How My Grandmother's Kitchen Saved My Sanity: A Simple Cairo Story
The notification sound from my laptop made me jump. Another urgent email at 11 PM. I rubbed my eyes and looked around my small Zamalek apartment—empty coffee cups everywhere, takeout containers on the counter, and that familiar knot in my stomach that had become my constant companion.
I'm Mona, I'm 29, and I work in digital marketing here in Cairo. Sounds glamorous, right? It's not. It's deadlines, client calls, and living on coffee and whatever food gets delivered fastest. My friends all do the same thing—we joke about being tired all the time, but honestly, it stopped being funny months ago.
My mom kept telling me to visit my grandmother. "Teta keeps asking about you," she'd say. "She says you sound tired on the phone." I kept putting it off because weekends were for sleeping, not traveling to the village.
But after a particularly rough week where I got maybe twelve hours of sleep total, I finally gave in.
Back to Teta's House
Teta lives in a small town near Kafr El-Sheikh, about two hours from Cairo when traffic isn't terrible. Her house smells the same as it did when I was little—like jasmine and something warm I could never identify.
She took one look at me and frowned. "Ya Mona, you look awful."
"Thanks, Teta. I missed you too."
She laughed and pulled me into the kitchen. "Sit. I'll make tea."
While she puttered around, I noticed her shelves lined with glass jars. Some had golden honey, others had dark oils, and a few had what looked like homemade vinegar.
"What's all this stuff?"
"Food," she said simply. "Real food. Not like whatever you eat in Cairo."
She pulled down a jar of honey that was almost black, with tiny seeds floating in it. "This is what your grandfather ate every morning for fifty years. Never got sick, that man."
"What's in it?"
"Honey and black seeds. My mother taught me to make it." She spooned some into a glass of warm water and handed it to me. "Drink."
It tasted... interesting. Rich and slightly spicy, but not bad. "Why black seeds?"
"Good for everything. Your stomach, your energy, your skin. Helps you think clearly too."
Simple Changes
I stayed the weekend, and Teta had a routine. Every morning: warm water with that black seed honey. Every meal: salad with olive oil and vinegar that actually tasted like something. Every evening: herbal tea with regular honey instead of sugar.
"This is how people used to eat," she said. "Before everything became fake."
I felt... different. Not dramatically different, just less foggy. I slept better that first night than I had in weeks.
"Where do you get this stuff, Teta?"
"There's a company that makes things the old way. Hatoon, I think it's called. My neighbor orders from them sometimes."
Back to Reality
In Cairo, I tried to find similar products. The honey at the supermarket was nothing like Teta's—too sweet, no depth. I looked up Hatoon online. They're based in Giza, and their website showed jars that looked exactly like the ones in Teta's kitchen.
I ordered a few things:
- Black seed honey (like Teta's)
- Regular alfalfa honey
- Cold-pressed olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
Not expecting miracles, just wanting to feel a little more like I did at Teta's house.
Week by Week
Week 1: Started with the morning honey water. The taste grew on me, and I noticed I wasn't immediately reaching for coffee when I woke up. Small thing, but nice.
Week 2: Used the olive oil and vinegar on salads. Actually started eating salads because they tasted good instead of like punishment. The honey in tea was better than sugar—didn't make me crash later.
Week 3: The biggest change was my stomach. I'd gotten used to feeling uncomfortable after meals, but that started going away. Also sleeping better.
Week 4: My friend Yasmin asked if I was using a new face cream. "You look less... tired," she said. I wasn't using anything new, just eating differently.
What Actually Works
I'm not going to claim this changed my entire life or cured everything wrong with me. But small changes added up:
Morning: Warm water with a spoonful of black seed honey. Gives me steady energy without the coffee jitters.
Lunch: Salads with olive oil, vinegar, and a tiny bit of honey mixed in. Tastes good, keeps me full.
Evening: Herbal tea with regular honey instead of sugar. Helps me wind down.
Cooking: Using real olive oil instead of whatever's cheapest. Food tastes better.
The black seed honey is strong—you get used to it. The olive oil actually has flavor, which was surprising. The vinegar isn't harsh like the regular kind.
Why It Works
I looked up why these simple swaps made a difference:
The black seeds have compounds that help with inflammation and digestion. Raw honey gives steady energy without sugar crashes. Cold-pressed oil keeps the good stuff
that gets destroyed when oil is processed with heat. Natural vinegar helps your body process food better.
Nothing revolutionary. Just real ingredients instead of processed ones.
Six Months Later
My kitchen looks different now. Instead of energy drinks and instant everything, I have jars of honey and bottles of real oil. My coworkers still think I'm weird for eating salad every day, but I feel better than I have in years.
Not perfect—I still work too much and drink too much coffee sometimes. But that constant tired, uncomfortable feeling is mostly gone.
Teta was right. It's not magic, just real food.
If You Want to Try
Hatoon ships throughout Egypt. Their products taste like what Teta makes—thick honey that sometimes crystallizes (that's normal), oil with actual flavor, vinegar that doesn't burn.
Contact: 01122438888
Website: www.hatoon4life.com
Location: Shobra Ment, Giza
Start simple:
- One jar of black seed honey for mornings
- Good olive oil for cooking
- Apple vinegar for digestion
Try it for a month, see how you feel. That's what worked for me.
The Simple Truth
I still live in Cairo, still work too much, still get stressed. But I have more energy to deal with it now. My stomach doesn't hurt all the time. I sleep better.
Sometimes the old ways work better than the new ways. Sometimes your grandmother really does know what she's talking about.
The jars in my kitchen look just like the ones in hers now. And when she asks how I'm doing, I can honestly say I'm fine.
That's worth more than any fancy supplement or expensive gym membership.