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Testimonial of Ravi Desrossi
Meet artist & painter turned New York restauranteur Ravi Derossi who one day realised he loved drinking and simply set up a bar! And that’s where he found his life’s purpose – he enjoyed serving customers. He started opening bars and restaurants and along the way, he realised his love for animals and got big into animal rights and started the BEAST foundation. His goal ever since is spreading awareness through plant-based food, and today 11 of his 15 restaurants are plant-based!
1. Why did you venture into the restaurant business?
There was a time in my life when I just really loved drinking. Naturally, it made sense to open my own bar. I would work every day serving people. I think I worked for about 700 days straight when we first opened. I was still drinking pretty heavily. Once I cut down my drinking and began to be more conscious though, I decided to keep opening bars and restaurants. My success probably has to do with a combination of following my gut and dumb luck, since the restaurant business is such a risky industry to get into.
2. Why did you decide to convert 11 of your 15 restaurants into plant-based?
I’d always been compassionate towards animals and animal rights, but my cat dying really changed my perspective and compelled me to do something. After adopting two dogs and four cats, I realized the love I had for these animals. I also realized that I had a personal responsibility to not add to the damage consuming animals already adds to the world.
3. Have you experienced any benefits by going plant based yourself (specifically health wise)?
I definitely have. First off, my conscious is clear. I feel a lot better about myself knowing I’m not contributing to the meat industry and its effects on the Earth. I also feel like I have a lot more energy since I started eating a plant-based diet.
4. As far as profits are concerned, did converting your restaurants affect your business?
Converting my restaurants has only made things better for business. For one, our cost of goods went down, since it’s much cheaper to buy plant-based goods than animal products. Our food sales have gone up too. It has definitely been worth it in the long run. But it wasn’t about the money anyway. I knew I took a big risk in converting them, but I was prepared for a worse outcome.
5. What is The BEAST Foundation all about?
B.E.A.S.T. (Benefits to End Animal Suffering Today) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. After adopting dogs and cats, animals became really important to me. It just made sense. What can I do to help? Open a vegan restaurant? I can do that.
Death & Co. is considered one of the trendiest bars in the world. We have a wait list seven nights a week. Without sounding arrogant, I want to capitalize on that for animal rights. So I’m moving B.E.A.S.T. along by throwing really cool parties and charging people to attend. The idea is to do all these parties to raise all this money for those organizations.
6. What are your future plans?
Right now we’re in the works of expanding the Death & Co. brand to Colorado, Miami, and L.A. I’m also planning on expanding Avant Garden and a vegan diner concept. The goal is to open up different vegan spots in thousands of locations.
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Granola Bars
If Travel features in your Diwali holiday plans, then this is a good recipe to check out. Easy to make, sweet and healthy too.
Ingredients
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3 bananas, peeled and mashed completely
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2 cups oats semi ground with lots of texture
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1/2 cup of mixed nuts and seeds of your choice
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2-3 tbsps black raisin
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1/2 cup cranberrie
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1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
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A pinch of salt
Method
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Preheat oven to 180C for 10 mins.
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Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
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In a big bowl mix all the ingredients together really well till all ingredients are coated with the banana.
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Spread it on the baking tray in a half inch layer and press it down with your palms.
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Cool completely before cutting.
Food for Thought
FACEBOOK SUPPORT GROUP
If you love Facebook, then join us to be supported on your plant based journey. We offer 3 possibilities from 1st Jan 2016.
1. SHARAN India This is SHARAN’s main Facebook page which you can like and follow for getting useful daily updates and news from the plant based health world. You will also get news about the latest SHARAN events, see testimonials, and more.
2. SHARAN’s Vegan Support Group This is an open support group to know more about vegan/plant-based lifestyle. Here you can ask questions and share inspiring stories, tips, recipes, etc.
3. SHARAN’s Plant Powered Health This is the new group only for the past attendees of SHARAN’s events: seminars, cooking classes, retreats or longer programs.
All our doctors and presenters will be here to answer your questions and give you tips. If you have attended our events join this group to be a part of our family.
Please like the main SHARAN page and join the group(s) applicable to you.
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Searching for Peace of Mind
SHARAN helps prevent and reverse lifestyle diseases. These are not just caused by wrong nutrition but also stress. The stress may be caused by external circumstances, which we cannot change, but what we can change is the response. And this changes the whole situation.
One of the biggest causes of stress is not being in touch with our life’s purpose. We all have a very special purpose on this planet. Because of ‘social pressures’, we tend to live in a way that’s socially acceptable whether it satisfies us or not. We go to regular schools, take on jobs, get married, have children, support them, look after our parents and attend social functions. Life keeps us so busy that there is no time to think. But this unfulfilled need expresses as unhappiness, depression, not knowing what one wants, lack of confidence, fear, sleeplessness and a myriad other ways including physical disease.
It rests on each of us to take time off to think about what we really like to do: what motivates us. We may understand this perhaps by reading different books or joining a class or a retreat or even by travelling alone – something that brings us in touch with ourselves, rather than the demands of society. Think about what you would like to be remembered for long after you are gone. There are different ways to get in touch with your life’s purpose. For some it could be music, dance, an invention or discovery, studying, helping others, healing, working for the animals, reading to the blind, adopting children or something else. When you find it, nothing else matters, and stress begins to melt away.
To find ones life purpose may take long but the journey is as important as the destination. Each step signifies personal growth!
You know that you are living your life’s purpose when…
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1. You are full of energy
You get up in the morning and you want to jump into the day!
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2. You are clear about exactly what you want
Nothing anyone says or does matters, because you are sure.
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3. You are grateful
For all life’s lessons that moulded your actions to point you on your path.
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4. You are relaxed
You are no longer looking for something, you are living it.
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5. You have no time for trivials
What the rest of the world is doing matters less because you are happy. You do not need their approval, because you are confident.
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6. You sleep well
Your mind and body are connected. There is no gap between what your conscience says and what you are doing.
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7. You feel well
All those nagging symptoms are no longer noticed. You have let go of the past because the present is too important.
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8. Your walk has a bounce
To you, each day is a celebration and it shows. You know that you are living your purpose. There is nothing to look for because you already have everything you need.
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9. Holidays, shopping, entertainment, restaurants, festivals, crackers etc don’t attract you as much
There is nothing outside that you are searching for. All that you need is within you.
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