25.10.2013 ►Jain Vegans ►Events & News

The Young Jains vegan mithai demonstration and social was a great success, with almost 70 people attending and over 12 people bringing in delicious mithai to share.  Do not worry if you missed out, recipes from the demonstrations are provided below.

 Ingredients: 

• 100g creamed coconut
• 150g coarsely ground pistachios
• 50g maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom powder
• Flaked almonds and whole pistachio nuts (for decoration only)

Instructions:

1. Melt the creamed coconut by placing it in a bowl on top of a pan of hot water.
2. In another bowl mix all the ingredients together.  
3. Use your hands to knead the mixture to distribute the flavours evenly. 
4. Pour the mixture into a mould, lined with cling film.
5. Leave to cool down for 10minutes, and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. Cut to size

Recipe initially developed by Anabel Zalvidar and adapted by Nishma Shah.

Ingredients:

• 250g dates (1 packet)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 bowl of mixed nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews), roughly ground/chopped
• Desiccated coconut

Instructions:

1. Roughly chop the dates (removing any stones) and place in a large saucepan.
2. Add the water and heat for about 15 minutes until the dates have softened and formed a paste-like consistency.
3. Add the nuts and mix well
4. Once mixed together, roll the mixture into cylindrical rolls, about 4cm in diameter.
5. Coat the rolls in dessicated coconut, cover with greaseproof paper and put in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
6. When ready to eat, slice the rolls into 1cm thick pieces. 

Recipe kindly provided by Rehma Chandaria

 Ingredients:

• 200g vegan dark chocolate
• 7 tablespoons of melted vegan vanilla ice cream
• 1 tablespoon of crushed roasted hazelnuts (optional)
• 30g grated chocolate (for coating the truffles)

Instructions:

1. Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a large bowl placed over a pan of hot water until smooth.
2. While the chocolate is melting, warm up the vanilla icecream to the chocolate to room temperature.
3. Once the chocolate is melted. Spoon in the vanilla icecream and hazelnuts and mix until you have a smooth mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into a plate lined with greaseproof paper. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Then put the plate into the fridge for another 45 minutes.
5. Once the mixture is completely solid. Remove from the fridge and cut into small (truffle size) pieces using a knife. Roll each piece into a ball, and then coat using grated chocolate

Recipe from Sagar Shah

Here is the perfect opportunity to see how easy it is to go vegan. Register for Animal Aid’s ‘Great  Vegan Challenge’, and join hundreds of other people all going vegan this November.

You’ll be provided with all the support and advice you need - everything from daily recipes, advice on nutrition, tips on which are the best places to shop, and a telephone hotline for any difficult questions. You’ll even be entered into a free prize draw for a hamper full of vegan goodies!

Simply go to http://www.govegan.org.uk/ and register your interest. It’s easier than you think

We are delighted to announce that Scri Chandana Vidyapeeth will be holding Diwali Celebrations on Sunday 3 November, and plan to have vegan friendly alternatives (including vegan chaas and vegan mithai) as part of the planned meal.  This means that those attending will be able to fully enjoy Diwali celebrations without contributing to the killing of cows and calves in dairy production.

Full details of the event and instructions on how to obtain tickets are set out in the image below.

 

1. Dr. Melanie Joy Lecture - Harvard-educated pyschologist Dr Melanie Joy delivered an excellent lecture to an audience of over 200 people at the British Library on Friday 11 October.   For those who missed out, you can see a very similar lecture by Dr Joy at the following link.  Many thanks to the Institute of Jainology for organising this event. 

Melanie Joy speaking at the British Libary

Read Dr Melanie Joy's IOJ Ahimsa Award 2013 acceptance speech

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2. Poster featuring foods that are suitable for followers of religions

Constantin (of the Vegan Society of France) recently shared on the Jain Vegans e-group a poster featuring foods that would be suitable for followers of all religions and cultural backgrounds.  The poster is a key output from the Eating Together project, and featured input from several members of the Jain community, including Kewal Shah, Malini Shah, Vinodbhai Kapashi and Harshad Sanghrajka.

3.  Page dedicated to cruelty to cows in dairy farming on AtmaDharma.com

Rajesh and Jyoti of Atmadharma.com, have now uploaded a section dedicated to raising awareness of the cruelty to cows in dairy production on their website.  The site has now been observed by people around the world and has Rajesh and Jyoti have received considerable positive feedback.

To view the page, please visit: http://www.atmadharma.org/shastras/vegetarian_food_and_jain_conduct_eng_txt/vfjcmpmilk.html

If you are based in Manchester or Leicester, the following events are not to be missed!

Manchester Vegan Fair

Date: Sunday 2 November
Time: 11am to 5pm
Venue: Methodist Church, Central Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester city
centre, M1 1JQ.
Further information: www.facebook.com/events/410298329077140


Leicester Vegan Fair

Date: Saturday 23 November
Time: 10:30am to 3:30pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Queens Road, Leicester.
Further information: www.facebook.com/vegan2013/info

Leicester Vegan Fair 2012

For a comprehensive list of upcoming vegan fairs in the UK, please see: http://london.vegfest.co.uk/uk-vegan-fairs

West Midlands Vegan Festival (Wolverhampton), Saturday 26th October
Further details: www.midlandsveganfestival.org.uk

London Vegans Speaker Evening (Central London), Wednesday 30 October
Aris Tsontzos from Global Poverty Project
Further details: http://www.londonvegans.org.uk/

Brecknock Road (Kentish Town) Vegan Festival, Saturday 9 November
Featuring the Third Estate Vegan Shoe Shop, Wills Vegan Shoes, Bumblebee Health Foods, the Mighty Fork and the Vegan Society.
Further details: http://fatgayvegan.com/2013/10/08/brecknock-road-vegan/
 
North East Vegan Festival (Sunderland), Sunday 17th November
Further details: www.northeastveganfestival.co.uk

London Vegans Speaker Evening (Central London), Wednesday 27 November
Ranjan Joshi on why "Veganism is a feminist: issue.
Further details: http://www.londonvegans.org.uk/

Animal Aid's Christmas Fayre (Kensington Town Hall, London), Sunday 8th December
Further details: www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_living//2724//

The abuse and killing of cows on dairy farms is the main reason why many members of the Jain community have decided to make a switch to a vegan lifestyle:

1. The cow is forcefully impregnated by means of artificial insemination. If a cow isn’t made pregnant, she won’t produce milk.
2. The newborn calf is normally taken away from its mother within 24-48 hours. This is traumatic for cows, who, like human mothers, are very motherly and develop strong bonds with their babies.
3. Male calves are killed shortly after birth or sold on for meat/leather production.  They have no other use to dairy farmers.
4. Female calves are kept on to replace their mothers as milk-producing cows.
5. The mother cow will be killed when 5-7 years old, even though she could live for 20 to 30 years if given the chance.  This is because after bearing a calf and giving milk each year, her milk yield drops such that it is no more profitable for a dairy farmer to keep her alive.

Even though cows on organic farms might experience slightly better conditions, they are still artificially inseminated and killed long before they would leave their bodies. For further information about the way in which cows and other animals are exploited in the milk production process, please visit the Vegan Society website: http://www.vegansociety.com/

It is possible to get a range of dairy free alternatives to traditionally animal based products. Normally available from free-from sections of supermarkets and also from healthfood stores. 

• Cow milk with Soya/Rice/Almond/Coconut Milk (Supermarket ownbrands, Alpro, Provamel, Bonsoy, So Good, Ecomil, Koko)
• Yoghurt / Dahi with plant based curds (Provamel, Alpro, Sojade)
• Butter with vegetable spreads (Pure and Vitalite are commonly available from supermarkets. Note many margarines contain butter milk and thus are not suitable for vegans)
• Cheese / Paneer with Dairy Free Cheeses (Tofu, Redwoods Cheezly,Scheese,Tofutti, Vegusto, Vegourmet)
• Ice Creams with sorbets or dairy free ice creams (Rice Dream,Swedish Glace,Tofutti, Booja Booja, Worthenshaws)
• Chocolate with dark chocolate (Plamil and Organica do specialist dairy free ‘milk chocolate’ and many brands do vegan dark chocolate)
• Eggs with egg replacement powder (baking) or tofu (scrambled)
• Honey with fruit syrup or golden syrup

For further listings of animal free products, please see the Vegan Society Animal Free Shopper online database: http://www.vegansociety.com/afssearch.aspx 

The UK National Health Service (NHS) has a detailed page on vegan health and nutrition on its website.  The site states:

"With good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs."

 

For further information on vegan health nutrition, please consult the Vegan Section on the NHS website or visit the Vegan Society's health and nutrition pages.

Jain Vegans supports members of the Jain community in the transition towards a plant-based low-himsa lifestyle, and helps raise awareness about the abuse, violation and killing of cows in milk production.

You can find out more about Jain Vegans online (www.jainvegans.org) or interact with us through the following online channels:

 

..a friendly online forum where you can exchange and ideas about veganism and Jainism with other members from around the world....

...follow us on Twitter (@JainVegans) for instant news and information...



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..'like' us on facebook for updates on our activities and invitations to events... 

In the UK, the Jain Vegans Working Group actively works with UK Jain organisations to deliver informative and empowering events on a plant-based lifestyle.  Please us if you'd like us to help your Jain organisation/community in this way.  Please also if you are interested in supporting our activities, for example by volunteering.

If anything we have written has caused offence, we humbly seek forgiveness. Michhami Dukkadam.

With best wishes,

The Jain Vegans Team
(www.jainvegans.org)