Hind

Who are you? My name is Hind, i'm a Paris based personal trainer, you can find me sharing food & stuff at @hind_mh. As i like to say to sum it up, I'm powered by sweat, sound, ink & plant based. I come from a graphic design background, then went into visual merchandising, and finally became a PT.  Always have loved anything visual, alway collected images that were inspiring, as "visual munchies" as i loved to call these. I do analog photography @film_rolls (though i've been lazy to add content here), and i collect ink on myself. 

What does veganism mean to you ?  I think food should be fuel for your body, and cause no harm in the process. That's what veganism mean to me. Plants are powerful, in so many ways, and we've been given everything we need ti fuel up in the nature, that does not include harming another living & breathing organism, be it a cow or a fish. It's also a way to be more conscious of what's around you, the planet, the environment, and all the serious ecological matter we are all aware of.  I'm still in the early stages of veganism, where it's mainly about the plant based diet, so I still have a lot of steps to take next, but i('m working on it and i'm not ashamed. At first  i was fearing social pressure of making this choice, like people would judge and critize. Then i realised, it's the first and most important change you can make on your level, and if your ethics and your ideas do not start of with what you put in you own body, then that's making no sense.  It's also a freaking great bunch of people, no matter where you go in the world.  How and when did you start to cook?  I really started cooking when i moved to Paris, more than 7 years ago. It took myself a couple years to figure shit out and realise i wanted to change my way of eating, becoming a vegetarian, then plant based. I've been vegan since 1 year and a half, and vegetarian for more than 3 i think. I started with books, i'm a more traditional "cook book" person, and then it was all about trying things out, discovering new things (i mean... seitan !), or re discovering the taste of a lot of other things, which sounds insane now, as we talk about beans, herbs, grains, and vegetables. Before i started cooking, i feel like i was just eating with no sense of what i as really eating, or why. Cooking brings it all together. Also, it's so fucking relaxing (except the cleaning the dishes part).  What is your best food related memory?  I think it's a lot about this trip to Bali i took in september 2017 where i discovered tempeh along with the one of the best places of my life (tempeh + a little island = win win). What is the last thing you ate? A big bowl of homemade applesauce with coconuts chips and buckwheat flakes on top.  Any all time favourite eatery/restaurant/cook? 

I'm a little bit obsessed by this place called Grounded in Paris, owned by the cutest people (hi Marion & Louis!). It's just plant based obviously, and so cool : all homemade, with love, good vibes, and the best cinnamon rolls of my entire life. 

In your creative practice, any challenge that you had to overcome in terms of veganism?  Trying to source activewear, including shoes, and training accessories that are not made out of animal products, but it's becoming more and more accessible and that's a great thing. 

My latest obsession would be this couscous that taste just like my mother's one, only vegan. 

Hind's Couscous

Ingredients :

-carrots (2)

-pre cooked chickpeas (2 cups)

-sun dried tomatoes (2/3)

-couscous (3 cups)

-ras el hanout & cumin

-tomato concentrate 

-wheaty vegan merguez (1/2)

-garlic

-coconut oil 

-olive oil

Instructions :

-slice the carrot boil for 10/15 min 

-remove from hot water, and cook again in a pan with cocnut oil, garlic and cumin. cook slowly, let it roast

-in the meantime, prepare the couscous : pour into a big bowl, top up with hot water, cover with a plate and let it rest for 5 minutes. add 2 big spoon of olive oil and mix.

-when the carrots are cooked, add 2 cups of water and 3 spoons of tomato concentate to the mix. add chickpeas, and 1 spoon of ras el hanout

-let cook for 10/15 min

-grill the merguez

-serve in a big wooden bowl (yeah that's the tradition), and add the sundried tomatoes on top