“The vegan canteen”: keeping the grano cliché at bay

Things have tumbled for Marie-Michelle Chouinard. Barely two years ago, she launched her blog A vegan mom thanks to which many Internet users were able to discover his fertile culinary imagination. Then, at the end of August, his first book came out, The vegan canteen, packed with 70 “recipes for good living”.

• Read also: The vegan canteen: for a smooth transition

In the pages of this bistro-style book, there are no animal products, but no compromise on the pleasure of eating either.

“Health doesn’t just come from what we eat,” recalls the author. Often, we think that eating healthy is the basis of health, but we forget about psychological and emotional health through that. When we feel less well, cooking can bring us a certain comfort … “

Here, we do not count calories. We do not blush in front of fats and sweet elements either. “I especially wanted to dissociate myself from the cliché – I prefer to call it ‘grano’ than ‘healthy’ – which is very unprocessed, without oil, without sugar, without frying and without gluten.”

Boldness!

Some will see it as a beautiful culinary freedom, others will salute the daring of mixtures and dishes such as strawberry Pop-Tarts, hot chicken or even “animal style” fries.

For Marie-Michelle Chouinard, this approach is easily explained. “We don’t have the choice to reinvent everything when we become vegan […], like using cashews to make cheeses and sauces, using water from a can of chickpeas to whip up into snow, make meringue. We’re used to taking other ingredients and doing all kinds of things. “

Among the successes that make her particularly proud, there is her best cake: tiramisu. “I’m really happy because it’s one of the recipes that gave me the most difficulty. The grocer’s fingers are not vegan and we had to find a way to make them, but it’s full of eggs … “

In addition, she finally decided to publish the steps and ingredients necessary to make her own burger.

“It’s been four years [qu’il a été créé] and we hesitated a lot, my boyfriend and I, to make it public. It really is our favorite burger. It’s not necessarily something I’ve really worked on. I had a stroke of luck, I got it the first time, and the recipe stuck. I’ve never modified it, and we love it. We love him as much as beyond meat. “

Not a fad

And what does she respond to those who persist with the idea that the allure of veganism will fade?

“I don’t think an ethical choice can be fashionable. It is a change of life. It’s not just diet and it’s not diet […]. Veganism is also about clothing, cosmetics, household products and entertainment. When we are aware, when we have done our studies, when we know why we are going to stop consuming these products, it is really very rare that we will take a step back. ”

• The book The vegan canteen is available in store.