For the salad:

1 cup Large carrot (shredded or grated)
2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup julienne apple
3/4 cup julienne cucumber
1/2 cup basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped mint

For the dressing:

1 young coconut (use just the flesh of the coconut and cream in blender/food processor)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup agave
2 teaspoons ginger
Cilantro as a garnish
When you’re ready to eat. Toss the salad and dressing together. You can also add roasted peanuts if you like.

Enjoy!

The documentary below gives an amazing run down of the development of biotechnology in the last 50 years, and the dangers of the unregulated and immoral use of such technologies.  I encourage all of you to watch the whole video and share it with as many people as you can.

One of Gandhi’s favorite subjects was diet and nutrition. Throughout his lifetime he experimented with a variety of diets. He tried meat-eating, vegetarianism, fasting, restricting salt, and yes…even a raw food diet.

While he was imprisoned for two years by the British, Gandhi spent time laying out his views on diet and traditional remedies in a short book called “Key to Health.” This book went on to become Gandhi’s most popular and widely read work. It was translated into English under close supervision by Gandhi himself.

The full version of this text is available online for free here. Below, I have outlined some of the principles and lessons that Gandhi stressed:

• Disease is an attempt by the body to get rid of the toxins. These toxins can be eliminated by fasting, eating and drinking natural food, and cleansing of the bowels by enemas.
• Fresh green and leafy vegetables should be eaten everyday.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables should be eaten when they are in season and preferably raw.
• A certain amount of fat is necessary and nourishing to the body. Oil is not as nourishing as ghee (clarified butter).
• Starchy foods should be eaten when dry so as to allow for more chewing and flow of saliva.

Many of the principles that are at the core of the vegan and raw food diets today were laid out in this text by Gandhi. In the second half of the book he includes information about various health remedies which use earth, air, water, and sun. He swears by the effectiveness of his remedies. Although I have not tried these, I definitely will be looking into them.

–Ro

]]> http://roshis.com/mahatma-gandhi-on-diet-and-health/feed/ 22 http://roshis.com/how-to-make-sauerkraut/ http://roshis.com/how-to-make-sauerkraut/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:14:00 +0000 rishi http://roshis.com/how-to-make-sauerkraut/ One of the ways that I keep my diet balanced is by eating a portion of fermented foods daily.  Most traditional cultures include some fermented foods in their diets, because of their contribution to a healthy body and their extremely long shelf life.  Dishes and drinks, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, cheese, kefir, and pickles, are chocked full of healthy bacteria that promote regular digestion and enliven the body.  My favorite way to get my daily dose of bacteria (besides Kombucha, that is) is a nice sauerkraut.  Sauerkraut has been made in Central and Eastern Europe for hundreds (possibly thousands) of years.  Like its name implies, its sour, a little sweet, and quite pungent.  My favorite thing about it is the super simple preparation.

Ingredients

* 2 heads of cabbage
* 4-5 tbsp real salt

Directions

Shred the cabbage heads using a grater or food processor.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage and salt.  Using your hands, massage the salt into the cabbage.  As you massage the salt in, juices from the cabbage will start releasing, and the cabbage strips will start to shrivel up a bit.  After about 5 minutes, you’ll notice plenty of juice collecting in the bottom of the bowl.  At this point, place a small plate over the cabbage and then place a clean heavy object on top of the plate.  The weight is meant to submerge the cabbage pieces into the liquid to allow for healthy fermentation.  You may cover the bowl with a muslin cloth to ensure nothing gets in to the mix.  Allow the mix to sit for 7 days.  Thennnnn eat up!

For more variety and flavor, feel free to mix in other vegetables.  My favorite way to make sauerkraut is to add 4-5 leaves of collard greens, a 1/4 tsp of red chili powder, and the juice of one lemon (see the result in the third picture).  Get creative and see how you like it!

–Rishi

(click for more views and to enlarge)

Chai

Ingredients
* 5 whole green cardamom pods
* 3/4 tsp fennel seeds
* 3/4 tsp whole cloves
* 1/4 tsp cinammon
* 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
* 3 almonds
* 1 tbsp honey or agave nectar

Directions
With a spice mill or mortar and pestle, slightly grind down cardamom, fennel, and cloves.  Add mixture to a pot of water on high heat.  While the water heats, grind the almonds down to a nice powder.  Once the water is boiling, turn down to low heat, and allow the chai to brew for just a minute or two longer.  Pour the chai into a cup, and allow it to cool for just a minute.  Next, mix in the ground almonds, honey, and vanilla extract.  Then go find a cozy place on the couch, wrap yourself in a blanket, and sip your tea until you feel all warm and tingly inside.

Chai Cookie Cakes

Ingredients
* seeds of 6 whole green cardamom pods
* 2 tsp fennel seeds
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 pinch salt
* 1/2 cup almond pulp, leftover from almond milk making
* 1 1/2 cup cashews
* 2 tbsp coconut oil
* 1 1/2 tsp rose water
* 4-5 dates
* (optional) agave nectar

Directions
In a food processor, combine cardamom, fennel seeds, cinnamon, and salt.  Allow food processor to run until entire mixture is powder like.  Next, add cashews, and run until cashews are in small granules.  Put the mixture into a mixing bowl, and add the dates, coconut oil, rose water, and almond pulp.  Mix and mash everything together by hand.  If you’d like more sweetness, add the optional agave nectar.  Place mixture in small cookie like shapes onto a plate covered with wax paper, and put it into the freezer for at least 4 hrs, then transfer to coldest part of fridge.

Our first launch of the Roshi’s Online Store was pretty sub-par, since we only had one item.  After lots of work, however, we’ve been able to get some good contacts and sources to relaunch our online store with lots of goodies.  You’ll now see in our side bar a list of items being sold in our online store.  We have lots of spices, incense, essences, and an assortment of other items available at very reasonable prices.  Also, any time we post a recipe with ingredients available in the store, you’ll be able to just click that ingredient to enter our store and purchase that item. 

I hope that you all like the store, and find it reasonable.  We’ll be using the money we make from the site to pay for our hosting and domain names, since that has been coming out of our own pockets so far.  We’ll also be donating 20% of the proceeds to charities helping slum children and teens in India.

Ingredients 

* 3-4 bananas
* 2 heaping tbsp cacao powder
* 3 tbsp agave nectar or to taste
* 3 tbsp kewra water or 1.5 tablespoons rose water
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 tsbp cold-pressed coconut oil
* 1 cup pistachios or other nuts

Directions
In a bowl, mix the cacao powder, agave nectar, coconut oil, kewra water, and vanilla extract.  If the mixture is very thick, add 1 tsp water.  With mortar/pestle or spice mill, grind pistachios until they are in small pieces.  Coat the bananas with the chocolate mixture and then roll in the pistachios.  Put coated/rolled bananas on a plate lined with wax paper, and cover with another layer of wax paper.  Place in freezer overnight.  Done! Woohoo!

Besides that, make sure to leave us a comment and tell us what you think!

–Rishi

For further reading, check out these links:
http://yogashaastra.blogspot.com/2008/05/beat-heat-with-sheetali-sheetkari.html
http://www.healthandyoga.com/HTML/news/sheetali.html
http://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/yoga/sheetali-surya-bhedan-pranayama.html

–Rishi

–Rishi

Ro and I would like to thank all of you for your love and support.  We’re both excited for the new year and look forward to bringing you all some great new recipes, videos, and info posts and also learning from all of you.

Wishing everyone well,
Rishi