¿No time to be a vegan? Start with this quick & easy recipe.

Sometimes I wish I could say that I turned to veganism primarily for ethical reasons, that being aware of animal suffering made me change my eating habits. But, the truth is that I started to eliminate animal products from my diet mainly for health reasons. In 2007 I discovered I had cancer (you can read the Elephant Journal post HERE: Yoga vs. Cancer. | elephant journal). I was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 27. Being that young, I could not grasp the fact that I had a life threatening disease. As I started to learn more about healthier lifestyles, I found out that by eliminating all meat and dairy products from my diet, I had a bigger chance to survive.

We all have cancer cells in our bodies. For a tumor to grow, it takes a large amount of cells sticking together to form an amalgam of blood vessels. Imagine a tight Ping-Pong ball made of arteries, just like that. Most of the times, when diagnosed it is already too late. In my case I had to deal with surgery, chemo and radiation. But aside from the treatment I learned that in order to kill those cancer cells properly I had to starve them. So, how did I do that? It was actually very simple. I became a vegan.

In the process of becoming healthier I also understood that being vegetarian for ethical reasons (vegan) was also my way of becoming a better person in the world. I want to continue doing my best to not contribute to the chain of mass slaughtering and suffering of other sentient beings, and to help other do so as well. Just to clarify, as Jules Febre said it well, vegetarianism and veganism are interchangeable terms. Vegetarian means somebody who eats vegetation, therefore milk is not vegetation and eggs are not vegetation. What happened was that, for some reason, people came up with a new word to define what the original word meant: getting rid of absolutely all animal products. That said, ethical vegetarianism o veganism is the same, it is about causing the least amount of harm possible towards other beings.

Nowadays, some people still believe vegans don’t get enough protein, that it is just another diet or that it is just a trend. The fact is, that not only does it prevent animal suffering, being vegan saves our planet from for further environmental damage and prevents us from horrible diseases that could end our life on earth before our time comes. It is our responsibility to take care of the bodies we have been given to withstand our journey until our time to leave this planet comes, but not before that. Just like we have to keep our vehicles in optimal conditions when we take a long road trip, so it doesn’t leave us stranded in the middle of the road, we must keep an eye on our bodies because they are the shelter of our soul.

I enjoy making my own recipes based on the information I have gotten over years of research. Here is one super easy and quick to prepare meal that will keep you nourish and energetic. It will also save you a lot of time and effort. If you like it, there will be more on the way. So feel free to comment and share!

Hot Veggie Pasta Bowl

Ingredients: tofu, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans (1 small can), corn (1 small can), mushrooms, carrots & Vegetable Fusilli (corkscrew pasta), coriander, raisins, cayenne pepper, mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and a whole lot of love.

Preparation: properly wash all the vegetables and cut them into small pieces. Boil water in a medium pot and throw in the veggies (except green beans and corn, just rinse them with filtered water). Leave them for 2 or 3 minutes. In a small pot cook some pasta (the desire amount; I like to use less pasta than veggies). Strain the ingredients and the pasta. Mix them together with green beans, corn and some raisins. Mix a tablespoon of olive oil, another one of soy sauce and mustard to taste. Sprinkle the mix on top. Garnish with coriander.

Enjoy!

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