This will happen if you do fruit fast for a day

by

Kirti Tarang Pande

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'Charaka Samhita' , the handbook of Ayurveda, is credited to be written by Charaka. So, it is a popular misconception that Charaka was the author of the text. No, Charaka is the title given to him. Charaka, is a Sanskrit word meaning 'the wanderer'. The author was a 'wanderer'. 

This is important here, because this gives us insight into 'why Ayurveda says, what it says'. 

Through his wandering in nature, he discovered the most primitive, easiest and simplest way to have longevity, good health, healing, harmony with nature and most importantly, harmony with oneself- The Fruit Diet.

Since past two years, I am having fruits for dinner daily. Once a year I opt for three months of complete fruit diet. The results have been wonderful, it's not just the body, I love what it has a done to my mind and emotions. 

Therefore, I request everyone to take time out once a week to go on an all fruit diet. Here are the main reasons why:

1. Increases immunity:

By making the body alkaline, it increases our immunity. Just a google search away you will find researches showing how diseases can't survive in an alkalized body. You will also find the following listed as benefits of having a body with right PH balance-

• Deeper more restful sleep
• Reduction of candida overgrowth
• Increased mental acuity or alertness
• Enhanced memory and cognition
• Easier weight loss
• Increased energy
• Better bone health
• Reduced muscle wasting
• Proper cell functioning
• Healthy tissues
• Mitigation of chronic diseases
• Improved cardiovascular health

While there are many ways to alkalize one's body, eating fruits is the most do-able one. It doesn't matter how busy your life is, it doesn't matter how much 'on the go' you are; you can always dig your teeth in an apple or peel a banana.

2. Allows the body to regenerate:

For our body fruits are the easiest to digest, assimilate and eliminate. This means when you are on afruit diet, it's a day off for your internal organs. They are not busy trying to digest your food, your immune system isn't occupied in flushing the gluten out of intestines, so they have time to do more meaningful things, like detoxing, cleansing the digestive track, rejuvenate and regenerate healthy cells.

3. Best anti-aging ever:

This you know already, fruits are rich in antioxidants which slow down aging. This is so much better than expensive, chemical creams, because we become younger from inside.

4. Makes you more joyful:

It is my experience that fruit diet made me more alive, active, happy, peaceful and more in control of my emotions.

5. Will bring you prosperity

Natures works on the principle of give and take. According to Food and Agriculture department of United Nations,  fruit diet reduces our environmental footprint, and it's a significant contribution in conserving the nature. You think about nature, nature will remember you and reward you. Not to forget the Good Karma you get by saving the world!

How to do fruit diet right way?

1. Start in a sustainable fashion

Follow a pattern that's sustainable as a life long ritual, come rain or shine. So, that would be weekly fruit fasts. Just one day, every week, only fruit diet. It's easy, it's do-able right?

2. Pick right day

It's important to make the weekly, food diet ritual sustainable. I like Mondays for an all fruit diet. This is because:

• I like to start the new week on a positive note, I am doing something good for my body and for the environment
• The cleanses the sins of weekends
• Mondays have least chances of having a social commitment of dinners and lunches etc.
• Monday, is a day of Shiva- the father of yoga. Being a yogi, this day has great spiritual significance in my life. Fasting in the name of Shiva, facilitates my growth as a yogi

3. Only three meals a day

The idea fruit fast is to the take load off our body so that it gets a chance to rejuvenate and regenerate. This is not going to happen, if we keep giving it food to digest. So, just have three meals breakfast, lunch and diner. No mid meal snacking. Yes, the cup of tea, green tea, coffee, a bunch of dry fruits that's snacking. Anything other than water is snacking.

4. Stay hydrated

Sip water every 15 minutes. This way our neuro-system gets a steady supply of electrolytes and we don't feel weak. Please, don't think that guzzling litres of water in morning will help your cause because:

a. It will not result in steady supply of electrolytes

b. Tax your kidneys. Giving them a bulk to process is just the opposite of giving them a rest day.

5. Pick a mono fruit, instead of a platter

Just like nature made each one of us unique, it made every fruit unique too. This means to digest different kinds of fruits, our body needs different types of enzymes. This means more work. However, this is the rest day of our body. So don't mix fruits. If you're having oranges for lunch, eat ten oranges if you're that hungry, but please eat only oranges.

6. Have variety

Mono fruit doesn't mean no variety. Variety is essential, since it ensures more nutrition. Our body requires a plethora of vitamins and minerals, but in traces. Having different types of fruits ensures that we give the body the nutrition that it seeks. So, if you start your day with a citrus fruit in breakfast, have something fleshy like papaya or banana for lunch, you can end your day with something green like grapes.

7. Close your plate at 7pm

Please don't eat after 7pm. That's the most important part of rest day. If we stop eating at 7 and then we eat directly at 8am the next morning our body gets 13 hours of rest, including 7 hours of deep rest through sleep. This is the finishing stroke that our body needs to regenerate.

8. Eat only fruits

Remember, if you're adding, salt, sugar, honey, flax seeds etc then it's not a mono fruit diet, you will not reap the benefits.   

Happy fruit fasting :)
I would love to know your experience of it.

Vegan Dessert Challenge- Day 5

- Kirti Tarang Pande

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 Mango- Cashews Fudge

Ingredients:

1. Fine ground cashews- 1/4 cup
2. Grated/ Powdered Jaggery- 1 (tbsp)
3. Coconut flour- 1/3 cup (optional)
4. Water- 1 tbsp
5. Salt - a pinch
6. Mango puree- 1 cup
7. Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
8. Mashed Banana- 1 (if required)

Disclaimer:

Making mango fudge is little tricky for following reasons:

1. No matter how accurate your recipe is the mango is a uncontrolled variable. The amount of jaggery required depends upon how sweet the mango is. The mango that I have used is plucked from my garden, so I know how tangy it is, especially when the season has not yet properly arrived. I have used 1 tbsp of jaggery because I like  tangy & I don't want sweetness to overpower the flavor of cashews. I like things subtle but go with your palette. The trick is- less sugar is okay, you can always fix it by mashing bananas in it in the end.

2. We never know how thick the puree of mango will turn out to be. If it's too liquid, it becomes a test of patience.

3. For beginners dry roasting cashews in iron pan maybe difficult, so it's okay to use a non-stick in this case 

Method:

1. Boil jaggery with water in a deep bowl, till it you get the three string consistency. Another way to check consistency is take a bowl of water, add a drop of mixture to it. If it falls into the bottom in the shape of a ball, it's done.

2. Dry roast cashews & salt in an iron pan till they turn golden in a low flame.

3. Add jaggery syrup & the puree. Increase the flame. Let it boil, till you get the right consistency of a fudge. The mixture will become like a non-stick clay happily dancing to your tune in the pan. This tests patience. So, to fasten the process, you can add coconut flour too. I don't do it. I like the taste to be pure.
5. Drop the mixture in a parchment & press down with spatula. Allow it to cool & let it chill for an hour.

Vegan Dessert Challenge- Day 4

- Kirti Tarang Pande

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 Walnut Halwa

Ingredients:

1. Coarsely Crushed Walnuts- 1 cup
2. Grated/ Powdered Jaggery- 3/4 cup
3. Fennel seeds- 1 tsp (only in summers)
4. Water- 1/2 cup
5. Coconut milk - 1 cup
6. Rawa (semolina)- 1tbsp
7. Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Boil jaggery with water & fennel seeds in a deep bowl, till it melts. Avoid fennel seeds if it's not too hot, since their aroma empowers walnuts'. Don't over boil jaggery otherwise you won't get the right consistency.

2. Dry roast semolina in an iron pan till it turns golden.Semolina prevents the halwa from becoming pasty.

3. Add the walnuts and cook over low flame till the mixture becomes dark brown like chocolate (approx 7 minutes). I prefer walnuts coarsely crushed to because of the texture it bring.
4. Add jaggery syrup, cardamom powder & coconut milk. Increase the flame. Let it boil till it becomes dry.
5. Serve hot. I love it so much that I don't garnish it with anything.

How is it different:

Tastes same. Looks same. Equally rich (courtesy: Omega 3 of walnuts).

Vegan Dessert Challenge- Day 3

- Kirti Tarang Pande

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 Til Ke Laddoo

This is the simplest & quickest dessert in the world! Takes me just 5 minutes. So, I make it on the days, I have 6 am yoga class, so that I can wrap up with my cooking & be in Shala on time.

Ingredients:

1. White Til- 1 cup
2. Grated/ Powdered Jaggery- 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Dry roast tilin a heavy bottom iron pan.

2. Grind the til & jaggery together in the mixer
3. Roll out lemon sized balls. The oil from till will hold your laddoo together.
You're done!

How is it different:

It's not :)

Vegan Dessert Challenge: Day 2

- Kirti Tarang Pande

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 Oats Kasar

Ingredients:

1. Oats- 1 cup
2. Grated/ Powdered Jaggery- 3/4 cup
3. Saunf- 1 tbsp
4. Water- 4 tbsps
5. Geated Coconut - 1 tbsp
6. Peanut Butter- 1tbsp
7. Cashew nut & Golden Raisins: For Garnish

Method:

1. Dry roast Oats in a heavy bottom iron pan. It will bring out nice aroma to it. Don't let it turn turn brown. If your pan is nicely hot, it won't take more than 5 seconds. Clear the oats off the pan.

2. Dry roast grated coconut. Its aroma will compliment oats'. Clear it from the pan.

3. Add water in the pan. When it starts boiling (It happens quickly) add jaggery. When jaggery starts melting, add saunf to it. The taseer of jaggery is hot, in summers one must neutralize it with cooling effect of saunf.
4. When the jaggery dissolves add oats & coconut to it.

Side step:
At this point, I moist my palms with oil & roll 3 lemon sized laddoos for my husband (he is watching his calories)

Back to main cooking: 

5. When the mixture is dry, turn off the flame & add peanut butter. I make peanut butter at home- The usual way, just replace honey with Maple Syrup, because; a. I am Vegan, b. Ayurveda frowns upon mixing honey, oil & salt.

6. Garnish with raisins & almonds. 

How is it different:

Traditionally kasar is made by frying atta in ghee. So, this tastes nothing like the traditional one. It's not better/worse, it's totally different.

Vegan Dessert Challenge: Day 1

- Kirti Tarang Pande

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Whenever we begin a new batch in our Shala, before I talk about Yoga, I talk about food. I do so on the last day & every other day!

The reason is simple. In Yogic Philosophy our gross body is referred to as 'Annamayakosa'. This means that this gross body is a sheath made of matter. This matter is the Panch Maha Bhoota (Five basic Elements) that we consume via food. In one sentence it would be: The food that we eat, makes us who we are.

In fact, if you're hosting a Yogi, the first thing the sadhak'll do upon entering your house is to takeover your kitchen. We have many rules regarding food. Sankhya Darshan (Philosophy from which Yoga & Ayurveda originates) discuss food before touching Ayurveda or Yoga. In food, before touching what to eat, it has a treatise on when & how to eat!

So, now you know how passionate we Yogis' are about our food.

In my personal practice, the rules that I found challenging in the beginning were:

1. Ahimsak/ non violent food- This meant no diary & honey

2. Only fresh food

3. No white sugar. Only natural sweeteners- jaggery, maple syrup. 

4. Nothing cooked in a microwave. 

The challenge came from my sweet tooth. I love to have some dessert at lunch. Can you think of a dessert that fits the above four criteria?

Initially even I couldn't. Then my mother suggested 'Murmure ke laddoo'. This opened a window of creativity & recipes began pouring in. 

As I spoke with more & more vegan people, I realized that they too struggle with gratifying their sweet cravings. This gave birth to #7Days7DessertsChallenge on my instagram. Today, being Day 1, I have picked up is different recipe.

It's different from other recipes because it takes 45 minutes to make it & requires efforts. Others are 15 minutes quicikies. You're going to meet them tomorrow onwards.

Today, let me introduce you to:

  Moong Dal Halwa

Ingredients:

1. Moong Dal, yellow & split- 1 cup
2. Grated/ Powdered Jaggery- 1 cup
3. Rose Water- 2 tsp
4. Cardamon- 4
5. Water- 2 cups
6. Coconut milk- 1 cup
7. Golden raisins- 1tbsp
8. Cashew nut- 1tbsp
9. Grated cocunut/ Rose syrup (optional)
10. Coconut oil: 1 tsp (in non-stick), 1 tbsp (in iron pan)

Method:

1. Overnight soak one cup moong dal in enough water.

2. Without using water, grind the dal into a smooth or coarse paste. Coarse adds texture & you can move to Step 3 quicker. Smooth is easy to cook. I prefer smooth.

3. Heat coconut oil in deep, heavy bottom pan. Amateurs must use non-stick, because the paste is sticky. Pros can try iron pan. Sankhya Darshan advocates for iron & frowns upon non-sticks.

Side step:

As the oil is being heated, on a different flame boil coconut milk with water & jaggery. Once it's boiled, lower the flame & let it simmer.

Back to main cooking: 

4. Now this the part that requires efforts & patience- roast the most dal paste. There will be three stages-

a. The mixture will be all sticky- use low flame & keep scratching it off with a wooden ladder.

b. Lumps formation- work your way through lumps

c. Lumps will disintegrate- can use medium/high flame- keep stirring till the mixture is powdery  

For 1 cup of all dal this step takes 25 minutes.

5. Add the coconut milk mixture, cardamon, raisins & almonds. On high flame allow the water to evaporate & the mixture to get the powdery consistency back. Towards the end, add rose water, here the mixture will require attention, stirring & low flame.

6. Take it off the flame. Garnish with raisins & almonds. My mother would use grated coconut too but husband doesn't like it, so I add rose syrup. 

7. Have it hot. 

How is it different:

Traditionally, 1 cup of mood dal will require 9/10 tbsp of ghee to get the right flavor. Also, instead of coconut milk, full fat milk is used. Rose water has no place in the recipe.

So obviously, this version has less calories. This however, comes at the cost of sacrificing the richness that comes from ghee. Moreover, frying dal in ghee brings out its irresistible aroma. That's the reason why I use rose water & rose syrup. It's nothing like the nose of moong dal but it blends well with coconut milk & the halwa still gets an aroma.  A yogi can't get too greedy after all :)