Vegan Diet Can Cure Diabetes

Every day, the number of people suffering from Diabetes is increasing in India and across the world. India  is known as the "Capital of Diabetes".

Diet rich in carbohydrates(white rice) and sugar is the main cause of diabetes. During my recent visit to India, I noticed that so many vegetarians were suffering from Diabetes. It breaks my heart to say that  kids and young adults were suffering from Diabetes.

Yes, Diet rich in carbohydrates, suagr , dairy milk, yogurt, and paneer is the cause of high rate of Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer in India.

Recent studies have shown that plant-based diet (vegan diet) has the capacity to keep Diabetes at a bay! Plant-based diet rich in millets, vegetables, greens, and nuts is nutrious. It is really so easy to thrive on plant-based diet in India. So many vegans in India make delicious carrot halwa  and kheer with homemade almond milk or cashew milk. Peanuts and rice milk is used to make vegan curd! Thanks to internet and youtube, you can find healthy and nutritious recipes.

Here are some interesting websites to follow a healthy lifestyle

1.  https://sharan-india.org/healthy-recipes/

2. https://www.lifepositive.com/reverse-your-diabetes/

3. http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/india-program-intro

4. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/plant-based-diet-can-help-india-fight-diabetes-heart-ailments/1/882081.html

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS5hT4_OYqo

ISKCON and Vegan Diet(Cruel-free diet)

ISKCON is a spiritual organization . ISKCON is all about Lord Krishna. Millions of people across the world consider Lord Krishna to be the Supreme Lord. Devotees of ISKCON love Lord Krishna, and they are always chanting the Mahamantra - Hare Krishna, Hare Rama.  Cows are very dear to Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna spends his time tending to the most beautiful and innocent cows in Goloka...

Most of the ISKCON devotees are Vegetarians.  However, thousands of ISKCON devotees are becoming vegan after learning about the horrible condition of cows in dairy farms...

Many ISKCONS have Vegetarian restaurant - Govinda vegetarian restaurant across the world. Only vegetarian food is available in Govinda's. However, I can find couple of vegan dishes in Govinda's...

Today , I read few interesting articles about ISKCON and vegan lifestyle...

1. http://www.eater.com/2016/8/4/12364764/hare-krishna-restaurants-vegetarian#6599195

2. http://www.all-creatures.org/murti/art-hare-krishna-vegan.html

3. http://iskconnews.org/16-million-people-in-the-us-are-now-vegan-or-vegetarian,4630/

4.  http://centers.iskcondesiretree.com/restaurants/

Vegan Sweets For Diwali

Diwali - Hindus biggest festival is all about Love,  Non-Violence, Family, Friends and Food. Thanks to growing vegan concept in India, these days you can get "vegan sweets" in many stores!

Terra Earth Food has vegan sweets in Chennai. Here is the link ,
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/vegan-sweets-for-deepavali/article9246670.ece

You can also make yummy Vegan Indian sweets without ghee, butter and milk. I'm planning to make vegan almond burfi, carrot halwa , and Kaju Katli for Diwali. The blogs - Vegan Richa , Manjula's Kitchen and Holy Cow are filled with many delicious vegan Indian sweet recipes...

 http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-10-23/recipe-vegan-anjeer-barfi-to-celebrate-diwali

http://veganontheprowl.blogspot.com/2013/10/richas-brilliant-vegan-diwali-sweets-e.html

http://www.veganricha.com/2016/09/vegan-carrot-halwa-gajar-halwa-recipe.html

http://holycowvegan.net/vegan-indian-sweets

 http://pyjamapeople.in/index.php/2016/10/05/vegan-baking-101/

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/try-this-at-home-vegan-desserts-for-the-party-season-christmas-new-year/1/548255.html

The Plastic Cow

In India, millions of Hindus consider cow as divine. Cow's milk is used in Hindu religious rituals.

In India, you can see many cows eating plastic bags. I really feel so sad to see innocent cows suffer every day.

Please watch this documentary http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/plastic-cow/ to know more about the condition of millions of cows in India. http://www.theplasticcow.org

Going Vegan is a great way to protect our animals and our environment. These days, the concept of vegan diet is growing rapidly in India. Indians no longer feel like consuming milk and milk products, as the dairy products are contaminated with many dangerous chemicals.

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!

Good Indian Food at Udupi Palace, Artesia

I love going to Artesia in Southern California. Artesia is brimming with Indian stores and
Indian restaurants.

Udupi Palace is a vegetarian restaurant in Artesia. Dosas (rice and lentil pancakes) are really good in Udupi Palace.
Usually vegetable oil is used to make dosas, but sometimes ghee or butter is used to make dosa.
I once had masala dosa, and the waiter confirmed the cook used vegetable oil to make dosa. If you are a vegan, make
sure you say that ghee and butter are not used for making dosas.

Last time, I ordered Channa masala(Garbanzo beans gravy) . Channa masala came with a bowl of rice, chapathi(pita like flat bread) . Channa masala was not spicy, even my toddler son ate some chapathi with Channa masala.

Coming to desserts, everything from kheer (pudding made from rice or semolina), to halwas is made from milk based
products such as ghee and butter. If you are a vegan,
you can't have these desserts. However, if you like Indian sweets, you can veganize most of Indian sweets.
The recipes for Indian sweets and other indian recipes can be found in blogs such as Vaishali's holy cow
In short, Udupi Palace is a great restaurant for Indian food.

If you visit,

Udupi Palace
18635 Pioneer Boulevard
Artesia, California 90701

Phone 562-860-1950

Vegan Carrot Halwa

Carrot Halwa is one of the most popular desserts from
India. Even though carrot halwa is very popular in
India, I was not aware of carrot halwa, until I was in
sixth or seventh grade. I first tasted carrot halwa,
when one of my friends had brought carrot halwa, in her
lunch box. I got hooked to carrot halwa.

I got the recipe from my friend, and that evening I
made carrot halwa. I started to make carrot halwa
almost every day for a couple of months! My mother always made sure
there was enough carrots and milk for me to make carrot halwa.

I have been making carrot halwa for years. Even though
carrot halwa is traditionally made with dairy milk and
butter, it's very easy to veganize. I now make carrot
halwa with soy milk and Earth Balance Margarine Natural Buttery Spread

1/2 cup soy butter or soy margarine
3 cups grated carrot
2 cups soy milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 raisins
1 Tbsp pistachios

Heat butter in a large saucepan, add grated carrot,
and fry for 8 minutes or until the raw smell goes away.
Now add soy milk and cook for about thirty minutes, or
until there is no milk left in the saucepan. Now add
sugar and almonds. Stir well, add raisins. Garnish
with pistachios.