10 Mar, 2025

Levantine cuisine has long embraced plant-based traditions, with dishes like mujaddara, hummus, and foul medames rooted in centuries of sustainable eating.

10 Mar, 2025

Veganism is often perceived as expensive, but in reality, it can be one of the most cost-effective ways to eat, especially in times of economic crisis.

10 Mar, 2025

A well-balanced vegan diet offers proven health benefits, from weight management and heart health to a lower risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer.

10 Mar, 2025

In a world driven by consumerism, the suffering of animals is hidden behind marketing, packaging, and profit-driven industries.

15 Oct, 2025

The consumerist promise of endless abundance is unraveling, as exploding populations, industrial animal agriculture, and ecological collapse reveal the hidden costs of our food, land, and water systems.

24 Jun, 2025

Storytelling is my metaphysical act of weaving broken memories into living threads. From Beirut rooftops to vegan kitchens, I trace unseen connections between animals, refugees, machines, and us.

5 Jun, 2025

Embrace a vibrant, balanced vegan diet by incorporating nutrient-rich Levantine flavors and plant-based traditions.

9 Apr, 2025

A carnivorous diet poses serious health risks, including an increased likelihood of heart disease, cancer, and antibiotic resistance.

20 Mar, 2025

We all love movies, vegans are no exception. So we curated a list of must-watch films for you.

8 Mar, 2025

The vegan diet, often misunderstood, is rich in nutrient-dense foods from Levantine cuisine, offering a balanced and wholesome plant-based lifestyle.

4 Jan, 2026

An Alternative Kitchen plant-based recipes show hosted by Yal Solan. The Alternative Kitchen is a multidisciplinary platform rooted in Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine that explores how food affects health, the environment, and conscious living. Using simple, affordable, plant based ingredients, it invites vegans, vegetarians, and mindful omnivores to rethink what they eat, challenges myths around vegan nutrition and cost, and promotes food sovereignty through recipes, storytelling, and community focused content.

7 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal reveals the true cost of store-bought peanut butter, showing how homemade versions are cheaper, healthier, and free from preservatives, palm oil, and added sugars. Using just peanuts and a pinch of salt, viewers learn to save money, take control of what they eat, and enjoy a simple, nutritious, and honest alternative.

10 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal highlights tahini as a Levantine staple and explains why making it at home is fresher, healthier, and more conscious than buying it from the store. Using only sesame seeds, homemade tahini offers better flavor, higher nutritional value, full control over texture and roasting, and avoids additives and overprocessing, encouraging viewers to reconnect with a traditional ingredient in its simplest and most honest form.

15 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal reimagines shepherd’s pie, known in Lebanese cuisine as batata bil souniyeh, showing how this traditional dish can be made fully plant based without losing its essence. By removing unnecessary animal products and focusing on vegetables, potatoes, and spices, the segment proves that comfort food can remain hearty, flavorful, and culturally authentic while becoming healthier and cruelty free.

16 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal answers the question of what vegans eat for breakfast by introducing a Lebanese style labneh made from cashews, offering a dairy free alternative rooted in compassion and tradition. The segment challenges the ethics and health myths surrounding dairy, highlighting animal exploitation and digestive concerns, while showing how familiar flavors can be enjoyed in a kinder, healthier, and more conscious way.

17 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal rethinks mayonnaise by questioning its reliance on eggs and heavily processed oils, and introduces a plant-based alternative that is lighter, healthier, and free from cholesterol and animal products. Using simple ingredients like chickpea flour and black salt to recreate the familiar egg-like flavor, the segment shows how vegan mayo can deliver the same creamy satisfaction while being kinder to the body, animals, and the environment.

17 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal showcases a plant based omelette that’s savory, filling, and completely free of animal products. Highlighting the ethical, health, and environmental issues of conventional egg production, the recipe proves that a delicious, protein rich breakfast can be enjoyed without harming animals, compromising nutrition, or increasing your environmental footprint.

19 Jan, 2026

In this segment, Yal reimagines salmon with a plant-based alternative that delivers smoky, flaky flavor without harming oceans or human health. Using carrots infused with sea-inspired umami, the recipe avoids overfishing, pollution, and toxic contaminants while offering a nutritious, cholesterol-free, and sustainable way to enjoy the seafood experience without compromise.

26 Feb, 2026

In this segment, Yal celebrates kibbeh as a naturally adaptable Levantine dish with deep plant based roots, highlighting lentil kibbeh as a protein rich, flavorful variation. By tracing kibbeh’s history as a grain based staple that only later incorporated meat, the segment reframes vegan kibbeh as a return to traditional, nourishing, and sustainable foodways rather than a modern compromise.

9 Apr, 2026

In this episode, Yal reinvents the classic escalope as a plant-based alternative that’s crispy, flavorful, and nourishing. Using vital wheat gluten and chickpeas, the recipe delivers protein, fiber, and iron while avoiding the ethical, health, and environmental issues of conventional chicken. This creation shows that comfort food can be indulgent, wholesome, and cruelty free, proving plant-based eating doesn’t require sacrifice.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal offers a plant-based tuna alternative made from chickpeas, challenging the health and environmental harms of conventional tuna fishing. By avoiding mercury, toxins, and ocean destruction while delivering familiar flavor and versatility for sushi, salads, and sandwiches, the segment shows how seafood favorites can be enjoyed in a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable way.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal shows how mushrooms create a rich, savory, and nutrient-dense plant-based gravy that rivals traditional meat-based versions. By replacing animal drippings with umami-packed mushrooms, the recipe is cruelty-free, healthier, and versatile, proving that indulgent flavor can be fully plant-based without compromising taste or satisfaction.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal explains why vegans avoid cheese by unpacking its health, ethical, and addictive nature, focusing on casein, saturated fat, and dairy industry practices. She introduces a comforting, stretchy plant based cheese that delivers the flavor and texture people love, without cholesterol, hormones, addiction, or animal exploitation, proving that cheese enjoyment does not require harm or compromise.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal redefines plant-based burgers as flavorful, nutrient-rich, and ethical alternatives to meat, highlighting their health, environmental, and animal welfare benefits. Featuring mushrooms, lentils, nuts, and vital wheat gluten, her Special Alternative Kitchen Gourmet Plant-Based Burger delivers protein, iron, and fiber without saturated fat or cruelty, proving that indulgent, wholesome, and conscious eating can be delicious, satisfying, and empowering.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal highlights dolma (stuffed peppers) as a naturally plant-based Levantine dish, challenging the idea that vegan eating in Lebanon is difficult. By removing meat, the recipe returns dolma to its historical roots, celebrating tradition, seasonality, and everyday cooking practices that long relied on grains, herbs, olive oil, and legumes, proving that vegan food in the Levant is ancestral, authentic, and culturally intact.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal reimagines shanklish by removing cheese and revealing the true power of its herbs, spices, garlic, and thyme. By questioning dairy’s impact on flavor, health, ethics, and the environment, the segment shows how shanklish becomes lighter, more authentic, and more expressive when it returns to its plant based roots, proving that tradition lives in the land, not in animal products.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal challenges the idea that veganism is difficult in Arab countries by highlighting chickpeas and hummus as foundational Levantine staples. By exploring their nutritional value, affordability, and cultural significance, the segment shows that plant based eating is not a modern trend but a continuation of ancestral food traditions rooted in resilience, nourishment, and food sovereignty.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal presents a versatile vegan pancake that’s fully plant based, indulgent, and customizable with fruits, nut butters, and natural sweeteners. Using local, high quality ingredients, the recipe offers a nourishing, cruelty free breakfast that’s healthier than traditional pancakes, celebrating sustainable, flavorful, and fun ways to start the day.

9 Apr, 2026

In this segment, Yal reimagines desserts by showing that milk, eggs, and butter aren’t essential for indulgent sweets. Using plant-based ingredients like cacao and chocolate from local Lebanese brands, she creates vegan cookies that are flavorful, cruelty-free, and healthier, proving that desserts can be satisfying, ethical, and free from unnecessary animal products.

9 Apr, 2026

This segment of Yal playfully challenges dairy culture by questioning the normalization of cow’s milk and exposing its ethical, environmental, and biological contradictions. Through humor and honesty, it highlights how homemade plant based milks like almond milk are cheaper, more sustainable, and free from animal suffering, inviting viewers to rethink dairy and embrace simple, compassionate alternatives without sacrifice.

23 Feb, 2026

In this episode of The Alternative Kitchen podcast, Samer speaks with photographer, yoga practitioner, and Muslim vegan Fawzia Jafan about her journey from vegetarianism to veganism through spirituality, research, and activism. The conversation explores animal rights through an Islamic lens, reexamines modern slaughter practices and Eid al-Adha, and reflects on compassion, intention, and ethical responsibility, showing how faith and conscious living can evolve together in today’s world.

3 Feb, 2026

In this episode, Samer speaks with Huaida Rajab, co-founder of Orenda in Lebanon, about redefining plant-based cuisine. They explore how Orenda offers diverse, satisfying international and Lebanese dishes without meat, challenges misconceptions about vegan food, and uses culinary innovation to promote community, education, and conscious eating.

26 Jan, 2026

In this episode of The Alternative Kitchen podcast, Samer speaks with animal rights activist and filmmaker George Achkar Salame about his ethical awakening, street activism, and efforts to secure legal protections for animals in Lebanon. The conversation explores cultural contradictions around animal treatment, the link between animal and human rights, and the need for compassion grounded in real action.

25 Dec, 2025

In this episode of The Alternative Kitchen podcast, Samer speaks with Lebanese martial artist and athlete Maya Kawas about veganism, strength, and gender. The conversation challenges myths linking meat to power, explores how a plant based diet supports performance and recovery, and redefines strength through health, autonomy, and compassion.