Animal Milk - do we need it?

We vegans don't drink any animal milk neither we use any milk products made from the same.
Yesterday, I was at a small gathering of women, talking to them about milk. Here are some of my thoughts. When a woman is pregnant, her doctor gives her all the instructions about what she should avoid in food and what should be her lifestyle. She is advised to stop smoking, avoid alcohol, eat healthy food and take allopathic medicines only after consulting doctor, or avoid all together. When a woman is lactating, and feeding her baby, again the same set of instructions. Her milk does carry all the antibiotics, hormones, etc. and her baby will get affected by that.
When a glass of animal milk is on our table, why don't we ask the same questions? Surely, this milk does carry ALL that the female buffalo or cow has eaten, or the hormones she is injected with or the antibiotics she is given.
I was a proud vegetarian earlier. I ate mostly organic. I mostly avoided all junk food, processed food. I got organic wheat directly from the farmer, got wheat flour made at home. I rarely ever took allopathic medicines in last 25 years. I used safer cosmetics. BUT, I completely missed the Animal Milk part in my life. Now that I have stopped, I am amazed at the changes that have taken place in me. Most people noticed, I have lost weight. I look more radiant on my face. I personally feel very energetic. I have less aches & pains. No more migraines. Body in general feels lighter. I feel mentally calm & peaceful. And all these...by just stopping ALL animal milk products.
Milk that I took earlier, had exposed me to hormones, pesticides and the antibiotics which I consciously avoided all these years.
So, friends, watch out that glass of animal milk...it is not ALL that good, that we thought about it!
Here is the website and the link for those who wish to know more about animal milk and its bad effects on our health. This is by Mr. Robert Cohen.
http://www.notmilk.com/
There is a nice article you can read about 52 good reasons to abandon milk and dairy! Click here to read it! http://www.notmilk.com/52reas
Contributed by Dr. Rupa Shah

Tricolour Brown Rice with Veggies

Tricolour Brown Rice with Veggies by Saroj Choudhury

Kerala brown rice

Steam potatoes, mashed, mixed with rock salt & fresh pepper

Spinach bolied & made to paste

Tomoto puree

Broccoli, Carrot, Zuccini, Beans, Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Basil, Garlic, Jaggary.

To boil rice ( Soaked for an hour). In transparent bowl, put one layer of potato. Spread one portion of rice. all choopped & sauteed vegetables with salt & pepper to spread one layer above rice. Spinach paste to mix with one portion of rice and spread above the veggies. Tomato paste with garlic, basil, salt, pepper, jaggary over it. Team potato cream on the top.

Bake for 5 minutes.

Peas Vs Pills Workshop Audio Clip

Listen to the beginning of the workshop. It is a one day event.

Banana Sweet

Banana Sweet Recipe by Rupa Shah & Ashish Mehta

This recipe was loved by all. It is the simplest of the recipes. Chop some ripe bananas in rounds. Sprinkle dry fruit powder ( Made from Almonds, Cashews,Walnuts, Pistachio etc.). Sprinkle natural, chemical free sugar on the top. Tastes nice. It is also Raw Vegan Recipe.

Veg Gratin

Veg Gratin recipe by Rajshree Malani

mix vegetables (carrot,capsicum,beans,peas,corn,baby corn,broccoli)

flour 1tbsp

soy milk 1/2 litre

salt, pepper, green chilly,vegan cheese sliced, tomatoes, coriander.

In a pan add veges and salt and bit water. Let it get cooked till done. Don't overcook. No water should be there. In another pan roast flour and then add milk. Stir continuously till little thick. Add veges, salt and pepper. Add chillies finely chopped. If too thick after mixing veges than add more soy milk. Then in a bake dish pour the mix and spread vegan cheese on top. Bake till cheese is brown at 175deg c. Garnish with slice tomatoes and coriander.

VEGAN CHEESE SPREAD:
This recipe makes a healthy cholesterol free cheese which tastes amazingly like cheese. It needs to be made before hand as it takes 2 days to get the mature cheese.

* ½ cup wheat berries (wheat grains that have not been milled)

* 1 cup whole or broken raw cashews

* Salt, pepper and herbs to taste

METHOD:Wash the wheat berries and soak them in a jar in 1 cup drinking water. Leave this jar open for 24 hours in a cupboard or keep it lightly covered. In case of very cold temperatures it could be left a little longer. The water will turn a little yellowish or serum colored and will have a sweet fermented smell after 24 hours. (This is called Rejeuvelac and is supposed to be a very healthy drink, which you can make and drink everyday.) Pour this rejeuvelac into a glass. If desired another cup of water make be added to the wheat berries to produce more rejeuvelac after another 24 hours. It can be drunk or used to make still more cheese. After 2 such uses the wheat berries are usually thrown away.Grind the raw cashews to form a powder (it does not need to be absolutely fine) and then put this into a jar, which has at least twice the volume of the cashews. Pour Rejeuvelac over the cashews so that they are covered with it. There may be some extra rejeuvelac, which can be drunk or thrown away. The whole mixture will now ferment and grow so if the jar is too small it can overflow. Do not over the jar or cover lightly.After about 6 – 8 hours the cheese is ready. Add salt, pepper and herbs or other seasonings.Serve.

Organic Chinese Cabbage

After the meeting on the 18th Jan, 2009, Sheila & Vijay gifted all of us with organic chinese cabbage from her farm! Thank you! We are eating it, and we are drinking juice made from the same! One juice made with mixture of tomato & cabbage.
Here are the pictures:

Potluck Lunch on 18th Jan, 2009

Those who were present for the lunch, enjoyed sharing good food & inspiring conversation at the table. The good food recipes brought by the participants show, how very good looking, good smelling, nutritious, tasty vegan food is prepared...everyone is looking forward to more such lunches!

Soy Coffee

I tried making coffee from soybeans. I soaked soybeans overnight. Next day, drained all the water. Use a tawa / flat pan to roast the beans on a very low heat. Took almost 90 minutes to get brown colour. We have to make sure, it is coffee brown colour, and not black or burnt. It can be also done in an oven. May take up to 4 hours, at 140 C or 300 F. I haven't tried it. Then cool and make powder. Use 1 or 2 tablespoon of this powder per one cup of water. Simmer, but not boil, gently for 5 minutes. Add soy milk. Sugar as required.
Taste like coffee but it is caffeine free. For some of us who still crave coffee taste and love aroma of coffee!

Dr. Rupa Shah

Veg. Pulao With Brown Rice

Veg Pulao With Brown Rice ( Kerala Rice, not par boiled):

Ingredients:1. Rice 2. Cauliflower.3.Potatoes.4. Tomatoes.5. Peas 6. Carrots 7. Beans 8. Green Coriander 9.Little Ginger 10. Green Onion 11.Little Garlic 12. Salt, Turmeric Powder.

Soak rice for one hour, boil & cook. A little olive oil, saute garlic and onion. Add tomato pieces & saute. Add fine cut coriander leaves and saute. Add all cut veggies, salt and pepper.Add very little water & cook. Add all veggies with rice.

By Saroj Choudhari

Meeting on 21st December, 2008

Potluck lunch has excellent food to eat. All members bring very tasty, healthy vegan food! Here are some pictures from the meeting last month, taken by Kuntal. Don't miss the meetings!

Mumbai Vegans Meet once a month

Mumbai vegans are meeting once a month for a potluck lunch. After lunch, we have a very inspiring sharing session. The next meeting is on 18th of January.
Here is the more from the meeting that happened on 23rd November, while Dr. Nandita was here.
For those of you who could not attend session called Give Peas a Chance on the 23rd Nov, 1- 4 pm here is an update. Give Peas a Chance is free and open to anyone who has done the Peas Vs Pills workshop, with their family members and friends. We start with a Potluck Lunch. Participants are requested to bring one healthy vegan dish to share with the others. The quantity should be 20 small portions. Those who cannot cook or do not cook – its especially for you to learn how simple it is to put a healthy vegan meal together. If you feel you cannot cook, you can bring plain brown rice or even some fruits, dates, or something else that you think others would enjoy.
The lunch:20 people attended this event. To start with the food was just amazing – a feast for the eyes and the stomach! There was scrumptious brown ‘fried rice’ and red rice idlis with sambhar and chutney. For those for whom whole rice is a block, seeing and tasting was a huge advantage. These both were so good! There was also a wonderful vegetable stir-fry and many different salads including sprout salads. There was also Sindhi sai bhaji - a mixture of daals and vegetables and an exotic tomato and olive dish, and a chat. Then there was a large range of desserts which included chocolate cake, lapsi, til ladus, a fruit salad in coconut milk, an exotic tasting apple dish, all made vegan low fat and no sugar. There was also some fruit. Everyone really enjoyed tasting each other’s favourite recipes.
Sharing Experiences: After lunch participants shared the health and other effects of switching to vegan diet and this was indeed an inspiration for the participants of the last workshop. The results for many had been eye-opening. People talked about weight loss of as much as 10 kgs, reversal of blood sugar, and cholesterol, reversal of joint pains, and positive change in state of mind. We also shared recipes, particularly one for Rejeuvelac (it will be on the website soon), and participants also shared experiences with organic and reasons why organic food is more nutritious. Dr Shanta Venkat shared that plants make phytochemicals and antoxidants to protect themselves from insect pests. When pesticides are used, these substances are not produced in the same manner. This is why foods grown with pesticides are less nutritious.
Organic Fruits and Vegetables:Dr Shanta Venkat is on the verge of organizing organic fruits and vegetables in Mumbai, which would be wonderful. In order to make this a success, she needs to have a certain quantity of requirements without which the transport will not be feasible. Everyone there was interested in obtaining these. But if any others are interested, please do contact Dr Venkat and let her know your requirements.