Ayurvedic Vegan Organic Food – Catering and cooking classes in the Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, Southbay areas.

My story

If I was to think of the most memorable times of my early childhood, it would be the fun-filled summer holidays spent in my mother’s maternal home in a small town near Mumbai. It was a big house filled with lots of uncles, aunts and cousins. During the summer time there would easily be about 50 adults and children in the house. And so a lot of that time would be spent in the big kitchen helping my aunts and mother preparing the meals. I learnt so much by just watching them cook.  There were certain dishes that were prepared only in summer because they would have ingredients that help in cooling the body and some only in winter because they would have heat creating properties. Some dishes were made only for lunch and some only for dinner. Certain vegetables required a particular spice to be added, to enhance its digestion. And certain dishes were always served with other accompanying dishes and others not. All these dos and donts had some simple practical reasons based on the principles of digestion according to Ayurveda. Although unaware at the time, this was the start of my training in cooking the Ayurvedic way.

Later in my teens, there were some changes in our lifestyle that effected in our daily diet. One of the changes was that my family hired a cook. Of course, the cook was trained by my mother to prepare dishes according to the traditon of our family. But having someone from outside the family prepare the meals changed the quality of the food. The cook was using the same ingredients  and the same technique of cooking but there was a very important ingredient missing. It was the care and love that my mother or grandma or aunts would put into the food while preparing it. They used to put some thought into the menu planning so that the dishes would be compatible, and they were mindful of the right proportion of ingredients and spices. This is not to say that the cook didn’t care, he did but his training and his motivation were very different. The cook was mostly concerned with making sure his employers were happy with his cooking and he was trained to achieve that by making the food very tasty by using more oil, spices, sugar and salt. And as I have found through my own experiments with cooking, it is easier to make food taste good when you are not concerned with the nutrition part of it. Food prepared with excessive use of fats in the form of oil, ghee, butter, cream, cheese, salt, sweetners, spices and  refined products  like white flour, will always give more pleasure. So the food at home became more intense in taste, more salty, spicy and rich in fat, and yet, these were the same traditional dishes that our family had been eating for generations. Another change due to outside help was in the menu planning for daily meals, these were getting more and more elaborate and gradually the dishes that used to be cooked for special occasions were being served on a regular  basis. And the number of dishes served in a meal also increased. This led to bad food combinations and provided opportunities for gluttony and over-eating. I noticed that the food was satifying to eat but I didnt feel good after. I felt tired and heavy. I felt unmotivated and found it difficult to concentrate on schoolwork. This led me to change a few things in my own diet.
I felt the need to cut down on  the oil and the hot spices in the food.  But it seemed unlikely that the cook could be convinced to cook without oil or to use less oil. So I would ask the cook to set aside some of the boiled lentils and the steamed vegetables before they were seasoned with spices and oil. I stopped adding ghee to my chapaties. At meal times I would add some of the spiced dal to my boiled version and I would do the same with the vegetables. So my food was now lightly spiced, as per my preference. This was when I learnt to appreciate the taste of food close to their natural flavor without the cover up with spices. I found that this food really energized me and I could eat as much as I wanted.

Eating like this for a few years helped me maintain a healthy weight. At this time I was eating eggs and dairy in the form of milk, ghee, homemade butter, cheese, yoghurt, paneer regularly. I was quite aware of how good I felt when my food was low in dairy, eggs, oils but then I would slip up and have them again in my food. So I would go from little dairy and eggs to a lot because I would be tempted by my tastebuds. This went on all through my teens, 20s and 30s.

In 2001 I migrated to the States and a few years later I was fortunate to be introduced to the concept of raw vegan diet. When I understood what veganism meant, I realized that I had always been one in principal.

to be continued….

Sampaachitam Stotra
Well-ness Prayer

Shrasta Sampaachitam Maya Tava Krite
Anam Guneir Vridheertama
Hastabhyam Tu Samarpitam Bahu Vidhim
Yada Bhukta May Taadhiya
Bhuktwa Sopi Bhavet Sadaa Suvimalam
Pushtim Vidhaa Dhyaat Maya
Swi Kuryaan Mama Prarthana Akhil Guro
Ya Darshanaayah Krita
Anam Yaina Samudgatam Chavimalam
Truptyeyi Prakaa Maam Jagat
Sam Kshretra Dupaniya Pachita Maho
Bhaktya Samaakshi Kritam
Tam Bhunjaniya Niramayam Satu Bhavet
Paramaushadham Tushtidam
Sanshudhim Manasaa Bhavetu Satatam
Jivyaat Satam Sarvadaa

Oh Divine Creator,
Please bless the food that is placed before you,
Let it nourish all who partake of it,
Let all who have played a role in its co-creation be blessed by you.
Enable all who eat of it, to be complete and healed in the body, mind and soul
With true humility, please do accept this prayer from Darshana
Let the food heal our bodies so that we may perform right action
Let the food cleanse our minds so that we may be clear in our thoughts
Let the food purify our souls so that we might advance further towards the divinity within each of us
Bless us with lives rich in health, happiness and unconditional love
May we always be in gratitude of your infinite blessings!

Prayer in English by Darshana Thacker
Sanskrit translation by Shastriji Baldau Tripathi