Potato Pancakes with Zucchini Recipe. Plus Why I Don’t Want to Be NORMAL

Note: If you are here just for the RECIPE, scroll down till the end and enjoy!

I recently watched a disturbing video: animal activists broke into hatchery and stopped the machine that GRINDS MALE BABY CHICKS ALIVE (the video was titled: Civil Disobedience inside of an Egg Hatchery).

Some of you who are not familiar with the practice may be asking — WHY WOULD ANYONE DO SUCH A THING?

Aren’t young chicks some of the cutest creatures ever?

Yellow, puffy, so delicate and fragile. Just too cute!

And isn’t it wrong to just mass-kill the animals, regardless of what they look like? (Imagine if the fate of a human being was determined on his or her looks.)

Who would do such a thing, anyway?

You may be thinking that this was some unusual incident, something out of the ordinary, and surely people doing that (the grinding and killing) would get arrested for cruelty and punished dearly for committing such despicable act…

But no.

This is NOT an unusual incident. In fact, it’s a “standard industry practice” and if anyone is going to get punished, it’s the protesters not the people operating the machine.

You see, these chicks are bred specific for the purpose of laying eggs for human consumption, and since they are male — they are not needed for anything (they are not used for meat, if that’s what you’re thinking). So, since a chance of being born a male chick versus female is about 50/50, millions of chicks are killed in this way each year (and in case you are thinking that female chicks are in luck for being spared, they really don’t, but that’s another story…).

Yep, it’s standard practice.

BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE…

Even though it’s considered standard practice TODAY, it really doesn’t have to remain standard practice in the FUTURE.

Things can change. Practices evolve.

Yep, it’s called PROGRESS.

“Imagine a future greater than your past and take action to make it happen.” #quote
“The future depends on what you do TODAY.” ~Mahatma Ghandi

If that’s normal, then I DON’T WANT TO BE NORMAL.

Don’t believe the cute pictures on egg cartons. Don’t trust the labels: organic, free-range, or humanely raised. Male chicks were still ground or buried alive — regardless of what the egg producers want you to think. They are of NO USE to the egg industry. (Imagine if the fate of a human being was determined on his or her usefulness.)

Even though it’s a standard practice, it doesn’t mean it’s RIGHT.

Just think of all the things that used to be a standard practice 100 or 500 years ago, and aren’t any more — it’s called PROGRESS.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Even though it’s a standard industry practice, it’s still WRONG.

Truth is — there are many wrongs in this world. We don’t want to hear about them, we prefer not knowing — because, first of all, we would risk getting seriously depressed and overwhelmed if we wanted to investigate and get involved in every wrongdoing –it’s not realistic; but also because usually THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO.

Like stopping a war in another part of the globe. Feeding hungry people and curing curable diseases.

Or not buying products manufactured in sweatshops — you can try — but usually you cannot easily tell just by looking at a product how it was manufactured.

This is NOT the case here.

If you are eating meat, or eggs, or dairy — there was a WRONG. There was cruelty and killing.

We can all make a conscious decision that we don’t want to participate in such violent practices any more.

Just. Like. That.

You may be thinking: it’s too hard, inconvenient, or perhaps even dangerous and unhealthy — I used to think that too.

You may thing it’s pointless. Can I make a difference? What difference can one person make? Isn’t it futile? Isn’t it HARD?

I don’t have all the answers for you. Personally I don’t think it’s futile, even if the difference one person makes is minuscule — because one person plus one person plus one person …. creates a movement, that if more people join will gain momentum, and at some point a TIPPING POINT is reached. When? I don’t know. Nobody knows — but that’s the way each change begins, every movement, every revolution. With one person or a small group of determined spirits deciding to do things differently. Making a commitment to take the matters into their own hands.

Are you still with me?

If so, here is a recipe for all of you — all the daring spirits, brave revolutionaries, non-conformist — reading this. Delicious potato and zucchini pancakes — super easy, super quick to make — it took me literally 15 minutes to prepare them, and if you want to make a bigger batch, you can use a food processor to speed things up (mine is still crossing the Atlantic Ocean with all my other stuff that I’m shipping from the US, so I had to use a manual grater). Best of all — completely cruelty free!

Potato and Zucchini #Pancakes Recipe

Of course, this is an egg-free version, but don’t worry, they will not fall apart and they’ll be delicious. Instead of an egg I used about a tablespoon of ground flax seeds that I mixed with liquid to form a sticky paste. You can use water, or plant milk.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3 tablespoons water
2 medium potatoes
1 medium zucchini
1/2 onion
salt to taste
oil or for frying (for low fat or fat-free cakes, skip oil and use a non stick surface for frying)
cane sugar, maple syrup, agave, or apple sauce – for topping

Method:

Mix flax seeds with water and set aside.
Grate potatoes, zucchini, and onion. I used the small and bigger side of the grater — to give the cakes an interesting texture.
Add flour, pinch of salt (if using) and flax and mix all the ingredients.
Heat the oil and fry on hot frying pan for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!
Makes about 12 pancakes.

Other egg-replacing ingredients off the top of my head (there are probably many more – just google “vegan egg replacement” or something similar): apple sauce, mashed banana, pumpkin puree, and store-bought vegan egg-replacer (I have never used one and I’m not sure what’s in it, so don’t ask me).

Enjoy!!

PS. I recently read someone say:

“Vegans can make all the arguments they want, but the problem remains that many people perceive veganism as asking TOO MUCH and offering TOO LITTLE.”

I don’t think this is asking for too much, is it? Our daily lives are composed of such small acts, and with each action we make an impact. It may be difficult initially. It may require some conscious thought and planning ahead. In this case, you’ll need to make a note for yourself to remember and buy some flax seeds on your next trip to the supermarket to have them available for the next time you decide to make pancakes. Cannot find flax? Get some apple sauce, or just an apple or banana. So the first time it’s going to be a challenge. But if you do it once or twice, then it’s easy. Third or fourth time? It becomes automatic.

With each daily action we make an impact.

What impact will you make today?

PPS. I invite you to join my Green Reset Revolution —>>> go HERE .

If you would like to know more–>>> read THIS.