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.