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I still remember these experiences as if they had happened only yesterday. It was the summer of 2000. I had just finished my class 10 school examinations. These being an all-India Government of India conducted affair with millions appearing in it was quite an ordeal, both physically as well as psychologically. And then there was the typical Delhi heat, with temperatures soaring over 45 degree Centigrade (113 Degree Fahrenheit).

We had to go to cooler climes, but where? The nearest popular-with-the-British Hill stations were just a few hours away by road. But we had already covered them, one by one in the previous summers. Should we then go abroad? To Europe? Normally we did that when we wished to celebrate some good news. But here I was sure that there was nothing to cheer about my performance in class 10. God, why were they teaching me Calculus, Trigonometry and Set Theory when I just wanted to be an ordinary Lawyer!

Anyway, we debated our options, and my parents in a sudden fit of unexplained generosity, decided to take me to the other end of the earth, to Canada, to see the Niagara Falls and the Rockies.

So a week later, we were in Toronto. A family friend received us and took us home. After chatting for a few hours, we went straight to bed. We did not wish to have dinner as we had already had a lot on the plane. We were terribly jet lagged, I suppose.

The next morning when we woke up, our hosts served us some very nice Egg McMuffins from McDonald’s for breakfast. I was (as is usual, for any 15 year old anywhere in the world) quite fond of McDonald’s but I didn’t know that you could have some kind of “egg burgers” too for breakfast there. Anyway, we were quite touched that our hosts were ordering breakfast from this great multinational in our honour.

“Oh you are so kind to order food from McDonald’s”, my mother couldn’t help remarking.

“Hey, not at all. We regularly order breakfast from McDonald’s. It is so convenient.” said the friend.

“Actually I hardly cook anything at home. You know, in Canada, you have plenty of options for eating out, at really affordable rates. Plus I find cooking at home, and especially the cleaning thereafter, to be quite a bit of a pain in, you know, where. In fact, nowadays I cannot even recognise the fruits and vegetables that are available in the supermarket, they are so many of them.” boasted the wife (as if it was something to be really proud of).

The “egg burger” was very tasty but I couldn’t quite place the oil used to make the egg. Was it animal lard, I wondered.

I was surprised that the son, who was my age, had not joined us.

“Where is your son”, I asked.

“Oh he is having McMuffin in his own room. You know how kids like to have everything in their bedrooms”, replied our host rather indulgently.

Our hosts too had just one son. His parents would drop him off to school after breakfast and pick him up during lunch time.

Around 10, our hosts had to go shopping and we tagged along. The mall that we went to was bigger than whatever I had seen till then anywhere in the world. In between we had some really delicious chocolate doughnuts. The wife said that these were easily the best doughnuts in town and that she comes here, almost every day, to have them.

For lunch, we were taken to a nearby Vietnamese Restaurant. This time the son also joined us. We had some really nice boneless fish with vegetables and fried rice.

“You know, in Canada, eating out is very affordable”, our hosts reiterated.

For dinner, our friends had bought some roast chicken from the nearby supermarket and simply heated it in a microwave. I couldn’t help but notice that the son again did not join us for dinner.

We were explained that the young man didn’t like to eat dinner so early (at around 8.30 p.m.!). He instead preferred having his roast chicken watching his favourite TV show an hour or so later.

I found this rather interesting. I thought that I had a very peculiar problem that I could never multi task like this. That is, I couldn’t eat my roast chicken and watch TV at the same time. My problem was that if I started relishing my roast chicken, my mind will not be able to concentrate on what was going on the TV. But if I instead focused on the television, then I could not enjoy my roast chicken (because I found that I then ate mindlessly without really enjoying the flavours).

At that time I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. Only later when I started reading Health magazines that I learnt about why one should not eat and watch TV at the same time. The main reason is that you then tend to indulge in mindless eating and consume larger quantities of food than what you otherwise would have. In fact, if you were grappling with obesity, this would be one of the first lifestyle changes you will be immediately recommended to adopt.

 The next day it was the same old story. This time for breakfast, our hosts had got some hot dogs from another popular chain of restaurants. We had then some chocolate doughnuts for snack, some sweet and sour pork with rice from a nearby Chinese takeaway and some Spaghetti with meat balls for dinner (that too as a ready-made meal from a supermarket).

Our friend’s son would hardly ever join us for any meal unless all of us were eating out. On some days, he would simply have some popcorn and chips for dinner.

“You know my son binged on popcorn and chips, so he does not feel like having a full dinner”, the wife used to explain.

Then we went to Niagara and I was thrilled beyond words. We just freaked out photographing ourselves and the mighty falls from all possible locations and angles. When we came back to Toronto, our hosts had their annual health check-ups lined up for the entire family. That was not really our concern.

So we went for a cruise on Lake Ontario, of the breath taking Great lakes. When we came back, we gathered from the downcast faces of our hosts that the results of their blood work were not exactly pleasing. What I could gather at that age was that our hosts had somewhat wonky parameters that necessitated more tests, more consultations and probably higher insurance premiums.

The most surprising aspect was that their son too, who was only 15 years old, had abnormal blood cholesterol levels. What were our cholesterol levels, our hosts (like all nosey Indians!) were curious about? They were disappointed to learn that they were all boringly within normal ranges, without having any medicines (statins, I later learnt).

“The price of having a rich diet, I suppose”, our hosts sighed. The wife promptly blamed her husband’s mother who used to feed him eggs every morning for breakfast, back in India, (when he was a child) for his high cholesterol levels. I later learnt that it is not the egg that is usually the culprit in such cases, but the lifestyle (high in saturated fats) which should actually take the blame.

After spending a week with them we moved to Calgary, Edmonton, Banff and the Rockies. But wherever we stayed with friends and relatives, it was more or less the same routine of eating out, take-aways and microwaving supermarket ready-to-eat meals for dinner.

When we returned to India, our mouths had become extremely tired of eating out (it might sound strange but this is how we actually felt). We had missed terribly our normal home food. We wondered how anyone could survive on takeaways all the time without getting tired or bored.

Very strangely, it was after this trip only that we discovered how we were unconsciously trying to have all our meals, at least the breakfasts and dinners, together, which was such a big deal abroad. I then read about how Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, too used to make it a point to have at least his breakfasts together with his daughter (Indira Gandhi) and grandchildren regularly.

I also couldn’t help but notice how meals were being cooked from scratch in our household, which is even today quite a common practice in India. Of course, with rising affluence and busy lifestyles, this practice is soon going to be endangered as it has already happened in the West. In many affluent homes in India, you are increasingly being invited home only for drinks, because they are easier to serve, and then taken to a restaurant for your dinner, exactly what is happening abroad.

I recently came across this very interesting article which says:

“In 1900, 2 percent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 percent were eaten away from home and one in five breakfasts is from McDonalds. Most family meals happen about three times a week, last less than 20 minutes and are spent watching television or texting while each family member eats a different microwaved “food.” More meals are eaten in the minivan than the kitchen”.

Little wonder that medical conditions related to such a lifestyle as obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, kidney or gall bladder stones, and gout are on the rise. Many studies have separately established that children who eat meals together with their parents are likely to succeed more in academics, form healthy relationships with their parents and siblings and have a normal body weight.

Granted then that it is desirable to cook your own meals. But this is possible only if cooking is NOT made complicated, tedious or time consuming. That’s exactly the mission that the entire cookinginajiffy initiative is resolutely focused on.

 (Excerpts from Healthy Cooking In A Jiffy: The Complete No Fad, No Diet Handbook (How To Cook Everything In A Jiffy) (Volume 3))

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