This post is about how I feed myself, what I eat and how my journey towards self sustenance is constantly evolving. It seems to me that self sustenance and self sustainability are linked together. Eating food is a need that is common across the human spectrum no matter who you may be. Learning to provide for nutritional needs is an integral part of my journey of homesteading, living off grid and living sustainably. Through this post I will go into detail about what my diet was, is currently, and what I'd like it to be.
My History With Food
I grew up with the ability to eat pretty much anything. After the awkward stages of puberty, my metabolism has kept me at the same height and weight for all of my adult life. No amount of cake binging or junk food changed that, and I'm grateful that my body doesn't suffer consequences for indulging. That isn't to say that I'm a glutton, but I remember having a very healthy appetite as a child, sometimes eating 5-6 meals a day including snacks. This was also offset by the sheer amount of running around we did as little kids. I was constantly active, and as I was still growing it seems like all that food got burnt as soon as it was consumed. I grew up eating mostly simple vegetarian dishes both at home and in school, which ensured a balanced diet and nutritious food as staples. There were of course unhealthy snacks on top of this, but for the most part I was getting healthy food on a regular basis.
This changed when I left for college and the subsequent years I spent working in the city. The introduction of food delivery apps meant that food could be summoned to your house with just a few taps on a phone, something younger me could only dream about. The sheer convenience of this meant that more often than not, I used to order in my meals. Not all of them were bad, but they missed that home cooked aspect of food that I grew up with. This was also part of what made me realise how unhealthy my life in the city was and how I desperately wanted to leave.
Early Days On The Farm
Fast forward to when I first moved to the land that I live in now. At the time the land was nothing more than a slope on the hill. I was living in a tent with no means to cook for myself. So, what I ended up doing was relying on the villagers who came to the land to work. They used to pack me extra portions of whatever they were eating in little containers that are known as tiffin dabbas colloquially.
Simple food packed in a tiffin dabba
The food was familiar to me as it was more or less what I was used to growing up. The picture above consists of tomato rice, stir fried beans and wild spinach called keerai in the local tongue. The only problem with this arrangement however was that I had to eat it cold. There were usually extra portions which meant eating the same thing for dinner. Breakfast consisted of idlis ( steamed rice cakes) and dosas ( similar to pancakes) that were bought from local village restaurants. Nevertheless, it was cooked with love and was homemade and I lived off this food for more than a year.
Taking Responsibility For Feeding Myself
My dependency for food from outside changed when I got myself a small 4 Kg gas cylinder that I could carry up the hill in a backpack and a few basic cooking utensils. Our land doesn't have road access and involves a compulsory 20 minute walk from the closest motorable location. This meant grocery runs and everything that had to be brought into the farm had to be done, carried on my back. The gas cylinder was extremely useful and even with daily usage lasted me around a month before needing a refill. Getting my own groceries opened up more possibilities. I could cook what I wanted. A lot stayed the same in terms of daily cooking. Rice as a staple, cooked vegetables and some kind of curry to soak the rice in. This trinity of rice, veg, curry is something that a lot of Indian households churn out day after day and something my body has been comfortable with. The benefit of cooking myself was that I could eat food hot, I could increase or decrease portions depending on how hungry I was and I could make things that suited my taste buds.
Fried gherkins on a bed of herbed rice
I eventually ventured outside my daily trinity of foods to expand into making rotis, (flat bread ) pastas, salads, sandwiches, broths, even attempting pressure cooker cakes and pan pizzas. Sometimes following recipes but a lot of times also experimenting with creating my own. I often let my intuition and taste buds guide me, using cooking as a creative expression to make things that left me feel satisfied on all levels, from the tongue to the soul.
Incorporating The Wild
As I mentioned in a previous post, I learnt to identify the edible wild plants growing around me and started using them in dishes as garnishes. While there isn't enough regular growing of our own vegetables on the land, this is one small way that I can make my environment part of my diet. This is so satisfying in a way that I don't fully know how to describe. It feels that by adding this small touch my food became spiritually nourishing.
Dal Rice topped with wild herbs from the land including some homegrown spring onion
The Occasional Indulgence
While I stick to a predominantly vegetarian diet of simple but nutritious food that I make myself, I do occasionally like to get something decadent just for the feeling of eating something delicious. This usually happens when I drive down to town on grocery or supply runs and drop into a local restaurant on the way.
That yummy goodness from a local restaurant
Not all of my indulges come from restaurants however. As I've expanded my cooking skills, I make my own treats when I feel like.
A plate of pakodas. Deep fried deliciousness, perfect for rainy days
What The Future Holds
I'm now in a place where I'm grateful to be able to cook tasty, nutritious and healthy food for myself. Food that I've grown up with, food that my body has adapted to, as well as food that my body craves. I think cooking is a very personal and intuitive experience for me. Inherently I think the body knows what it wants. Without getting too scientific, it's possible that when I'm craving leafy greens and spinach, my body may be low on iron and other nutrients those specific foods contain. I've learnt to listen to my body, and feed it how it would like to be fed. Everything isn't perfect however and there are occasional slumps. There are times when the effort of cooking gets to me, especially when there's so many other things to be done. In these situations I often resort to one pot meals, where I just make one giant pot of food containing staples and vegetables and just eat it through the day for all my meals. I would love to have more of a community around where people take turns cooking, sharing parts of their hearts with the food. Eventually I would love to have more home grown vegetables in my meals. I would love for most of what I eat to come directly from the land rather than a grocery store. I would love to be able to get eggs from happy chickens roaming around the land. Perhaps someday these dreams will come true. For now however my stomach, heart and soul are happy with the food I make for myself.
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This is beautiful to eat. Many people are used to the city lifestyle, totally forgetting their background. I can never get used to it even though I have spent a larger portion of my life in the city. I one day wish to return to the village life where I can eat fresh foods and enjoy the cool breeze that nature has to offer, instead of the polluted air in the city. Good luck with your feeding in the nearest future, I am certain it will only get better.
It truly is a privilege and I'm so grateful to live in this environment. A lot of people are blinded by the bubble of the city but I also think a lot more people are opening their eyes. The city also has much healthier options to eat if you're so inclined. It's about making that choice of committing to a healthy diet but I can relate to those who don't out of convenience. I hope you're eating well and make your way back to rural life when you want to.
How great to know a story like this, it is admirable what you have done. To be able to eat and enjoy what you like is a sensation like no other. You have worked very hard and have achieved the goals you have set and have been able to achieve them. Thank you for sharing your testimony. Happy day!
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Thank you so much. It's been a continuously evolving journey, and I'm so glad to have embarked on it.
Going offgrid is definetely a challenge! I admire your courage, to stay in a tent and eat cold food for a year... What a brave one you are! Have you modified your living situation? Are you planning to grow your own crops?
Thank you, it was definitely hard and challenging, but the peace of mind and satisfaction it offered more than made up for it. We've grown batches of crops in the past. but not enough to be able to provide for on a daily basis. Whenever we do however, it's been great to use home grown produce. Yes, I've moved out of the tent and been living in a mud house we built from scratch for the last year. It's been a beautiful journey over the last few years and I hope to post more about everything it entailed in due course.
Wow excellent! Mud houses or cob houses are so great, I congratulate you for your courage to go offgrid!
I hear you compleatly! When I lived alone in the capital I did the same thing, without the food delivery apps of course, but after a hard days work and I didn't feel like cooking, which was often, I'd go with fast food: Mc Donalds, Pizza, Ramen Noodles, Fried Chicken. I gained weight so fast that it took 6 years to get it of. Now I always include veggies on my meals and try to not eat fast food, besides, I can't afford it. And, I have a back yard where we are growing stuff for the future, for instance, avocado! Hopefuly I get to do a lot more, like you! Thank's!
For sure it's quite the challenge cooking for yourself on a daily basis. Looking back, I have so much gratitude for my Mom who provided amazing food for us regularly for decades. I still have those moments when I rely on instant noodles and other fast food. If I'm being honest if there was an app that could deliver food here, I'd use it. Living remote and off grid means that unfortunately I'm the only one who can deliver food to myself, but that hasn't stopped me from making delicious things that are both tasty and nutritious. We have a few fruit trees as well, but yet to plant some avocado. Sounds like it's been an interesting food journey for you as well and all the best with meeting your goals.
Very Inspiring journey, I must say, I cannot help myself when looking at all the delicious Indian foods. Idlis and dosas, oh how I miss them! My favourites, I tried cooking them, but they don't taste as good :D
Thank you, idlis and dosas have been my go to breakfast for pretty much all my life. We make some nice dosas here occasionally but don't have the equipment for idlis. It definitely is a pleasure to live in a culture with some diverse and rich food. If there's one thing Indians do well, it's making and eating healthy food.
"it's making and eating healthy food" i have to add to your sentence mega delicious!
Indians exceeded in making healthy eating super mega delicious!
Sometimes healthy eating can be very bland unless it's Indian 😃🙌
Oh yes, a wide variety of tasty food as well. From sweet to savoury and everything in between.
I can't wait to visit someday :( So long overdue.
Hope to see you here someday as well!