REFLECTIONS

If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou


Animals and the Law

I have been quiet lately, dedicating time to reading, writing, reflecting, and soul searching; trying to figure out what I want for my career, my blog, my life.  One thing I regret in life is not taking an animal law course in law school. So I bought an animal law textbook to teach myself now. Do…

Dairy – The Not So Good, the Bad, the Ugly

I recently listened to a great panel discussion on dairy by the non-profit organization, Switch 4 Good, and read its scientific report, “Dairy Does a Body Bad.” It inspired me to write a blog post about dairy. The dairy industry has great marketing strategies. I can clearly remember the milk mustache, the “Got Milk?” advertisements,…

Table for Two

Today is my mom’s 65th Birthday! She is the creative genius behind the vegan Persian recipes on the Plant-Based Persian blog. There would be no blog without her. She is “the best cooker,” as my kids say. When my husband and I got married 14 years ago, we were poor college students so my mom…

How my Religion Helps me be Vegan

It can be hard to be vegan. Not because I want to eat meat or dairy, but because it can be hard socially. It is intimidating to go against the status quo. Foremost, there is the societal pressure that we need to eat animal products. USDA dietary guidelines advise that we need meat and dairy…

Peace Begins with Empathy

I was recently referred to as an “animal lover.” This took me by surprise. I haven’t thought of myself as an animal lover. Not really.  Sure, I love dogs. Baby animals are adorable. But I’m scared of geese; they can be aggressive. I’ve been scratched by cats one too many times. A mouse in the…

I am Mommy, Trying to Also be Me

I was a practicing attorney for almost 13 years. Then COVID-19 happened, schools closed, and I resigned from my job three months ago. “COVID-19 might not kill me, but the stress might.” That is what I told the managing partner at my law firm. I resigned a few weeks later. The day I resigned, I…

So You are Worried about Soy

I hear a lot of concern about soy. That ominous, harmful legume. The concern I hear is that soy contains estrogen. But I love soy. I enjoy tofu in my stir fry, tempeh in my sandwiches, edamame as an afternoon snack, and soy milk in my coffee. I think soy gets a bad rap (probably…

World Refugee Day

Today is World Refugee Day, a day to show that the world supports and stands with refugees. Why am I writing about this on my plant-based blog? Because I came to this country as a refugee, and it is very much a part of who I am today. My mother and I came to the…

Planting the Future

As I start a vegan blog in the middle of a pandemic and a few weeks after the murder of George Floyd, I wanted to begin by saying, Black Lives Matter. Saying Black Lives Matter does not mean other lives don’t matter. I am a vegan. I believe even animal lives matter. Rather, Black Lives…