Vegan Food the list of contents in the form of code numbers, so unless one is motivated Green Is The enough to find exactly what these code numbers mean, they remain safely hidden and blissfully consumed. Truth be told, grocery shopping with me can be a somewhat tedious experience because I can’t help studying package New Colour contents in detail – definitely easier to do Sandra Melwani shares her experience of turning over a when alone. "new leaf" with DR NANDITA SHAH. Says, life is so much Why I turned vegan simpler with veganism, which brings health and a beautiful There are several good reasons for turning vegan; I did so out of a concern body, with a personality to match over animal welfare. How do people involved in professions of saving and Vegan: What’s that? Why have you ‘live food’ which means lots of vegetables conserving animals, consume other turned vegan? What do you eat – and greens, sprouts, fruits and so on. creatures, I cannot help asking myself; grass? Have you gone mad? What’s Being vegan simply put, means all I have had is a love of and respect wrong with milk? Why have you given refraining from consuming, wearing and for other living things that share our up chocolate? using animal-based products including planet, but it was enough to cause a long All these questions and more, toiletries and cosmetics, and household internal struggle that now no longer I continue to face almost daily. products to list a few items. Often, to appears to exist. So, beginning backwards, here are soften the impact, I use terms like ‘plant What veganism has done for me some answers: and animal lover;’ ‘herbivore’ also does On a personal level, it has motivated VI haven’t given up on chocolate, fine, to get the meaning across. me to take up the study of nutrition; just milk-based ones. There is always I also choose to avoid most store- in my opinion veganism coupled with a dark or bitter chocolate to fall back bought, commercial and branded deep understanding of how to eat right, on, fortunately. packaged foods because, unless the and what to eat, is a good way to live. Much is undesirable with dairy package clearly states or has a symbol It has simplified my existence by products, including milk and I opt for to indicate that the item is, 'suitable limiting my choice of food and drink. many other healthier substitutes such as for vegetarians/vegans,’ most food and The need to spend time mulling over almond and brown rice milk. beverage items such as carbonated what to eat for my next meal or snack No, I’m not mad, nor crazy; simply drinks, jams, baked goods such as no longer exists, not even when I eat out. convinced that this is the place where I biscuits and breads, instant cake mixes; ‘Simplified’ also translates into ‘boring,’ am right now. the list goes on, definitely or possibly which is what I appear to have become I do eat grass sometimes. Not the contain some form of animal product. to friends and family and no amount of garden variety, but wheatgrass. I also eat These ingredients often appear among convincing is proving the contrary. I do wish I could impress upon them that TOP AND BOTTOM STIR-FRY in fact, because my choice of foods is Ingredients: fairly limited, I have become far more 4 small cauliflower bases, diced creative in the kitchen. I find myself 4 small turnips, discovering ‘new’ ingredients that had small tender leafy tops set aside escaped me before and using them in 1 large carrot, sliced diagonally various different ways too. 2-3 small bulbs of spring onions, chopped fine For instance, the base of a cauliflower 1/2” piece ginger, chopped fine tastes quite similar to bok choy and works 2 medium sized garlic cloves, chopped fine very well in an oriental stir-fry, as do salt to season the stalks of fenugreek (methi), though sugar to season they are even bitterer than the leaves. white pepper powder to season On a lighter note, friends do not have to Method: worry about what to gift me: just parcel Sauté the ginger, onion and garlic till slightly soft. your unwanted radish tops and I will Add the cauliflower bases till they soften slightly. happily accept. Add the carrot slices and lastly the turnip leaves. Other reasons to become vegan Season accordingly and serve warm. Animal rights and hidden ingredients in food may not be cause enough to adopt 166 UPPERCRUST a vegan lifestyle; there are other reasons and out; what more could one desire? that may prove to be the deciding factor: All the proteins, vitamins and minerals economical, health, philosophical, that are supposedly gained from eating spiritual and social. meat can all be gathered from eating To expand in brief, I begin with non-animal based products. Not only a sound economical reason which is do fruits and vegetables, pulses and nuts inflation. These days, newspaper headlines provide these nutrients, but they are also voice a common sentiment that is seen in free from un-required fat and all the phrases like, “Weighed down by rising hormones that are jammed into those food costs for the fourth year running, poor animals that did nothing to ask for Mumbaikars hope for some relief from them in the first place. WHITE KIDNEY BEAN the Centre,” “Rise in prices of essentials This last statement brings me to SOUP such as bread, eggs and milk,” “Staples one of the social and ethical reasons for Ingredients: such as bread-butter, bread-omelette opting for veganism. 250 gm white kidney beans are becoming increasingly out of reach Apart from the 'How Can You 1 medium red onion, finely chopped of the common man.” When did these Ignore The Inhumane Attitude 1 garlic clove, crushed items become essentials and staples? Towards Providence’s Other Creatures' 1/4 piece green ginger, crushed Also, some may argue that vegetables question, know that animal farming coriander or flat parsley stems, and fruits are not inexpensive; in fact, is depleting rain forests and helping roughly chopped they could cost more than a kilo of the world’s increasing shortfall of salt meat. However, looking at the ill-effects fresh water. white pepper, freshly ground of animal consumption listed below How to become vegan; tips on lime juice one might be tempted to give the meat, staying vegan coriander leaves fish and all animal-based products a Becoming vegan, and remaining Method: miss altogether. In addition, just one, is not difficult if the reasons Place the washed beans in a pan with think how low a grocery bill could be for it are strong enough. I have not the first five ingredients. minus all the non-traditional staples been vegan all my life, nor vegetarian; Boil or pressure cook them with and essentials that include carbonated less than a couple of years in fact. water 1” above their level till the beans drinks, branded chips and ready-to- While I have the food part under control have softened. eat foods. I am still in the process of trying to Set the beans aside for later consump- On the connections between alter other areas: finding out which tion. As for the resulting ‘water’, season veganism and health companies manufacture shampoos further with pepper and lime juice as Turn vegan and lose kilos in the that are animal-friendly for example, required. blink of an eye with the minimum or realising that an old pair of Garnish with coriander leaves. of effort which is what I and well-loved shoes is made of leather. Serve warm or chilled. hundreds like me have experienced. The point I am trying to get across Healthy, slim and beautiful inside is that, altering a lifestyle overnight is unrealistic and could be stressful too, PEPPERED PEEL even for those around us; I go about Ingredients: it slowly and peacefully without 4 small ridge gourds, peeled setting time boundaries, and focusing peanut oil, for frying on the present hurdle to overcome. sea salt to season Vegans are not confined to Sichuan peppercorns to season eating at home and they do socialise. Method: Naturally I study menus in detail, Skin the gourds and cut the peel into thin sometimes as studiously as I do food slender strips. labels. It does take a while to zero in Salt the peels and set aside to remove any on the right dish but not impossible. excess water. Vegetarian thali restaurants are a safe Heat the oil in a deep-bottomed pan. bet, in my opinion. Drop the peel into the hot oil in small Adopt a vegan celebrity batches and fry till pale brown. As a final word, take a message from Drain the fried peels on absorbent paper. the growing band of celebrities around Toss the cooled strips in crushed pepper. the world who have embraced the vegan Serve the strips with lime wedges. way and are proving that ‘green is in,’ and always should be. JULY SEPTEMBER 2011 167