38 JANUARY 2 0 1 8
FOOD + DRINK
BY ESTELLE PYPER
@ESTIE_PYPER
@ESTIEPYPER
She had no idea it would turn into a
full-on plant-based lifestyle and prompt
her to start her Instagram account, The
Conscious Bowl (@theconsciousbowl).
“I started not eating meat just to detox
and get healthy,” said Pillai, who grew up
in India and moved to the U.S. for graduate
school.
Soon after, she cut eggs and dairy, too.
She doesn’t call it vegan, however, because
she doesn’t adopt the full “rules”
of veganism, like not owning or wearing
leather products.
“Just because you’re not eating meat,
you’re not deprived of protein,” Pillai
said. “You’re not deprived of iron. It’s a
very healthy lifestyle. It’s a very balanced
lifestyle, and it can be extremely delicious.”
Her Instagram started as a way to track
her new lifestyle and log recipes. Private
about her personal life, Pillai was hesitant
to make her account public, but once she
did, she noticed an uptick in followers,
and more food-conscious people are taking
an interest.
“If I can even convince one person to
not eat meat for like, one day a week
every week, I think I would have accomplished
something,” Pillai said. “I’m
definitely hoping that I can inspire more
people to eat more vegetables. They’re
not boring!”
Pillai shoots all her own photos with her
DSLR camera, and she does minimal photo
editing. She’ll craft her masterpieces in the
morning for sufficient natural light, and aims
to update her account at least once a day.
Color
Me Healthy
When Astoria resident Nima Pillai
first went vegetarian, it was just
for a weeklong cleanse from her
meat-centric diet. She travels a
lot for her work as a chemical
engineer — to India, North Korea
and other East Asian countries.
Her diet while traveling used to be
extremely meat-heavy, and when
she would return from abroad, she
remembers feeling lethargic and
unhealthy, which prompted the
vegetarian experiment.