‘Indulgent, not pious’

Vegan comfort food is having a moment. The success of restaurants like Meet in Vancouver and Doomie’s in Toronto illustrates a voracious appetite for deep-fried and hearty plant-based offerings. And not just for vegans or vegetarians.

“It’s great to bring the movement to the mainstream by having a lot of familiar comfort foods,” author Lauren Toyota says. “And putting the idea in people’s heads that this is the same thing as what you’re used to.”

The former MuchMusic VJ and MTV Canada host has translated her passion for plant-based eating into a YouTube channel with nearly 400,000 subscribers. In her debut cookbook, Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics, Toyota delivers “indulgent, not pious” fare.

She offers veganized versions of quintessential comfort foods, like Southern fried cauliflower, Philly cheesesteak, and mac and cheese onion rings.

The more than 100 recipes reflect the food she loved to eat before going vegan in 2010.

“When I went vegan, I thought, ‘Well, now I’m vegan. I have to eat this way.’ And I fell into those traps that a lot of people do, which is where Hot for Food comes into play,” Toyota says.

“I’m trying to dispel those misconceptions by saying, ‘No, you can actually eat the food you want to eat.’ You just have to make a few ingredient swaps or think about it a little bit differently.”

Excerpted from Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics. Penguin Canada.