
When the ancient Greek hero Theseus returned from battle, they say that his ship was kept in the harbour as a museum piece. With time, the wood began to rot and the planks began to decay. Soon, pieces of the ship had to be replaced, one by one. It came to the point that after a long time had passed, every piece of the ship had been replaced, gradually.
Philosophers began to ask - is this a new ship, for every piece of it is a replacement part? Or given that its structure, appearance and even beauty remained the same - is it not the same old ship? This puzzle from ancient Greece called the "Ship of Theseus" is unanswered to this day.
Hark! It is 2021, and a similar puzzle plays out in the field of nutrition. We are talking about vegetarian meats. From aspiring vegetarians to climate change champions, everyone has been fascinated by the concept of vegetarian meats. Why? Because for one, a vegetarian diet is compassionate towards animals and second, large scale culling of animals is not sustainable. Imagine (a purely hypothetical example) that the sun has given 100 million calories to a piece of earth. Plants and trees on that patch of land give us 10 million calories from the sun's bounty. If we send goats and cows to graze on the crop, those ten million calories would be consumed by animals. And then human beings "grazing" on these animals would get only 1 million of the ten million calories eaten by animals. By eating animals, we have thus not consumed 9 million calories. However, if we had eaten the plants directly, we would have prevented our planet from heating up, to some extent.
Governments all over the world are increasingly becoming aware of this. Companies selling meat and meat products, especially in Western nations, are recognizing this as an opportunity and are investing big time in mock meats so that human beings can take in an environmentally friendlier alternative. These meats are created in two ways - one is by producing them from already known ingredients like soybean with additives to obtain the flavour of the meat. The second way is the lab-grown meat where real animal cells are cultured and grown to create the exact texture and taste of meat. Both methods have resulted in prototype products available for purchase, but these are still in their early stages of development.
We cover the topic of vegetarian meat and alternative proteins in this issue of Diabetes Health. These products are compassionate in the sense that no animal killing is involved. But from a scientific perspective, they are ultra-processed, expensive to make and do have disadvantages. To find out more about this topic, read our cover story.
Let us go back to the "Ship of Theseus" puzzle, now applied to mock meats. Lab-grown meats are made from cultured animal cells and are the truest replica of meat, retaining some structure and flavour.
However, they are not really meat, as they are not obtained from living animals directly. So, are they the same old meat, or are they new forms of food? We may never know. Like adapting to various contradictions in life, we must also accept this paradoxical oxymoron that is "vegetarian meat"!
Dr Unnikrishnan AG
Editor
Lentils or dais are an important source of protein in the Indian diet and almost all Indian cuisines have some amount of lentils in them. Moong dal is filled with several vitamins and minerals and aids in managing body weight This healthy and delectable omelette could be a great way to add proteins to your breakfast.
Preparation Time: 35 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
• 3/4th cup split skinless green
gram (moong dal) washed and
soaked for 2 hours
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 medium green capsicum chopped
• 2 tbsp corn kernels boiled and crushed
• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves chopped
• 1/4th teaspoon turmeric powder
• 3 green chillies
• 4 tsp oil
• 1 medium beetroot cut into thin strips
• 1 medium carrot cut into thin strips
• Salt to taste
Method:
1. Put soaked split green gram in
a blender, add green chillies, salt and sufficient water and blend into a fine paste.
2. Transfer the paste into a bowl.
3. Add chopped onions, capsicum, corn kernels, tomato, coriander leaves and turmeric powder and mix well.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and spread a ladle full of batter evenly. Cover and cook till the downward side turns golden.
Flip and sprinkle beetroot strips and carrot strips. Drizzle a little
ghee all around and cook till both sides are evenly golden.
6. Serve hot with green chutney or curd.
Nutritive value per serving:
• Calories: 189.25 kcal
• Protein: 7.5 g
• Fat: 5.5 g
• Carbohydrates: 25 g
If the COVID pandemic has been a buzzkill to your long-overdue travel plan then this recipe is for you. Bring home the aroma of the scenic lands of Kashmir and share a hot cup of light, fresh and healthy Kahwa with your dear ones.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
• 1 tsp green tea
• 3 cups water
• 10-12 strands of saffron
• 112 inch stick cinnamon
• 1 clove
• 1 cardamom crushed
• 112 tsp dried rose petals
• 2 tsp almonds finely chopped
• 1 tsp honey
Method:
1. Heat water in a pan.
2. Add saffron, cinnamon, cloves, dried rose petals and cardamom in water to boil.
3. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
4. Switch off the heat and add green tea to the water.
5. Let the tea steep for 2-3 minutes.
6. Strain the kahwa in 2 cups.
7. Add almond slivers and a few strands of saffron.
8. Add honey if desired and serve hot.
Nutritive value per serving:
• Calories: 77.5 kcal
• Protein: 2.5 g
• Fat: 6 g
• Carbohydrates: 6 g