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Vegan Holiday Dessert Recipes

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Brownies (egg and dairy free):

Brownies are a classic and simple treat and this recipe makes it easy for the lactose intolerant to enjoy them just as much. The recipe comes from a dessert spot in New York City.

  1. Mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum.
  2. In a second bowl, mix 1/2 cup of applesauce, 1/4 cup of canola oil, 1 tablespoon of vanilla and 1/2 cup of dairy-free chocolate chips.Mix both bowls together.
  3.  Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Gingerbread Cookies:

Take a traditional holiday recipe and turn it vegan with this recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons coarse sugar (turbinado or demerrera or “sanding” sugar)
  • 2 cups unbleached flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup almond (or soy) milk
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

  1. Sift dry ingredient (except sugar) into a bowl and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine wet ingredients, including the raw sugar and whisk or beat on medium until blended.
  3. Stir in the pre-sifted dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  4. The dough will be quite sticky and you may need to dampen your hands to work with it. Roll the dough into little balls (about 1 Tablespoon) and flatten out to your liking.
  5. The thinner the cookie the crisper it will be – a slightly thicker cookie will yield a crunch on the edges and a slightly chewy interior.
  6. Press the coarse sugar onto the tops of the cookies and bake about 10 minutes at 350 on a greased cookie sheet.

Pumpkin Pie:

The holidays wouldn’t be the same without a pumpkin pie. Here’s a vegan version of the old standard recipe.

  1. Mix 2 cups of pumpkin purée, 1 cup of almond (or soy) milk, 3/4 cup of raw sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 1/2 tablespoon of molasses, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, 1/3 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon of allspice.
  2. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Banana Ice Cream (dairy free):

All ice cream has dairy in it, right? Well, not so, here’s some awesome ice cream made from a frozen banana.

It’s simple…freeze a banana, put it in a food processor, and that’s it. It takes a little bit of time to get creamy. But, that’s it. Add a teaspoon or so of peanut butter and just a  bit of cocoa powder (optional).

Veganism & Yoga

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Introduction:

Yogic philosophy teaches us that food is to be considered a carrier of the life force called “Prana” and is judged by the quality & quantity of the Prana it contains and by the effect it has on our consciousness.

“Sattva” is defined as the quality of purity and goodness. Sattvic foods are pure, clean and wholesome, they’re foods that are abundant in Prana and their life-giving properties leave us feeling calm, alert and refreshed.

Another word common to Yoga philosophy is “Ahimsa”, the first yama of yoga, which asks us to do no harm. Ahimsa = non-injury (literally: the avoidance of violence) and insists upon us not harming other sentient beings – animals or otherwise.

A question often asked of vegans and those who eat only a plant-based diet is “What about plants – aren’t they sentient beings too?” Well no, not exactly. Sentient beings have minds; they have preferences, desires, or wants, and there can be no serious doubt that both humans and animals have interests, including an interest in avoiding pain and suffering and an interest in a continued existence.

Sri Ramana Maharshi, perhaps the most famous Self-realized sage of modern India, was asked what the most important aid to meditation was and he immediately replied “a pure vegetarian diet.” He quoted the ancient Chandogya Upanishad (D II 26.2) that says; “when food is pure, the mind is pure, when the mind is pure, concentration is steady, when concentration is achieved one can loosen all the knots of the heart that bind us.” Vegetarianism, especially veganism, is one of the main pillars of the purifying the mind.

The Spiritual Importance of a Plant-Based Diet for Yogis and Students of Yoga:

The Hathayoga Pradipika (section 58 of the main classical Hatha Yoga textbook), recommends avoiding “ …fish and meat” In the Mahabharata, which the Bhagavad Gita comes from, the importance of not eating meat is emphasized. The body, emotions, spirit and even our hereditary expressions are significantly affected by what we eat. Sensory inputs from numerous objects disturb us in many ways, not only consciously, but subconsciously and unconsciously also. In Sanskrit the term for this disturbed condition of awareness is called Vyutthita chitta or the disturbed (literally ‘provoked’) mind. Through proper plant-based diet, meditation, and other sattvic activities, we can reduce this state of disturbed awareness and experience a state of undisturbed awareness or equilibrium termed in Sanskrit as Samahita chitta or the concentrated (literally ‘collected’) mind in which the body, senses, prana and the mind all function in harmony.

The key element to the sattvic diet is plant-based foods. Flesh foods (meat, fish and poultry) and animal products (eggs and dairy) increase the animal frequency in the body and prompt animal-like tendencies into action such as the vibrations of anger, lust, fear and even murderous impulses. The energy of an animal based diet adds to the impurities of the mind and the nervous system.

There are those that claim that flesh foods are an essential part of their natural diet and so should not interfere with the unfoldment of their higher nature. But as written by Sri Yukteswar, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, in his book “Holy Science”, “Can flesh be considered the natural food of man, when both his eyes and his nose are so much against it, unless deceived by flavors of spices, salt and sugar. On the other hand, how delighted do we find the fragrance of fruits, the very sight of which often makes the mouth water?”

Flesh food and animal products promote a tamasic (dull and heavy) effect on the physical body and mind. They clog the pranic channels of the subtle body; the 72,000 nadis through which the Kundalini needs to move freely to do its spiritualizing work, and they tend to make the mind insensitive. The Manusmirti (5.49), an ancient law code of Hindu society, states, “Having well considered the origin of flesh foods, and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of sentient beings, a person should abstain from eating flesh.” It also states (6.60), “By not killing any living being one becomes fit for liberation.” Additionally the Yajur Veda (12.32) states, “You must not use your God-given body for killing God’s creatures whether a human or animal.”

A vegan way of life actively establishes six aspects of Ahimsa:

  • (1) Compassion and non-cruelty toward sentient beings;
  • (2) Safeguarding the earth and its ecology;
  • (3) Feeding the hungry and poor;
  • (4) Preserving human life;
  • (5) Establishing and maintaining personal health;
  • (6) And inspiring and promoting peace.

Yoga, Health and a Plant-Based Diet:

Yoga teaches that a vegan/vegetarian diet is not only essential for the spiritual life, but is also the basis for good health. Not only do those on a plant-based diet live longer, they actually have (according to more than a dozen research reports) two (potentially more) times the endurance than meat-eaters and they are much less susceptible to disease and other health problems. The eating of flesh foods has been proven beyond any doubt to significantly increase the likelhood of the occurance of major chronic diseases like cardio-vascular disease, hypertension, cancer, kidney disease, arthritis and osteoporosis, just to name a few.

People who eat animal products are also at a higher risk of various viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitical infections. With flesh foods being at the top of the food chain they have about 15 times more pesticides and herbicides than plant-based foods. Animal products (i.e.: eggs and dairy) have about 5 times more pesticides and herbicides than vegetable foods. A vegan or vegetarian mother has less than 1% the amount of pesticides in her breast milk as a meat-eating mother.

Yoga and the Optimal Sattvic Diet:

The modern American equivalent of a traditional sattvic diet today consists of organic, whole, natural fruits and vegetables, seeds, grains and occasionally nuts. This diet emphasizes foods grown in harmony with nature, preferably by farmers using organic methods, planted in good soils, ripened naturally and then prepared with an attitude of love. Such foods carry the highest level of prana and consciousness. This modern sattvic diet does not include junk food, excessively spicy or salty foods, fried food, white flour, refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, saturated fats and other forms of food that unnaturally stimulate your blood sugar or agitate your mind. This diet avoids meat, fish, eggs and dairy as well. It does not include GM (genetically modified) or GE (genetically engineered) foods, irradiated foods or microwaved foods.

In summary:

The “yoga of food” is the art of selecting foods that increase the pranic forces for healing, purifying, calming and quieting the body and mind. It’s a dietary regime that energizes the 72,000 nadis so that the powerful, spiritualizing force of the Kundalini can move more freely through them, bringing us closer to the primary goal of yoga; freedom from the vrittis (tendencies) of the mind and the subsequent union with the divine.

Serious Health Threat – Autointoxication

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A great reason to embark on a regular cleansing or detox program

People in North America are now beginning to realize that this is the very foundation for holistic nutrition and medicine which is increasingly being practiced here in the west and has been practiced in the orient for thousands of years.

Auto-Intoxication is epidemic in our society, and it has to do with the gastrointestinal diseases that we develop within us as a result of the amounts and types of food that we eat. The human suffering and the social, medical, and economic costs of gastrointestinal diseases and disorders that have become so common in the US and Canada are nothing short of gargantuan, representing a huge share of our annual health care expenditure, as well as being responsible for a large loss of productivity.

Up to 100 million North Americans suffer from intermittent forms of digestive diseases, and the estimated lost work, lost wages, and medical costs comes to over 50 billion dollars per year. It is also estimated that some 200,000 workers miss work every day due to digestive problems.

Let’s take a minute to discuss Autointoxication

When the eliminatory system of the human body is not in top-notch working order, particularly if it has become sluggish or clogged, it cannot properly process foods and eliminate food wastes and toxins. Medical science has finally acknowledged that 85% or more of all adult Americans suffer from some form of intestinal stasis (i.e., constipation, sluggish bowels, IBS, etc.). This virtually guarantees toxic build-up in the colon which, over time, inevitably results in one or more forms of serious illness or chronic degenerative disease. Intestinal stasis sooner or later causes the wastes and toxic by-products from the foods we eat to build up to such an extent that they start to become putrefactive. In turn, this putrefactive build-up in the colon becomes a veritable breeding ground, encouraging the rapid growth of huge colonies of toxin-producing, disease-causing bacteria (e-coli is one good example) along with a host of known toxic chemicals and waste products.

When the digestive and eliminative systems are not properly working to rid the body of this accumulating putrefactive build-up in the colon, the resulting toxins are then absorbed from the colon into the bloodstream, and are carried back into every part of the body. This process of self-poisoning is known as “auto-intoxication”. In a nutshell, because of intestinal stasis, the body ends up chronically poisoning itself with its own wastes and toxins instead of carrying out its designed purpose of eliminating them.

This process of continued self-poisoning inevitably results in candidiasis and a dramatically weakened immune system, which can lead directly to such common ill-health conditions as chronic fatigue and body weakness, nervousness, depression and mood swings, skin disruptions such as acne, rashes and boils, ulcers and other gastro-intestinal disorders, headaches, arthritic joints, swelling of hands and feet, chronic allergies, bronchial problems, cardio-vascular irregularities (arrhythmias, high blood pressure, etc.), pathological changes in the breasts, premature senility, epilepsy, and many other serious and debilitating problems.

Health statistics also show that more North Americans are hospitalized due to diseases of the intestinal tract than for any other group of disorders. The medical costs of these diseases are estimated to be $20 billion or more per year.

The annual cost of prescription and over-the-counter drug products used for digestive tract diseases is approximately $2 – 2.5 billion dollars per year, and has grown at a steady rate of 10% over the last decade.

The following is an estimate of some of the most common costs, and adequately demonstrates the fact that these diseases present a significant public health problem, which contribute substantially to our overall health care costs:

  • Laxatives – $900 million per year.
  • Antacids – $1 billion per year.
  • Antihemorrhoidals – $250 million per year.
  • Anridiarrheals – $100 million per year.

Cancer of the colon and cancer of the rectum are the second most common forms of cancer in North America, exceeded only by lung cancer. This year alone there will be approximately 150,000 new cases diagnosed, and approximately 60,000 related deaths. Perhaps as many as one out of every 10 North Americans will die of these two diseases.

The following are some of the other very common diseases and disorders that are directly related to the Colon: Constipation, Appendicitis, Gastritis, Diverticular Disease, Hemorrhoids, Benign Tumors, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Ulcerative Colitis, and Crohn’s Disease.

Because the body is amazingly resilient, impaired digestion, poor absorption and a general deterioration of the intestinal tract can go for years without producing any definitive symptoms. When symptoms first appear they are usually general and non-specific and can include: decreased energy, headache, fatigue, reduced resistance to infections and minor digestive problems, such as bloating, gas, belching, indigestion and constipation. Most of us either ignore these early manifestations of bowel dysfunction or suppress them with antacids, gas relievers, laxatives and numerous other drugs peddled by the pharmaceutical industry.

As the bowel function continues to deteriorate, other serious (but seemingly unrelated) problems may appear. They range from asthma and allergic reactions to arthritis and cancer. They include auto-immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and lupus. Chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and hives are also common.

In short, faulty digestion, poor absorption, altered intestinal permeability, bacterial imbalance and massive amounts of auto-intoxication can be traced to most chronic conditions known today. Some of us may not develop serious life-threatening diseases from the intestines, but almost all of us will suffer from auto-intoxication caused by fecal matter buildup. The risk increases with every passing year as we consume more meat, white flour, refined sugars, saturated fats, coffee, antibiotics and prescription drugs.

The Basics of Cleansing & Detoxification

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As a follow-up to the last blog post “Are You Addicted to Food?”  this article will focus on detoxification as a means to break that vicious cycle and embark on the path to optimal health and wellness. Note: In the following text the words detoxification (or detox) and cleansing are interchangeable.

Cleansing is like a knife that cuts away much superficiality, getting right to the heart of the matter. Effectively, any good detox program will work on deeper levels than most of us realize because they are able to break up our daily patterns; those patterns upon which we have become so dependent (our comfort zones). When those patterns of pleasure or selfish indulgence are disrupted, we are left with our own internal resources. If those resources are bankrupt during a cleanse you will come face to face with a vacuum that only your inner self (or Divine Providence) can fill.

Any of these detox programs will shake up the physical body, and we may be appalled at how much the body will squirm and resist. But it is high time that the body be put in perspective with the role of our own inner (spiritual/essential) self. Cleansing dethrones and places the body under the jurisdiction of our will. It is this creativity of a freed will which lifts us above our animal instincts and releases us from the cages of our monotonous and empty routines.

In addition to eliminating toxins from the body, cleansing accomplishes two purposes that many are unaware of. First, it will reveal how much the physical appetites have taken control of our emotions. And secondly, it will serve in breaking the body’s habitual cravings and the power they hold upon the will.

You may be surprised at how much your body can detoxify itself in only 24 hours, and a longer cleanse (of three days or more) will invariably bring to the surface deep seated fears which affect thinking and decision-making. It does this by challenging that complex human instinct called self-preservation. This instinct has been created in every living thing on earth, including us. But, we are able to choose to “recreate” ourselves, building a new life which will not be controlled by old habits and base instincts. Because of our ability to make these life changing choices, we will have the power to recreate ourselves into a radiant being of a higher and grander design than that of our former life.

Cleansing compels us to face the chaos of addictions, compulsive behaviors, depression and internal pain. It’s like pressing the pause button of life, and quietly observing how crazy and detached we have become to who we really are.

So, more than help us to detox our bodies and lose those extra pounds, a good cleansing also clears our mind, purifies our soul and frees our spirit for a better reception of the healthy, spiritual life intended for us. This blessing is our birthright and all we have to do is remove the obstacles we have placed in our own way.

*In conclusion: There are a lot of analogies that could be drawn in regard to cleansing and spirituality. We prune our trees, weed our gardens, separate the wheat from the chaff, etc., etc. Its human nature to think of getting “there” because we are “here” and “here” is not as good as “there”. So if we are overweight, we want to be slim. If we are profane, we want to be divine. We want an instant cure, an instant shapely body, an instant awakening. But, ask yourself, what about the enjoying the trip, what about rejoicing in the process? This is what cleansing AND spirituality both have in common.

Mother Nature and Divine Grace give us opportunity to learn from the simplest things. Take an apple tree for example, it lies barren for the winter, leaves and flowers appear in the spring, the flowers develop small fruits which grow until they’ve reached their optimal size…then they RIPEN! How cool is that?

Are we satisfied being mere trees? When cleansing our bodies we begin to flower; literally, we begin to give off a fragrance, a beauty, a radiant quality, and then if we continue to heal and nourish ourselves the way nature intended…we too will RIPEN! When fully ripe we are truly receiving our Creator’s blessing and then we become a blessing to others.

In summary, cleanse to heal, heal to nourish, nourish to grow, grow to ripen, ripen to receive our inherent blessing and then become an instrument of that blessing to help others. This is a way I see it possible to save ourselves, and in turn to save the world.

 

Are You Addicted to Food – Think Again

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The silent epidemic of food addiction has become a worldwide problem, and if you answered the title question “yes” and are indeed addicted to food, (as most of us are, or were at one time), the blame does not rest entirely on your shoulders but there is still much you can do about it.

A little research shows that food addiction is similar to drug and alcohol addiction.  Very often for a food addict, processed foods, refined sugars, factory farmed meats and saturated/trans fats become what alcohol is to the alcoholic, or cocaine to the cocaine addict.

When eating food in these groups, the addict sets the phenomenon of “craving” into motion.  Like the drug addict, the food addict experiences withdrawal when attempting to cut down on the foods that trigger cravings.  They can experience both physical and emotional withdrawal such as tremors, cramps, depression, teary periods and even self-hatred.

Food manufacturers have done an exquisite job of recognizing and tapping into our cravings, using persuasive ads and alluring packaging to keep their products tumbling into our shopping carts. These foods contain chemical compounds that stimulate the brain’s secretion of opiate-like, “feel-good” chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which drive our cravings for them.

One way to end the dependence on these trigger foods is to complete a good Detox Program. Once the addictive substances are out of the body, the physical cravings leave and the struggle isn’t as bad as it once was. These physical cravings do subside and you will have a second chance; and a choice whether to reintroduce the foods that caused the problems in the first place back into your diet. The emotional and mental cravings will still be lurking in the background, but with the establishment of a healthy diet and a lifestyle committed to changing old habits they will eventually be overcome.

Food addiction is hard to break, and in addition to the lack of cooperation from the commercial food industry and our elected officials we have other issues to deal with. For one, food is socially acceptable and people reward themselves for almost every imaginable occasion by indulging. We are encouraged (at least here in the US) to show how much we appreciate a meal by the amount we eat. We are taught to “clean up our plates” at every meal. Fast foods are all too convenient in this busy world, but even if we go to a decent sit down restaurant, we can almost guarantee we will be over served; with the average main course totaling  1000 calories or more; and that does not count drinks, salad, appetizers or desert.

Just watch the movie “Woodstock” or any of the music videos from the early 70’s and it’s amazing, – you can’t find any obese people in the audiences; check out the average concert audience today! This is what is happening to America. Let’s get ourselves right, keep ourselves right and then help others to get a grip!

In conclusion: Habitual eating patterns are hard to break and like almost all addictions they’re based on some sort of association and this is often below the radar of our conscious attention. Food frequently reinforces our comfort zones and makes us feel good, so when we want to relax or break free of stress we often grab a bite to eat.

One of the best practices to break this trend is the Buddhist practice of “Mindfullness” or conscious attention. Bringing “Mindfulness” into play before we put anything in our mouths helps us to learn to attune to our bodies and distinguish between real physical hunger (where your stomach is rumbling and you physically need to eat) and psychological hunger (where cues such as emotions, settings, social occasions and sights and smells of food encourage you to eat). Physical hunger is a useful and appropriate cue to eat – psychological hunger is not.

“Mindfulness” also enables us to eat much slower, actually savoring and thoroughly enjoying each bite of food. Eating in this manner gives our brain time to register the sense of fullness. It is a proven fact that it takes about 20 – 30 minutes for our brains to register this sense of fullness, no matter how much we put in our stomachs during that time. People who eat slowly and mindfully are much less likely to overeat.

Are You “Sold” on Organics?

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Make sure you’re not being “sold-out”!

If you are currently one of the growing numbers of those who go to great extremes in order to insure they’re eating healthy, organic food as much as possible (and practical) – BEWARE! You need to read the following report from Carolanne Wright (NaturalNews)…

Click on: The big sellout — Majority of organic companies owned by mega corporations

Greed and profits have now taken over much of the organic food production industry, with “Big Organic” joining “Big Ag” and “Big Pharma” as they compete for your dollars, rather than helping you find foods that insure optimal health and wellness.

The following quote is just one example of the deception that seems to be everywhere you look for some unadulterated, natural or healthy food:

”…as I was running late for a meeting I tried to find just one prepared food item that I would choose to eat from the hot food bar at Whole Foods Market last night. Everything offered was either dead animals, which are very un-hygienic to eat and a spiritually costly choice (Ahimsa), or GMO-laden dishes full of tofu (not organic) and other sordid attempts at pretend healthiness, much of which was smothered in dairy.”

I think we all were delighted to see healthy foods becoming more popular, but now it is becoming just another marketing ploy. If you want to eat energizing, life-giving foods you really need to research what you eat, and this goes way beyond reading labels; you need to know where your food comes from and, if possible, who grew it and under what conditions was it grown. If you don’t hold yourself accountable for truly understanding what you are actually putting your body, don’t expect anyone else to do it for you, your government certainly won’t do it, corporate farms and the biotech industries won’t do it; they actually want you to remain in the dark so that they won’t be threatened by you making intelligent, informed and responsible choices. You need to make up your mind; your body can a temple or a prison, and the biggest deciding factor? It’s Your daily choices.

Support your local and family farms; get to know the people you buy your food from. By supporting them, you will help them to resist the need to sell out to the corporate consolidations that are trying to drive them to bankruptcy.

We have to remain diligent and keep the demand for healthy foods increasing. On Jan. 21, 2010 a US Supreme Court decision overturned the legislative ban on corporate campaign financing. Government watchdogs allege that opening the floodgates to corporate dollars means that industry giants now have carte blanche to bankroll politicians who side with big ag and other corporate entities.

Where do we as consumers get to cast our vote? At the supermarket, the roadside stand and the family farm.

Moksha!!! Liberate yourself through education!