Roshni Sanghvi: Busting Them Fitness Myths Vegan Style

Meet Roshni Sanghvi. This Dhokli and Thepla loving Gujrati was raised in Bangalore. In fact her Kannada is almost as good as her Gujrati. 

Roshini is busting fitness myths vegan style. It didn't start out this way. A few years ago she went to New York and earned her Masters in Clinical Social Work. An unexpected family emergency moved her back to India. That's when the fitness bug bit, so much so she's made it her profession. Today Roshini is a Bangalore-based fitness coach and motivator helping people reach their personal fitness goals. Oh yeah, and of course she's totally vegan and custom makes plant-based diet plans for all her clients. 


Here's 4 questions for Roshini. Spoiler: Her answers will turn your understanding of nutrition and fitness on its head. Let's go!

Hi Roshni! Tell us, how did veganism and fitness intersect for you? 

R.S: As a profession I have been in the fitness industry for close to 5 years. Veganism happen to me when my profession slowly started becoming my passion and I started working on my own physique goals. I believe any person in tuned with his/ her body  will never go back to a regular diet after they try plant-based food. That's simple because you'll understand what a drastic positive effect it has on your endurance and strength. The moment you stop consuming meat and dairy, you cut consuming toxins and chemicals. That means the body can focus on healing and building muscle mass instead of processing meat and dairy. 

I wouldn't mess with her

What are 2 myths you think you are doing a good job of busting as a vegan in the fitness industry?

R.S: The biggest one being that vegans are weaker. In the gym, I can give some of the guys a run for their money when it comes to lifting and endurance.  I do not take any calcium or multi vitamin supplements and have no deficiencies of any sort.

The other myth is that you need proteins to build muscle mass and need to stop carbs to lose weight. I did my body transformation  (32% body fat to 16% at my very best) on a high- carb plantbased diet.

You Can Eat High-Carb Veggie Sushi and Get Fit #mythbuster

You work one -on- one with clients online and offline. What's your approach? Have non-vegan clients been curious/receptive to more plant-based food in their life?

R.S: I only customize plant-based nutrition plans. In the past, I have lost  clients who are not open to change but I guess that is slowly changing now as people have started recognizing me, or see the yummy food pics I post online.  The truth is, once you tell someone you're on a plant-based diet, they think its too restrictive. But that's simply not true. We live in a world where you get everything from vegan ice creams to pizza. Its about keeping an open mind and giving it a shot. There are so many ingredients to work with. 

She's got a sense of humour to boot. Insta Pictures VS her real food. Still, her version is looking pretty slurp to me

What would be an ideal dinner for a person who is trying to stay fit, lose some extra weight, and build some overall body strength? If we had to ask you for one allowable midnight snack while we are Netflix binging what would it be?

R.S: Vegan chilli would be an ideal dinner! Its quick to prepare, and loaded with veggies and flavour! Tasty and still  super nutritious.

For movie nights I'd go with a huge berry cereal bowl (mixed frozen berries dipped in soy milk and ½ spoon cacao powder) if I want something sweet, or a tub of air popped popcorn sprinkled with sea salt if I want something salty.

Want some Roshni in your life? Follow her on Instagram and check out her Youtube Channel for nutrition guidance and fitness tips. 

Stay tuned for another 'vegans in fitness; post coming up next week. Apparently these vegans won't quit being fitness rockstars. Sheesh. 

She earned that warrior pose

Behind The Scenes At Bangalore's First Vegan Restaurant (Talking Shop With Susmitha Subbaraju)

Susmitha Subbaraju

 Meet Susmitha Subbaraju who runs Carrots, Bangalore's first vegan restaurant. She's been doing some pretty amazing things at her space in Koramangala, from creating funny videos featuring easy vegan recipes to giving back to the community. She's lit the path forward and inspired many others to start their own vegan adventures in the city. The bottom line is that Susmitha's enthusiasm is infectious and it makes you automatically want to do your part in changing our sucky-ass world. 

I've always thought running a restaurant is an epically difficult life-gig. Now add a vegan restaurant to the mix, in a city that's just beginning to become familiar with the term. It's no easy work.

So, what is it like to run this ship full time? I asked Susmitha a bunch of questions about running Carrots. And yes, the woman had a bunch of answers.

Running a restaurant is no joke, Sus. So we're here to figure out the behind the                  scene drama. How many people does it take to run to carrots everyday? Susmita: We usually have anywhere from 12 to 15 team members, including management. Everyone is trained in multiple areas so people can act as back-ups when someone is on holiday. What are the 'main' stock ingredients you have to have at all times? Any sauces/pastes that are always ready? Susmitha: Since we have a really huge variety on our menu and we make pretty much everything in house, there are many base sauces and such we need to prep and always have on hand. I'd say our dips/spreads are the most important of the lot because we use them in most things - hummus, cashew mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, fermented herbed cheese, mint chutney, peri peri sauce. We also always have a stock of our soy curds. We use it in all our smoothies, buttlermylk, raitas and curd rice. Plus people often walk in and buy the curds to take home. The savvy suave Carrots Gang  What does morning prep look like? Susmitha: The first prep work to begin is in our bakery. We freshly bake our breads everyday, and our cookies and cakes every alternate day. Bakery work starts early so the oven is free for pizzas once the restaurant opens. A couple of the kitchen guys busy themselves with accepting fresh delivery of veggies each morning and arranging them neatly in the fridge, or they're washed and kept on the kitchen counter as required. Onion, garlic, ginger and other herbs, are chopped finely and placed accessibly for stir frying/garnishing through the day. The prepped sauces, pastes, etc., (which these guys refer to as "mizampla" and which after many many months of head scratching and research, I figured out was supposed to be "mise en place" hehe) are all made in small quantities and finished within a day or two. These need to be checked every morning for freshness and replaced in small portions, as required. The chef at the pick up counter ensures there are a lot of clean tasting spoons and garnish sauces on one side and various plates and bowls are on the nearby shelf. The kitchen counters and floors are given a second round of quick cleaning so any mess from the prep work is cleared and the day begins! :) Some special treats from their bakery What's been the most dramatic food crisis you've had and how did you smoothen it out? Susmitha: This isn't a food related crisis exactly, but it was the most dramatic one in the history of Carrots. A couple of years ago, one of our very key team members went home for what was supposed to be a month and then disappeared into thin air for 2 more months! It was drama in the team when he was missing - worry, anger, tears, sense of betrayal... and a BIGGER drama when he turned up again - anger, tears, joy, hugs... the works! Hehehe. During that time, the rest of the team rallied together and worked twice as hard to keep the restaurant running well and every person's capacity and sense of responsibility shone through. That's how we weathered the storm. We now try our very best not to allow things go to the dramatic level. :P Do you believe that 'good energy' comes back full circle? You've been so invested in the community. From videos, live demonstrations, supporting other vegan entrepreneurs and even now having a rotary fridge outside where any person who needs a bite to eat can take out a meal from your fridge and eat for free. How do these little things add up to your personal experience as a citizen and as entrepreneurs? Susmitha: Absolutely! Apart from the law of giving, good karma and all that, there's also the fact that we simply want to do everything we can to push veganism forward. All the live videos/demonstrations, giving away free food (whether as a reward to vegan activists or at orphanages or through the Rotary Fridge), buying stuff from and posting reviews about fellow vegan businesses, all this is actually a lot of fun to do! It's rewarding in its own right. Over the years we've become somewhat of a hub for veganism in Bangalore and we've carved a place for ourselves in the restaurant industry. Now we want to use this platform we've worked so hard at creating to support more vegan organisations and businesses too. There are so many women vegan entrepreneurs now so collaborating with them is an extra joyful experience for me personally. I strongly believe that building a tight network of likeminded people and collaborating is the best way to move forward, for the individual businesses, as well as for the movement in general. Sus eating some good-karma ice-cream ;) The Rotary Fridge where anyone who needs a bite can help themselves to a meal from the fridge- no questions asked! Tell us how you guys come up with 'weekend specials'. What inspires your head chef the most? Favorite youtube channels? Susmitha: Just like any other art, creating food gets inspired from various places. Sometimes there'll be a dish inspired by a video or photo that we've come across and sometimes the dishes get created because we really want to make superior versions of non vegan dishes. But most of the time, it's just our chefs experimenting, putting things together and coming up with creations straight out of their imaginations. As it turns out, these have been our most popular dishes. Watermelon Tofu Platter Seitan Sandwich (Limited Edition) Aubergine Mushroom Platter How do you minimise food wastage? Are there any tricks that people like us at home could employ? Susmitha: We make many things fresh each day in smaller quantities. Though the sauces and pastes are ready in the morning, the vegetables are cut and cooked only when the order is placed, to ensure complete freshness. These practices in and of themselves ensure minimum wastage. With the Rotary Kindness Fridge now, our wastage has reduced even more. All breads and pastries which are good but not sellable go into the fridge for any passerby to help themselves to. Unlike at restaurants, at homes we can eat something we've prepared over many days if we want to. Our chef's only tip to home cooks is to be creative with leftovers and turn them into something different so one doesn't get bored. Raw Fettuccine in Creamy Sauce  What in your opinion, are 2 challenges that all restaurateurs face but don't talk about enough? Susmitha: The number one challenge in the restaurant industry is staff turnover. Restauranteurs do talk about it from their point of view and usually only when they're looking for new people. However, there's a need for discussions about increasing employee morale and motivation and how to maintain a good, strong team relationship, while maintaining discipline in the workplace. Another challenge is getting consistent dine-in crowds. Knowing when people will come is generally an unpredictable thing. Perhaps discussing this more between restauranteurs will help everyone predict and even increase their footfalls. Surprise Chocolate Cookies   Tell us one weird habit you have that almost no one knows? Susmitha: What weird habit? I don't have any weird habits! Shoo! *looks around surreptitiously and whispers* When all the guys are asleep during break time, I sneak into the kitchen and eat up all the hummus. Muhuhahaha. :D

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*All pictures courtesy Sushmitha Subbaraju

Vegan Veggie Quiche Demo Video (It's a FIRST)

Out of the oven! Watch the video below, pups ;)

Hello kittens!

My first demo video is out and it's all about making a quick and easy veggie quiche you can chow down on for breakfast. Healthy-ass too. Compassionate eating for the win! We don't need animals to make our food taste good or to nourish us. Everyday teaches me that we have so many delightful options to fill our plates with. We can change the way we treat animals. We can change the way we think about food. One step at a time. 

Till next time, keep it kind. keep it real!

Vegan Maple Syrup Cookies ( with a dash of almond flour)

Yo Peacocks !

So my mother just came in from Denver this morning. She visits Bangalore every 6 months to see me. This time she brought me a bunch of vegan swag. Vegan breakfast bars, plant-based protein powder, nutritional yeast, and even vegan mac & cheese boxes. I know, vegan hipster to the epic hilt. But the one glorious thing I really wanted was maple syrup. Because it's just way too expensive here.

So of course I am going to be annoying and tell you how to make maple syrup cookies fully knowing that it's really too much money to spend on a cookie ingredient. But, the thing is you can still make these cookies with quarter the amount of maple syrup (for the flavour) and use sugar for the rest. That way you can make good economy with your maple syrup.

flour, almond flour, and that liquid gold

Since I got a bunch of maple from the land of plenty, I went all out and made these cookies with zero sugar and 100% maple syrup.


These are super simple to make and taste so good. I have used 3/4th cup of almond flour (added to  the regular flour) for some extra yum-num and texture. Crispy on the outside and moist inside. Just a solid cookie.

Here's what you need

2 cups flour
3/4th cup almond flour (just blend almonds in a blender and sieve)
1 cup maple syrup (or use 3/4th cup powdered sugar +1/4 cup maple syrup)
1/3 rd cup oil/neutral oil like sunflower
1/4th cup coconut mylk (or any other plant-based mylk)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar (optional, but for extra moistness)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla essence


Make it

Sieve your flour, almond flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Gently mix.

Flour, Almond Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, salt + Excitement to make this dope!

In another bowl mix your oil, coconut mylk,  vanilla, vinegar (if you are using it),  and maple syrup. It will look like crap, but trust, k?

It's not a looker. But trust. Coconut mylk, maple syrup, vanilla, oil

Now slowly pour your wet mixture into your dry mix and keep mixing. You have to get a dough going (it can be a bit sticky). Now knead that dough with your hands.

Pop it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. After that roll out into long tubes and cut circles of dough with a knife.

Cut the cookie dough

Preheat oven to 180c. Place your cookies on a greased pan or on parchment paper. Add any decoration like sprinkles, crushed almond or a dash of powdered sugar.

All ready for that oven

Pop those babies in for 12-15 minutes. Depending on the size of your oven  you might have to do 2 batches.

Let them cool for a few minutes. Now share. Best had with black coffee. But that's biased advice because I think in genereal, life goes best with black coffee.

Till  next time, keep it kind and keep it real!