Hi friends! Just a little bit about myself: My name is Kaori, I was born in Japan, moved to Hawaii as a teenager, and then moved to Maryland to study psychology! My interest right now is positive psychology (well-being, wisdom, virtue, strengths…etc.), and I hope to become a psychologist one day! In the meantime, cooking has been my creative outlet and a saving grace. It’s such an amazing way to relax myself and give myself a sense of control! So…I thought why not share it with the world??
Growing up, I’ve always had such a huge love for food. I was curious and always excited to try new things. I remember in elementary school I learned so much about food, nutrition, portion sizes…etc. In Japan, school lunch plays such an important role in kids’ education. The food was almost always locally grown and all made from scratch. I also learned some manners and gratitude toward food. I absolutely loved eating, but unfortunately I never had an interest in cooking for the longest time.
It wasn’t until I started grad school though, I found the joy of cooking. As you all know, grad school can be pretty stressful and I needed something to relieve my stress. I also started to care more about what I put in my body and I realized I should maybe go back to my Japanese root. That’s when I started @theoishiikitchen. Of course, I don’t eat healthy all the time. Like you hear in Buddhism teaching, it is all about that balance. It’s so important to be mindful and ask your body “what do you really want today?” I am still learning and I make mistakes all the time, but I hope to share with you what I’ve learned over the years and inspire you to cultivate a more wholesome lifestyle.
