ALICIA SILVERSTONE: PUTTING THE PLANET FIRST

ALICIA SILVERSTONE

PUTTING THE PLANET FIRST

Alicia Silverston is far from clueless. In fact, she is very dialed into a vegan lifestyle, eco-friendly living and a good message in treading lightly on the planet.

“This way of eating and living is the kindest thing we can do for our planet earth,” Alicia says.

We all know and love Alicia from her endearing roles on the big screen, such as the beautiful and ditzy Cher from Clueless and Batgirl in Batman, but these days, the actress has a bigger purpose to share with the world.

After making the change to veganism more than twenty years ago, Alicia eventually co-founded mykind Organics, the first ever foodbased, certified organic, Non-GMO Verified, vegan vitamin line.

Also a dedicated activist, she works to enlighten others about the benefits of clean living, veganism and a sustainable lifestyle and released her first book, “The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet,” in 2009. Readers wanted more and in 2014, she released book number two - “The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning.”

The radiant 43 years old has created a lifestyle that flows through to her family, her home, garden and ecofriendly kitchen, which is complete with untreated wooden floors, reclaimed wood shelves and, of course, no chemicals.

Your Home & Living magazine sat down with the lovely and inspiring Alicia to find out more about her world.

WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT TO BECOMING VEGAN?

It all began at 21, I was spending a good chunk of my time volunteering for various animal welfare campaigns like anti-fur and anti-dissection to animal rescue. I then watched the documentary The Witness. I took a look at my dog Sampson and thought, if I’m not willing to eat you, how

can I continue to eat these other creatures that have the same desire to live, are just as funny and have the same reaction to pain as my dog? I went vegan for the animals.

DID YOU FIND THE TRANSITION DIFFICULT IN THE BEGINNING?

Yes, at first it was difficult because I was kind of alone in my journey. I didn’t know any other vegans at the time and most people didn’t understand veganism. However, I immediately felt and looked better which made the transition easier.

WHAT’S ALWAYS IN ALICIA’S ECO-FRIENDLY KITCHEN?

Lemons, kale and miso! Bok choy and carrots, seaweed, tofu, cultured fermented veggies, a variety of whole grains, and beans. I always have umeboshi plum vinegar, tahini, organic vegan mayo, steel cut oats, maple syrup, and flaxseed oil. And amazing vegan cheese! With these yummy ingredients, you can come up with some seriously delicious, healing, and glow-y recipes.

YOU SEEM TO HAVE NAILED THE PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION IT TAKES TO STAY ON TRACK EATING THIS WAY - DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR BUSY WORKING PARENTS WHO WANT TO BECOME VEGAN BUT ARE SUPER TIME-POOR AND FEEL OVERWHELMED KEEPING ON TRACK?

My cooking mantra is whole grain, beans, greens, so I channel that into various dishes! Stir fries, tacos, soups, and more. For some healthy family goto health snacks our top contenders are homemade hummus with veggie sticks or brown rice crackers, nonGMO edamame, guacamole from homegrown avocados, and berries!

WHAT ABOUT A GREAT TRANSITIONAL MEAL IDEA TO CURB THOSE OTHER CRAVINGS IN THE EARLY DAYS?

There’s always some recipe I can whip up or a restaurant I can go to, and I can scratch the itch and still feel good. If I’m craving something creamy and cheesy, I can make my

Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip or Artichoke Dip from The Kind Diet. It completely satisfies my urge, is quick, and delicious!

BEING SO DEDICATED TO THE WAY YOU EAT, DO YOU INDULGE IN A VEGAN COCKTAIL OCCASIONALLY?

I love glogg, mulled wine! I have a recipe for it, Warm Spicy Wine, in The Kind Diet. It’s a wonderful winter treat and especially good for the holiday parties. But I’m usually just a bourbon on the rocks gal, sometimes with lots of citrus. I don’t drink much but it’s festive at times and when I do, I want to love the sips I’m taking.

WHAT SORT OF HEALTH CHANGES DID YOU NOTICE AND HOW QUICKLY DID THINGS START TO TURN AROUND FOR YOU?

I adopted this diet for the animals, but the biggest surprise was how amazing I felt! I ditched my asthma inhaler, stopped my weekly allergy shots, lost weight, and had a new glow from my skin and hair. I felt incredible from having more energy and balanced out moods. This way of eating transformed me.

Since then, I have extremely rarely used caffeine, aspirin, or antibiotics. My body healed itself by being plant-based. The health benefits are truly immense physically, mentally and spiritually – softening your heart and spirit. Eating a plant-based diet is a surefire way to help heal and nourish your body, not to mention the added bonuses of radiant skin, bright eyes, and glossy hair!

IF OUR READERS WANT TO FOLLOW YOUR APPROACH TO EATING, BUT NEED SOME HELP FINDING WHOLE FOOD RECIPES THAT ARE VEGAN, WHERE DO YOU RECOMMEND, THEY START?

When I first went vegan, I wasn’t focused on super nourishing whole foods, instead, I was on a processed, white

flour centric vegan diet. However, my health still improved significantly since I wasn’t eating meat and dairy! But it wasn’t until I adopted a vegan macrobiotic diet (aka superhero in The Kind Diet) that I really felt an astounding sense of calm and peace within myself. On this diet I eat brown rice, dark greens, beans, and seaweed nearly every day! I moved away from having processed foods, flours, and sugars as the foundation of my diet, and replaced them with wholefoods and vegetables. That doesn’t mean those foods are gone completely, now I consume them as treats in moderation. Post superhero diet, my ability to tune into how my body was actually feeling, along with my intuition, became much stronger. I share tons of tasty and healing superhero recipes in my books, The Kind Diet and The Kind Mama, @aliciasilverstone and on my blog, thekindlife. com. And don’t worry, I still have a French fry and a piece of toast here and there!

HOW DOES IT FEEL KNOWING YOU ARE HELPING SO MANY OTHERS NOURISH THEMSELVES WITH YOUR VITAMINS, WHICH ARE JUST PURE, NATURAL GOODNESS?

It feels amazing! I created myKind Organics because I wanted to bring the highest quality vitamins to families everywhere. I hope it inspires people to lead healthier, more conscientious lives and to really be aware of exactly what ingredients (and where they come from!) they’re putting into their bodies and feeding their children. mykind Organics is a leader in innovation and sustainability for farm to bottle vitamins and herbals. Here’s why: we utilize organic farmers, we invented Clean Tablet Technology which binds our capsules with organic plant material (not artificial funk), our gummies are sweetened with only organic fruit and use fruit pectin (made from organic oranges and apples) instead of pig gelatin, our herbals are extracted with water

and organic non-GMO alcohol – not hexane or GMO ethanol, and these goodies are packaged with post- consumer recycled content.

HOW ELSE DO YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH? DO YOU COMPLIMENT WHAT GOES INTO YOUR BODY WITH A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE OR EXERCISE ROUTINE? IF SO, WHAT DO YOU DO AND HOW OFTEN?

Before we made our own truly clean myKind Organics supplements, I didn’t want to take anything on a regular basis. Now that I have a supplement line that I can trust, I try to take myKind Organics B Complex, mykind Organics B-12 Spray, and myKind Organics Vitamin C Cherry Tangerine Spray. I also take our 40+ multivitamin gummy as a sweet treat that’s also good for me! Some herbal supplements I use as needed include mykind Organics Sleep Well R & R Tablet and Spray, Ashwagandha, Adrenal Balance, and our delicious Elderberry Gummies. When I’m feeling under the weather, or on a cozy needed day I enjoy a sip of our Golden Milk.

I love yoga classes, walking in nature, circuit training classes, and Pilates. Bear and I go on hikes together and enjoy dance parties!

HOW BIG IS YOUR VEGGIE GARDEN?

It is chock full of deliciousness! This Spring, we grew lots of tomatoes, jimmy and Shishido peppers, an abundance of avocado and kale – always! We had amazing cucumbers, basil, and lots of other herbs. Squash and zucchini are always staples but for some reason they weren’t as good this year. The zucchini plants were lovely and full of gorgeous flowers, but the plant never sprouted yummy zucchini this year.

Nothing is healthier than growing your own food. Bear and I make a ritual out of planting and harvesting together. It is wonderful to be able to grow your own vegetables and I love having my son Bear pick peppers or help me tie up tomato plants.

WHAT ARE YOU FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW?

I want the world to change – for people to be kind to each other, animals to stop suffering, and the planet to heal. My wish is people will wake up to our climate crisis and the connection between the state of the planet and their diet.

gardenoflife.com

Alicia's quick tips • It is very healthy to eat veggies for breakfast! • Don’t be scared of tofu! • I cook in batches! I keep things in the freezer, I keep things in containers, I’m always re-using things. So, rice will find life the next day in a yummy stir fry!