If I am so, healthy at this age, it is because of the home grown fruits and

vegetables, chickens, eggs, milk, butter, yogurt and ghee that I ate when I was growing up. Everything we

ate was natural. The fish was caught in the streams or rivers. The chickens were fed with grain every

morning.  Our cows and buffalos were taken to be grazed in the open fields and were brought back in the

evening.  All extra fruits, vegetables and grains were the food for our cattle. Yogurt was always home-made

and eaten with brown rice conge for breakfast every morning. Honey was collected directly from the

beehives in the trees. Honey or home-made jam was eaten with rice pancakes and crepes.  Bananas were

sliced and dried in the sun and preserved in the remaining honey and eaten as dessert after food. Vinegar

and salt was our salad dressing. Once a year all of us had to drink some bitter liquid made from roots and

herbs to clean our stomachs. There were none of the preservatives in our food nor was any spray being

used on the vegetables or fruits we ate. By the time I was a teenager, bug sprays were slowly being

introduced to the coffee plants to increase production.

          As we were growing up, our mother gave us sprouted raw lotus seeds, every morning. They did

not taste the greatest, but she said that they were good for us as they were full of B Complex. Now I sprout

them and use them in salads, soups or just stir fly them with onions, garlic, tomatoes, walnuts and green

chillies and eat them semi raw. I sometimes add pieces of mango to this semi raw salad. You can sprout any

kind of lentils as long as they are not split. (The recipes below explain how to sprout lentils.) Then there

was a time when we had to eat a raw tomato every morning. Then she discovered a new and unique

porridge which was drunk in our house till the day she died on the 23^rd of  December 2011. The recipe of

which will be given later in the blog. That is the first recipe.

          My siblings and I were boarders in convent schools as there were no schools near the plantation here

where my father worked. We went home only for Diwali holidays and summer holidays. Christmas break

was too short for the travel. Hiking, playing “Seven Tiles” and catching crabs were some of the main fun

activities we were involved during our vacations. We called hiking as “climbing the mountain.” This hiking at

an early age was good for our health and for building stamina. We started this hike as early as age 9 or 10.

          Walking was another pass-time that kept us healthy. Exploring nature and finding sreams, fruit trees,

and even rocks with games carved on them. I still remember climbing an eight foot square rock and seeing a

game that we played with shells being carved on the top. We wondered how long ago this must have been

carved and imagined children or perhaps adults sitting and playing this game. Those were good times.

We were one with nature and our joys were simple and pure.  We knew all the insects that flew or crawled

including the centipedes and millipedes and the one that was called the 'bloodsucker'. We became familiar

with the different birds and their sounds. wodpeckers, minas, parrots, owls, koels and bats were the

common birds we knew by sound and sight. We ate the wild berries when we found them and drank the

clear water from the streams. If the tree was too high one of the brave boys would climb the tree and cut a

branch and all of us would sit round this branch and eat the berries. These were the joys we once had

which are alien to my children and grandchildren, who are happy watching the “idiot Box.” So much has

happened to ruin our health in just one generation around this world, including India, that is not surprising

knowing man's greed for better, bigger and more. Some may call those days backward, I call them divine.

We lived how man was meant to live by his creator.

          We did not have any toys except the ones made by carpenters. The board games were Snakes and

Ladders, Ludo,  and Monopoly. We were allowed to play cards only during summer holidays. Usually, we

played these indoor games either when it was raining or when it was too hot to go outside to play. Lunch

was our main meal of the day and we were all expected to rest for an hour or two after lunch, during

holidays. Now that I live in a commercial world, where it is very difficult or practically impossible to eat

and drink the pure stuff I once did, I do what I can to remain healthy with the means I have.

          The first step to good health is, to use less and less of the readymade food products. It is

healthier and much cheaper to cook your own meals. Here are the recipes that I use to prepare my meals.

They are not all necessarily Indian. Since we live in a multicultural society, I have recipes from all

nationalities. I have modified most of them to suit my taste. Many of them are improvised depending on what

was in my fridge at that moment. That is what I want you to do. You can always substitute ingredients or

even omit them altogether once you gain enough confidence.

              Religion and faith also played a very important part in our lives. We were Roman Catholics, but

that does not mean it is the only faith that is helpful for a healthy life. Prayer and thanksgiving were instilled in

us. We believed that God was Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. We also believed that God was

all merciful, bountiful and powerful.  We were also taught to be content with what we have and learn to do

the best with resources at hand. This is my blog and I have written what contributed to my happy and

healthy life. You are welcome to disagree. I respect the opinion of all as each one has a right to his or her

own belief and convictions.