When a month of ham sandwiches won’t cut it
20m of cling wrap, 8 loaves of bread, 3kg ham, 1 jar of pickles, countless pre-packaged snacks. The contents of my now husband’s lunchbox during the first harvest of us living together.
I was working full time with some weekends, the office an hour away plus travel across western NSW with frequent nights away. I was not prepared. At the end of the 5 weeks we were exhausted, craving a decent meal and I felt guilty.
In relationships we’re here to support one another through the various trials of life. When you’re married to a farmer it’s scheduled at certain times of year, like harvest and sowing. With my own work and hobbies and now with a baby I can’t be helping in the paddock at all hours, so I see my role as ‘keeping the home fires burning’ and keeping my farmer fed.
I genuinely believe I can see a difference in his wellbeing and motivation depending on what is in the lunch box, not to mention how much is eaten. When there are fresh options and variety he’s in a better mood with a clearer mind and the lunchbox returns home mostly empty. But if it’s getting boring or repetitive I see things start to slip.
This concept of nutritious eating for good wellbeing and health is by no means an epiphany or ground-breaking find. We’re constantly told how to improve our mental health and wellbeing, with diet being an integral component along with exercise, sleep, hobbies, rest and so on. I’m a social worker – I bang on about this stuff for a crust!
During the busy times on farm when we’re working around the clock, not leaving the property for weeks on end and being faced with challenges left right and centre (cue weather, breakdowns, staffing issues, mistakes…) we don’t have time for many of these self-care and wellbeing strategies.
But it doesn’t mean throw it all out the window and rely on “when this is over I’ll take a break”. There are a handful of things we can influence during the busy times, and diet is a huge one.
That guilt I felt in the first year stemmed from knowing I could do better.
I could check the cupboard for work clothes so he didn’t run out of clean shorts.
I could pre-cook and freeze snacks which were lunchbox ready.
I could meal plan around my work schedule and nights away to ensure there was always something available, and time the cooking of a roast for a delicious dinner plus different lunch meat.
I could make sandwiches the night before so packing the lunchbox early in the morning could be more efficient.
I could swing by KFC on Friday nights for a treat dinner to perk up a weary farmer and give myself a break.
With each year I’m gradually growing and learning more recipes and tricks. I’m by no means an expert and still find myself digging to the depths of the freezer or scrolling through Instagram searching for inspiration for something to cook. And we still have days which are a flop, plus the new challenge of adding a baby to the mix means there’s much less ‘ducking here’ and ‘popping there’. But the flops are getting further apart.
This is the ‘why’ of Tractor Snacks. I wanted to create a resource for myself, my friends and now a much wider community of Snackers I never expected, to share tips and ideas for the days when inspiration is lacking and as a reminder of my goal for good quality nutritious food.
It’s taken much longer than expected to craft a website, another new skill I’ve taught myself along the way and am chuffed with. But it’s finally here! No longer will we need to trawl back through Instagram for the sausage roll recipe, or try to recall which post actually contains the measurements for quiche filling.
Remember this is my hobby, so it’s unlikely there will be consistent posts or whatever else the professionals do (until someone works out how to monetise it)! I’m just a humble country cook trying to have a bit of fun while keeping my family fed!
Camilla x
