Namo's Peanut Butter Banana Jelly

Snacking is probably a commonly shared favourite ritual of many of us. Now where healthy eating seems to be such a chore, most snacking choices are bound to be picked by unhealthy desires. 

My friend Namo, however, transferred her sweet tooth fetish on a nutritious banana by adding to it a generous spread of peanut butter, a pinch of cinnamon and a zigzag drip of brown rice syrup. 

Ingredients:

Banana

Whole Earth's Crunchy Peanut Butter - made of only peanuts and contains no added sugar!

Biona Organic Brown Rice Syrup - a healthy, yet sweet, alternative to maple syrup 

Cinnamon powder

I just tried it out myself (pictures below), and it tastes as beautiful as it looks. 

Happy snacking!

#LaughingAnanas #VeganVarieties

Zizzi goes Vegan!

Pizza. Everyone knows pizza, everyone eats pizza. Kids grow up eating pizza, in fact, according to a recent Gallup poll, kids between 3 to 11 years of age prefer pizza over all other foods. Americans alone eat about 100 acres of pizza each day, translating into 350 slices of pizza eaten each second. Crazy? Not at all. It's only normal. Pizza is like the world's staple food.

In fact, in going vegan, I'm sure one of the biggest concerns one can have is how they will ever eat their pizza again. It surprises me how some of the mainstream restaurants don't take the dietary requirements of their vegan customers into consideration. They're not naive or unaware, just ignorant by choice. I make this claim based on experience. Last year, I wrote to PizzaExpress about the growing customer concern for restaurants to get their dietary needs right, in the hope they would take my recommendation of pizza infused with vegan cheese into consideration. And now, a year has passed by and I'm still in the hope of a surprise announcement from PizzaExpress introducing vegan cheese, or at least a reply to that email. 

Anyhow, the patience of the vegan community hasn't gone unanswered. Zizzi has done it! Can't believe I'm just finding out about this! In their March 2016 update, Zizzi announced a whole new vegan pizza with actual vegan cheese for their vegan customers. This is way beyond exciting! Zizzi is also the first restaurant chain in the UK to offer a vegan pizza with a mozzerella substitute. I highly recommend other restaurants to follow their lead, and I absolutely cannot wait to try this one out! #HappyTimes

Meanwhile, check out some Instagram pictures of people who tried it and reviewed it to be 'amazing':

A photo posted by VEGAN FOOD IN LONDON 🍴🍔 (@vegansofldn) on Apr 23, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT

A photo posted by Em Olivia (@emilyoliviatapp) on May 1, 2016 at 1:52pm PDT

A photo posted by Classic Maumau🦄 (@maumaulafrite) on Mar 23, 2016 at 9:06am PDT

A photo posted by 🌺🌻Joanne Chamberlain🌻🌺 (@joanne.avril) on Apr 2, 2016 at 1:05pm PDT

#LaughingAnanas

Bella's Battered Tofu #VeganVarieties

Vegans are frequently misunderstood as abnormal herbivores who choose to eat grass and miss out on protein, despite having the choice to do otherwise. Alongside this popular belief, they're also termed as boring individuals who'd rather live on supplements than eating a living, breathing animal. 

There is a severe lack of awareness about vegans and veganism. The goal of this post is not to impart more knowledge on animal cruelty than we already have out there, as let's face it, most of us are content playing the role of informed ignorants. So let's sidetrack from the primary motivation of veganism and have a go at raising awareness beyond animal exploitation, and against the so-called 'boredom' of a vegan diet. In all honesty, vegan food can be as varied as you would like it to be. All you have to do is start creating!

Every now and then, I'll post featured recipes of food you wouldn't imagine to be vegan, along with their health benefits that'll assure you keep away from supplements and attain a well balanced diet. So if you have a great recipe, a signature meal or anything that's fancy and vegan, you can share it with me for a feature on Laughing Ananas. Find my contact details at the end of this post. 

TODAY'S FEATURE: Battered Tofu, by TheVeganSurvivalGuide 

Ingredients

Battered tofu:

1 brick firm tofu

3 cups vegetable oil (this quantity may vary for every individual)

1 cup brown rice flour

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp of salt

Pinch of pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup sparkling water (cold)

Veggies:

4 heads baby bok choy, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces 

1/2 cup button mushrooms, chopped 

1/4 cup trimmed and chopped spring onions

1 red bell pepper, chopped  

Sesame seeds to top 

Sauce:

Sweet and sour sauce (store bought or make your own) 

Recipe

Drain the brick of tofu and cut it into bite-sized cubes. Place on a paper towel to absorb excess water while preparing the batter. 

Prepare the batter by combining the flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic powder and pepper all together in a mixing bowl. 

Now, prepare the vegetables in a separate saucepan with heated oil. Add all of the vegetables and cook for 5-8 minutes, adding the sweet and sour sauce towards the end. 

During that time, add the sparkling water to the batter mixture and combine well.

In a medium pot, heat the vegetable oil. This is to prepare the tofu, the quantity of the oil is dependent on how well you want to fry the tofu. The healthier option is obviously lesser oil and less frying. 

Using your hands, coat 3-4 cubes of tofu in the batter and drop each one (carefully) into the frying oil.

Fry for 2-3 minutes or until crispy. 

Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and let them sit on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Continue this process with the remaining tofu cubes. 

Add the tofu cubes to the sauce and vegetables and mix together before serving with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. 

You can have this with brown rice, or on it's own.

Health Benefits

Tofu is made from soybeans curds which are gluten-free and low calorie, contain no cholesterol and are an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium for vegans. 

It is also an excellent source of micronutrients such as essential amino acids, and contains the minerals zinc and vitamin B1. It is well acknowledged to provide the protection against cancer and heart disease in the same way soya beans do. Soya protein also helps lower the levels of bad cholesterol! 

Bok Choy is a rich source of vitiamins C, A and K. It also contains important proteins and dietary fibre. It is very nutrient dense which helps promote strong bones, a healthy heart and protects from cancer. 

____

Hope you enjoyed that recipe. For a feature, contact me on: laughingananas@gmail.com or you can also follow me and DM me on Instagram. 
And don't forget to follow Bella on TheVeganSurvivalGuide, she's great!

#LaughingAnanas

Ben and Jerry's go Vegan!

Since the day I saw Preity Zinta eating Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie in Salaam Namaste, there isn't anything I've craved more!

Just look at that!

Sadly though, I never satisfied the craving as the ice cream contained egg. Every time I would pass the ice cream section in Tesco I would look at Ben & Jerry's ingredients to see if the Chocolate Fudge Brownie still contains egg. I even wrote to them, and wished that somehow, just somehow they create an eggless version of this ice cream.

AND OH MY GOD!

They've done it! Ben & Jerry's decided to go eggless! And not just eggless, they've gone full on dairyless aka VEGAN! Excuse the exclamation marks, I'm just so excited! The dream has come to the bowl! They've used Almond milk and vegan brownies from Greyston Bakery to make this goodness. And beyond chocolate fudge brownie, they've also launched three other vegan flavours; Chunky Monkey, Coffee Caramel Fudge and P.B. & Cookies.

   

Unfortunately, there's still gonna be some wait for the rest of the world as these have just been launched in the US for now. But patience! They've launched them in US, they'll launch them soon in UK and everywhere else too. Can't wait. While we're waiting, check out their dairyless video:

Unbelievable. Thank you Ben and thank you Jerry!

#LaughingAnanas

I didn't eat food for 7 days...

Specially dedicated to Mayuri Tailor; thank you for always inspiring.

No food? What about water?

During this 7-day period, I renounced any form of food. However, I was still consuming water. In this form of fasting, I would consume only boiled water, from sunrise till sunset, and none after. 

Why would I do this type of water fasting?

1. To cleanse. We take showers every morning to clean the outsides of our bodies, but what do we really do to keep the insides of our bodies clean? Not much I believe. Even if you try your best to eat the healthiest foods in your daily lives, I promise you are still ingesting lots and lots of toxins. In this case, your best option to get rid of these bodily toxins is to cleanse your body. Fasting is the most natural and effective way of cleansing your body, for real. 

Here's how it works. When you stop ingesting food during your fast, your body will have a lot more energy than usual as it ceases to expend this energy on digesting food. This allows your body to invest time and energy in removing the built-up toxins that your body must've housed for decades.

During your fast, you will experience your body undergoing a complete cleanse in several forms:

• Your urine will be as clear as the water you drink
• Your body odour will cease to exist and you will no longer require deodorant
• Your skin will start to naturally glow and you will notice that your acne, dry skin and any other skin conditions saying goodbye to you, leaving you with a rejuvenated skin
• Your body will excrete odourless stool - the unimaginable!

Try it and see for yourself!

2. To be able to take a step back from our routine lives and observe ourselves and the world around us as a third person. In my experience, fasting allows for this. Withdrawing from the sense of taste allows a step back from the day-to-day habitual eating that we conform to without thinking. We are able to better focus on the idea of 'eat to live' rather than 'live to eat'. The idea of renouncing food might seem extremely bizarre, but is it really? Try it to realize that eating, in reality, is not the essence of our existence. Surely we need food for our basic survival, but its the indulgence in food that is not required and strips us from our natural state of being. 

Practicing this fast can help you pull out from your ego and see yourself in the light you see everyone else in, as a third person. A reduced indulgence to your senses also helps you reduce your sense of self, and you will be more able to see the world beyond your own perspective with an increasing sense of compassion. You will also be more equipped to differentiate between an action and an actor. Being able to hold an objective view of the world as opposed to the one that's subjective from one's own perspective, I believe, is an extremely important quality to develop and harness. This allows for a non-judgmental view on events, alongside enabling you to act practically rather than acting impulsively and irrationally. 

For instance, imagine yourself in a situation where you're in a fight with your best friend. With an objective view that helps you separate your best friend as an actor from their action of misbehavior, you are more able to think rationally about the problem and think of solutions to end the problem. Alternatively, with a subjective view that bases its judgment only on your own perspective, you are more inclined to indulge in a blame game whereby your ego blames the entire fight on your best friend, sees you as a victim and your friend as a perpetrator and refuses to find a solution. 

You decide, which one is better? 

3. To be able to meditate and reach your desired state of mind faster. It's true, meditations can go deeper while fasting. An empty food-less body is far more likely to experience the higher chakras in a meditative state. I definitely recommend fasting to those who want to meditate, but have difficulty in doing so. In my experience, fasting makes meditation so much easier in that the intensity of the train noticeably diminishes. This is because once your digestive system is shut down, the vibrations in your body owed to meditation are permitted to flow through your body with a lot more intensity.

Try meditating at the end of a fasting day and see for yourself! 

Tips 

• Only continue your fast till you feel fine physically. Do not fast if you start feeling weak, stressed and close to fainting. There is no point in putting your health at stake to commit to a fast. Your body is very important as it's a temple that houses your mind. With a broken temple, it'd be very tough to reach your mind. 
• Only continue your fast till you feel fine mentally. Do not fast if you start feeling mentally weak, irritable and moody. This beats the point as these feelings will disrupt your willpower, meditation and your overall well-being.
• Try to keep your body hydrated with water, as you don't want to have your body dry out. You might find yourself feeling sick of water, but try to maintain a continuous consumption of water. If you are not able to do this, I would advice you to drop the fast.
• Feed your mind with not just meditation, but also good reads as this will strengthen your willpower and harness your mind. 
• Fasting should not be mistaken with dieting or taken as a means losing weight. Trust me it will not work. As soon as you end your fast, you will gain back all you lost, and really there's no point of putting your body through that if losing weight is your end goal. You're much better off exercising! 
• Be careful in what you eat once your fast ends. For a few days after it ends, I recommend you keep yourself on liquids such as soups, lentils and these:

Raab

Sugar Water

Warnings

• You will urinate a lot more than usual - D'uh!
• You will start losing weight, which you will also gain back very soon once you drop the fast
• You will stop producing stool after the first two days - don't worry, this is absolutely normal!
• You will feel either very cold or very hot - again, this is normal
• You will need to eat healthier food once your fast ends to rebuild your stock of vitamins et al

Let me know...

If you'd like to share your fasting experience, or have any more questions about fasting, do let me know! Leave a comment below or send me an email on laughingananas@gmail.com and I will get back to you!

#LaughingAnanas

iDrink Green Juice

In case your mother never told you; Green Juice is the meanest kind of good for your mind, body and health. So start drinking!

Here's how to make it ...

Veggies you need:

1. Broccoli

This natural detoxifier is packed with Iron and Vitamin C. Want to look and feel young? The antioxidant properties of this green, fight and defeat skin damage, and contribute towards maintaining healthy skin. 

2. Celery

Eye problems? This green helps promote eye health, making sure they're fit and fine. Its richness in vitamin A helps combat age-related degeneration of vision.

3. Kale

This low in calorie, but high on nutrients green also assures skin and eye health. You can find one too many nutrients in the leaves of Kale, including iron, magnesium, copper potassium, phosphorus, vitamin A, vitamin C, among many others.

4. Cucumber

Forgetting a lot lately? Start juicing cucumber! This green not only improves your memory, but it also protects nerve cells from age-related degeneration. Really, it keeps your brain healthy, wealthy, and wise, and also helps get rid of your bad breath causing bacteria!

5. Spinach

If you don't know about this green, you don't know anything. Even Popeye popped open his can of spinach every time he was in trouble; so what are you waiting for? Iron and protein, skin and hair, it can help you with all, and that's rare!

6. Apple  

An apple a day, still keeps doctor away. Worried about your weight? Start eating apples! This low calorie fruit satisfies hunger as it contains a lot of water and fools the body into believing it's eaten a lot. The fiber in apple juice also makes you feel full and prevents overeating.

7. Lime

Packed with vitamin C, this green works as a brilliant antioxidant! And it totally makes your juice tastier. So don't forget to squeeze some in!

And together they make ...

... Green Juice!

iEat Avocado Toast

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Simple but Genius!

It's almost like my new tradition. I fall asleep after a big long day, go to the nicest places in my dreams - up the mountains and under the water of course, wake up when my alarm starts screaming at me, get myself on a Yoga mat to burn off my totally unnecessary carbs and run straight to the kitchen bewitched by the thought of my Avocado waiting for me to crack it open and destroy it. 

My Cracked Open Avo :)

A Recipe for Blessing

Key Ingredients:

A pinch of sea salt
A dash of black pepper
A drop of lemon
A slice of bread
A hint of excitement
And a very questionable Avocado

The Avo-Tomato Duet on my Chop Board

There's a lot you can do to this fruit to make it yummy in your tummy, I generally like to dissect it into thin, long strips for starters. 

You might also want to chop a tomato for your toast (optional), I like to.   

The rest is really a personal choice, some hand mash the Avocado while others like them in strips for their toast. I have phases - at times mashed, at times shredded pieces. Whatever you do, don't forget to sprinkle some salt, lemon and lots of black pepper. And drizzling some olive oil on top of it all, is always a good idea.

I've started to realize that a nice healthy breakfast in the morning really defines the rest of your day. My new Avo Toast tradition leaves me feeling fresh and energetic for the rest of my day! In fact, Leo Widrich, the Co-founder and COO at Buffer, points out How your Productivity is Determined by What you Eat in his blog. And especially eating Avocados is believed to lower bad cholesterol, and improve learning and muscle function. See for yourself!

In the meantime ..

PRESENTING MY AVO TOAST!

Type A - Long pieces with sprinkled black pepper et al.

Type B - Mashed Avo with grilled Halloumi

Type C - Mashed Avo with an evil smile

Try it, and let me know how you liked it. Stay healthy, wealthy and wise. And, for more Avo experiments and recipes, check out The Scoop Avocado Blog.

Bon Appétit! :)