Since her breakout role as the lovable teen socialite Cher in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone has gone from actress to activist, championing a vegan, environmentally friendly lifestyle in her New York Times best-selling book, The Kind Diet, and her latest, The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning. The 37-year-old is wife to rocker Christopher Jarecki, mom to Bear, 3, and the powerhouse behind TheKindLife.com, a website devoted to all things eco-friendly. Silverstone talked to dash about her favorite date night, the cooking tool she always has on hand, and her secret TV guilty pleasure.
DASH: You’re known for being a committed vegan. Why did you decide to embrace the diet?
ALICIA SILVERSTONE: I went vegetarian when I was 8 and that didn’t last, since I was 8, you know? [laughs] Then when I was 21, I saw a documentary about how animals are slaughtered. I went home, looked at my dog, and thought, “If I’m not willing to eat him, then why would I be willing to eat any other animal?”
What’s your go-to breakfast?
I almost always have miso soup in the morning, steamed greens, and some kind of grain. For Bear, we’ll make him steel-cut oats with almond butter. He calls it his “peanut butter porridge.”
What’s your ideal date night?
My favorite thing is to go to the farmers’ market, get all our veggies and things, and come home and just spend an hour cooking together. It’s so romantic. I don’t know why the kitchen creates so much flirting, but it does.
Is there a kitchen gadget you can’t live without?
I love my little lemon squeezer. It’s this thing that folds open and you put a half of a lemon inside. I can use my hand instead, but there’s something so nice about getting every last drop.
What do you cook when you want to impress guests?
My favorites are Moroccan couscous with saffron, or my [vegan] sausage and cheese waffle panini. Those are all super yummy. For dessert, I’d make coffee fudge brownies or chocolate peanut butter cups.
What would surprise us to know about you?
I love watching MMA [Mixed Martial Arts] fights on TV with my husband. They’re really fun.