Is sushi a good everyday meal?

Sushi is mostly white rice, so a large platter adds up. Sashimi, a few pieces of nigiri and a miso soup, or a chirashi bowl with plenty of fish, give you more protein for the same rice.

Are soba noodles gluten-free?

Not always. Many soba noodles are a blend of buckwheat and wheat flour. Only noodles labelled 100% buckwheat are wheat-free, so check the label if you avoid gluten.

Cuisine Meal Plan

Japanese meal plan: a week of Japanese home cooking

This Japanese meal plan is based on ichiju sansai, the home-cooking pattern of rice, one soup and a few small side dishes. Fish, tofu, eggs and vegetables carry most meals, with simmering, grilling and steaming doing most of the cooking.

Below is the full week, a sample day with every ingredient weighed and its calories, protein, carbs and fat calculated from USDA data, and tips on rice portions, salt and the fried dishes that should stay occasional.

Updated October 22, 2026

Sample day

1,520 kcal

Protein

100 g · 26%

Carbs

195 g · 50%

Fat

42 g · 24%

What a balanced Japanese week looks like

Build each meal as rice, soup and sides. One bowl of rice, a miso soup and two small dishes of fish, tofu or vegetables make a balanced plate without measuring every gram.
Eat fish often. Grilled salmon, mackerel and simmered fish are everyday dishes, and canned fish works for quick lunches.
Watch the salt. Miso, soy sauce, pickles and dashi granules are all salty, so one salty element per meal is plenty.
Keep fried food occasional. Tempura, tonkatsu and karaage are deep-fried; teriyaki, shioyaki and nimono are not.

Your 7-day Japanese meal plan

Day 1 is the sample day worked out below. Leftovers from one dinner become the next day's lunch where it makes sense.

Day 1
breakfast
Grilled salmon, rice and miso soup
lunch
Cold soba noodles with edamame and cucumber
snack
A banana
dinner
Chicken teriyaki with rice, spinach and carrots
Day 2
breakfast
Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette), rice, miso soup
lunch
Onigiri with tuna and a side salad
snack
Edamame
dinner
Simmered mackerel with daikon, rice, greens
Day 3
breakfast
Natto or tofu with rice and seaweed
lunch
Leftover mackerel bento
snack
Mandarin
dinner
Nikujaga (meat and potato stew, lean beef)
Day 4
breakfast
Yogurt with fruit
lunch
Udon soup with egg and spring onions
snack
Apple
dinner
Salmon shioyaki, hijiki salad, rice
Day 5
breakfast
Miso soup with tofu, rice and an egg
lunch
Chirashi bowl with salmon and cucumber
snack
Pear
dinner
Chicken and vegetable nabe (hot pot)
Day 6
breakfast
Onigiri and miso soup
lunch
Nabe leftovers with udon
snack
Edamame
dinner
Oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl), pickles
Day 7
breakfast
Grilled fish, rice, natto
lunch
Soba salad with tofu
snack
Banana
dinner
Ginger pork (shogayaki, lean cut) with shredded cabbage, rice

A sample day with calories and macros

Day 1, weighed ingredient by ingredient. Rice, pasta, beans, lentils and meat are cooked weights.

Breakfast: Grilled salmon, rice and miso soup

460 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Salmon, cooked	80 g	165	17.7	0.0	9.9
Short-grain rice, cooked	150 g	195	3.5	43.1	0.3
Miso paste	15 g	30	1.9	3.8	0.9
Firm tofu	50 g	72	8.6	1.4	4.4
Spring onions	5 g	2	0.1	0.4	0.0
Nori (laver)	3 g	1	0.2	0.2	0.0
Meal total		464	32.0	48.8	15.4

Lunch: Cold soba noodles with edamame and cucumber

370 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Soba noodles, cooked	200 g	198	10.1	42.9	0.2
Edamame	100 g	121	11.9	8.9	5.2
Cucumber	60 g	9	0.4	2.2	0.1
Soy sauce	15 g	8	1.2	0.7	0.1
Sesame seeds	5 g	29	0.9	1.2	2.5
Spring onions	5 g	2	0.1	0.4	0.0
Meal total		366	24.6	56.2	8.0

Snack: A banana

110 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Banana	120 g	107	1.3	27.4	0.4
Meal total		107	1.3	27.4	0.4

Dinner: Chicken teriyaki with rice, spinach and carrots

580 kcal

Ingredient	Amount	kcal	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Chicken thigh, cooked	130 g	233	32.2	0.0	10.6
Soy sauce	15 g	8	1.2	0.7	0.1
Sugar	8 g	31	0.0	8.0	0.0
Ginger	3 g	2	0.1	0.5	0.0
Vegetable oil	5 g	44	0.0	0.0	5.0
Short-grain rice, cooked	150 g	195	3.5	43.1	0.3
Spinach, cooked	120 g	28	3.6	4.5	0.3
Sesame seeds	3 g	17	0.5	0.7	1.5
Carrots	50 g	21	0.5	4.8	0.1
Meal total		579	41.6	62.4	17.9

Day total: about 1,520 kcal, with 100 g protein, 195 g carbs and 42 g fat (26% / 50% / 24% of calories). To fit your own target, multiply every amount by your daily calories divided by 1,520; the macro calculator gives you that target.

Figures are estimates calculated from per-100 g values in USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy). Brands, recipes and cooking change the real numbers, so treat them as a guide, not a label.

Japanese staples to keep in your kitchen

Short-grain Japanese rice
Miso paste and dashi (or kombu and bonito flakes)
Soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar
Soba and udon noodles
Firm tofu and natto
Nori, wakame and hijiki
Frozen edamame
Salmon and mackerel, fresh or canned

Vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian versions

vegetarian

Use tofu, eggs and natto instead of fish and meat, and make dashi from kombu and shiitake instead of bonito flakes.

vegan

Kombu-shiitake dashi, tofu, natto, edamame and vegetables cover every meal. Skip egg dishes like tamagoyaki and oyakodon, or make them with tofu.

pescatarian

Japanese home cooking is already fish-heavy: swap chicken teriyaki for salmon teriyaki and the ginger pork for ginger fish.

Allergens to watch in Japanese cooking

Soy: miso, soy sauce, tofu, natto and edamame are all soy, so a soy allergy changes Japanese cooking a lot. Plan dashi- and salt-based seasoning instead.
Gluten: soy sauce usually contains wheat, and udon, ramen and tempura batter are wheat. Many soba noodles are part wheat too; look for 100% buckwheat (juwari) soba if you avoid gluten.
Shellfish: prawn tempura, some dashi blends and many sushi rolls contain shellfish.

In Meal Planner Pro you can exclude nuts, lactose, gluten, shellfish and soy. If you have a severe allergy, always check the labels of the products you buy.

How Meal Planner Pro plans Japanese meals

Choose "Japanese" as one of your cuisines in the quiz. Each day of your plan is cooked in one of the cuisines you pick, and they rotate through the week.
Each day is built around a different main protein, and no dish repeats within the week.
Your allergies and any health condition you select always come before tradition: a dish is adapted rather than served with an ingredient you've excluded.
Your country is used to choose ingredients that are easy to buy where you live.
Daily calorie and macro targets come from your age, height, weight, activity and goal. You can swap any meal you don't fancy, and the week's ingredients become one grocery list.

General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before changing your diet. Our editorial policy

Get your own Japanese week

Meal Planner Pro builds a 7-day plan in the cuisines you choose, sized to your calorie target, with recipes and a grocery list.

Create My Meal Plan

Plans from $8.99/week. No free plan or trial. See pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

A standard rice bowl at each meal is the traditional pattern. The sample day uses 150 g of cooked rice per meal; eat less at one meal if your calorie target is low, and keep the soup and sides the same.

Japanese recipes with calories and macros

Chicken Teriyaki 250 kcal per serving Miso Soup 110 kcal per serving Cold Soba Noodle Salad 350 kcal per serving Oyakodon 590 kcal per serving

Sources: USDA FoodData Central records used

Salmon, cooked: Fish, salmon, Atlantic, farmed, cooked, dry heat (FDC 175168)
Short-grain rice, cooked: Rice, white, short-grain, cooked, unenriched (FDC 168932)
Miso paste: Miso (FDC 172442)
Firm tofu: Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate (FDC 172475)
Spring onions: Onions, spring or scallions (includes tops and bulb), raw (FDC 170005)
Nori (laver): Seaweed, laver, raw (FDC 168458)
Soba noodles, cooked: Noodles, japanese, soba, cooked (FDC 168907)
Edamame: Edamame, frozen, prepared (FDC 168411)
Cucumber: Cucumber, with peel, raw (FDC 168409)
Soy sauce: Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu) (FDC 174277)
Sesame seeds: Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried (FDC 170150)
Banana: Bananas, raw (FDC 173944)
Chicken thigh, cooked: Chicken, broilers or fryers, thigh, meat only, cooked, roasted (FDC 172388)
Sugar: Sugars, granulated (FDC 169655)
Ginger: Ginger root, raw (FDC 169231)
Vegetable oil: Oil, corn and canola (FDC 169867)
Spinach, cooked: Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (FDC 168463)
Carrots: Carrots, raw (FDC 170393)