Want to eat more plant-based meals? Maggie Baird, Billie Eilish's mom,
has some ideas
[October 04, 2025]
By MELINA WALLING
Maggie Baird says her vegan cinnamon rolls are a family favorite —
including to her children, who happen to be the world-famous musicians
Billie Eilish and Finneas.
Growing up, Baird stopped eating meat in part because she felt connected
to animals. Her commitment grew as she learned about the environmental
impact of animal agriculture. And her mother died of a heart attack at
57 — one of many in her family to die of heart disease.
“I always say I have the trifecta of reasons" for foregoing meat, said
Baird, who in 2020 founded Support + Feed, a nonprofit that advocates
for a more climate-friendly food system and provides plant-based meals
to people in need.
That connection between what's healthy for people and the planet
dominates the latest EAT-Lancet Commission report, an updated version of
the 2019 analysis produced by leading food researchers from around the
world. Besides detailing the food system's contribution to climate
change, it outlines the most current version of a “planetary health
diet,” which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and nuts and
encourages people, particularly in high-income countries, to reduce
their intake of animal products, especially red meat.
“Nothing else on a pound for pound basis, except maybe refrigerants,
comes close to the polluting power of beef,” said Jonathan Foley,
executive director of independent climate solutions nonprofit Project
Drawdown, at a Climate Week presentation in New York City. That "doesn’t
mean everyone has to be vegan tomorrow,” but the goal should be to trim
back high-polluting parts of one’s diet, he added.
We asked experts for some tips to center plants in your kitchen. Here's
what they said.
Sharpen up your basics
Are you worried your home-cooked asparagus won't taste as good as your
signature steak? That probably just means you haven't had as much
practice with the right techniques, said Miguel Guerra, chef and owner
of Washington, D.C.-based, vegetable-forward Latin American restaurant
MITA, which received a Michelin star in 2024.
Guerra suggested working on the basics: learn how to blanch asparagus,
steam broccoli so it doesn't get mushy or roast sweet potatoes so they
get crispy on the outside. Even knife skills make a difference; Guerra
said an onion chopped the right way tastes better.
“When I was a kid, I did not eat vegetables,” he said. Then culinary
school, and a particularly delicious broccoli-cheddar soup, changed his
mind. He realized selecting and preparing fresh ingredients with care
and effort does make them better.
Reach for what's in season, but keep a stock pantry with sauces,
proteins and spices
When you're out shopping, it's easier to pivot to whatever vegetables
look freshest or are in season if you keep a stock pantry with canned
and shelf-stable ingredients like sauces, said Joshua McFadden, a chef,
restaurateur, farmer and cookbook author who has written about the “six
seasons” approach to cooking.
There are also plenty of plant-based protein sources that keep for a
long time in the pantry or freezer, like canned beans, tofu, nuts and
lentils — all of which are highlighted in the EAT-Lancet report as
ingredients that deserve a more central place in diets healthy for
people and the planet.
[to top of second column]
|
A plate of green beans picked from a home garden is prepared in a
saute pan in Chatham, Mass., on July 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Carolyn
Lessard, File)
 Even just simple seasonings like
salt, pepper and olive oil can help plant ingredients shine, said
McFadden, speaking on a panel at a New York Climate Week event.
But Baird also suggested experimenting with ingredients that you
might not normally keep in your kitchen, from pomegranate molasses
to capers. If something you need for a new recipe isn't available at
your grocery store, you can make substitutions while still aiming to
be “a little bit daring," she said.
Use plants that are accessible in culturally relevant ways
The comfort of familiar food, how much it costs and knowledge of how
to cook it are top concerns for many of the people in the South
Bronx who come to community gardens, said Sheryll Durrant, an urban
farmer and educator who works with refugee communities, speaking on
another panel at the same event as McFadden. “One of our roles is to
grow diverse food, to grow culturally relevant foods, and to show
you that you can utilize these foods in an affordable way,” she
said.
Local, traditional foods tend to have a higher chance of being
healthy for people and the planet than modern ones that have sprung
from the industrial food system, said Johan Rockstrom, one of the
authors of the EAT-Lancet Commission report.
Durrant pointed out that different cultures use ingredients
differently, and that talking to people from other places in the
world is a great way to learn new recipes even for plants you
already think you know how to use.
Guerra, of MITA, grew up deeply rooted in Venezuelan cooking, and
that still informs his work. He said he doesn’t like using the vegan
label and he isn’t vegan himself — he just wants to cook with
vegetables and make sure “they’re the star of the show.”
He described using mushrooms and other plant-based ingredients to
recreate a sweet and tangy sauce traditionally made in the process
of cooking meat, a dish “really close to our hearts and our country,
and in a special way,” he said.
Don't expect an exact replica of your favorite dish
“I really think it’s important with plant-based food that you don’t
just try to replicate. Just try to think of what is good,” Baird
said.
For example, leaning into fully plant-based combinations that
already make sense from a flavor perspective — for instance, a creme
brulee with mango and coconut milk — “that’s going to be delicious,”
she said.
Guerra follows the same principle. “We’re not like, ‘oh, how do we
substitute the steak? Or how do we make something that looks like a
steak on the plate?’” he said. “It’s just more like, we are true to
the ingredients we use, and then the cuisine and the flavors that we
want to showcase.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
