Giving a f*ck with Thug Kitchen

***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***

We met the wildly popular Thug Kitchen; the people who want you to stop fretting over all the health claims and just eat some goddamn vegetables.

How did Thug Kitchen begin?

Thug Kitchen began in 2012 when we finally got tired of the same droning voices dominating healthy eating. There’s always been a tone of pretentiousness and wealth when it comes to food and we thought if we felt excluded, other people probably did too. Thug Kitchen was created as the anti-hero to the typical rubbish associated with healthy eating.

Where are you based?

We’re based in Los Angeles but one of us is from the East Bay and the other is from Texas.

Who are the sassy folk behind Thug Kitchen?

We’re two normal people in our thirties trying to eat better. Honestly we don’t know how we got lucky enough to do this for a living. Matt was a production assistant who only did photography as a hobby. Michelle, who is the cook and creator of the recipes, worked at a grocery store as a cashier and bagger. We write everything together with the goal of making ourselves laugh. We don’t have any experience in commercial kitchens, culinary training, or professional photography. We just wanted healthy eating to be more approachable, we realized there’s a shitload of people who want the same thing, and then we worked our asses off.

We love your no-bull approach to getting people to eat more vegetables. Why is this message important to you?

Everybody knows they could use more veggies in their diets. But that message doesn’t resonate when it’s only coming from people like professional chefs, those who grow their own food, can spend all day cooking, or have disposable incomes. Most people don’t live like that and we wanted to promote vegetables on a level that spoke to most people, people like us.

We’re big fans of your recipes, can you name your favourite go-to meals?

The roasted chickpea and broccoli burrito is a tried-and-true favorite from our first book. It’s super easy to make and it’s the one we hear about most from our readers. You can find that on our website for free. Our new book actually has some of our personal favs like spaghetti pie, firecracker salad, and snickerdoodles. We can’t wait for the book to drop so we can share them with everyone.

What pantry staples could you not go without?

It’s kinda a tie between olive oil and rice vinegar. They both make everything taste so much better so we throw them in almost everything. We should start buying them by the damn barrel to save ourselves some trips to the store.

What’s the best cooking advice you can give a novice?

You’re probably a much better cook than you realise so don’t be so hard on yourself if you mess up or aren’t sure how to do something. With a little bit of practice you’ll be cooking circles around everyone you know. Just find a couple of times a week, like Sunday nights, that you can have some quality time in the kitchen. YOU GOT THIS. Oh yeah, invest in a good knife, that’s the most important tool in the kitchen and makes prep way easier.

What’s your advice for people aiming to eat more plant-based dishes?

BUY OUR BOOKS, just playing (but seriously buy them). If you’re trying to eat more plant-based dishes, dedicate one or two days a week, or maybe just lunches, where you commit to only eating plant-based food. Use the opportunity to expand your culinary horizons and try new shit. Eating the same played out veggie burger everyday is a waste of your damn time and taste buds. Once you start finding food you really enjoy and notice how much better you feel overall, it’s gonna be hard to ever look back.

Thug Kitchen’s new cookbook Thug Kitchen 101: Fast As Fuck launches in October, it’s now available to pre-order!

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Hannah Adams

Hannah is a bit of cheese fiend, climbs walls for fun and #khoollects enamel cooking ware....

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Fancy cooking from the Thug Kitchen cookbook? Enter our giveaway! Or try their delicious firecracker salad.

Follow Thug Kitchen on instagram, Facebook and twitter. Or watch their hilarious new trailer. Warning: there’s a few swear words in there.