Two Great Reasons to go on Vegan Diet in 2017

1. Vegan Diet is Good for Health : Unprocessed vegan food brimming with fruits and vegetables is rich in antioxidants. Studies have shown that diet rich in vegetables and fruits has the capacity to keep everything from heart disease and diabetes and cancer to obesity at bay.

According to American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adulthood, and for athletes.

Start you day with a bowl of fruits or green smoothy. Lentils, beans and vegetables such as brocolli and kale is loaded with proteins. So, try to consume veggie salads and lentil  soups for lunch. Indian cuisine and Mediterranean diet is awash with delicious and healthy plant-based recipes.

Here are some great websites for nutritious vegan recipes...

a. http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/recipe-index

b. http://www.veganricha.com/category/popular

c. http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/awesome-green-monster-smoothies/

2. Vegan Diet is  Great for Environment : Studies have shown that vegan diet(plant-based diet ) has less impact on environment. Animal agriculture is causing water pollution and air pollution . Raising animals for meat consumes large amount of water compared to grow lentils and beans.

According to 2006 report by the United Nation Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , raising animals for meat is the cause for greenhouse gases such as carbondioxide and methane. In short, animal industry and dairy farms across the world is causing global warming. Today, United Nations is urging people to eat less meat and consume less milk products. 2016 was declared as the International Year of Pulses by the the United Nations .  January 18, 2017 will be the second ever Global Pulse Day, a global event to celebrate pulses and continue the momentum of the International Year of Pulses. And ,World Hunger can be eradicated if everyone thrives on plant-based diet (vegan diet) !

Here are some interesting articles about global warming and environment friendly "vegan meat"

a. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/restaurants/meat-is-drowning-miami-new-omnivore-founder-says-animal-agriculture-is-the-leading-cause-of-climate-change-8293327

b.  http://grist.org/briefly/the-vegan-meat-market-really-beefed-up-in-2016/

c.   http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/-frontier/5-things-you-can-change-t_b_12961192.html

d.  http://www.nbcnews.com/health/diet-fitness/vegan-eating-would-slash-cut-food-s-global-warming-emissions-n542886

Vegan Mango Lassi

Mango lassi is a refreshing summer drink in India. In Atlanta, all the Indian restaurants make Mango lassi with dairy milk and yogurt. So, I just enjoy delicious vegan food in Indian restaurants...

Today, I made delicious vegan mango lassi with home-made almond milk and delicious mango. Both my son and I relished it...

You can find many delicious vegan mango lassi recipes on the internet.

You should really try this delicious Indian drink, before summer ends...

http://www.veganricha.com/2014/02/mango-lassi-and-so-delicious-coupon.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/smriti-kirubanandan/try-this-vegan-mango-lassi-for-a-glassful-of-goodness/

https://veganthom.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/vegan-mango-lassi/

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/vegan-mango-lassi

Vegetarians and Vegans in Pakistan

I grew up in Bangalore, India . While going to school in the morning, my friend Faiza Sultana often told me stories about Pakistan. She told me that are forefathers were from Pakistan. Faiza wished to visit Pakistan to see her distant relatives. Pakistan is India's neighboring country. I also want to visit Pakistan sometime, as I want to see some ancient Hindu temples near Karachi and Lahore.

My friend has not yet visited Pakistan, but she keeps track of everything from cricket to Lollywood and politics to fashion , of Pakistan. Faiza recently sent me the facebook link to Vegan and Vegetarian Pakistan

I was so happy to see the facebook link to Vegan and Vegetarian Pakistan . I grew up with the notion that Pakistani food is synonymous with non-vegetarian food.

Recently, I read another article in outlook India, which reports that the demand for vegetarian food is growing rapidly in Pakistan. I'm so happy that educated Pakistanis are exploring plant-based diet, good for health and our environment.