Onions, garlic and mushrooms, oh my!

[Gaurapriya]

Do y'all eat onions, garlic or mushrooms?

I confess that I used to be on a sattvic diet for years, trying to eschew fermented foods (soy sauce, vinegar), onions and garlic (and further, chives, shallots and leeks), and mushrooms. Nowadays, I've eased myself a little more, since it is just seemingly difficult to follow such a diet in the West, even though it is very easy to be a lacto-vegetarian.

[Jogesh]

Good for you, there is enough to feel guilty about!

[charitra]

Yes, I do.

Do y'all eat onions, garlic or mushrooms?
.

[devotee]

Namaste GP,

Do y'all eat onions, garlic or mushrooms?

I confess that I used to be on a sattvic diet for years, trying to eschew fermented foods (soy sauce, vinegar), onions and garlic (and further, chives, shallots and leeks), and mushrooms. Nowadays, I've eased myself a little more, since it is just seemingly difficult to follow such a diet in the West, even though it is very easy to be a lacto-vegetarian.

Sometimes we take things to extreme. Eating onions, garlic and Mushrooms etc. is not RAjsic or TAmsic unless the food that is prepared with these items is prepared in a way that the food promotes illness (RAjsic/TAmsic) or lethargy and deluded thinking (TAmsic). Please read Bhagwad Gita carefully. It divides foods in three different categories. It nowhere prohibits you from eating any of these things. You don't eat Onion or garlic as food but use them as condiments in your food preparation and if you take care of proper ratio in which they are to be used I don't see any reason why they cannot be eaten. In fact, onion and garlic are scientifically proven foods which ward off many diseases. I don't know how Mushroom fits into being called a RAjsic or TAmsic food when it has no characteristics which can be called RAjsic or TAmsic.

OM

[Necromancer]

Do y'all eat onions, garlic or mushrooms?

I confess that I used to be on a sattvic diet for years, trying to eschew fermented foods (soy sauce, vinegar), onions and garlic (and further, chives, shallots and leeks), and mushrooms. Nowadays, I've eased myself a little more, since it is just seemingly difficult to follow such a diet in the West, even though it is very easy to be a lacto-vegetarian.

There was a time, many years ago, when I gave up these and salt, chili, spices. If you really want a true 'sattvic diet' then there are many vegetarian foods that must be eliminated from it (including seaweed, as it grows under water, Nightshades etc)...it's a very hard path.

Now, I am not vegetarian anymore. I was for 20 years and I don't really care about being one right now, but I have a lot of 'bad habits' I need to personally address before I start on diet (but I water fast on Mondays now and will extend that to include Saturday as well).

Aum Namah Shivaya.

[philosoraptor]

Onions, garlic, and mushrooms are not sAttvik and orthodox Hindus avoid them. Yes, the gItA does not specifically name them, but it does mention three general categories of food, with the implication that only sAttvik foods offered to the Lord in yagna are acceptable. Traditionally Hindus do not consider these to be sAttvik, nor do they offer them.

We don't cook with these ingredients in my household.

[Viraja]

Yes, staunch religious people avoid them completely - but I eat it all! But they are not supposed to be offered to god, as they are 'tamasic' - supposed to produce laziness, forgetfulness, carelessness and so forth. Even one is not supposed to eat food that is not offered to god - but I am not doing it either. In our fast life, we do not often get a chance to adhere strictly to guidelines. I was working until last January and though I am at home now, I am not used to the routine of praying/offering food and then consuming it. I pray at 3:00 PM each day, way past the lunch hour, when my food is almost digested already! I look upon it as 'as long as I pray regularly/help people/adhere to dharma, rest will be taken care of automatically'. But, I hope to get stricter with practice of such guidelines with progressive age.

[Jainarayan]

Namaste.

I don't know how Mushroom fits into being called a RAjsic or TAmsic food when it has no characteristics which can be called RAjsic or TAmsic.

OM

I once read it's because they grew on rotting and decaying material. However, that's really not the case anymore, if that was ever the reason. Mushrooms are nowadays grown in sterile medium and under very controlled conditions. In fact, they actually contain vitamins and some other trace nutrients. Perhaps the avoidance of them in the past also had to do with people picking the wrong ones, leading to fatal poisoning. Some deadly wild mushrooms resemble perfectly edible wild mushrooms.

As to the o.p., I detest raw mushrooms, garlic or onions anyway. I'll only eat them cooked, which makes them sweeter (and hopefully my personality by extension ).

[Necromancer]

Namaste. I was taught that the reason why mushrooms are not eaten, is not because they grow on manure and stuff, but because they grow in darkness.

People told me, if I want to grow in the Light, I don't eat foods that grow in the Darkness....something like that.

I eat anything now though. I did my time. lol

Aum Namah Shivaya

[penguin10916]

Lol, I eat them along with fish and anything that lacks a backbone... though, I've considered whether or not I should mb cut the fish and inverts out of my diet and go total vegetarian Though, in fairness, garlic can be disgusting in large doses... and mushrooms have to be in the vicinity of tomato or Alfredo sauce for me to eat them