Mindy Kaling approaches a plant-based diet when her vegan friend and fellow actor Natalie Portman encourages her to move away from animal products. The TV star isn’t entirely on a plant-based diet, but recently Kaling has featured some of her favorite vegan dishes on her social media. In March, Kaling posted a video on her Instagram of making a plant-based butternut pumpkin soup dedicated to Portman’s vegan lifestyle.
“One of my New Year’s resolutions is to eat less red meat,” Kaling told her followers. “I want to follow in the footsteps of my very healthy, great friend Natalie Portman, who is vegan and makes great recipes online, and I want to do something similar. There are some really good nutritious ones [soups] which are also vegan. “
Office alumin’s switch to plant-based foods follows their promise to eat less red meat in the future. The actress found she wanted to increase her food intake and become more aware of the sustainability of food production. By sharing recipes, she hopes she can encourage her fans to do the same and see how individual diets relate to global environmental issues.
“I love red meat, but I know it’s not good for me and I don’t have to eat so much of it for health, environmental, and all the good reasons,” Kaling said in February.
The actress’s mission is to try as many plant-based foods as possible, from Impossible burgers to vegan desserts. In 2019, Kaling teamed up with Vice President Kamala Harris to prepare masala dosas – a vegan Indian staple that the duo describe as “a kind of sourdough crpe” made with spiced potatoes. Kaling and Harris discussed how most of their older relatives ate predominantly vegetarian diets. As they cooked, teams remembered that their family meals rarely included meat, with Harris claiming, “If it had a mother, it wouldn’t be eaten.”
Kaling has publicly showcased her herbal product so that her fans can follow her vegan journey. The star’s Instagram now features some of her favorite vegan recipes, as well as videos and descriptions that give fans a taste of their vegan food. Whether inspired by Portman or her own family, here’s a quick recap of some of Kaling’s vegan recipes.
Chana Masala
Masala Dosa
Vegan butternut squash soup
Banana ice cream
Natalie Portman’s vegan influence
In addition to influencing her friends to lead a vegan lifestyle, Portman is heavily involved in plant-based nutrition and sustainable food sourcing. Portman spent most of the last year providing vegan recipes and cooking tutorials to her fans, and cooking everything from homemade stews to vegan latkes. The legendary actress became a vegetarian at the age of nine after reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Eating Animals, which inspired her to rethink her diet and the impact of food on the environment and animal life.
“When I read the book, I became a vegan. I think until then I was like, ‘Oh, you don’t kill animals with eggs and dairy products. It’s just their natural by-products, ‘”Portman explained.” But when I started learning about the conditions – and the environmental impact of all these animals and the impact of large groups of sick animals on humans, I really wanted to change right away. “
Since Portman went vegan, he has invested in several plant-based companies including Impossible Foods, Oatly, and MycoWorks – a biotech company responsible for sustainable vegan leather made entirely from mushrooms. The Black Swan star continues to advocate a plant-based life to promote sustainability, cruelty-free sourcing, and nutritional health. As her influence grows, her friends and star colleagues like Mindy Kaling seem to be turning to a plant-based lifestyle and cooking, inspiring her fans to consider vegan foods and products.
