THE BREAK UP
....................................................................................RESOLUTION....................................................................................
Break ups could be heartbreaking and memories keep haunting even after days, months sometimes years. Ofcourse, all breakups are not bad, they might hurt you in the beginning, on a long ago they reward you. This is one such break up journey of mine. And my break up is with Curd ...... yes , you read it right , it all started from the moment I have decided to become a Vegan.
My relationship with curd is from childhood. I do not like milk but I love all the milk products. I have grown up with all those. Almost an year ago, when I came across few videos in internet of cattle abuse, it did disturb me for a while, but that does not stop me from having milk products as they were unconsciously integrated with my life. It was before two weeks, on one fine moment, I do not know what exactly made me decide,but I felt a strong urge and said to myself, "The time has come. I will stop having Dairy products".
The first thing that came to my mind was Paneer, I love Paneer, almost everyday, I used to have paneer either from outside or cook at home. But then I felt its not a big deal, I will stop having it. So I thought and went to kitchen to cook something for lunch.
......................................................................................MEMORIES..................................................................................
As I was cooking, the food memories started coming in my mind.... "So no curd rice from now, curd rice was my saviour, at times of my gastritis, acid reflux, also during my travel times. And no masala curd rice that we prepare during festivals.. thats my favorite of all and no Panchamrutham too.. Somehow I have shut those thoughts by saying of course I can survive without curd rice.
The same day my sister in law came from home town and she brought lemon pickle. Oh my God, curd rice with lemon pickle and avakaya are my favorite too. And Avakaya ghee rice ... uffff... I can not have it too. For a moment, I felt pathetic.
One by one, slowly all my favorite things were coming up in my mind. I can not have cheese.. "Okay, that way I will stop eating pizzas " is what I said to myself to stop my crave over cheese.
But the memories kept coming, Next day after cycling, I went to a restaurant to have breakfast and there I saw DAHI VADA . . .ohhh yummm and then immediately I said to myself " No Sindhu, U can not have it, U had a breakup with it" . The same day evening I passed by a sweetshop that has my favorite rasagulla and rasamalai... it also reminded me of my grandmom's special palkova and Tirupati's famous Basundi. The thought that I can not have them held me down a little. And it went on when my brother and sister in law had Junnu.
I even went to a vegan restaurant in the city to control my cravings and despair.
It might appear to some that "is it a big deal to stop eating something??" I am a big foodie. I love food and any foodie can understand what I went through.
And it might appear to some as if I am being hard on myself by cutting out my favorite things. Cows are considered holy in ancient India as they gives us milk and nourishes us. They were worshipped and milked with utmost respect and love. That was our ancient culture where we used to thank each and every part of nature that helps in our nourishment and wellbeing. It was all changed now. It was a mere business now and the poor cattle have become the victims. Should an animal go through an abuse and torture to satisfy my palate and tummy ??? This thought that what cattle have to go through to get milk from them is what made me hold on to my decision of breaking up with Dairy.
...............................................................HOW DID I OVERCOME?? ..........................................................................................
So this went on , I was dairy free for three days, I started feeling heat in my body as I was not having curd and the summer heat had already started. I included watery vegetables in the diet , started having soaked moong dal and I was drinking lots and lots of water but still I was feeling heat. To this heat what added is that all our family went out to a punjabi restaurant and I was surrounded by the smell of ghee, butter and paneer. I felt breathless and restless. I ordered watermelon juice and went out to have some air. I got frustrated and sent msg to a friend who has recently turned to vegan. She called me and the conversation we had was such a relief. She told me the problems she faced in the beginning and told me not to be so hard , advised me to remove dairy from diet gradually not all of a sudden and gave me few more tips to cope up the heat.
The next day, I made some vegetable dhokla for breakfast, the ginger in it was too hot, remembering my friend's words that not to be too hard I had some curd but then I did not like it somehow, the taste or the feeling that I had it , whatever it is I did not like it. I felt weird.
I started exploring food, vegan websites, vegan vlogs. Then I realised all vegan food was not healthy. I searched for vegan communities in facebook and Instagram, sent my queries to them. I started reading about vegetables and grains that cause heat in the body and how to cool body naturally and got a vague idea to balance them in the diet. After some research I was clear about what I want to eat. . I want to have Healthy Vegan food which is good for the environment and also for my tummy. Ahimsa (Non violence) being the first limb in the eight limbs of yoga meant not causing harm physically and emotionally. And Ahimsa starts from self.
Now, its been two weeks I have stopped having dairy products, yeah I might miss them a little but I do not regret. Also I believe in sometime I will not even miss it. Where there is a will, there is way. Look for possibilities. I made little changes in my diet. I am not feeling the heat anymore.
People can question that if you alone stop eating dairy products will the cattle be saved??
Remember the lines from Mother Theresa,
WE OURSELVES FEEL THAT WHAT WE ARE DOING IS JUST A DROP IN THE OCEAN. BUT THE OCEAN WOULD BE LESS BECAUSE OF THAT MISSING DROP.
So how much ever small it is, my contribution counts and it always starts from SELF
and cutting off the dairy is good for my tummy too, as the milk we get from unethical methods is not good.
and the next common question is how do we get the protein and calcium ????
Mother Nature supplies us everything. No need to worry about it. Its just that we need to correct our dietary and life style practices.
This is the story of how I have evolved from a Happy Vegetarian foodie to a Happy Vegan foodie.
Oh nooo... Now I remember , Chennai Badam milk and Rajahmundry Rose milk 🙈 ... Oh come on . . I am not missing them. I said I used to like them. Our priorities change as we evolve 👍🏽
Now that ,its obvious that Breakups are really good sometimes and can make you more happier too 😁
Ending with these beautiful lines that I have come across recently,
THE HUMAN BODY IS MOTHER NATURE'S PRECIOUS GIFT TO US.
SOON WE WILL RETURN IT BACK TO HER.
IN THE TIME WE HAVE, ITS OUR DUTY TO KEEP IT CLEAN, BUSTLING WITH ENERGY AND HEALTH, THE WAY SHE HAS DESIGNED IT TO BE.
Break ups could be heartbreaking and memories keep haunting even after days, months sometimes years. Ofcourse, all breakups are not bad, they might hurt you in the beginning, on a long ago they reward you. This is one such break up journey of mine. And my break up is with Curd ...... yes , you read it right , it all started from the moment I have decided to become a Vegan.
My relationship with curd is from childhood. I do not like milk but I love all the milk products. I have grown up with all those. Almost an year ago, when I came across few videos in internet of cattle abuse, it did disturb me for a while, but that does not stop me from having milk products as they were unconsciously integrated with my life. It was before two weeks, on one fine moment, I do not know what exactly made me decide,but I felt a strong urge and said to myself, "The time has come. I will stop having Dairy products".
The first thing that came to my mind was Paneer, I love Paneer, almost everyday, I used to have paneer either from outside or cook at home. But then I felt its not a big deal, I will stop having it. So I thought and went to kitchen to cook something for lunch.
......................................................................................MEMORIES..................................................................................
As I was cooking, the food memories started coming in my mind.... "So no curd rice from now, curd rice was my saviour, at times of my gastritis, acid reflux, also during my travel times. And no masala curd rice that we prepare during festivals.. thats my favorite of all and no Panchamrutham too.. Somehow I have shut those thoughts by saying of course I can survive without curd rice.
The same day my sister in law came from home town and she brought lemon pickle. Oh my God, curd rice with lemon pickle and avakaya are my favorite too. And Avakaya ghee rice ... uffff... I can not have it too. For a moment, I felt pathetic.
One by one, slowly all my favorite things were coming up in my mind. I can not have cheese.. "Okay, that way I will stop eating pizzas " is what I said to myself to stop my crave over cheese.
But the memories kept coming, Next day after cycling, I went to a restaurant to have breakfast and there I saw DAHI VADA . . .ohhh yummm and then immediately I said to myself " No Sindhu, U can not have it, U had a breakup with it" . The same day evening I passed by a sweetshop that has my favorite rasagulla and rasamalai... it also reminded me of my grandmom's special palkova and Tirupati's famous Basundi. The thought that I can not have them held me down a little. And it went on when my brother and sister in law had Junnu.
I even went to a vegan restaurant in the city to control my cravings and despair.
It might appear to some that "is it a big deal to stop eating something??" I am a big foodie. I love food and any foodie can understand what I went through.
And it might appear to some as if I am being hard on myself by cutting out my favorite things. Cows are considered holy in ancient India as they gives us milk and nourishes us. They were worshipped and milked with utmost respect and love. That was our ancient culture where we used to thank each and every part of nature that helps in our nourishment and wellbeing. It was all changed now. It was a mere business now and the poor cattle have become the victims. Should an animal go through an abuse and torture to satisfy my palate and tummy ??? This thought that what cattle have to go through to get milk from them is what made me hold on to my decision of breaking up with Dairy.
...............................................................HOW DID I OVERCOME?? ..........................................................................................
So this went on , I was dairy free for three days, I started feeling heat in my body as I was not having curd and the summer heat had already started. I included watery vegetables in the diet , started having soaked moong dal and I was drinking lots and lots of water but still I was feeling heat. To this heat what added is that all our family went out to a punjabi restaurant and I was surrounded by the smell of ghee, butter and paneer. I felt breathless and restless. I ordered watermelon juice and went out to have some air. I got frustrated and sent msg to a friend who has recently turned to vegan. She called me and the conversation we had was such a relief. She told me the problems she faced in the beginning and told me not to be so hard , advised me to remove dairy from diet gradually not all of a sudden and gave me few more tips to cope up the heat.
The next day, I made some vegetable dhokla for breakfast, the ginger in it was too hot, remembering my friend's words that not to be too hard I had some curd but then I did not like it somehow, the taste or the feeling that I had it , whatever it is I did not like it. I felt weird.
I started exploring food, vegan websites, vegan vlogs. Then I realised all vegan food was not healthy. I searched for vegan communities in facebook and Instagram, sent my queries to them. I started reading about vegetables and grains that cause heat in the body and how to cool body naturally and got a vague idea to balance them in the diet. After some research I was clear about what I want to eat. . I want to have Healthy Vegan food which is good for the environment and also for my tummy. Ahimsa (Non violence) being the first limb in the eight limbs of yoga meant not causing harm physically and emotionally. And Ahimsa starts from self.
Now, its been two weeks I have stopped having dairy products, yeah I might miss them a little but I do not regret. Also I believe in sometime I will not even miss it. Where there is a will, there is way. Look for possibilities. I made little changes in my diet. I am not feeling the heat anymore.
People can question that if you alone stop eating dairy products will the cattle be saved??
Remember the lines from Mother Theresa,
WE OURSELVES FEEL THAT WHAT WE ARE DOING IS JUST A DROP IN THE OCEAN. BUT THE OCEAN WOULD BE LESS BECAUSE OF THAT MISSING DROP.
So how much ever small it is, my contribution counts and it always starts from SELF
and cutting off the dairy is good for my tummy too, as the milk we get from unethical methods is not good.
and the next common question is how do we get the protein and calcium ????
Mother Nature supplies us everything. No need to worry about it. Its just that we need to correct our dietary and life style practices.
This is the story of how I have evolved from a Happy Vegetarian foodie to a Happy Vegan foodie.
Oh nooo... Now I remember , Chennai Badam milk and Rajahmundry Rose milk 🙈 ... Oh come on . . I am not missing them. I said I used to like them. Our priorities change as we evolve 👍🏽
Now that ,its obvious that Breakups are really good sometimes and can make you more happier too 😁
Ending with these beautiful lines that I have come across recently,
THE HUMAN BODY IS MOTHER NATURE'S PRECIOUS GIFT TO US.
SOON WE WILL RETURN IT BACK TO HER.
IN THE TIME WE HAVE, ITS OUR DUTY TO KEEP IT CLEAN, BUSTLING WITH ENERGY AND HEALTH, THE WAY SHE HAS DESIGNED IT TO BE.
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