Alicia SIlverstone making her Crispy Treats Courtesy of Rodale Press, Incorporated
DCL
Actress, activist, conservationist Alicia Silverstone has long depended on a plant-based diet to maintain her trim and healthy body. And though she eats meat and dairy-free, she feels anything but deprived. In fact, she believes that this type of diet can help you lose weight with ease, clears skin, ups energy, and makes digestion a breeze, and she tells us all about it in her new recipe-filled book "The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet" (Rodale 2009). We talked with Alicia about her new book, her philosophy on life, food and how a "Kind Diet" is not only good for the body, but the planet too.
[url='http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/g-word-online-clips-vegan-strip-club.html']WATCH VIDEO: See more sexy, kind dieters at a vegan strip club.
PG: What is a "Kind" diet?
Alicia Silverstone: Eating "Kind" is about being really, really good to yourself and the planet via the foods you put into your body. The Kind Diet doesn't ask people to freak out about calories, carbs or the glycemic index. It will change their relationship with food and their bodies, transforming the whole idea of dieting for them while helping them to lose weight easily, attain glowing skin, increased energy & strength, as well as a more-efficient immune system. The bottom line is
PG: You talk about both meat and dairy being "nasty" to the body and the environment
Alicia: There are tons of studies out there (done by top research centers and doctors) that show a serious link between meat & dairy consumption and heart disease, cancer, osteoperosis (really!), digestive problems, allergies and more.
Industrial cows are full of antibiotics, hormones, and pathogens, which go into our milk and meat. And when it comes to fish, many contain mercury and other industrial toxins (and no, farm raised fish is not any better).
Also among the "nasty" foods is white sugar (and its friend high fructose corn syrup). Simply put, you should just consider it crack, only sliiiiightly less addictive. White sugar leeches vitamins and minerals from your blood and bones, messes with your immune system, leads to insulin resistance, and makes you feel crazy-extreme peaks and dips in blood sugar can cause nausea, headaches and fatigue, irritability, anxiety, dizziness, heart palpitations, crying and depression. And it makes us fat.
Another big "nasty" are processed foods. Nature grows foods in their whole forms, and-for the most part-we're supposed to eat them that way in order to ensure that we get each plant's unique combination of vitamins, minerals, fiber and carbohydrates (and so our bodies know how to metabolize them perfectly). But when we eat foods from which bits and pieces have been removed through processing, our bodies get confused and stressed out trying to make up for the missing ingredients. Instead of creating natural balance, the processed "food" creates imbalance, which in turn leads to more imbalance.
PG: How is a plant-based diet better for both your body and the environment?
Alicia: It makes you the healthiest you have ever been in your life. It quickly heals and nourishes your body, organs, and blood. It makes you quick and light, happy and glowing. It will turn you into your best self.
Really living "green" involves more than just switching your light bulbs, buying eco-friendly dish soap, and driving a cute hybrid car. Don't get me wrong, doing all those things is great (and I do!), but most people don't realize that they can have the greatest impact on our planet by switching to a plant-based diet. Eating this way dials down our insane consumption of resources like fresh water, oil, coal and the precious rain forest. It helps to heal the environment by denying support to toxic food industries. It is a significant move toward ending world hunger and distributing food more equitably.
And, just think about this: -- The average American eats 97 lbs of beef a year (that's the average weight of a 13 year old child!).
-- The energy required to get that to your plate translates into roughly 29 billilion gallons of gas.
-- If everyone in America were to adopt a plant-based diet, we would reduce U.S. greenhouse gas production by 6% overnight-and since the U.S. creates 25% of the world's greenhouse gases, that 6% is actually a pretty big piece of the pie.
PG: How can a plant-based diet keep both your Waist and your Environmental Waste small?
Alicia: By staying away from nasty foods, and making friends with grains and vegetables, you will lose weight easily, your skin will absolutely glow, you will have tons of energy, you will become stronger, and your immune system will work more efficiently as your body releases excess fats and toxins. Released from the grip of certain foods, your body will begin to heal itself. You will lose the weight you never thought you could lose.
This kindness also extends to the earth itself; by requiring less fuel, water, and other resources, a plant-based diet is much lighter on the planet. And because it is clean, this diet helps our soil, water and atmosphere get healthy as well.
PG: Why do you suggest that people "flirt" with a vegetarian diet and what does that mean?
Alicia: Yes! People should flirt with a plant-based diet! The point here is that it's not all or nothing. You can sort of play with the idea and see if you like it a little. Often, the more you flirt, the more you want to flirt. Flirters try on these foods and hopefully become so into them they stick with it.
PG: You mention in your book that Sunday is magical for you. What makes Sunday a "magical" day for you?
Alicia: Sunday is the day that is a bit more laid-back than the others. My husband and I begin our Sunday at the farmers' market. I love the sense of community there and have become friendly with some of the farmers! We go home and look through cookbooks and plan our meals for the week. Then we'll cook together, taking our time and enjoying the day. Sundays can change the whole vibe of our home.
PG: What has been the most surprising response to this book?
Alicia: Definitely having it show up on the New York Times Best-Seller List! For 4 weeks straight! And it's been so amazing to hear all of the success stories. I read them all at TheKindLife.com. People are losing weight, feeling better, and having such great results.
PG: There are lots of amazing looking recipes in here. What's your favorite recipe for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert?
Alicia: For an all-out fancy breakfast, I love the traditional English breakfast. It is a crowd pleaser for sure. The Moroccan Couscous with Saffron is amazing for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And the Sweet Potato-Lentil Stew is sooo good. My dad loves that one. For dinner, you can't go wrong with The Pecan-Crusted Seitan and Rustic Pasta, with a side of Bok Choy Drizzled with Ume Vinaigrette.
But I also have to mention the Waffle, Sausage, and Cheese Panini, the Chorizo Tacos, and the Cuban-Style Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and all of the desserts! For the desserts, I especially love the Crispy Peanut Butter Treats with Chocolate Chips, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and the Oatmeal, Walnut, and Dried Plum Cookies. Those are the best cookies in the world and I don't event like oatmeal cookies that much! These are insane.
