Alicia Silverstone Thinks Cher Horowitz Would Be Vegan Today

In Chill Chat, Bustle sits down with stars to chat about all things wellness, from their workout playlists to their most reliable self-care hacks. Here, Alicia Silverstone opens up about her favorite salad ingredients and what inspired her to launch a podcast.

In 1995, Alicia Silverstone was on top of the world. She’d just starred in her breakout role as Cher Horowitz in Clueless and would go on to play Batgirl in Batman & Robin two years later. Inside, though, the actor was totally buggin’. “I had a real health awakening at 21 years old,” Silverstone tells Bustle, explaining that she eliminated animal-based products out of a growing passion to avoid animal cruelty. Although the star has gotten a fair share of criticism for some of her more controversial wellness and parenting practices, Silverstone’s happy; her lifestyle just works for her. “When I went vegan, I felt so grounded and clear,” she says, “and it made me really understand and appreciate what food does.”

Since then, Silverstone has written two books, The Kind Diet and The Kind Mama, and launched the vegan vitamin brand MyKind Organics. Now, she’s expanding into podcasting with The Real Heal from iHeartMedia, in which she chats with guests and celebrity friends (Kevin Smith, for one) about different health topics.

Here, Silverstone shares how she practices self care, her favorite tips for making delicious salads, and what she thinks Cher Horowitz might be like today.

Would you say that your approach to health is in line with that of Cher Horowitz?

I love to think that Cher would totally be on board with being vegan. Because she woke up at the end, she stopped being materialistic and started to understand, with the help of Josh, that the world could use a lot of healing and love. So I like to think she would have evolved into someone that would be on my side.

What’s your favorite way to work out?

I love going to dance class, and I really love yoga. When I do it I’m so happy. I also like going on walks — I walk my dogs almost every single day, that’s just part of being a mama to a dog. It’s good to move and be outside in the air.

What’s on your current playlist?

Because I’m a mom, my son [Bear] and I go through phases of music. Right now, it’s that song [“Surface Pressure”] from Encanto — it goes “drip drip dip.” Bear and I can rock out to that pretty hard.

What’s something you’ll always put in a smoothie?

I like some dates in there, because it gives that texture. And I always love strawberries.

What about salads?

I’m quite a professional salad maker. I always drizzle lemon or an orange, olive oil, and flaxseed oil because it makes it buttery. Then umeboshi plum vinegar.

Sometimes it’s nice to put some kimchi on the side, and I really love the combination of red onions and raisins. I also love cilantro, so lots of that.

How do you wind down at night?

On days that I am able to accomplish this, my fantasy is to turn everything off at 9 or 9:30 p.m. at the latest, though I usually end up doing it around 10 or 10:30 p.m. And then I just take a bath, read, play with the dogs, wander around tidying things up — no connection to the outside world, just being. When I read and take a bath before bed, I feel like I’ve gone to Hawaii.

Do you have a go-to beauty product you like to use when you’re practicing self-care?

I like Josh Rosebrook’s Cacao Antioxodant Face Mask. It smells delicious, and it feels really good.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.