Maggie Baird, best known as the mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, is stepping into a much larger spotlight, this time as a climate storyteller.

The founder of Support+Feed has partnered with WETA Washington, D.C. to launch a new public television series, Climate Kitchen, set to begin production later this year and air nationwide in 2027. The show will blend cooking, lifestyle, and documentary storytelling to explore how everyday food choices connect to climate change, health, and social equity.

If that sounds like another celebrity cooking show a la Meaghan, it isn’t. The premise is more ambitious: to bring climate action into the most familiar space we have, the kitchen. The book Think Eat Cook Sustainably covers this space. But so much more can be done, from teaching people how to forage, to using time-honored local and seasonal recipes, to learning how to grow our own victory gardens.

“Living a more sustainable, earth-friendly lifestyle can seem… overwhelming,” Baird said in the official announcement. “Climate Kitchen is about embracing progress over perfection… showing how small, simple behavior shifts can build toward lasting difference.”

The series will feature a wide-ranging lineup that reflects where climate conversations are heading, from Indigenous activist Xiye Bastida to oceanographer Sylvia Earle, alongside mainstream figures like Martha Stewart and Baird’s own children, Billie and Finneas. That should be fun. Veganism has definitely grown from being a trend to becoming a movement.

The idea is not to preach but to translate. Climate change, in this framing, isn’t just about policy or technology, it’s about food systems, affordability, and daily habits. Baird has long argued that what we eat is one of the most accessible entry points into climate action, even if it’s not the only solution.

For WETA, the series is part of its broader “Well Beings” initiative, which focuses on public health and societal challenges. Executive producer Tom Chiodo described the goal simply: helping people make a difference “one recipe, one meal… at a time.”

There’s something strategic here. Climate messaging has often struggled to connect with mainstream audiences. But food, personal, cultural, emotional, cuts through.

If Climate Kitchen works, it won’t just teach recipes. It may redefine how climate action is communicated: not as sacrifice, but as something lived daily, one plate at a time.

Want some climate-friendly vegan recipes? Why didn’t you ask? Vegetarian hummus is the best one to start. We picked up this recipe from peacemakers in Haifa.

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Consider this, most Americans are sort of in denial when it comes to climate change and their food. That means more steaks on the barbecue, less care about food miles, and more interest in eating fast?  But is that the whole picture?

Let’s see what the research says.

In a national survey released this week by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Not talking about the impact of food

The report, titled “Climate Change and the American Diet,” found that half (51%) of Americans surveyed said that they would eat more plant-based foods if they had more information about the environmental impacts of their food choices.

But, 70% rarely or never talk about this issue with friends or family.

Nearly two-thirds of the Americans surveyed report having never been asked to eat more plant-based foods, and more than half rarely or never hear about the topic in the media. Guess they aren’t listening to NPR. 🙂

However, the report found that more than half of Americans are willing to eat more vegetables and plant-based alternatives and/or less red meat. So that’s good news for startups like Impossible Food and Beyond Meat that are using labs to create plant based meat, without harmful soy, and which tastes and even bleeds like meat.

The Slow Food Movement defines Slow Meat

But at the same time American consumers are already changing their diets and purchasing habits in favor of plant-based foods.

Are you doing Meatless Mondays?

Although four percent of Americans self-identify as vegan or vegetarian, 20% choose plant-based dairy alternatives about two to five times a week or more often. Roughly the same percentage choose not to buy products from food companies that are not taking steps to reduce their environmental impact.

“Many American consumers are interested in eating a more healthy and climate-friendly diet,” said Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University. “However, many simply don’t know yet which products are better or worse — a huge communication opportunity for food producers, distributors and sellers.”

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Halloumi is said to have originated long ago in Cyprus. Cheesemakers spread the Halloumi technique abroad of compacting milk fresh curds and curing them in brine, and now many Middle Eastern countries produce the cheese. It may be made from goat’s, sheep’s, or cow’s milk, or a mixture of milks. Its flexible texture and  high melting point make the firm, salty cheese ideal for frying and grilling. This easy recipe calls for skewering and grilling it with colorful vegetables. A little chili in the seasoning gives it some Middle Eastern heat. And by the way, we like the occasional cheese and vegetable dish, but here are two intriguing ways to combine cheese with dates.

Soak 12 wooden skewers in cold water for 20 minutes. This will prevent them from scorching during the grilling.

Halloumi Cheese and Vegetable Kebabs

Ingredients:
12 cherry tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped  into thin wedges
250 grams – 9 oz. haloumi cheese, cut into 12 pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 6 pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 6 pieces
2 zucchini, cut into twelve pieces
12 button mushrooms

For marinade:
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

Load the skewers with alternating vegetable pieces and cheese.

Make the marinade. Blend  lemon juice, oil, thyme, chilli and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Brush kebabs with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grill 3-4 minutes, turning skewers over several times. Alternatively, preheat oven grill. Cook kebabs 3- 4 minutes, turning twice. Remove when vegetables are tender and halloumi softens.

Serve with warm pita breads.

Lots more vegewarian (and even vegan) posts on Green Prophet:

• Vegan Israeli Soldiers Have A Beef About Army Grub
• Make Your Own Organic Butter At Home
• Kefir, Legendary Milk Health Drink

Image of haloumi cheese kebabs via Shutterstock.

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With the hot days, the desire to spend time cooking in the kitchen dwindles, although the desire to eat remains. This past salad recipe works for hot summer days. Here at Green Prophet, we publish at least one hot-weather recipe every summer, like this easy and delicious potato salad. And of course, summer’s wild herb, purslane, is popping up in every windowbox and garden, like, well, a weed, for you to nibble on or stir into dishes. If you need more inspiration, here’s an entire summery menu plan for you to choose from.

Broccoli is in season now. Combined with tricolor pasta and other quickly-cooked vegetables, it makes a salad that satisfies fickle summer hungers but doesn’t leave the diner uncomfortably full.

Pasta Salad With Summer Vegetables

More easy, summery salad recipes:

• Vegan Chickpea and Artichoke Salad
• Easy Moroccan Orange Salad
• Freekah, Feta and Fig Salad

Vegewarian is a phrase used to indicate awareness of eating less meat and more sustainably produced foods like vegetables.

Image of pasta salad with broccoli via Shutterstock.

The post Tri-color Pasta Salad With Summer Vegetables Vegan RECIPE appeared first on Green Prophet.

Feel like eating something flavorful and satisfying, but not heavy? Stewed haricot beans answer your hunger – and they’re easy to make.

A hearty vegetarian stew, aromatic with herbs and spices (see our series on Middle Eastern spices). Great with rice or fresh pita and a simple protein like cheese or an omelet on the side.  Or for a real feast, serve them next to our lemon-scented couscous.

Raise or lower the cayenne heat at will, but make sure to include those herbs so well-loved in the Middle East – garlic, sage, and rosemary.

Vegetarian Haricot Bean Stew

1 lb. – 500 grams dried haricot (navy) beans

water to cover and then some more, for soaking

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

1 bay leaf

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 large tomato

2 more tablespoons olive oil

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne flakes, to taste

4 large sage leaves

1 sprig of rosemary about 3″ long

salt

freshly-ground black pepper

a small handful of chives, finely chopped

Method:

Soak the beans in plenty of water, overnight or at least 5 hours.

Drain them and put them in a pot. Cover with water and add a splash of olive oil, the bay leaf, and an unpeeled garlic clove.

Bring to a boil, lower the flame, and simmer, covered – for 1 1/2 hours. The beans should be tender before you add the seasonings.

In a separate pan, sauté the onions in olive oil till soft. Add the tomato and garlic. Stir to mix the vegetables up.

Add the sage, rosemary, cayenne, black pepper, and salt to taste. Stir everything up and cook 5 minutes over a low flame.

Pour the vegetable/herb mixture into the bean pot. Stir, noting if the beans have enough liquid. If it looks like they’re getting dry, add water, a little at a time. Cook the beans and seasoning 1/2 hour, stirring once in a while.

The beans are now ready. Sprinkle some chopped chives into the pan before serving.

More vegetarian foods from the Middle East on Green Prophet:

• Za’atar-Topped Pita
• Lebanese Lentil Soup
• Malabi, Silky Milk Pudding

Photo of haricot bean stew by Miriam Kresh

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