"Vegan Rock You" - the rock'n'roller among vegan cookbooks
Dear Regine, dear Ansgar, why a book about vegan cooking at all?
Because it's fun and super easy. That is the most important thing for us. Many lack ideas, recipes and there are also many prejudices. In general, however, there is a great deal of interest. However, most people don't know how to do it. That's why it's important to us to pass on ideas, inspiration, courage and our knowledge while doing away with negative prejudices. We are very pleased that the vegan lifestyle is currently on everyone's lips, because it is also very healthy and environmentally friendly, because it enabled us to write this book in the first place.
What makes “Vegan Rock You” different from other vegan cookbooks?
It contains very simple dishes. No shishi and no frills. It is, so to speak, the rock'n'roller among vegan cookbooks. It is also family-friendly and there are exclusive children's favorite dish potato stamps. The book also contains many other tips, such as eating out, vegan grilling, life with kids and vegan junk food. Then the book just looks super cool. You almost want to hang the cover on the wall and the photos are from The Bosshoss Haus & Hof photographer. Just rock'n'roll.
In your opinion, what else is part of the “vegan lifestyle”?
Just try it out and go through life with open eyes. To feel healthy and fit, to live self-made and sustainably while avoiding waste and suffering as much as possible. And by the way, being well prepared for the Rock'n'Roll life full of junk food, sins and temptations.
And what is special about your recipes?
There are around 80 really easy recipes. We sorted out everything that was a bit more complex. Sometimes we even thought, "It's so simple, you can't even call it a recipe. But it's just too delicious." Then we left it in and summarized it in the chapter "horny next to it". We are not trained chefs, but a very simple family who wanted to try vegan cuisine.
In the book you also write about vegan food especially with and for children and you can tell from your own experience. How did your children initially react to vegan dishes and is there anything that surprised you?
We didn't really announce it because we wanted to try it out for ourselves for 2 weeks. The kids didn't even notice at first. When at some point milk, eggs or cheese were no longer bought, the first complaints came from the children. We do not ban these foods, but over time they have become something special. We did not expect the health effects in this form either. The condition of one child's skin has improved enormously, the stomach pain of the other has disappeared and none of us are actually ever ill. But what surprised us the most is that the children prefer vegan or vegetarian dishes at school or at the buffet on holiday.
What is the importance of good ingredients for you, do you have any recommendations for buying vegan food?
The ingredients are very important because they form the basis for cooking and ultimately for nutrition. The simplest rule is: if you don't want to eat something, don't buy it. But you have to understand one thing: health is not just about the meat - this is often misunderstood - it's about the animal components in all kinds of products. Eating a purely plant-based diet for a while is a real boost for your health. If the products are then also in organic quality or from the farmer around the corner, it's even better, but it only makes up a small proportion... This then leads to the question: Which industry do I want to support?
Is there a favorite recipe in the book?
Yes. All. Even with 80 recipes, we had a hard time picking them. We have many, many more, but wanted all of the recipes to be easy to follow. And with a family of 5 people, at least 15 favourite recipes come out. If Regine would name one, it would be the caponata, a sweet and sour stew made from eggplant, celery and tomatoes. Ansgar just loves anything with beans or lentils. Lasagna or spaghetti Bolognese are at the forefront. What the children like best is marked in the book with the children's favorite dish potato stamp.
