Vegan Potlucks and meetings in Mumbai

Thu, 04 Dec 2008

An Event for Friends and Family to Share

As a follow-up to the two Peas vs Pills workshops recently held in Mumbai, a session called Give Peas a Chance was held. This was open to anyone who had done the Peas vs Pills workshop, as well as their family members and friends. It started with a potluck lunch where each participant brought along one healthy vegan dish to share with the others.

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.

After lunch participants shared the health and other effects of switching to vegan diet and this was indeed an inspiration the newcomers. The results for many had been eye opening. People talked about weight loss of as much as 10kg, reversal of blood sugar, and cholesterol, reversal of joint pain, and positive change in state of mind. We also shared some recipes, particularly one for Rejeuvelac (it will be on the SHARAN website soon), and participants also shared some insights into changes observed after switching to organic and the reasons why organic food is more nutritious. Dr Shanta Venkat shared that plants make phytochemicals and antioxidants 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.

We all enjoyed ourselves and decided that it would be nice to meet once a month.

If you are interested in vegan cooking and health, why not set up a potluck in your own area? If you organize it, SHARAN would be happy to send mailers to past participants in your area. It's a great way to learn from each other, share experiences and also share the joy with family and friends. For aspiring vegans and even for longterm vegans it is really great to get support.