General Suggestions Vegan Products & Eating
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Veganism feels right, but how do I get started? Becoming vegan has never been easier. From sweets, chocolates, cakes & ice-creams to curd, cheese, paneer, pizza and tea/coffee, almost every taste you are accustomed to can now be had vegan! General suggestions Since veganism is irrefutably the best choice in terms of health, environment and ethics, most of us didn’t have trouble quitting everything instantly. But, in case that’s not doable, it’s okay to start by reducing the dairy/egg/meat intake maximally, and fix a date by which to phase it out entirely. Clichéd but crucial: The more raw fruits, greens and vegetables you consume, the healthier you will be. Replace dairy milk with plant-based milks made from almond, soy, cashew, coconut, rice, etc. Any type of milk is completely needless for the human body. So, replacements are only needed for the sake of taste. Vitamin B12 deficiency is equally common in non-vegans & vegans, as it is a modern lifestyle issue. B12 comes from bacteria. Since our ultra-hygienic ways avert bacterial presence, we all need to be careful of our B12 levels and take supplements as necessary. More on http://sharan- india.org/home/try-vegan/vitamin-b12 Getting regular sunlight is important to ensure adequate Vitamin D levels (http://sharan- india.org/home/try-vegan/vitamin-d). Vegan products & eating out Note: Kindly examine the ingredients of any product before buying. Look for milk solids etc. Soy milk is useful in the beginning, as it is readily available in the market. Biscuits: Hide-n-sick (plenty of flavors), Oreo, Pickvick, Parle’s Coconut and Bourbon, McVities Hobnobs [There may be more; just check the ingredients]. Chocolates: Cadbury’s bourville varieties, Nestlé’s dark chocolates, Lotus & Morde dark compounds. Sweets: Haldiram’s classic soan-papdi and badam halwa are vegan. Some shops keep boondi laddu made with vegetable oil, and cashew burfi without mava. Pizza: If you are a pizza lover, you can enjoy cheese-less pizza. Papa Jones and US pizza are vegan. US Pizza even makes Garlic breads without butter. Waffles – Duke’s waffles (except chocolate flavor) are vegan. Ice Cream: In Hyderabad, Berry’s has just started Soya based ice- creams that taste just like dairy ice-creams and are very economical too. They can be ordered by calling Mr. Vijay at 9866081152. Cakes: Contact Meeta (9908004103) or Mandarine (8884182816, [email protected]) to order customized vegan cakes. Plant based butters and mayonnaise: Vegan butters (from peanut, cashew, almonds, sesame, etc.) can be bought from Dakini Foods (Q-mart) and Fab-india. Fun-food’s diet mayonnaise is also vegan. Subway customizes dairy-free sandwiches, and CCD has a Vegan shake on its menu. Vegans are not limited to home food at all. Restaurants of every cuisine serve dishes that are devoid of dairy, eggs, & meat. We just need to clearly specify to the waiter not to include butter, ghee, cheese, paneer, milk, cream in the dishes that we order. To ensure compliance, you could tell them that you are allergic to milk. Wherever feasible, summarize veganism. o Some restaurants also keep tofu: a healthier soy-based paneer alternative, which tastes just like paneer. If not, you can buy a tofu packet (readily available in supermarkets), and ask them to make your favorite paneer dish with tofu. If your group has a sizable number, they are likely to cooperate. Cooking at Home Tea: Many people use soy and cashew milk. There are many options without them too: lemon tea, herbal tea, lemon-grass tea, green tea, tulsi tea, amla tea. You may add different herbs like ginger, mint, tulsi, cinnamon, cardamom, mint, etc. Coffee tastes great with coconut milk or vanilla flavored soy milk. Curd: Peanut curd goes well with buttermilk, raita etc. For other usages, cashew curd is a good choice. (See recipes section). Orgran offers a variety of easy baking mixes (cakes, pancakes etc) and egg-replacers. Most of them are gluten free. They are available at Nature’s basket stores. Almond milk & soy milk are good choices for breakfast cereals. Tofu is an excellent replacement for paneer. Tofu is rich in protein & calcium. It’s available in most stores. Any curry can be easily veganized, just by replacing ghee/butter with coconut oil (or any oil), paneer with tofu, dairy cream/mava with cashew cream (sometimes added with watermelon or pumpkin seeds), dairy-based milk with coconut or cashew milk. Vegan dishes cost less than dairy-based dishes. The most cost-effective milk is coconut milk. It can be used to make hot/cold coffee, cold cocoa, ice-creams, kheer etc. You can also use thick coconut milk for some ready-made ice-cream mix. (Don’t boil the milk. Add it at the end, 5-10 seconds before stopping the stove). Most of the taste in meat dishes stems from spices. Yet if you want similar texture in vegan form, try mock-meats/soy chunks/nuggets. Note: Do visit the ‘recipes’ section for plant based milks (from almonds, cashews, coconut, rice & peanuts), curd, curd rice and a simple cashew cheese spread. Other lifestyle changes Vegan lifestyle is not only about dietary changes, but also about making conscious choices in many areas. It’s very easy to avoid leather, honey, wool, fur and silk. Similarly, there are plenty of natural/cruelty-free shampoos, soaps and cosmetics (containing no animal ingredient). Basic recipes Plant based milks One can make milk out of various nuts, seeds, beans etc. Some examples are soymilk, almond milk, cashew milk, rice milk, coconut milk, peanut milk, oat milk etc. The best thing about plant based milks is that they are cholesterol free and growth hormone free. Hence, they do not cause high blood pressure and heart disease. They don’t promote diabetes, either. Nut milks [from cashews, almonds and peanuts] Ingredients: ½ cup almonds/cashews/peanuts Water (2 cups for cashews/almonds, 3 cups for peanuts) Procedure: Wash and soak nuts in water (almonds overnight, cashews/peanuts for 3-4 hours). Rinse well and blend with water. First make smooth paste with little water, and then add the rest of the water. Sieve with a thin cloth (optional). Coconut Milk Blend grated coconut with equal amount of lukewarm water. Sieve the mixture with a thin cloth. Save the fiber. Once all the milk is extracted, repeat the procedure with the fiber, and a little water to extract the remaining milk. Discard the fiber. Rice Milk Ingredients 4 cups water, ½ cup uncooked rice (white or brown) or 1 cup cooked rice Procedure Cook rice and water until very soft. Let it cool and put mixture into blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth. Let it stand for at least 30 minutes, and then pour the liquid on top into another container. Be careful not to let the sediments in or strain it. Refrigerate. It can be kept for at least 48 hours. Serve cold. Peanut/Cashew curd Use 2 cups of lukewarm cashew/peanut milk. (While using peanut milk, let it boil fully, and then let the temperature come down). Add 2 teaspoons of curd as a starter, and mix well. (This can be conventional dairy curd or curd saved from last batch of peanut/cashew curd.) Keep overnight. Save 2 spoons of this curd in the freezer to use as a starter for the next batch. Peanut curd tastes great with raita, curd-rice, buttermilk etc. For eating curd alone with salt/sugar, cashew curd is a better choice. Peanut curd-rice Ingredients: 1 cup slightly overcooked rice (optionally it can be smashed a little) Peanut curd – quantity according to taste Salt to taste, Jeera(cumin) powder – 1tsp Grated ginger, Finely chopped green chilli For tempering – cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilli, white urad dal Finely chopped coriander and mint leaves - 1tbsp Procedure: Mix rice and curd together. Add green chili, ginger, jeera powder and salt. In a bowl take a spoon of oil (optional), and add mustard & cumin seeds. Once they pop, add other tempering ingredients, and pour over the curd rice mixture. Simple cashew cheese spread Ingredients: ½ cup cashews soaked for at least 3 hours; 3-4 cloves of garlic; salt and black pepper to taste, pinch of turmeric Procedure: Blend all the ingredients in the chutney jar of the blender with a little water. Add water one spoon at a time, and blend till its consistency becomes creamy. Refrigerate it overnight for better results. [Optional: Add 1.5 tablespoons of nutritional yeast if available. It can be ordered from Bon appetite in Pondicherry. Since only a little amount is required at a time, a 150gms jar lasts for almost 6 months.] Good websites/blogs for recipes Sharan (excellent site for alternatives to milk products): http://sharan-india.org/vegan-recipes/ Tongue Ticklers: http://tongueticklers.com/ http://blog.veganosaurus.com/ Facebook communities Vegans in India: https://facebook.com/groups/vegansinindia/ Hyderabad vegans: https://facebook.com/groups/hyderabad.vegans o We do monthly potluck lunches and other events to support those exploring/trying vegan living. o Open for anyone interested in veganism, not just vegans A photo article covering all aspects/FAQs on veganism http://hyderabadvegans.wordpress.com/why-vegan-detailed/ Contact (for further information) Sejal ([email protected], 7893225500) Madhulika ([email protected], 8099662924) Note: More detailed pointers/recipes can be found at http://hyderabadvegans.wordpress.com/vegan- friendly-hyderabad/ No being that feels pain should be put to pain. Let us alter our choices to uphold that! .