Cruelty-free Shopping

Everything from cosmetics (beauty products , skin-care products ) to household products  undergo a
cruel process - animal testing before they reach you. Monkeys and rats suffer a lot during the animal testing process. Many animals die during , animal testing.

Fortunately, many companies have stopped, animal testing . Today you can find many everything from tooth paste to laundry detergents and lipstick to hair shampoo, not tested on animals. Shop with compassion during the holidays and all year round.

Visit   Leaping Bunny to find out companies, which do not test their products on animals.

Healthy Eating Plate

 Michael Pollan, a famous Food Writer, urges people to eat plant-based food.

Michael Pollan's answer to healthy lifestyle is - Eat Food . Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Nutrition experts from Harvard School of Public Health have created Healthy Eating Plate.
Healthy Eating Plate is inclined towards wholesome plant-based diet. If you follow the guidelines from Healthy Eating Plate, your health will be in great condition.

The main point of Healthy Eating Plate is, "Make most of your meal vegetable and fruits, half of your
plate". And to eat meat as a condiment!

According to Healthy Eating Plate, protein is found in beans, lentils, nuts and quinoa. Calcuim is found in collards, bok choy, fortified soy milk, beans and tofu. And regular excercise is good for bones.

The blogs - vegan dad , fat free vegan , holy cow , and vegan richa are awash with many tasty plant-based recipes.

Pasta and Vegetables with White Sauce

These days, I make Pasta atleast once in a week for my son's lunch box. It's really so easy to make Pasta if you use frozen vegetables.

From past couple of months, I have made Pasta and Vegetables with White Sauce following the recipe from Fat Free Vegan blog .

Susan Voisin, a vegan from past 19 years is behind the amazing blog -Fat Free Vegan . I decided to thrive on vegan fare, after I saw all the delicious food at Fat Free Vegan . Many Americans are going meatless and the number of people thriving on plant-based fare is increasing every year, and I 'm sure Fat Free Vegan is playing a very important role in inspiring and enticing people to try plant-based dishes. Thank You Susan, for the great blog - Fat Free Vegan.

Pasta and Vegetables with White Sauce was delicious! The recipe calls for basil, oregano and nutritional yeast. Since, I don't have these ingredients, I tweaked the recipe. I use fresh orange juice and sometimes use fresh lemon juice to jazz up the Pasta. After coming back from school, my son says, "I did not like the Pasta, but I ate it!" It is so funny, and I happy that he eats his Pasta. If you make Pasta, you should really try this recipe.

Fluffy Vegan Pancakes

I roll my eyes when people use eggs to make pancakes. In United States, pancakes and eggs go hand in hand! I recently made vegan pancakes by following the recipe in Madhuram's blog Eggless Cooking .

Madhuram is based in Canada, and her blog Eggless Cooking is awash with recipes for vegan muffins, vegan cookies and vegan cakes.

The  vegan pancakes were fluffy and delicious. I ate it with maple syrup. My husband also liked the pancakes. However, my son did not like it.

Easy Vegetable Biryani

 I love vegetable biryani and vegetable pulav. In restaurants, they usually add lot of butter and the flavor of the amazing spices is missing. If you like rice dishes, you should try Easy Vegetable Biryani and Vegetable Pulav.

These days I'm making rice based dishes atleast twice in a week for my son's lunch box.

I made Easy Vegetable Biryani following the recipe from Nagalakshmi's blog , cooking and me

Easy Vegetable Biryani was so tasty and brimming with flavor. If the link does not work, go to google and type - Easy vegetable biryani , cooking and me . Americans who love Indian food, but are overwhelmed with variety of spices, should try this recipe. Just make sure you use -cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and chilli powder.

I also made Vegetable Pulav, by following Shilpa's recipe in Aayi blog . Vegetable Pulav was green in color and was really very tasty. My son who is a picky eater, also liked it!

In a few weeks, I plan to make Vegetable Biryani and Vegetable Pulav, with quinoa instead of white Basmati rice. Or I should I try using 1/2 cup of Basmati rice and 1/2 cup of quinoa , instead of 1 cup of Basmati rice. I hope my son likes it!

Vegan Recipes , Cruel-free Recipes for Diwali

In a couple of days, millions of Hindus across the world will celebrate, Diwali - Festival of Lights.
Milk and milk based products such as ghee , butter, paneer(Indian cottage cheese) , are used to make sweets. It's time to share sweets with family and friends.

According to Ayurveda(India's traditional medical science), milk and milk product such as ghee,
belongs to Sattvic (Goodness), group. According to Ayurveda, Sattvic food, such as fruits, vegetables, freshly cookes beans and lentils ,and milk promotes spiritual growth and guides people to follow the right path. Sattvic food is also known as ahimsa food(non-violence).

Unfotunately , the condition of milk producing cows in India and across the world is filled with pain
and suffering . In India, cows are induced with oxytocin harmone to produce more milk. In western countries, cows are repeatedly impregnated so that cows keep producing milk for a long time.
In short, cows are treated as "milking machines" .

In this day and age, milk and ghee no longer belong to Sattvic food. Milk and milk products such
as ghee and yogurt belong to "Tamasic foods", which is the result of non-violence. Meat , fish and eggs belong to Tamasic food group.

In this day and age, milk and ghee, no longer promotes spiritual growth.

I'm a vegan and I enjoy Diwali by making vegan sweets. I feel so happy to see my family and friends
relish my vegan burfis, kheers and halwas.

You too can make delicious sweets without using milk , ghee and butter. Visit Vaishali's blog
holy cow to find vegan recipes
for carrot halwa, burfis , firni , adhirasam , and many more mouth-watering recipes.

Show me the Curry

Show me the Curry, is a classic Indian cooking website with many vegan recipes. You can find recipes for curries , rice dishes , pickles and chutneys , and desserts.

Hetal Jannu and Anuja Balasubramanian are the ladies for the amazing Show me the curry website.
If you like Indian food, then this website can be a great guide. If you are a vegan and like Indian food, then you will find many vegan recipes for rice dishes, snacks, and curries. Howerver, most of the desserts are milk based. For vegan Indian desserts visit  Richa's blog 

My son no longer taking boring bread and jam sandwich to school. Every day I
make simple rice based dish for his lunch box. I  have made spinach and carrots pullao and methi pullao a couple of times. Both these rice dishes were easy to make and tasted great!

Vegan Beetroot Halwa

I love to eat warm halwa when the temperature drops down. Halwas are Indian dessert made with milk and sugar. If you are a vegan, you can eat many dishes in Indian restaurant, but you can never eat carrot halwa, as they are made with milk and khoya(similar to whey)

I recently made beetroot halwa by following Shilpa's recipe in aayi's blog   . I used canola oil to saute the beets and used vegan sugar -sugar in the raw , to make this delicious halwa. The halwa was so tasty and if you have food processor, you can make this halwa in a snap.

I also made lauki halwa (opo squash)  along the same lines as beetroot halwa. I used canola oil to saute the grated squash and I garnished the halwa with fried cashewnuts and raisins. The halwa was really so YUM!

Mahatma Gandhi's Views on Cow's Milk

Mahatma Gandhi, a great leader was born on October 2 in India, more than a century ago.
Millions of people everyday are inspired by this noble man- Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi achieved his goals through "Non-violence". Mahatma Gandhi worked for
the welfare of people. Mahatma Gandhi worked hard to remove pain and suffering from the community.

Mahatma Gandhi led a simple life. He ate simple vegetarian food. Gandhi had a strong
disgust for cow's milk when he came to know that cows and buffalos were subjected to a
cruel process, known as Phooka, to increase the production of milk. These days, in India,
many farmers inject the cows with oxytocin drug to increase the production of milk.
Read this for more information .

If Gandhi was alive, he would be very sad seeing the horrible condition of cows across India.
I'm sure Gandhi would eat vegan food and advocate vegan diet, as ahimsa diet (cruel-free diet).

VeganMoFo 2013 , Vegan Month of Food

Vegan food is good for our health and our beautiful planet, Earth! Vegan food is also known as plant-based food, and cruel-free food.

What do vegan eat every day? Some people think that vegans thrive only on salads and fruits.

Vegans eat variety of food. I'm a vegan, and I eat everything from vegan Pizza to cupcakes and vegan chocolates to ice creams! In short, it's easy to thrive on a vegan diet with some planning.

This month, numerous food bloggers from across the globe are posting vegan recipes and yummy vegan food pictures in their blogs. Visit the webpage http://www.veganmofo.com/blogroll/
to find great vegan fare

Cooking With Siri

Siri is a passionate food blogger from Hyderabad, India. Siri's blog , Cooking With Siri is awash with numerous plant-based recipes.

Siri is taking part in VeganMoFo - Vegan Month of Food. This month Siri is posting great vegan recipes. So far, Siri has posted, Brown rice and lentil burgers, Moong dal and Babycorn Salad , Raw Banana Crumble and  Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive oil.

Siri also raises money for the Vaidehi Ashram  through the blog, Cooking with Siri.

Siri is not only a wonderful food blogger, she also has photography blog, where she regularly posts great pictures. I wonder how Siri manages the blogs, while working and taking care of kids.

Veggietorials

Veggietorials  , a food blog is brimming with many plant-based recipes. Cobi, a vegan in Hawaii blogs about healthy plant-based recipes and has so many healthy plant-based recipes in youtube .

Cobi recently traveled to Alaska, and she posted so many vegan-friendly restaurants and natural food stores in Alaska. I love visiting Veggietorials , as Cobi posts so many healthy recipes and amazing nature pictures .

Forks over Knives

Forks over Knives is an empowering movie.  Forks over Knives  shows that consumption of meat and dairy is causing everything from cancer to heart disease and diabetes to obesity.

 Dr T.Colin Campbell and Dr.Caldwell Esselstyn do many experiments, and confirm that animal proteins from meat and dairy is causing many diseases in humans, in United States and across the world.

You will not have the urge to eat meat and dairy products, once you watch this incredible movie. Whole-food plant-based diet will be your eating mantra. Fortunately, this whole-food plant-based diet
is also good for our beautiful planet - Earth .

You can buy Forks over Knives DVD at amazon , Barnes and Noble, and also at Whole Foods.

Vegan Cashew Cookies

I love homemade cookies,  and I recently baked   cashew cookies  from Bhavna's kitchen. Bhavna's kitchen is filled so many delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes. Bhavna has posted so many cooking videos in youtube. If you like Indian food, you will be glued to Bhavna's kitchen for hours.

Cashew cookies (kaju puri) are awesome, and require only 3 ingredients . These cookies are tasty and nutritious, as they don't contain all-purpose flour.

If you like to bake cookies, then you will end up baking these cookies many times.

Susmitha, A Vegan in Bengaluru (Bangalore)

Susmitha is a passionate vegan in Bangalore. So many people are trying vegan food in Bangalore, because of Susmitha. Susmitha's blog Veganosaurus is brimming with an array of recipes for cookies, cakes , ice creams , Indian sweets and breads.  Recently, Susmitha did baking demo at Carrots - Bangalore's vegan restaurant.

Susmitha also makes cruel-free jewellery from clay, copper, fine silver and vegan pearls.

Thanks Susmitha for inspiring people to lead a vegan lifestyle .

Vegan Almond Cashew Burfi

I love Indian sweets. I often make burfis , so that I can relish it for a couple of days. I often visit
Manjula's kitchen

 Manjula's kitchen is an awesome food website. Manjula aunty has posted so many vegetarian recipes. If you like Indian food, you can find so many simple recipes in Manjula's kitchen.

On sunday, I made Almond Cashew burfi . It was really good. I used vegan sugar - sugar in the raw . If you have a sweet tooth like me, you will love this burfi.

Vegan Masala Tea, made with Trader Joe's Rice Milk

In my pre-vegan, I relished drinking masala tea, once in a while. Once I became a vegan, I completely forgot about it.

On sunday evening, it was raining, and I felt like drinking tea. Fortunately, organic unsweetened rice milk was in the fridge.  Within few minutes I made amazing masala tea with rice milk. The taste was so divine, it taste so much similar to tea made with dairy milk.  I have been relishing this amazing masala tea in the mornings, from past couple of days.

Vegan Masala Tea
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups Trader Joe's unsweetened rice milk
2 whole cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar
1 whole cardamom
1/2 tsp fresh ginger , cut into slices (optional)


Method
1.Combine rice milk with spices in a sauce pan. Do not add ginger now. Bring it to boil.
2.Add ginger. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5-6 minutes or until the color changes to orange.
3. Add sugar,  remove from heat. Strain and serve.

United Nations Advocates Plant-based Diet

According to the United Nations report - Livestock's Long Shadow , meat consumption  and dairy consumption causes 18% of man-made greenhouse gases. Meat industries and dairy industries across the world, is causing environment problems.

United Nations is urging people to eat less meat. Some research has shown that vegans have the small
carbon footprint. Thriving on a vegan diet is a great way to go "Green". I'm sure United Nations is pleased with "Meatless Mondays".

It's really so easy to be a vegan in United States. You can get everything from vegan icecreams to non-dairy milk and vegan chocolates to vegan butter.

Thanks to the internet, you can find great vegan recipes, vegan forums and vegan blogs. I often browse vegweb, vegan jains, vegetarian times , urban vegan , vegan richa and fat free vegan for recipes and news about plant-based diet - good for health and our beautiful planet Earth.

Vegan Kaju Katli, Indian Cashew Fudge

For a very long time, I assumed that Kaju Katlis were made only by professional cooks and chefs.
Thanks to so many Indian cuisine food blogs, yummy Indian sweets are floating around in Blogosphere. I saw Kaju Katli recipe in Saffron Hot blog and decided to make it.

I veganized the recipe, by using vegan raw sugar , from the company - Sugar in the Raw. You can find Sugar in the Raw at Costco. The Kaju Katlis were light caramel color, but the taste was out of this world!

I made this sweet, and arranged the Kaju Katlis in a plate. My four year old saw the sweets and ate few pieces. My husband and I eat few Kaju Katlis.

The next morning, I noticed there were only 3 pieces of Kaju Katlis. My son eats 2 pieces, and I stop him from eating the third piece. I tell my son that we should keep the Kaju Katli for his father. My son says, "There is just one Kaju Katli. I will make it into three pieces". He breaks the kaju katli into 3 small pieces. He pops 2 small pieces, before I could stop him . Now there is only one tiny piece of Kaju Katli. I pop this tiny piece of Kaju Kali into my mouth, as I did not feel like giving a small piece to my husband!

What's behind that glass of Milk?

Anusha Narian has exposed the pain and suffering endured by milk producing cows in this
article
The article - What's behind that glass of milk ?, shows the cruelty involved in milk production.

This article had 62 comments, and most of the comments inclined towards vegan diet. I'm sure thousands of people in India have read this article, and are looking for dairy alternatives.

The blogs such as Vegan India, vegan richa and Vaishali's blog holy cow will provide information
everything from vegan recipes to vegan friendly restaurants.

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops

These days, whenever my son eats a lollipop, even I eat a lollipop. I recently discovered
 Yummy Earth Organic lollipops which are vegan. Yummy Earth  lollipops have been in market for many years, but I recently discovered  it.These lollipops are 100% vegan, and contain no artificial dyes. I have only tasted strawberry smash, and they are just yum, yum and yummy. I got these tasty cruel-free lollipops from Whole Foods Market, and I read in another blog, that they are available even in Marshalls.

Before discovering these yummy lollipops I used to cringe whenever my son ate a lollipop. The phrase "artificial color", and words like red 3 and red 40 on wrappers of lollipops caused me headache. I felt as if I was reading a wonderful poem, when I read the list of ingredients in Yummy Earth packet. Organic cane juice, Organic rice syrup, citric acid(from beet sugar), contain organic Black Carrots, Organic Black Currant, Organic Apple

I read in Yummy Earth's website that these great lollipops are available in 30 countries. I just hope all the kids around the world enjoy lollipos made with real ingredients, just like Yummy Earth's lollipops.

Vegan Apple Halwa

Yesterday, I made Apple halwa, by following Shilpa's  Apple halwa  recipe in Aayi's blog.

I veganised the recipe by using canola oil, instead of ghee. I also used turbinado sugar, from http://www.sugarintheraw.com >sugar in the raw
. Apple halwa was almost brown in color, and it was so tasty. I could not cut into pieces, so I relished this wonderful sweet in a spoon. I also added 4 Tbsp of crushed almonds, so the halwa was very nutty and tasty.
If you have sweet tooth, like me, you will surely love this Indian sweet.

Dr Nandita Shah Advocates Vegan Diet

In India, these days so many people in their early thirties are suffering from Diabetes, Hypertension and Obesity. People are so busy, and they really don't know which food is healthy and which food is unhealthy.

Thanks to Dr Nandita Shah - a homeopathy doctor, has been conducting talks, seminars,  and vegan cooking classes from past 8 years across india. My sister recently attended, Dr Nandita Shah's Reversing Diabetes in Pune , and loved it so much. My sister is now urging her friends to attend Dr Nandita Shah's seminars. My sister was not a vegan before attending the seminar, Reversing Diabetes. But, once my sister attended the Reversing Diabetes talk, she didn't feel like consuming yogurt and paneer.

Dr  Nandita Shah conducts so many seminars from New Delhi to Cochin and Bangalore to Mumbai.
Reversing Diabetes, Diary Alternatives for Healthy Vegan Living, Peas vs Pills are some of her popular seminars, and so far thousands of people across India have attended these great seminars.

I recently read that many people in India are thriving on vegan diet , and I feel that Dr Nandita Shah is one of the reasons for the increase in number of vegans in India. If you have friends and family in India, please ask them to attend Dr Nandita Shah's seminars. The seminars cost around two thousand to three thousand rupees. Visit the website Sharan India for more information.

Dr.Neal Barnard in Michigan

Dr. Neal Barnard, a popular nutrition researcher, author and health advocate will be in
Detroit area to talk about his book - Power Foods for the Brain
I have read so many of his health  books, and I'm really thankful that he has written such amazing books, which inspire people to try plant-based diet.

Dr Neal Barnard will be in Novi, on april 22, 2013
4-5.30 P.M
Better Health Market
42875 Grand River Avenue
Novi, MI 48375

Monday, april 22
7-8 P.M
Adat Shalom Synagogue
29901 Middlebelt Rd
Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Contact Shaina Chimes at 202-527-7314 or schimes@pcrm.org for more information

Good Food in Udupi Cafe , Arizona

In August 2012, my family and I visited Grand Canyon. I enjoyed the breathtaking views of the desert, in Arizona. In Grand Canyon, it's really very hard to get good vegetarian food. We thrived on lara bars, store-bought Indian snacks such as chakli(deep-fried rice flour spirals) and fresh fruits.

We had good food in Udupi Café in Tempe, close to Phoenix. Udupi Café
 The lunch buffet was a treat to my eyes. Most of the buffet was vegan. There were so many vegan items. South Indian dishes such as rice, sambhar( lentils and vegetables thick soup), chutney(ground coconut with spices), beans poriyal(fresh green beans cooked in few spices), idli(thick rice and lentils cake), pakoras(deep-fried vegetable fritters),and vegetable biryani.

Udipi Café is vegan-friendly. In some restaurants, dosas(rice and lentil crepes), are drizzled with ghee or butter. In Udipi Café, all the dosas except cheese dosa and butter masala dosa, are drizzled with oil.

Udupi Café is really a very good restaurant for Indian food. The food is not spicy or  oily, and the food here is so much like home-cooked food. My mother-in-law, who cooks great Indian dishes, also liked the food at Udupi Café. The owner was super friendly. She said, "we get lot of vegan customes, here".

If you are looking for simple Indian food, you should go to this restaurant.

Udupi Café
1636 N.Scottsdale Road
Tempe, AZ 85281

Phone 480-994-8787

Cow's Milk and India

During my recent visit to India, my sister told me that many parents are not giving dairy milk to kids, as it increases the formation of mucus, causing congestion and coughing.

I was so happy to hear that people are realizing that milk is bad for health. Recent studies have shown that dairy milk
causes diabetes, cancer and many other diseases.

I discussed the negative points of dairy milk, and many of my cousins, aunts and uncles also felt that the condition of milk producing cows in villages across India is pathetic. My uncle who knows many farmers told me that cows are injected with oxytocin harmone to produce more milk.

My 16 year old niece was shocked when I showed the pictures of cows milked by machines in dairy farms across India.

My niece was disgusted seeing the images of painful cows. My niece was interested to know about the painful conditions of animals in dairy farms across the world. We discussed everything from vegan food blogs to vegan lifestyle .My niece is not a vegan, but I'm sure she will be a vegan, when I meet her, during my next visit to India.

I'm confident that the percentage of vegans will increase by many folds in India, in a couple of years.

Happy New Year 2013

Wish You All a Very Happy New Year, 2013. I hope the new year brings peace and happiness to all living creatures.

 Thriving on a vegan diet(plant-based diet) is a wonderful way to reduce the suffering of millions of animals across the world. Many people wonder why I don't consume milk products. Many people consider dairy milk does not cause pain and suffering for the milk producing cows. During my pre-vegan days, I too believed my vegetarian diet was cruel-free.

One day, I came across a peta booklet. I was shocked to find the horrible conditions of cows in dairy farms in u.s.a, India and across the world. I felt sick when I read that cows are induced with harmones to produce more milk. I felt so sad for the innocent cows when I learnt that cows are repetedly impregnated so that they don't stop producing milk. Some people say that organic milk, don't cause harm to the cows. Cows which give organic milk also end up in slaughter houses once they stop producing milk.

Nearly a century ago, in 1912, Mahatma Gandhi stopped drinking cows milk after learning of the cruel practices(phooka or doom dev) used to yield more milk. If the condition of cows was so bad nearly a century ago, imagine the condition of cows today... The lifespan of cows is usually 20 years. But the cows in dairy farms live only for five to six years. The cows are slaughtered for meat. Cows are treated as machines across the world. In short, both meat and milk cause pain and suffering for millions of cows.

If you have decided to try vegan diet , the internet is brimming with wonderful vegan blogs. If you like Indian food, then blogs such as Richa's vegan richa vegan richa , Vaishali's holy cow ,Harini's tongue ticklers and if you are in India, the blog vegan india are brimming with so many great vegan recipes , tips and vegan news.

Susan Voisin's fat free vegan , Dilip's blog dinner with Dilip , and vegan lunch box vegan lunch box are great blogs for vegan recipes.