We always found a way out

Priya Shah shares how she managed to eat as healthy as possible when she went on a holiday with her husband for a month

My husband and I switched to the whole food plant-based diet about five years ago. We found a wealth of health benefits, including great energy levels, wonderful sleep and clarity in our thinking. This summer, we had gone on a holiday to the US for a month. It was our very first trip after switching to the WFPB lifestyle. We were very excited as we knew the US has lots and lots of vegan options. At the same time, we were very clear that we would follow our healthy vegan lifestyle at any cost.

We could find vegan options for everything – from cheese to pizzas and burgers, desserts and doughnuts – but to find healthier versions was a little difficult at every place. We tried our best to start our day with our favourite green smoothie. If that was not possible, we had lots of fruits, which were easily available. So, from morning till noon we ate only raw, as we did back home in Mumbai. Later, we looked for more raw salads or smoothie bowls. We also carried nuts and dates for munching. We realised just being a vegan is not enough, but following a whole food plant-based lifestyle is healthier and far more refreshing.

However, we are grateful that we got so many vegan options. Many places nowadays have raw restaurants too, so that’s a silver lining. There are also a lot of healthy options that we can carry and you can get ideas from https://sharan-india.org/recipes/useful-recipes-while-traveling/. And the most important tip is, if you are firm from within that you want to follow this lifestyle you can be sure the universe will help you!

Restaurant Recipes

It’s super easy to make restaurant-style food at home. It truly turns out delicious, is great for your health and is economical too.  Enjoy.

Watch our facilitator Vandana Tiwari show you how to make restaurant-type Malai Kofta and Butter Naan in this video.

Ravioli

If you prefer Italian, watch Shivalika Rupani whip up this unbelievably easy Ravioli

Food For The Mind

FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP

If you love Facebook, then join us to be supported on your plant based journey. We are offering two possibilitie

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.

What comes along with eating out?

There was a time when restaurants ran full house only during the weekends. Not anymore. Increasingly, we see restaurants packed to the brim even during weekdays. It’s as if people have stopped cooking at home. Not just the restaurants, but every café by the street or a roadside stall vendor has crowds milling around, digging into the steaming food that is doled out in quick succession. Home-delivery bikes can be seen at odd hours of the day, even late at night – all validating the fact that eating out or ordering in is an industry that is booming.

Convenience, taste, variety and experience are the driving force, but what are the other implications of eating out? Read on here. 1. Excess sodium Packaged foods are full of salt which is a good preservative, but it is also highly addictive. Restaurants may use a lot of packaged foods, such as sauces, frozen foods, salted butter and more.

2. Excess fats Chefs often believe that food cannot taste good without large amounts of oil, butter or ghee. Also, these ingredients make cooking quicker because of the high temperatures that they allow. However, besides delivering too many calories, this lowers the nutritive value too.

3. Inferior quality of produce The vegetables and fruits that are not easy to sell in the market are picked up by restaurants at lower prices. Both the vegetable vendors and restaurant owners are in the business for profit. They rarely consider our health.

4. Meals may be cooked way in advance Is it practically possible for restaurants to serve freshly cooked meals? Anyone who has ever put a meal together knows the answer is a big ‘no’! Prep starts way before serving time. The food at restaurant chains tastes the same at every branch because it’s cooked centrally in large quantities, frozen and distributed to branches. You will know what you are getting taste-wise, but you may not know the extent of loss in nutritive value.

5. Microwaved food The microwave oven is an integral part of a lot of restaurant kitchens. Cooking or heating food in it is harmful to health and comes with its share of nutritive loss.

6. You’re likely to over-eat The variety and the free accompaniments, the huge portion sizes, the music, the company and the mood ensure you over-eat, taking in far more chemicals and fats into your system than you would have in a home-cooked meal. Plus, the sugar in most drinks, sauces and desserts is addictive.

7. Hygiene may be compromised If it’s a task to keep a small kitchen at home clean, imagine restaurant kitchens that serve hundreds of diners day in and day out.

8. Burns a hole in your pocket It’s truly way cheaper to cook meals at home with high-quality organic produce than to eat out. What you save in doctor’s fees and medicine costs is extra.

9. Is it really vegetarian or vegan? That’s a good question to ask, particularly when you dine at restaurants that serve meat. They may use the same utensils to cook and spoons to taste. Also, with so many orders coming in, can the chef feasibly take care of your special requirements?

10. Disease-forming Consuming high amounts of sodium, preservatives, inferior produce, packaged foods, and frozen or pre-cooked meals contributes to lifestyle diseases, including PCOD, hypertension, diabetes, heart issues and even cancer.