Don’t talk while you’re eating!

The soil on the farmland surrounding us, and here in the gardens, is dark and crumbly - the finest soft loam. What I would give for soil like this!... I could weep when I think of the solid clay in our garden in Italy. Local farmers in Kerala produce superb vegetables and one can understand how the diet has evolved without any need for animal products. But of course, it’s more than that and is linked to the recognition of a special relationship between people, their nourishment and their environment.

The attitude to food in the Ayurvedic lifestyle reminds me of the time when I – as a 19 year-old student – had to give a talk at a monastery about the voluntary work I’d been doing in Africa. The meal was almost a ritual, eaten in humility and gratitude and in total silence. Here in the dining room at the Centre, the Northern Europeans congregate together over meals, laughing, joking, gossiping and totally ignoring the carefully worded laminated card that the AYV team have thoughtfully placed on each table. This card explains that mealtimes are an important element of the treatment programme and that the food has been carefully chosen to balance the precise bodily requirements over the period of each week. It also suggests that one “should not talk or laugh when consuming food,” which is hardly the sort of proposition that is likely to be taken up by people away from home and taking a vacation. It goes further with the idea that one should: “consider eating like a vedic fire ritual and that you are making offerings to the internal fire who is god.” Not a familiar concept to people used to grazing, fast-food and snacks. Most people here treat meals with other guests as an opportunity to catch up on the latest news from emails back home. Consequently most people ignore everything on the card and eat as they would do at home, refusing unfamiliar flavours, and far more interested in conversation than in nourishment. As the doctor said to me at my morning consultation “All we can do is explain things to people, we cannot force them to do things our way.”Ayurveda teaches that the food, and the way it is consumed are just as important as the medicines, treatments, therapies and yoga sessions that are all elements of the programme.

Having run restaurants for 15 years, I know the annoyance I have felt on occasions when people just gobble down food without really tasting or appreciating the work that has gone into creating each dish. Without wishing to turn mealtimes into a total ritual, I still think the monks were onto something with their tradition of a silent refectory.

My lunch last Thursday (- that's a teaspoon!)

For 6 days of the week I have very little opportunity to sample the food as the weight management menu is stripped to the absolute minimum. Consider my lunch on Thursday:

•         1 Chapati
•          1 heaped tablespoon of onion and cucumber Raita (in yoghurt/buttermilk)
•          1 heaped tablespoon chopped vegetables with grated fresh coconut
•          1 heaped tablespoon chopped carrot, onion and green pepper dressed with a squeeze of lime
•          1 cup of warm herbal tea

The ridiculous thing about this dietary regime is that I have never yet felt hungry, and have on occasions felt almost bloated.

And then there’s Sunday. They make Sunday lunch special so that guests (those who are not on the introductory diet of plain rice) can enjoy a traditional Kerala meal. This is partly to give guests a treat, and partly to wake up the digestive system. The meal is served in the traditional way on a big banana leaf and eaten with the fingers, though spoons are available for those of a nervous disposition. The doctor explained that the fare on offer is not a random selection of dishes that taste nice, but is carefully chosen to constitute a complete, balanced meal that provides nourishment for all the senses, hot, cold, sweet, spicy, salty, mild, etc. The doctor played music to my ears when he advised me to: “...eat as much as you want from all the vegetable dishes, just don’t overdo the rice.”

Sunday lunch - Kerala style

But of course, my stomach has shrunk significantly, so there was no way I could gorge myself even had I wanted to. It was delicious, and full of subtle flavours and totally healthy. Today, of course, I’m back on my minimal rations, and the results are continuing to show almost daily.

In less than three weeks on this regime my weight decreased by 11.6kg. (not a typo....eleven point six kilos!)