself compulsively as though one day the scales will just turn around and say "oh, ok, I'll give you a break - here you go, you actually weigh ten pounds LESS and will look like Ursula Andres in a week's time".  Since that isn't going to happen, sadly I need to do it the old fashioned way - calories in needs to be considerably less than calories out. I love food too much to ever go for typical diet foods, especially the artifical ones (fat free chocolate? What's the point?!) so I have a few staples I go to that I know taste good, are healthy and don't take forever to make and this is one of them.

I love Japanese food and it's really healthy so this Japanese rice bowl dish is a winner with me. I always make too much so I can take the leftovers to work for lunch the next day because this is equally delicious cold as it is warm. My camera lens is buggered at the moment so no photos but I'm sure you'll cope.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 cups of Sushi rice
4 tbspns Sushi vinegar
2 tbspns black sesame seeds
1 head of Broccolli
1 pack of crabsticks, chopped (or a large handful of prawns, or 2 smoked peppered mackerel fillets, chopped)
Japanese rice seasoning (usually comes in jars of various flavours to sprinkle on dishes - optional)

1. Rinse the sushi rice thoroughly in a colander until the water runs clear then put it in a non-stick pan with three cups of cold water
2. Chop the broccolli into bite-sized florets and put it in a steamer that will fit over the rice pan
3. Bring the rice pan to the boil then turn down to a simmer, cover with the steamer full of broccolli and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. The rice should have fluffed up, all the water should have cooked off and a slightly crispy skin should be forming on the bottom of the pan. If this is the case then turn off the heat, stir in the sushi vinegar and lay a folded tea towel over the pan with the lid on top for five to ten minutes.
5. put all the other ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together, then when the rice has finished standing, stir this in as well.

Bingo - healthy, quick and delicious.