Candice Hutchings from The Edgy Veg dishes out about Veganism and Cannabis
Last month, we sat down with girl boss and founder of The Edgy Veg, Candice Hutchings, to talk about her passion for veganism and her relationship with cannabis. Known for her comedic delivery, she’s amassed a huge following around veganism, sharing her recipes, and spreading positive messages around female empowerment.
What inspired you to start Edgy Veg?
When I went vegan 10 years ago, veganism was not the mainstream trend it is now. I noticed a hole in the culinary space for vegan versions of traditional recipes. I was not a chef and I had never created recipes, but I knew that if I wanted this vegan-thing to stick for me, I had to learn how to cook. So, I started the first concept of The Edgy Veg blog. I used the blog to keep track of the meals I was creating because I was constantly being asked for the recipes. I also used it as a personal diary of my journey, activism, and personal struggles navigating the vegan-world. When YouTube became a popular tool, it was an obvious next step, then Instagram, now TikTok, and the journey continues!
Veganism has become more popular over the last few years, but there are still a lot of skeptics and naysayers. What is the biggest misconception or myth that needs to be debunked about veganism?
That it’s healthy, all you're eating is veggies, and that vegans hate the taste of meat. Of course, like all "diets" you have your healthier options and your junk foods. I get a lot of comments along the lines of, "If you're vegan, why do you want your food to taste and look like meat?" Many who choose this lifestyle, don't do it because they hate the taste of meat. What they do not agree with is eating a sentient being, and/or the horrible practice factory farming, and for many others, it's the environmental impact of animal agriculture and our planet. Vegan recipes can be indulgent, and decadent and can and will stand up next to the non-vegan counterpart. Vegan cuisine is just another style of cooking, it’s not good for vegan food- it’s just good food.
Completely agree – vegan food gets a pretty bad rep. People assume it’s just salads and tofu, but there are some really delicious vegan recipes out there and I love that you are breaking the stigma around it.
I’d like to pivot over to talking about cannabis. Can you tell us about your first ever experience using cannabis/CBD?
How far back do you want to go? haha. I remember the first joint I smoked when I was 13. I was with my best friend at the time. We took it from her mother and smoked it in her bedroom out the window (as if she didn't know what we were doing) and we ate junk food, laughed a lot and watched 'The Doors', a film with Val Kilmer. I was very lucky that at least one of my parents smoked themselves, and normalized it for me at a very young age. I always used cannabis to relax, get creative, or just laugh, even at 13.
How would you describe your relationship with cannabis?
It has always been positive, one of my parents was very open about their use, and so, it was just always around. I thought of it the same way I thought of smoking a cigarette. It was never taboo, it was never a bad thing (in our home, anyway). The parent (I don't want to name names) always referred to cannabis as "medicine", so it was a tool for me, not so much an act of rebellion.
At Blissed, we’re trying to educate people around the benefits of CBD and cannabis. There’s also stigma around using cannabis that needs to be debunked, especially for women. What was your experience with this?
While my dad was an old hippie, my mom was kind of like, “That’s bad. You shouldn’t be doing that. Boys don’t like girls that use drugs.” It was always seen as this illicit substance. Now, the more that I educate around it on my channel, I’ve had a couple brands ask if I work with cannabis products. I’ve been trying to educate that it’s actually not a bad thing. Cannabis is a plant medicine. I’m trying to educate women on the amazing benefits of cannabis for a variety of issues, not just mental help but also menstrual cramps, endometriosis, and migraines.
Most people don’t understand the why behind using cannabis.
A lot of people think if you use cannabis, you’re using it to get high. They don’t think about CBD or the therapeutic uses of it. Cannabis is very new to people. We have to do a lot of education around it, but I think people are slowly starting to come around. That’s why I share my stories – I was reluctant at first to talk about cannabis, but I realized I was feeding into that stigma. So now I share what I do. Many women have reached out thanking me for talking about cannabis. We just have to keep talking about it, show people the amazing ways we can use it and hopefully that stigma goes away.
So what’s next for The Edgy Veg?
Ooh that’s always such a loaded question. In the near future, I’m definitely going to write a 2nd cookbook. But I also want to continue fighting for animal rights, and teaching people how to make easy, delicious recipes at home while incorporating more education around feminism, female empowerment, racism and what that looks like in the vegan community. It’s not well known, but our community can be anti-feminist, anti-racist, and aggressive, and intersectionality is something I feel passionate about. There are a lot of bullies in the community, and I want to do more education on mental health and how it relates to veganism.
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Explore vegan recipes from The Edgy Veg and follow her on Instagram here.