October 2 - World Farms Animals Day

Mahatma Gandhi is a legend. Today, Mahatma Gandhiji's principles and ideas is followed by millions of people in India and across the world. President Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr consider Mahatma Gandhi as their inspiration.

Mahatma Gandhi was born more than a century ago on October 2 in Gujarat, India. Mahatma Gandhi followed the principle of Nonviolence to free India from the British.

Mahatma Gandhi had great respect for animals. When he was a young adult, he took a vow not to consume cow's milk after he came to know the cruel procedure, Phooka or Doom Dev. Unfortunately, this cruel procedure still takes place in many countries. Mahatma Gandhi says, "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." I'm sure Gandhi would advocate vegan diet (cruel-free diet) if he were alive today...

To honor Mahatma Gandhi, October 2 is celebrated as World Farms Animal Day. Thousands of people are motivated to go vegan on this day.

Please watch this video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yP-L5H3KMg&t=29s

 http://www.dayforanimals.org/

Dr. Sailesh Rao - Vegan Environmentalist

Dr. Sailesh Rao is an amazing person involved in noble cause. He is passionately trying to protect our beautiful Earth.  Today, Global warming is taking a toll on our Earth and scientists feel that life on Earth will be very difficult in coming years...

Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Sailesh Rao heard a talk about Global Warming by Al Gore. It was a period of Epiphany for Dr. Sailesh Rao, when he heard the degrading condition of our Earth.  Dr Rao quit his engineering job, and started Climate Healers in Arizona.

Climate Healers is involved in healing the bruised Earth. Clean air and reforestation is the primary goal of Climate Healers. Today, due to hard work of Climate Healers, you can see millions of trees thriving in Rajasthan , India.

Dr. Sailesh Rao believes that it is possible to combat global warming if everyone thrives on plant-based diet (vegan diet).   Dr.Rao also feels that shopping once year is a great idea to save our Planet!

Here are some interesting links..

1. http://responsibleeatingandliving.com/favorites/sailesh-krishna-rao-climate-healers/

2. http://www.climatehealers.org/

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G4RbwSHUOA

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PgMETKrQD4

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09K1kMM1tKE

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3B_UX4Kz6M

Isa Chandra Moskowitz, a Vegan Cookbook Author

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is an amazing person. Every day, thousands of people in United States and across the world are embracing vegan diet, because of Isa . Isa is enticing people to try vegan fare - good for our health and environment.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz has written a couple of vegan cookbooks. Isa has recently written a vegan cookbook, Isa Does it . And now Isa is all set to open a vegan restaurant - Modern Love Omaha.

Isa has an amazing website, Post Punk Kitchen, http://www.theppk.com/ . In this website, you can find amazing vegan recipes, and there is a forum where newbie vegans can discuss everything from vegan recipes to vegan restaurants.

Visit this https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSnFecax3hH8qlg7wJU_P3UBhEVDZw8m to see some amazing vegan dishes - Quinoa Caesar Salad , Vegan Beet Burger , Vegan Mac and Cheese, Vegan Ice Cream , and Chocolate chip cookies.

Amala Akkineni, An Animal Welfare Activist

Amala Akkineni is an amazing person from Hyderabad, India. Amala , a popular movie actor, is now fully involved in protecting our environment and animals.
Amala loves animals. She has been rescuing birds and animals since she was five years old. Two decades ago , she founded Blue Cross of Hyderabad - an animal welfare society.




Few years ago, Amala decided to stop consuming milk and milk products such as ghee and paneer, after she saw the suffering of cows in dairy farms in India. These days, Amala is thriving on healthy vegan diet.
Read more about this amazing lady, http://vegan-india.blogspot.com/2011/12/in-conversation-with-amala-akkineni.html


Here is another interesting post, http://hyderabadvegans.wordpress.com/tips-for-a-smooth-shift/

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.

Bhagvad Gita and the Dairy Milk

Millions of people across the world refer to Bhagvad Gita every day. Reading Bhagvad Gita gives me inspiration, and it is a sort of fuel for my soul. I strongly believe our world will be a better place if every one reads Bhagvad Gita.

Bhagvad Gita is a doctrine of universal truth. Sri Krishna who is the creator of our universe explains men everything from our duty to behavior in Bhagvad Gita. Gandhi considered Bhagvad Gita as his mother.

Sri Krishna was a cowherd. During Sri Krishna's time cows were happy. Sri Krishna loved eating butter, and milk based sweets. During
Sri Krishna Janmashatmi, birthday of lord Sri Krishna, milk sweets and butter are offered to lord Sri Krishna.

Recently I was seeing the divine Abhishekam of lord Sri Krishna in a temple. The idol of lord Sri Krishna was poured with milk, yogurt and ghee during Abhishekam. It was very disturbing for my soul to see the Abhishekam, as the images of milk producing cows, which are treated as machines came to my mind. I'm sure even lord Sri Krishna did not like the Abhishekam...

I wonder what lord Sri Krishna feels when he sees - thousands of cows eat plastic bags in Indian streets , when cows are injected with harmones such as oxytocin to produce more milk . I wonder what lord Sri Krishna feels when priests pour gallons of milk on idols, during Abhishekam, in Hindu temples across the world. I wonder what lord Sri Krishna feels when millions of people still think that milk is pure and cruel -free food.

I'm sure that lord Sri Krishna feels that , both MILK and MEAT cause pain and suffering for the cows and other animals. In short milk and milk products is as bad as meat.

A Vegan in India

I'm off to India, to visit family and friends. India is a paradise for vegetarians, and I hope India will be a "vegan paradise" in few years.

In India, the concept of vegan food is in initial stage. India is a land where milk and milk products are not only used for making sweets and some popular dishes such palak paneer(spinach with Indian cottage cheese) and Mutter paneer(peas with Indian cottage cheese), but it's also used for religious ceremonies like abhishekam(cleaning the idols).

If you are a vegan and planning to visit India, then it's really possible to explore the wide variety of beans, lentils , vegetables and spices in Indian cuisine. Just make sure not to order any of the dishes which contains the words, paneer(Indian cottage cheese) , dahi (yogurt), thayir (yogurt in tamil language) and malai(cream). Most of the Indian sweets which you get in restaurants is made up of milk or milk products, so the sweet which you get in the vegetarian thali(complete meal) is not suitable for vegans.

If you are visiting India and you are a vegan, then the blogs - Vegan India! and Mumbai vegans will be very useful. The webpage in the website, indiamike is also very useful for vegans visiting India. Peta India's website lists all the vegan snacks available in India.

Vegetarian Awareness Month

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. These days everyone wants to consume more plant based food, as its good for the health of human beings and also for the welfare of our wonderful planet - Earth.

If you have decided to eat plant-based food regularly, then you should visit some amazing food blogs. Fat free vegan kitchen, Holy Cow ,The Voracious Vegan and Vegan Dad

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

It's been a long time since I made some cookies. Today I made some vegan oatmeal raisin cookies. These cookies were so crunchy and tasty. I felt as if I was eating delicious coconut cookies from Bangalore bakeries.

Madhuram uses flax seed meal as one of the ingredients. I did'nt use it in the recipe since I don't buy flax seeds.

Madhuram's blog Eggless cooking is filled with numerous delicious vegan recipes - cookies, cakes, breads and muffins.

Vegans in Bangalore

A couple of months ago I visited Bangalore, and everyone I met was either a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian. I wondered why there was no huge pool of vegans, in the land of ahimsa (non-violence)- India.

I'm so happy to know that they are some vegans in Bangalore after reading this article in Deccan Herald, a newspaper from Bangalore.

Vitamin B12 In a Vegan Diet

Most of the health related vegan articles always discuss about Vitamin B12, which is present only in animal based foods, such as meat and dairy products.

I have recently started to take Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D supplement, as I don't consume fortified foods every day.

If you eat vegan food, do you take fortified foods or take Vitamin B12 supplement?

Here are some Vitamin B12 articles which every vegan should read : Vegan Health , Problems associated with deficiency of Vitamin B12 , Vitamin B12 and vegan diet

5 Tips for Vegan Travelers to India

It's possible to eat colorful vegan food in India every day.
There are thousands of restaurants from Kashmir to
Kanyakumari, offering variety of vegetarian dishes.
However, you should be concerned about milk products
such as yogurt and ghee(clarified butter) in some
dishes.

The word vegan, has become synonymous with vegetarian
in India. In an Indian newspaper, I was shocked to see
many recipes with milk and milk products, which was
titled as, "Vegan Recipes". If you tell you're a vegan
in India, some people may interpret that you are a
pure vegetarian, who will not eat meat and eggs, but
will consume milk and milk products.

If you are planning to visit India, then be sure to visit websites,
Incredible india and International vegetarian union

1.Restaurants: Most of the restaurants offer
vegetarian fare. "Pure vegetarian restaurants" don't
use eggs and meat in cooking, but milk and milk
products such as cream, paneer- cottage cheese, butter
and ghee- clarified butter is used in cooking.
However, you should be able to find numerous vegan
food items in both vegetarian and pure vegetarian
restaurants. Pure vegetarian restaurants don't serve
alcohol.

Make sure not to order any dish, which has the word
"Paneer" in it. Paneer, a cottage cheese is widely
used in north indian cuisine. Most popular dishes which has
paneer are palak paneer and mutter paneer.
Also make sure not to order any dish with word
"malai". Malai means milk based cream in Hindi.

2.Supermarkets : There are numerous supermarkets
in large cities which carry array of vegan food items.
Most of the supermarkets also carry soy milk and tofu.
During my recent visit to Bangalore, I saw variety of
biscuits and cookies suitable for vegans.

All the pre-packaged food items are provided with a
list of ingredients.

3.Bakeries: Numerous bakeries adorn the busy streets
of India. You can find breads, biscuits, and savoury
snacks. However, you should question the
shop owners to confirm if the items are vegan. In
cities, most of the bakery employees can speak in
English.

4.Sweets : Most of the sweets you get in sweet stores,
everything from halwas to burfis are milk based. I was
very happy to find that one of the decadent sweet,
Kaju katli - cashew fudge, was vegan, in two of the
upscale sweet stalls. You can find the recipe for
Kaju Katli at Mumbai masala.

I also found some delicious sweets made by Haldirams
in numerous supermarkets. Most of the sweets available
in upscale sweet stalls is laden with milk products
such as ghee(clarified butter). It's really hard to
get vegan sweets in India.

5.Cafe : Numerous cafes similar to starbucks are
present in cities and towns across India. In
Bangalore, I often went to cafe coffe day. The black
coffee and the vegan shake in this cafe is great!

Barista is also very popular cafe in India.

A Vegan in India - Vegetarian Paradise

For the last couple of months I was in India. While it
is very easy to thrive on a vegetarian fare, it was
really very challenging for me, to be a vegan in
India.

In India , vegetarian diet is synonymous with
lacto vegetarian diet. For thousands of years, Indians
have consumed milk and milk products such as
buttermilk, yogurt and ghee(clarified butter)
regularly. These days supermarkets across India are
not only flooded with traditional milk
products such as ghee, and buttermilk but also cheeses
and flavored milks.

My parents tried to convince me that "cow's milk" is
nutritious. They were shocked when I told them I don't
eat anything that has milk and milk products. They
were curious to know why I avoid milk and milk
products. I tried explaining about how cows are
treated as "milking machines". They just could not
understand the cruelty involved in producing diary milk. Everyone from my parents to siblings and friends to relatives considered me weird for not
including milk or milk based products in my diet.

My parents were worried and concerned about my health.
People in India believe that to lead a
healthy lifestyle, everyone should include some milk
or milk products such as buttermilk, yogurt or ghee in
their diet. I really wish if everyone could read, The
China Study to know about the negative impact of milk and milk
products on our health.

Once my mom made crispy dosa(rice and lentil
pancakes), which was laced with copious amounts of
ghee(clarified butter). She was so mad at me when I
refused to touch the dosas. My father once bought my
favorite sweet, mysore pak, from a popular sweet
store, in Bangalore. Of course, I could not eat that
sweet because the package said, "made with pure ghee".
In India, people shower you with milk based items if
they like you.

I gave my mom some tips to veganize some recipes. My
mom made Badam burfi and Mysore pak
Well, my parents were thrilled that I got to indulge
some delicious vegan sweets. They were also so
surprised by the fact that it is pretty easy to
veganize some Indian sweets.

Many people in India thrive on lacto-vegetarian fare,
because they associate only meat with cruelty.
An article about the modern production of milk in India.

I used to see old cows and bulls roaming about the
crowded streets in search of food in Bangalore. The
result of numerous bulls, is the result of the
thriving diary industry in India. I wonder why people
still don't associate "cow's milk" with cruelty.

Decades ago male cows or bulls were used to plough the
fields. But, these days tractors have replaced bulls
to plough the fields. Most of the bulls have no use in
Indian society these days.

People in India assume that milk producing cows
are well taken care by the farmers. As the demand for milk
is growing every day, farmers inject cows with oxytocin harmone,
so that they produce more milk.

Along with Peta, there are only a handful of animal
welfare organizations in India. So, people are not aware of the
cruelty involved in production of milk. The
consumption of milk and milk products by everyone from
children to adults has increased by many fold in the
past decade. In short, cow's milk is considered to be
gift to mankind.

For days I explained to my father about the cruelty involved in diary industry and the negative impact of livestock on our environment. I also discusses about
the positive health benefits of the vegan diet.

While I tried to convince my father that vegan diet is best for our health
,my father tried to convince me that diary milk is indeed good for our health.
He felt that if baby cows are allowed to drink all the milk the cow produces,
the baby cow will die by drinking huge amount of milk.
My father, who comes from an agricultural background,
felt that human beings were indeed saving the lives of
baby cows, by consuming some of the milk. The milkman
who gives milk to my parent's home, also told that
baby cows will fall sick if they drink more milk. I was
shocked to hear this new "theory".

I asked the milkman about the oxytocin harmone injected
to cows. He told that he injects his cows with
oxytocin harmone rarely. An article about usage of oxytocin harmone in cows.

My father somehow wanted me to get rid of my vegan
diet. He read some passages from hindu
scriptures, where cows are considered as mother.
Infact Hindu religious rituals often call for milk and
milk products such as ghee and yogurt. Even the
ancient art of Indian medicine -Ayurveda, considers
milk, ghee, butter and yogurt to be of great
nutritional value. In a nutshell, Indian culture
deeply revolves around milk and milk products.

The word "vegan" is not common in India. Pure
vegetarian, means a person who consumes milk and milk
products, but not meat and eggs. Visit these websites ;Hinduonnet
, IBNLIVE
, Hinduonet1 , and Hindustantimes
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=6a34a112-ac3c-4133-9295-0c52efbd980f

India is a goldmine for vegetarian food. And millions of
recipes can be easily veganized .It is possible to thrive on a vegan diet in India.
But, you can't find dairy-free icecream and
chocolates. Most of the Indian sweets in upscale
stores will be drenched with either milk or ghee.

To know more the horrible conditions of cows in India,
read article1 and article2.

Pista Burfi, Pistachio Fudge

Pista burfi, made with pistachios is a popular fudge in India. I always felt that the pista burfi, which we get in Indian stores had loads of
artifical color, so I never purchased them even before I was a vegan.

I decided to make pista burfi, when I saw one of the
comments by Majula in youtube's badam burfi video. Manjula says that pista burfi can be made by following the same procedure as badam burfi.

I really loved the nutty taste of this burfi. I
veganized the recipe by using water instead of dairy
milk and Earth Balance instead of ghee(clarified
butter). With just a couple of ingredients you can
create this delicious sweet.

Tomato Rasam, Soup From India

I love to eat hot rice with rasam, a popular soup from
southern parts of India.

I sometimes like to drink rasam as a soup. I often
eat, rice and rasam - my comfort dish during winter.

When I suffer from cold, I crave for hot tangy rasam and rice.

Sometimes when I don't have fresh tomatoes, I usually make rasam
with store-bought tomato juice.

Tomato Rasam

340 ml Tomato Juice(I use Campbell's Tomato juice)
340 ml water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp Madras curry powder
Cilantro for garnishing

In a vessel, heat the vegetable oil, add mustard
seeds. Once the mustard seeds pop, add cumin seeds,
ginger , garlic, crushed red pepper and curry powder.
After one minute, add tomato juice, salt and water.

Turn off the heat once it starts to boil, that is
after 10 -12 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Tastes great with hot rice and poppadom.

Upma, Cream of Wheat Breakfast Dish From India

Upma is one of the most popular breakfast items of
South India. Cream-of-wheat is known as sooji, and
rava across India. Cream-of-wheat is also known as
semolina.

There are many varieties of Upma. When vegetables such
as beans, carrots, peas are added to make upma, it
becomes masala upma. In restaurants in India, Upma is
always served with sheera, semolina based sweet dish.
Then this two dishes are together known as chow-chow
baath.

Upma

1 1/2 cups Cream-of-wheat
3 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Urad dal(optional)
1/2 tsp chana dal(optional)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/8 tsp turmeric
2 red chillies or green chillies, broken into pieces
Salt
Cilantro or coconut for garnishing

Dry roast semolina on a low flame for about 10
minutes, or until the color of the semolina changes to
pale gold.

In a wide pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, and when
the mustard seeds pop, add urad dal and chana dal.

Once the color of the dals changes, add red chillies,
and chopped onion. Fry for a few minutes. You can also
add chopped tomatoes or any vegetables. Just make sure
to increase the quantity of water if you are adding
vegetables.

Now add water and once it starts boiling, reduce the
heat. Now add salt and the semolina. Keep stirring so
that there are no lumps in the mixture.

Cook until there is no water in the mixture. Garnish
with cilantro or freshly grated coconut. Instead of red chillies
or green chillies, you can also add jalapeno peppers if
you want the upma to be spicy.

I love to eat upma with a dollop of Earth Balance Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread and spicy lime pickle.

The Chicago Diner

I had been to the famed Chicago Diner last week with my husband. They have a wonderful array of vegetarian
and vegan dishes. Every dish on their menu can be
veganised.

I had Burritos and the filling was fried seitan. The
cheese which was made with nutritional yeast was
delicious. I was in a state of bliss while eating the
delicious vegan fare - burritos and the mexican rice.

My husband had Black beans and rice. Brimming with
veggies and grilled tofu, this vegan dish was also
delicious.

The Chicago Diner is nearly 25 years old. To read more about this restaurant
visit VegCooking
and Conscious Choice

Jo Kaucher has been cooking vegetarian meals at the Chicago Diner
for over 20 years and is the author of a popular cookbook -Chicago Diner Cookbook.

If you enjoy eating great food, then you should visit this restaurant
when you are in Chicago. The Chicago Diner, 3411 N. Halsted Street, Chicago; 773-935-6696. Lunch, brunch, and dinner: Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm

Global Warming and Vegan Diet

These days everyone seems to be concerned about global
warming. What we eat and drink every day, has a huge
impact on our environment.

According to a report published by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock
sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as
measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than
transport. It is also a major source of land and water
degradation.

Thriving on a vegan diet is the best option these
days, as it reduces the generation of greenhouse
gases. And vegan diet is also great for health, as vegan
diet is usually rich in whole grains, vegetables,
fruits, and legumes.

These days, the supermarkets in United States are
awash with diary and meat alternatives, so it is very
easy to follow a vegan diet. The internet also
provides useful information - everything from recipes
to tips , for vegetarians and vegans.

Get vegetarian starter kit at Mercy for Animals, and Go veg

Visit International Vegetarian Union and Veg Cooking for recipes.

Visit Veg family and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) for articles and health related information about vegan diet.

Eat locally harvested produce by shopping at farmers markets. Visit Local Harvest to locate your farmers market in your area.

Vegan Chocolates are Divine

I love chocolates. Chocolates make me happy. I guess
there are very few people in the world who are not
fond of chocolates.

While growing up in India, for me, chocolate was
synonymous with Cadbury dairy milk. Cadbury dairy milk
was loaded with milk. I sometimes liked eating Amul
chocolates, five star and kit kat.

In United States, I enjoyed eating Hershey's
chocolates - Hershey's milk chocolate, Hershey's
kisses, kit kat and Almond joy candy bar. I always assumed
that Pure Dark Chocolates, was used only for baking.

I decided not to consume anything with milk, when I
learnt about the horrible tortures the diary cows
endure every day across the world. Visit this website
to know why milk is bad for you and your family.

When I became vegan, I somehow could not find
vegan chocolates in the supermarkets. Thanks to the
wonderful vegan bloggers who gave me information about
the vegan chocolates, when I posted a post inquiring
about vegan chocolates.

I was thrilled to bits when I found some vegan
chocolates in some stores. I liked all the vegan
chocolates which I ate. Infact, the vegan chocolates
tasted better than the chocolates drenched with milk.

Ghirardelli Twilght Delight, chocolate bar has 72%
cocao. The firt time I tasted this chocolate, I did
not like it. And then I ate it again after a couple of
days, I was pleasantly suprised when I liked the
taste. It was no longer bitter, but the taste of cocao
was addictive. I purchased this chocolate in a
walgreen's store in Chicago. Visit Ghirardelli

Endangered Species Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with
Raspberries, is my favorite vegan chocolate. This
chocolate with 70% cocoa is studded with dried sweet
raspberries. This chocolate has now become my new -
Cadbury dairy milk chocolate, which I relished while I
was in India. I purchased this chocolate in Kroger's
in Detroit.

I also savored Dark chocolate with cranberries and
almond, which was also delicious.

I also love the fact that the Endangered Species
Company donates 10% of net profits to help adorable
animals and the environment. Visit Endangered Species

Dagoba Organic Chocolate, was another chocolate which I ate recently. According to San Francisco Chronicle, this chocolate was “Best Dark Chocolate” a couple of years ago. Visit Dagoba

Scharffen Berger's, Bittersweet Pure Dark Chocolate was another divine chocolate which I ate a couple of days ago. Visit Scharffen Berger

I purchased Dagoba Organic Chocolate and Scharffen Berger's, Bittersweet Pure Dark Chocolate in Hersheys Chicago.

The common ingredients which you find in chocolates without milk are :cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, and soy lecithin.

Visit Vegan Essentials if you can't find vegan chocolates in nearby stores.

Kagome Juice : Blend of Fruits and vegetable Juices

I recently came across Kagome juice in Zerbo's - a
health food store in Michigan. I purchased Ruby
Pomegranate Harmony, a blend of juices - fruits and vegetables.

I felt as if I was drinking Dayquil, when I was
drinking Kagome Ruby Pomegranate Harmony. I guess the
taste was bitter because sugar is not added to make
the juice.

Even thought the taste is not tasty, Kagome juices
are brimming with wide variety of phytonutrients and
antioxidants, which is good for our health. If you like raw vegetable juices, I'm sure you will also like Kagome juices.

To know more about Kagome juices, visit their website