Posts tagged veganism
What do pancakes have to do with yoga? PLUS 2 of the best vegan pancake recipes
 

Is shrove Tuesday one of the best days of the year (Yes, yes it is). We’ve been discussing in the office whether pancakes should be savoury or sweet. So, lay down your cards - what team are you on?

But what have pancakes got to do with Yoga? If you look deeper into the philosophical side of a Yoga practice you’ll discover the Yamas (moral discipline) and Niyamas (guidelines) - principles and guidelines which will aid you on your spiritual path.

Iyengar describes the Yamas and Niyamas as “golden keys to unlock the spiritual gates” as each action taken in accordance with these guidelines has the power to give your life a deeper meaning, and even if you’re not inherently spiritual taking these actions can make the world a better place.

The first Yama is Ahimsa, which can be translated as non-harming / non-violence. An easy way to incorporate this Yama into your wider life is by adopting a vegan diet (or by consciously eating less meat and animal products, if veganism is not for you).

So… back to pancakes! Good news, we’ve done the searching for you and found 2 completely different vegan recipes, one for savory lovers and one for those with a sweet tooth.


Best Vegan Savoury Pancakes

with Creamy Mushrooms

12 Servings

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

  • 2 cup plain flour

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tbsp baking powder

  • 1.5 cup oat milk unsweetened

For the creamy mushrooms:

  • 450 g chestnut mushrooms – sliced

  • 2 cloves garlic – crushed

  • 2 tbsp fresh chives – roughly chopped

  • 2 tbsp vegan crème fraîche or cream

  • 2 tbsp vegan butter

  • Salt and pepper – to taste

Method:

  1. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and then add the baking powder and salt.

  2. Pour the milk and apple cider mixture into the large bowl and whisk by hand, or on a low setting with an electric mixer. The batter should be thick but not gloopy. Like a thick smoothie.

  3. Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium-high hob – if you're not using a non-stick pan, use a tiny bit of oil spray or vegan butter to stop the pancakes sticking.

  4. Using a quarter cup measurer, pour in a quarter cup of the pancake mixture into the frying pan, and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

  5. Small holes or bubbles should start to form on top of the pancake – this is usually a sign that it's ready to flip. Lift up a bit of the pancake using a spatula to see if it's ready - it should be a golden-brown colour.

  6. Using a spatula, carefully flip the pancake and allow it to cook for a couple of minutes on the other side. Be careful it doesn't burn by keeping a close eye on it – the second side will brown a bit quicker! Repeat until all the mixture is used up. It should make 12 pancakes.

  7. Time to make the creamy mushrooms. Add the vegan butter to a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. It should start to melt gradually.

  8. Pop the garlic in and give it a stir.

  9. After a minute add the mushrooms and give it a good stir

  10. Let it cook for around five minutes and then add in the chives, vegan crème fraîche, salt, and pepper.

  11. Cook for another few minutes and stir well. Make sure the crème fraîche is well mixed in. Serve the mushrooms on top of the pancakes with more chives and crème fraîche.


Best Vegan Fluffy & Sweet Pancakes

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour (125 g)

  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup non-dairy milk (240 ml)

  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract

  • Maple syrup and icing sugar, to serve

Method

  1. In a medium bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and stir to combine.

  2. In a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup, add almond milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, and stir to combine

  3. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until smooth.

  4. Let batter rest for 5 minutes.

  5. Pour about ½ cup (65 grams) of batter onto a nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat.

  6. When the top begins to bubble, flip the pancake and cook until golden.

  7. Serve warm with maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar.


Let us know how you get on… bonus points if you show your allegience to team savoury or team sweet.


 
 
 

Latest blog posts

Andrea Kwiatkowski on Jivamukti Yoga

Andrea Kwiatkowski on Jivamukti Yoga

1521427_741032399257796_1453507510_nQ1: Are all Jivamuktis vegan?

ANDREA: Yogic practices teach us that we are all interconnected to each other and the source. I have been a vegetarian for over 25 years, long before I was doing yoga and what I now realise is, how we eat and what we eat is a practice as well. I have been vegan on and off in my life especially in my early teenage years when I was quite passionate about my views, then after the Jivamukti teacher training at Omega in upstate New York I began to see how I could be more eloquent about this subject. Our teachers encourage us to think about how our actions contribute to the suffering in the world and whilst I cannot say every Jivamukti teacher is vegan, we shouldn’t judge anyone who isn’t, I know a lot of teachers and students who find our method difficult to understand as we talk about actions and veganism in the classes, but the skill is to teach with compassion. So I don’t judge a student who walks into my Jivamukti class and is a meat eater I just know that they may walk out thinking about how they live and what they do in the world and how it all matters.

Q2: What drew you to Jivamukti practice?

ANDREA: A friend of mine bought me the Jivamukti book after reading an article on Sharon and David. As they were both artists and performers, Sharon was a dancer , he thought I would interested in the style, I read the book and researched where I could do a class. The nearest was NY city so I hopped on a plane and spent some time there! When I walked out of my first class I knew this was the method of yoga I would like to teach, it felt like home -music, flowing asana, meditation and philosophy that was interwoven into everything – this was the method that I had been searching for… and it still is nearly 9 years later.

Q3: If you could give just one piece of advice what would it be?

ANDREA: It’s called a practice because that is what it is, not yoga perfection. Don’t expect too much too soon, think about what you bring to the mat, your attitude, your state of mind, your respect for the teacher, anyone can do wonderful asana but that doesn’t make you a yogi ! I quote Sri K. Pattabhi jois “Practice, Practice and all is coming”. You have to be prepared to spend a long time with no expection and more often than not we aren’t very good at that.

Q4: Please describe your personal practice.

ANDREA: I find it interesting that I am asked this so much, my practice is varied depending on my day with regard to asana I have a selection of asana that keeps my body open and relaxed with kriyas as well, I always do a long inversion usually headstand and forearm balance , I might do some yin poses and pranayama. If I have a workshop I will practice my sequence for the class over a period of time so I am familiar with it and can feel how it fits into my body. My practice can be anything from 15 /20mins restorative to 2 hours vinyasa finishing with pranayama and meditation or chanting. I love sanskrit so I have regular lessons on Vedic chanting. At the moment I am in the middle of a 108 day practice dedicated to someone special in my life. I have been known to stretch my hamstrings in the supermarket! You would be surprised how much you can fit into your daily life if you only take a few minutes.

Q5: What is your favourite yoga book ?

ANDREA: This is difficult – if only one then of course my obvious choice is Jivamukti: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, but I love Master Patanajli’s Yoga Sutra too. Of course with this text as with all yoga books you need a teacher to describe the teachings to you, they come in many forms these teachers - oh , I can recommend a few at this yoga studio known as Camyoga...

 

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Andrea Kwiatkowski is a former dancer and Advanced Certified Jivamukti instructor. She regularly runs Jivamukti masterclasses at Camyoga. Join her for Yin & Yang Yoga Day on 2nd Feb 2014. Book here