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The best gift my husband got from his travels was eggs!
Born & bred in a Christian household, Rose Pinto grew up with the notion that animals were God’s gift to mankind for eating. A seminar with Dr Nandita Shah convinced her otherwise.
I became vegan seven years ago for my health and my family’s well-being, but the only thing I kind of missed was eggs. My husband knew nothing else would make me happy than gifting me eggs, so he would actually bring them as gifts even when he travelled!
As I read more about veganism and watched videos, I realised the cruelty that existed and how I was indirectly a part of it. As a family, we were meat eaters. However, when I learnt the truth, compassion paved my way towards veganism for life. However, that didn’t stop me from getting tempted each time I got a whiff of eggs cooking from my neighbour’s kitchen or watched someone eating eggs. I would then remind myself that eggs are chicken periods and might even have a life. And it worked! My other concern was baking, but there are so many egg replacers for cakes like apples, bananas, chia seeds and flaxseeds that I started using. In fact, my baking has become extra-special now – healthy and full of compassion.
I have also gained health-wise. My knee pains and constant cough and cold have vanished. Also since my L5 and L7 were degenerated, I was advised surgery but now my back pain has totally disappeared and I didn’t need to go for an operation! I am happy and grateful for having gained this knowledge and that my family follows this path. Also, I have taken it upon myself to demonstrate egg, meat and dairy alternative recipes in my cooking classes to make it easier for others to follow.
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‘Omelette’
You can actually enjoy a healthy omelette, the plant-based way with this recipe. You could also blend in some tofu and coconut milk with nutritional yeast in the blender for softer and fluffier ‘omelettes’. Bon Appetite
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour (besan may be used instead)
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup finely chopped onions
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
- ½-¾ tsp black salt (kala namak)
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp finely chopped green chillies
Method
Sieve the chickpea flour into a bowl. Add water gradually and mix well, so that there is no lump left. Add tomatoes, onions, coriander leaves, red chilli powder, green chillies, black salt and mix well.
Heat an iron griddle (tawa) on medium heat and spread a thick layer of batter on it. As soon as bubbles appear, cover and cook until the underside is done. Now, turn it over and cook for a few minutes or until the other side is equally done. Serve hot with ketchup.
Serves 4
Food For The Mind
FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP
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1. SHARAN India is SHARAN’s main Facebook page which you can like and follow for getting useful daily updates and news from the plant based health world. You will also get news about the latest SHARAN events, see testimonials, and more.
2. SHARAN’s Vegan Support Group is an open support group to know more about vegan/plant-based lifestyle. Here you can ask questions and share inspiring stories, tips, recipes, etc.
All our doctors and presenters will be here to answer your questions and give you tips. If you have attended our events join this group to be a part of our family.
Please like the main SHARAN page and join the group(s) applicable to you.
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So what’s with eggs?
We generally eat something because everyone around us is eating it and they eat it because everyone around them is eating it! Rarely do we pause to think – should we be eating this?
Has it ever crossed your mind why a hen lays eggs? Well, a hen is a female and has a menstrual cycle. During her cycle, an ovary sends a yolk on its path that forms an egg white as it moves through the reproductive tract into a shell gland. The shell takes 21 hours to form and gets ejected out of the hen’s vagina as an egg. In short, eggs are a hen’s period.
Now that we know this truth, here are other reasons why eggs need to be kept off our plates…
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1. Cholesterol bombs
A large egg contains about 185 mg of cholesterol. It is largely present in the yolk and not at all recommended for heart health.
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2. High in saturated fats
All the iron, protein & vitamins that an egg provides are easily attainable in a plant based diet. We don’t need to top them with saturated fats.
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3. Salmonella
Eggs are the vehicles that transport bacteria like salmonella, which is one of the main causes of food borne illness and death.
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4. Full of Cruelty
Hens are packed in battery cages with their beaks burned off so that they don’t peck at each other. These cages are kept in dark filthy sheds. The hens generally develop reproductive diseases and are slaughtered after two years as they can’t ovulate anymore.
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5. Manipulation of the reproductive system
Naturally, a hen in the wild will lay 25 to 30 eggs in a year, whereas on egg farms, they are forced to produce 250 eggs! This reduces their life span, as laying an egg is a laborious process.
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6. The egg may be fertile!
When a hen mates with a rooster, she delivers fertile eggs, which if kept in the right conditions, produce chicks. Farmers cannot always know whether the eggs are a result of period or pregnancy.
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7. Free-range?
It just means they go outdoors but the duration and treatment is ambiguous. The term free-range is more of a marketing gimmick, and does involve cruelty. Also, the eggs still contain fat and cholesterol.
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8. Pollutants
A by-product of hen farms is hen manure that pollutes water-ways and gets into our drinking water, suffusing it with nitrogen, phosphorus and even arsenic.
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