The Truth about Buckwheat

Meditators and yoga practitioners around the globe are often (or maybe always?) vegetarians or vegans. This may well have something to do with Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga - the 8 fold path of yoga - the 8 steps that help practitioners of Yoga reach Yoga's ultimate goal. Within the first step of Ashtanga Yoga, Sage Patanjali recommends that the student of yoga practice "non-violence." However, most meditators and yoga practitioners I have met have chosen to become vegetarians or vegans after extensive research on the subject. Understandably, those who are not as interested in Ashtanga Yoga (or any other form of Yoga), may or may not have the inclination to conduct such indepth research into the health benefits of being vegetarian. A growing number of people are, nevertheless, very interested in vegetarianism - either as a means of saving the planet (If you are confused about how these are related, read the United Nations Special Rapporteur's McDougall Memorial Lecture here) or due to food allergies, or with the aim of saving their own health. :)

I decided therefore to write a few posts on protein, iron and calcium rich foods - three things that vegans get worried (or badgered) about quite often. But first, a recent episode that strengthened my faith in nature's ability to provide us every thing we need, without us having to resort to killing animals.

Soon after my daughter's 1st birthday, the staff of the kinderkrippe (cretch) that Meera goes to expressed concern over whether Meera was getting enough of the basic nutrition needed in her diet - especially given that we were insistent on her being given purely vegan food (she's allergic to milk and yogurt and can only eat very small quantities of cheese once a week or so). They wanted a certificate from a nutritionist that (a) she was getting enough nutrition needed for her healthy growth, and (b) that she was indeed allergic to milk and joghurt.

Honestly speaking, given the number of times I had been told by a vast number of people about how deficient vegan diets are in iron, protein, calcium, etc. etc., I was myself rather concerned (I was brought up vegetarian, but not vegan). We decided therefore to visit an expert nutritionist for a thorough analysis.

The nutritionist gave me a long lecture about how she was almost certain that Meera was not getting enough protein, calcium and iron in her diet. B-12 was also most definitely a problem. So she asked us to write down in absolute detail, down to the last gram, exactly what she ate and how much of it, for three weeks. I was very happy that we'd gotten such a thorough doctor :)

I proceeded to note down with clinical precision what Meera ate, when, and exactly how much. At the end of the 3 weeks, I sent the report to our doc.

We met her the following week and she said that she was extremely impressed. We saw the charts she had made out - Meera was getting way way above the required minimum amount of iron, calcium and protein - even when compared to the diet of non-vegetarians. She was also impressed at the diversity of foods that Meera was getting - all rich is a number of vitamins and minerals essential for the growth of a child. The only thing needed was Vitamin B-12. And our vitamin supplement was taking care of this too. :) She was also amazed that a small child (just over 1 year) was eating such a diversity of things!

Following this episode, I have noticed more and more frequently how amazed people are that Meera happily eats Tofu, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Dates, Almond butter, Buckwheat muffins, Millet balls, Quinoa, all kinds of fresh fruit, cucumber, avocados, whole grain rice and pastas, all varieties of lentils etc. etc. with so much enthusiasm. Needless to say, she is at least as tall and healthy (and sometimes visibly more so) than most kids her age. She is a bundle of joy and energy and displays sensitivity, maturity and intelligence well beyond her years (of course, part of this is a mother's love for her child speaking - but I assure you that many doctors we have visited have said the same).

In the coming weeks, I will write out some recipes and tips for current or aspiring vegetarians and vegans - so that they can go to bed each day feeling confident that their dietary choices are not leading them to long term ill health.


Vegan Banana Bread (Low sugar, high protein, high iron)

About the Key Ingredients:

Buckwheat is a fantastic substitute for white flour when baking. 1 cup of buckwheat (as used in this recipe) contains 21% of the daily requirement of Iron, and an amazing 45% of the daily requirement of protein! It is a fantastic source of dietary fiber (1 cup of buckwheat will give you 66% of the daily requirement of dietary fiber) and an impressive source of Selenium (1 cup gives 20% of the daily required amount of Selenium, which is a very important mineral necessary, inter alia, for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland.)


Sunflower seeds are also an amazing source of Selenium and folate.

Black strap molasses (sold in Germany under the name "Goldsirup aus Zuckerrüben" is another fantastic source of iron. 1 tablespoon contains 25% of the daily requirement of iron.

Almond butter is a great source of both iron and calcium. Three tablespoons of almond butter (as used in this recipe), will give you 12% of the daily requirement of Calcium and 9% of the needed iron. It will also give you 15% of the protein!

Note: The original recipe for this bread (available here) uses only white flour, double the amount of brown sugar, no molasses, and no almonds. With the below modifications, the bread becomes a lot healthier, but remains extremely moist and yummy!

Ingredients

1 cup whole buckwheat flour (I make the flour fresh at home from the whole grain using a small coffee grinder)

1 cup white flour

2 tablespoons powdered sunflower seeds (I used the coffee grinder again for this)

50 g brown sugar

1.5 tablespoons molasses

60 g cooking oil (I suspect you can even get away with using less - try it and let me know!)

3 tablespoons almond butter (I used white almond butter)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder

1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder

2.5 teaspoons baking powder (I used Bio Reinweinstein backpulver)

1/3 tsp salt

3 super ripe bananas (the more ripe they are, the better the bread will taste)

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Mash the bananas using a fork or potato masher (do not use a blender!). Add the oil, sugar, molasses and almond butter and mix using the potato masher or a wooden spatula till everything is pretty much uniform other than the small lumps of banana. Set aside.

In another vessel, mix all the dry ingredients (other than the sugar) - buckwheat flower, white flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla powder, baking powder, salt and powdered sunflower seeds. Mix well using a dry wooden spatula.

Pour the dry ingredients-mix into the wet mix and mix well using a light hand with a wooden spatula.

Pour the batter into a pre-greased bread form. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover the form well with an aluminum foil and bake for another 30-40 minutes.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the form. Serve with warm or cool lemon water :)

Quantifying grief?

One of the first books I read about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living is titled Guru of Joy. Written by FranCois Gautier, the book relates people's experiences with Sri Sri and the Art of Living in a simple, sincere, and beautiful way. One of the stories in the book is about how Sri Sri gave so much attention to a person who was grieving over the death of her cat, and so little to one who's mother had recently passed away. I do not remember the details of the story, but what I took away from it was this: One cannot judge the extent of grief or misery that anyone is going through.

Another time, in a public talk, someone asked Guruji - "Why does the Art of Living give so much emphasis to helping the middle and upper class people manage their stress? Why not focus all of one's energy only to providing material relief to people who belong to economically weaker sections of society?" Sri Sri's answer, as always, was sensitive beyond imagination. He said (and I paraphrase based on my memory) "Just a comfortable bed does not bring restful sleep. Even rich people often suffer from deep grief and stress. We cannot exclude anyone from our efforts. In the same way, just bringing material comforts to the poor is not enough."

I confess that neither of the above experiences touched my heart. I really felt that only the poorest people, in the poorest countries, truly needed and deserved help from any organization, especially from a humanitarian organization like the Art of Living.

In 2005, I went to the US to do my masters in intellectual property law. Close to the end of my LL.M, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The US Art of Living group was calling to people around the US to join them in their relief efforts. A good friend of mine, Emily Peck, an Art of Living teacher, called me and asked if I could join them for a week or so. My first thought was, "why do people in a developed nation need help from the Art of Living? What is their loss and suffering compared to the loss and suffering of people in developing countries which are constantly suffering all kinds of natural and man made disasters?" Nonetheless, I said "yes." I joined Emily and her team in New Orleans for 1 week.

Doing what they are truly experts at, the Art of Living was conducting free trauma relief workshops in communities affected by the hurricane. I hung around with them wondering how I could contribute... I was not a trained trauma relief teacher and honestly, compared to what I had seen in India during the course of my life, the city of New Orleans looked fantastic! The only thing out of place was the air (or maybe it was the vibe?) - it was so heavy! I felt half drunk and sleepy almost all the time! On mentioning this to Emily, she said in a her ever caring style - "yes, the city atmosphere is dull because its people are shocked and in low spirits."

I frankly could not understand where the grief was... everyone who had lost their homes had been provided fantastic shelters in fully equipped large vans that doubled as huge cars! They had mobile homes! They could go caravaning!

On the second day that I was there, I went with the team to assist a trauma relief workshop. About 20 people were in the workshop - people from all kinds of social and economic backgrounds. The workshop seemed not too different from the Part I course of the Art of Living. I attended the workshop like one of the participants, sharing some experiences here and there like I always do when assisting a course. At the end of the course, as always, the teacher asked if anyone wanted to say or share anything. A local lady, who I thought was mostly disinterested in the workshop, was the first to raise her hand. She started crying and talking all at once. The only thing I could understand was that after the very 1st day of the workshop, she was able to finally sleep a full restful night of sleep without nightmares of the hurricane taking over everything, her whole life. She spoke of how the smell in the mobile homes donated to them was nauseating and she feared that the paint was poisoning her. She was so grateful for the relief that the workshop had brought to her.

It was in this instant that I first appreciated the weight of Sri Sri's words - "Just a comfortable bed does not bring restful sleep. We cannot exclude anyone from our efforts."

Since then, the weight of Sri Sri's words has struck me over and over again in various ways. Most recently, in my own life, struggling through a short but extremely painful period of bad health, repeated infections, rapid weight loss, and bouts of unexplainable, severe depression, I have recognized the full force and meaning of his words. During this time, more than during any other in my life so far, I have experienced the benefit and depth of the Sri Sri's teachings. Having finally understood the medical cause of this bad health phase, I am not only grateful for the speed with which I am now recovering, but most deeply, for the compassion, advise and moral support that Sri Sri himself and all the wonderful teachers and volunteers of the Art of Living (including my dear husband) have showered on me during this time. It is Sri Sri's words of wisdom and the compassion of those around me that has kept me afloat, far far away from taking extreme steps that I had, during much less difficult periods of my youth, often contemplated.

Grief, whether or not logically justifiable, cannot be quantified and cannot be judged. In order to overcome grief, misery, suffering or pain, one needs compassion, skill and knowledge. A single gesture of compassion and a few words of self knowledge can go a long way for one who is in deep distress, for reasons that are often incomprehensible.

This time, when Art of Living Germany has called out for help in its flood affected regions, I do not hesitate to say, yes - help and compassion are needed here, as they are needed anywhere else in the world. It is beautiful to see how so many people from so many countries are here to help. But more are needed. And even if our contribution may appear small and meaningless, as many a wise men and women have said, every drop contributes to making the ocean. I invite you all to take some time out and contribute to these efforts. Who knows? You might unknowingly help someone suffering silently come through an extremely difficult phase of their life. And who knows? You too might benefit from the exercise in mysterious and unimaginable ways.

For the "official" invitation from the Art of Living to join the flood relief efforts in Germany, click here

For an energizing recipe to help anyone and everyone come out of grief (even if momentarily), see below:

Zero Sugar Energy Balls

Ingredients

4-5 unsweetened Dinkel Zwiebacks (spelt rusks) (If you don't mind sugar, use chocolate filled double cookies instead)
10-12 medjool dates (please remove the seeds!)
2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoons coconut flakes (or fresh grated coconut)
4 tablespoons almond butter
5-6 pieces each of any nuts of your choice - e.g. walnuts, cashewnuts etc. (I would not include peanuts though, as they make the taste strange)
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1-2 tablespoons honey (I used Akazien honey)

Method

Put all the ingredients into a blender and beat up well. Scoop out the mixture from the blender and roll into big or small balls. Roll the balls over extra coconut flakes, or, if you don't mind some sugar, dip into melted chocolate before serving.

Note: If the mixture comes out too dry or too sticky, add more dates/almond butter or Zwieback as needed.