According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegetarians tend to have lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, lower blood pressure, and lower incidence of type-2 diabetes as compared to meat eaters. Vegetarians also tend to have a lower BMI (body mass index), lower rates of various cancers, lower risk of chronic disease and of death from ischemic heart disease.

So, while abstaining from meat is indeed good not just for your spirit but also for your health—as emerging science has established—to be a true vegetarian one must go beyond mere dietary abstinence.

The characteristics of a true vegetarian

What are the marks of a ‘true vegetarian’? The true vegetarian, as I think of him, is filled through and through with reverence for life. He reveres life as a gift of God which no man can bestow and, therefore, will not destroy. Such a one has the following marks:

1. Love and compassion

His heart is a flowing river of compassion and love. The basis of true compassion is a feeling of unity, of oneness with all creatures that breathe the breath of life. I, and that tiny winged creature that hovers around a lamp, are one. Men and animals and birds, fish and fowl, moths and mosquitoes – all, all are one in the One without whom there is no other. To the true vegetarian, therefore, each life-unit is as dear and precious as his own life. To him every dumb creature of God is his own self wearing another body. And so the true vegetarian will not be a party to any movement for slaughter. On his banner are inscribed the words in letters of fire: Stop all slaughter!

2. Self-discipline

The true vegetarian is a person of self-discipline. There are many there are who do not eat flesh but, alas, yet they easily succumb to its lure. They cannot resist the temptations of the flesh. They are weak-minded: they have not put out the fire of passion. The true vegetarian is unswayed by passion, unruffled by anger, unmoved by greed and gold.

3. Humility

The true vegetarian is a man of humility. Deep in his heart he knows that he is not free from the sin of killing. For to breathe is to kill the germs that are in the air around us. To talk is to kill; to walk is to kill. Indeed, to live is to kill.

4. Prayer and worship

Living in such a world, the true vegetarian becomes a worshipper, a man of prayer. He sees cruelty all around him. How many hearts can he touch? How many lives can he save? And so he turns to Him who is the one saviour of all. The true vegetarian prays alike for the killer and the killed and he prays that he may become an instrument of God’s love in this world of anguish and pain.

5. Faith

The true vegetarian is a man of indomitable faith. He believes profoundly that life is entirely a gift of God. In periods of crisis, in times of famine and flood, his mind wavers not! He prefers starvation to eating impure food. To the Sufi dervish, Abu Ala Maeera, his physician said, “O man of God! Why will you not live longer and bless this earth? Drink this chicken soup I have brought for you and see how quickly health and strength returns to your feeble body.” The dervish laughed heartily and said, “Must you me the soup of a weak, defenseless creature who cannot strike back in return? Is it not worthy of you! Bring me the soup of a lion’s cub!”

★ November 25, the birthday of Sadhu T L Vaswani, is observed as International Vegetarian Day also known as SAK Meatless Day

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3 vegetarian protein snacks recipes

Peanut chaat (Suitable for vegans)

Ingredients

• Raw peanuts – 1 cup
• Onion -1 medium sized
• Tomatoes – 1 de-seeded
• Raw mango – 1/3 cup
• Carrot – ¼ cup grated finely
• Green chillies – 1 finely chopped
• Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
• Roasted cumin powder –½ tsp
• Chaat masala – ½ tsp
• Lemon juice to taste
• Coriander leaves – 3 tsp finely chopped
• Salt as needed

Preparation Method

1. Soak peanuts overnight and pressure cook with salt until soft. Leave it to cool.
2. Finely chop onions, tomatoes, green chillies and raw mangoes.
3. Set aside some chopped coriander leaves and grated carrots for garnishing.
4. In a bowl, combine all the above ingredients and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and grated carrots.

Oven roasted chick peas (Suitable for vegans)

Ingredients

• Dried chick peas – 1 cup
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Chilli powder – ½ tsp
• Roasted cumin powder – ¼ tsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation Method

1. Soak chick peas overnight and pressure cook for 3 whistles with just enough water and salt.
2. Drain the water completely and spread the chick peas on a kitchen towel for 30 minutes to dry.
3. In a bowl mix oil, chilli powder, cumin powder, little salt and toss the chick peas in it until well coated.
4. Preheat the oven at 180 degree C for 5 minutes. Spread the chick peas on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 – 40 minutes or until golden brown and crunchy.  Stir in between to prevent them from getting burnt.
5. Once cooled, store it in an air tight container and enjoy!

Note: If using canned chickpeas, you can skip the first step.

Dry fruit and nut energy balls

Ingredients

• Dates – 500 grams pitted
• Nuts – 1 cup [mix of almonds, pistachio, cashew nuts and walnuts]
• Raisins – ¼ cup
• Honey – 2 tsp
• Ghee – 3 tsp
• Roasted sesame seeds as needed

Preparation Method

1. Toast all the nuts separately and grind it coarsely.
2. Heat a tsp of ghee and fry the raisins until they puff up.
3. Heat 2 tsp of ghee, add dates, honey and sauté until dates become soft.
4. Add the nuts, raisins and mix well.
5. Grease your hands with ghee and make balls when the mixture is warm.
6. Roll them on roasted sesame seeds and store it in an air tight container.

The post Healthy vegetarian protein snacks appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Traditionally Sundal is made as prasad [devotional offering] during a religious festival or ritual, but it is often had as a healthful accompaniment to meals or just as a nutritious evening snack. When made for prasad, onions are not used.

Widely sold on the streets of Tamil Nadu and served in almost all Tamil homes, especially during the festive season, Sundal is a quintessential Tamil salad. You will often find Sundal being offered in temples of Tamil Nadu—served in bowls made of dried beetel leaves or banana/palm leaves.

This vegan Sundal recipe uses sweet corn instead of the more popular chickpeas.

Sweet corn Sundal [stir-fry] recipe

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients

• 200g sweet corn kernels
• 3 chopped green chillies
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp grated fresh coconut or desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp split black gram [urad dal]
• A pinch of asafoetida [hing]
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp gingelly [sesame] oil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 1 twig of curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Preparation method

1. Boil 3 – 4 cups of water in a pan and then add sweet corn pellets and turmeric powder. Cook on low-medium flame till the sweet corn turns soft. Remove from the heat, drain the water completely and keep aside for 10 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and temper the mustard seeds, black gram and curry leaves. Add chopped green chillies, ginger, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Stir well for a few seconds.
3. Add cooked sweet corn, asafoetida and salt to taste. Cook for 2 – 5 minutes. Add grated coconut and stir well. You can also add grated raw mango, finely chopped onion and grated carrot to enhance the flavour of this dish.

The post Healthful Sundal recipe using sweet corn appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Makes 6 large fritters

Ingredients

• 2½ cups zucchini, coarsely shredded
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup corn kernels
• ½ tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• ½ cup chickpea flour [besan]
• ¼ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp oil

Preparation Method

1. Take the coarsely shredded zucchini in a bowl and sprinkle ½ tsp salt over it. Rest for 10 minutes to draw out the liquid from the zucchini.
2. Squeeze out the water from the zucchini. Add the zucchini, corn, red chilli flakes, cumin powder, garam masala powder and chickpea flour to a mixing bowl. Mix well with a spoon to form a batter. If you feel the batter is runny, add breadcrumbs, few spoons at a time, till batter comes together. If you do not wish to use breadcrumbs, you can add more chickpea flour. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Divide batter into 6 portions. Form each portion into thin patties with your hand and pan-fry on both sides till nicely browned, 2 – 3 minutes per side.
4. Serve the fritters hot with a chutney or dip.

This recipe was published in the April 2016 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Ingredients

For the steak

• 400g of steak-sized cauliflower steak pieces, about ½ an inch thick and wide across the tree.

For the sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ a small yellow bell pepper, diced
• ½ a small red bell pepper, diced
• 3 – 4 scallion sprigs, chopped finely, bulb and green parts
• 4 – 6 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped finely
• ¼ tsp fresh dill, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp crumbled walnuts
• 4 pitted olives, chopped up roughly
• 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes, chopped roughly
• 2 tbsp crumbled Blue Cheese [or Feta or Goat Cheese]
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation method

For the steak

1. Brush the cauliflower slices on both sides with a little of the oil and rub a little of the crushed garlic on it. In a preheated oven at 180°C, place the steaks on a greased baking tray and grill for about 20 minutes on each side till you see them turning brown.
2. Carefully place the steaks on a plate, the same one you’ll be setting the table with.

For the sauce

1. In a saucepan, heat the oil and toss in the chopped scallion and garlic to brown a little.
2. Throw in the red and yellow diced bell peppers and stir fry till the flavour of the garlic explodes. Add the chopped dill and give it a whirl.
3. Add the salt and pepper, you can be mildly generous with the salt because this is it, there’s no more salt in the steak.
4. Take if off the fire and mix in the chopped olives, the walnuts, the sundried tomatoes and blend well. Sprinkle the crumbled cheese last of all, and toss gently. You should be able to find small chunks of cheese as you eat.

Serve with a tomato salad or creamed spinach.

The post No-fry cauliflower steak with bell peppers appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• Corn kernels from 1 cob of corn
• 2 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 – 2 red chillies, finely sliced
• Handful of coriander
• 4 cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 iceburg lettuce, leaves separated
• 25g feta cheese

Preparation method

1. Gently heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the corn. Stir well and allow to turn golden brown.
2. Add the spring onions, garlic and chillies and stir well.
3. Roughly chop the stalks of fresh coriander and add to the corn with the cherry tomatoes.
4. Stir well and squeeze in the lime juice.
5. Season with salt and pepper and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Stir in the coriander leaves thoroughly and pile the mixture on the lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

The post Roasted corn and feta lettuce wraps appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 

  4 garlic cloves – chopped

• 1 small onion – chopped roughly
• 1 carrot – chopped
• 1 small beetroot – chopped
• 1 tomato – chopped
• Half bottle gourd – chopped [doodhi]
• Handful of coriander and mint leaves
• ½ tsp oil
• Salt and pepper – as per your taste

Preparation method

1. Heat oil in the pressure cooker or pan, add the garlic. When it browns slightly and gives off an aroma, add onion and sauté. Garlic adds a lot of flavour to the soup, so don’t skip it.
2. Next add all the other ingredients, including salt and pepper. Sauté well for 1-2 minutes. If you are making this in a pan, add steamed vegetables instead.
3. Then add two cups water, close the pressure cooker and cook on medium flame for 10 minutes or 5-6 whistles. For pan, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4. After the steam is released, cool the vegetables and then blend the mix in a blender.
5. Transfer back to the dish, heat it, check seasoning and serve hot.

For thickness, add a small potato instead of adding flour. You can also add a dash of lemon juice for a tangy flavour.

The post A delicious no-fuss vegetable soup recipe appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Makes: 12 cups
Serving Size: 2 cups
Serves: 6
Pre-preparation time: 6 – 8 hrs
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 1½ cups rice, uncooked
• ½ cup uncooked red chana [soak for 6 – 8 hours]
• ¼ cup French beans, chopped finely
• ¼ cup carrots, chopped finely
• ¼ cup green peas
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 cup tomato purée [made from 3 large tomatoes]
• 1/3 cup fresh curd, made from toned milk [or peanut curd for vegans]
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cloves
• ½ tsp jeera [cumin seeds]
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1½ tsp lemon juice [juice of ½ lemon]
• Pinch of saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 3 tsp oil
• 2 tsp salt or as per taste

For the garlic paste

• 7 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 2 green chillies, chopped finely
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1-inch piece of ginger, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 2 tbsp water

Preparation

1. Rinse the rice and soak for 20 minutes.
2. Pressure-cook the chana for 8 – 10 whistles.
3. Heat ghee in a pan; add the jeera. Once the seeds begin to splutter, add red chillies, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. Sauté for 1 minute over a low flame.
4. Add rice, 4 cups of water and 1 tsp salt. Cover and cook over a low flame.
5. When the rice is half cooked, add saffron along with the water in which it was soaked; add lemon juice. Cover and cook until all the water dries up. [Keep checking that the rice does not get burnt at the bottom].
6. Remove from heat and cool. Discard the red chillies, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks.
7. For the garlic paste, grind the ingredients together in a blender.
8. Heat 2 tsp oil and sauté the paste for 5 minutes.
9. Stir in the tomato purée and add 1 tsp salt; sauté for another 8 minutes.
10. Add the boiled chana, carrots, beans, peas and curd; cook for 5 – 7 minutes.
11. Add sugar and remove from heat.
12. In a separate pan, heat 1 tsp oil and sauté the onion until dark brown.

To Serve

1. Preheat the oven at 160C° for 7 – 10 minutes.
2. In a baking dish, first spread the chana.
3. Top with the rice.
4. Garnish with the sautéed onions and bake in pre-heated oven for 5 – 7 minutes.
5. Serve hot.
6. Complete your plate with a bowl of mint raita.

The post How to Make the Perfect Vegetarian or Vegan Biryani From Scratch appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Broccoli patties are easy to make and go well with tomato ketchup, mint dip or chutney.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded broccoli
• ⅓ cup boiled and mashed potato
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 finely chopped green chilli
• ¾ tsp ginger garlic paste
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• Pinch of salt
• Bread crumbs or gram flour as needed
• Oil for shallow frying

Preparation method

1. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients. Use your hands to make palm-sized patties from the mixture.
2. If the mixture seems too wet, then add some more gram flour or bread crumbs. The mixture should not be too dry or wet.
3. Heat oil in a tava or pan. Then shallow fry the patties on both sides till they are golden brown.
4. Serve hot.

This recipe first appeared in the November 2015 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

The post Broccoli patties with a hint of garam masala (and lots of good health) appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

I was at lunch with a group of friends when Tanya said this to Priya.

Priya’s meal had just arrived and she had ordered a cheese pav bhaji. This was after she had wiped off a plate of French fries all by herself while the rest of us waited for our main courses to arrive.

Priya, who had made the apparently “unhealthy” meal choice flushed on hearing the remark. From the change in her expression, one could tell that she was wishing she could disappear into invisibility, just like the dollop of butter that was fast melting to become invisible in her food. Not knowing how else to respond, she looked down at her food and nibbled in silence till the end of our lunch.

Sadly, Tanya was oblivious of the damage she had done and went on to brag about her latest diet changes and why she had banished certain foods from her diet forever. So obsessed was she with driving home her point that our forlorn faces were lost on her. Possibly my other friends were now wondering how Miss ‘Health Freak’ would react when their orders were brought to the table and whether she would approve of their choices. Sigh! There went another potentially fun lunch meeting, thanks to one person’s unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.

Wrong words at the wrong time

Even though Tanya only had Priya’s best interests in mind [like we all have for our loved ones], her timing and tone were both wrong. Very wrong. Her harsh words and insensitivity would have harmed her friend more than any of the ‘unhealthy’ food she thought she was eating.

Let’s first get this out of the way. Sharing our knowledge and experiences is not wrong. In fact, it must be done as that’s what empowers us to make better choices. But we should be conscious of doing it in a sensible and sensitive way.

But don’t we all have that one friend, colleague or relative who goes into nutritionist- or crusader-mode at every opportunity they find and mostly it is during meal times? When I see these people giving advice that is not asked for, I’m left wondering whether they’re still trying to convince their own selves about their choices.

Food does much more than providing us with calories and nutrition. Each of us has a unique relationship with food. For some this relationship is sorted, while for others it’s complicated or still evolving. Add to it the information overload from the field of nutrition and changing trends in the health industry and things can get pretty convoluted.

The least we can do to maintain some sanity in these times of information overload is to keep our meal-times sacred and devoid of nutrition gyaan.

Eat and let others eat

Food is big deal for most of us, yet meal times are the most ignored events, mostly done mindlessly. If you have to discuss the food, let it be about the taste, the flavour, the ingredients, the recipes… but keep all talk of nutrition, calories and food choices out! Once the food is on the table and you have decided you’re going to eat it, just shut up, enjoy your food and let others do the same. Resist the temptation of asking the vegan where he is getting his protein from or snidely reminding the non-vegetarian about the inhuman practices at factory farms. One of the most important thing food does is bringing people together. It gives us a chance to celebrate our similarities and differences. Let’s not use it as an opportunity to convert the other and bring them on “our side”.

The post Don’t correct someone’s diet when they are eating appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.