Our Story

Our Company

Balatibala Plant-Based Foods is a family owned business that makes Moong Pani Soup-Teas made from mung beans, herbs and spices. We have taken a traditional and nutritious Indian hot drink, based on Ayurvedic principles of health, and created a convenient dried soup-tea mix that is tasty, healthy, all natural and conveniently packaged for anytime anywhere.

We are passionate about the tremendous health benefits of the mighty mung bean and look forward to bringing you more new mung products soon.

Here's a short story about why we chose the name of our company:

In the ancient Indian legends of Ramayana, the story goes that two young princes Sri Rama and Lakshmana were sent to the wilderness to destroy the powerful demons who were disrupting sacred ceremonies performed by the sages for the betterment of the world. To help the princes through these monumental feats, the great warrior Sage Vishwamitra gave the them two mantras ‘bala and atibala’: one to overcome thirst and the other to overcome hunger. By invoking the powers of these mantras, the young princes could overcome their hunger, thirst and fatigue. They were able to build on this strength and succeed in their mission of protecting the good and destroying evil.

In our day to day lives, Moong Pani is perfect for quenching thirst, satiating hunger and sustaining energy.

Balatibala means ‘from strength to strength’ in Sanskrit. It speaks to our values of how we live, work and play – building on our strengths, one step at a time.

Our Inspiration

As a child, I grew up on Moong Pani – which means 'water of mung' in India. We loved this hot golden-hued broth that was always the star of our Sunday family brunches. My mother was introduced to Moong Pani as the family embraced a more holistic, Ayurvedic lifestyle, that focused on aligning the body, mind and environment. This meant knowing what to eat as the seasons change, being mindful of healthy food combinations and using nourishing foods as a therapeutic approach to well-being.

When I became a mother myself, juggling kids, work and a hectic lifestyle, one thing I was determined to do was avoid an endless cycle of colds, flues and antibiotics that can be rampant in school-aged kids. For me that meant focussing on strengthening our immune systems with warming, nutritious, all-natural, easy-to-digest foods with the right spice combinations. And if it was delicious enough to put a smile on my kids' faces, I was happy. Moong Pani became our breakfast staple. The warm, nourishing drink helped my children sail through years of Canadian winters without a flurry of colds. Now as young professionals they enjoy Moong Pani in their busy, city lives.

The inspiration to bring Moong Pani to the world came from our spiritual teacher Pujya Swami Shantanandaji. For years, I had been making Moong Pani for Swamis as part of a healthy breakfast, a soothing accompaniment for talks and a snack after yoga retreats. Moong Pani embodies many of the healthy body, healthy mind practices and helps to sustain energy through a long day.

Enjoying a healthy meal with Swami Shantananda (front right), Swamini Shivapriyananda (second from right), Swami Ishwarananda (second from left), and some of the friends that have helped bring Moong Pani to fruition.

Over the past few years Swami Shantanandaji has been encouraging me to find a way to share Moong Pani with you all.

After much R&D on how to turn our home recipe into a convenient mix (instead of hours of soaking and cooking mung with the right spices) and with the blessings of our spiritual teachers, support of friends, my husband Harish and my children Hema and Deven – here we are today bringing Moong Pani Soup-Teas for you and your families to enjoy.

We went even further and created four great flavours. We hope you love it just as much as we, and so many of our customers do.

We would love to hear from you. Please connect with us at info@moongpani.com