It didn’t start as a money decision.
It started as a shame spiral—the kind that happens when you realize you’ve ordered delivery four times in one week and the delivery guy knows your dog’s name.
“Convenience was costing me more than money—it was costing me awareness.”
So I deleted the apps. Cold turkey.
And what happened next was part withdrawal, part therapy, and part rediscovery of who I was before I outsourced my own survival.
📦 The Problem I Didn’t Want to Admit
I wasn’t too busy to cook.
I was too mentally lazy to start.
I wanted to skip the friction of prep, cleaning, thinking.
Uber Eats became a mood stabilizer:
- Overwhelmed? Order dumplings.
- Sad? Burger.
- Tired? Burrito.
- Lonely? Ice cream, with tracking updates.
🍳 The First Week Off-Grid (from Delivery Apps)
The first meal I cooked was aggressively average: plain rice, over-salted eggs, half-wilted spinach.
But when I sat down, it hit me:
I made this. I stopped to make this.
I wasn’t watching a screen.
I wasn’t refreshing anything.
I was just eating food I touched with my own hands.
That meal wasn’t delicious. It was restorative.
🧠 The Mind-Shift
By the end of the week, something clicked.
- I wasn’t rushing anymore
- I started grocery shopping like a hunter—not a hoarder
- I cleaned my kitchen because I needed it to function
- I started asking: What am I feeding besides my hunger?
💸 Side Effects I Didn’t Expect
| Change | Impact |
|---|---|
| No food delivery fees | Saved ~$180/month |
| Cooking = movement | I lost 6 pounds without trying |
| Less trash | No more greasy boxes or sauce packets |
| More silence | Kitchen became my phone-free zone |
| Fewer decisions | Eating became simple, not chaotic |
🥣 My “Off-Grid From Takeout” Cooking Setup
Not fancy. Not Instagram-worthy. Just functional.
- 1 cast iron skillet
- 1 rice cooker (or pot)
- 1 steel spatula
- Salt, oil, garlic
- 3 rotating veggies
- 2 starches
- 2 proteins (eggs, lentils, whatever)
- Mismatched bowls I actually like
That’s it. No TikTok-worthy mise en place. Just fuel with presence.
🧪 Try This: “Delivery-Free Week”
- Delete every food app. Yes, every one.
- Stock 3 simple meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
- For 7 days:
- No food deliveries
- No pre-made meals
- No food that comes with marketing copy
- Journal:
- What did I crave?
- What did I miss?
- What did I realize I was outsourcing?
✅ Bonus: Take one photo of your meal each day—not to post, but to honor it.
📥 Subscribe to download: “Food That Feeds You” Journal Kit
Includes:
- 7-day food intention tracker
- Grocery list template for 3-meal rotation
- Reflection page: What I was feeding besides hunger
- Cooking rituals for slow, real presence
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