Today for “Take the Time Tuesday,” we’d like you to take the time to meet Mimi Kirk, whom many of you may know as the winner of PETA’s “Sexiest Vegetarian Over 50″ contest last fall. If you’re interested in longevity, and how diet influences the way we look, act, think, and exist, then you’ll definitely want to listen closely to what this vibrant woman, who is 71 years young, has to say. We spoke with Mimi for nearly an hour this weekend, and are happy to share her inspiring interview with all of you. Below, you can listen right here, or download a podcast MP3 version.

Listen Now!!

Click the player above to listen here, or download the MP3 file here (right click the link and choose “Save file as…” to save to your hard drive for your own use). 

Topics covered include:

• What PETA thought about raw foods
• What it was like to win that contest and what influence that has had
• Her path to raw; why she became vegetarian, then vegan, then raw
• How long she’s been raw & what differences she’s noticed
• Her theories on aging and why diet is so impportant
• Why people today are aging prematurely
• Her recommendation for starting your day
• Duplicating tastes of other cooked foods
• Her routine / how she prepares food on a regular basis
• Her thoughts on supplements, herbs, protein, B12, etc.
• The winning combination for ultimate longevity
• Why so many younger women are fans
• Why cooked food is like smoking
• Her thoughts on menopause and natural vs. conventional approaches
• Her thoughts on medicines and drugs
• Why healthy living and heathy eating is so critical for healthy aging
• Skin issues associated with aging and whether raw helps
• What it’s like to know people the same age who are in very ill health
• Benefits of spiritual practices / meditation / attitude
• Her thoughts on finding your place with food / diet
• Thoughts on longevity & healthy, older others she knows
• Progress on her upcoming book

To learn more about and connect with Mimi, you can:

• Friend her on Facebook (search for “Mimi Kirk”)
• Check out her web site at www.youngonrawfood.com

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The superlatively captivating, one-and-only Bif Naked has been a superstar rock and roll icon, performer, diva, composer, acclaimed actress, sought-after voice-over artist, gifted poet / writer, and even cartoonist(!) for years. But, did you know she’s also a raw vegan?!

Early in 2009, I remember reading about her breast cancer diagnosis. The story both intrigued and haunted the raw world:  How could a raw foodie get cancer?! We’re supposed to be impervious to such things, right?!

Well, I knew that I had to explore this further at some point, as the topic has come up several times in conversations I’ve had with raw foodists around the world. Anyone can speculate, but I really wanted to hear Bif’s thoughts directly. So, I rung her up and we had a long (40-minute), very candid talk about raw veganism, cancer, music, spirituality, tattoos, and a bunch of other really fascinating stuff.  She’s amazing – and we’re truly grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with her — so do check out this super audio interview right now, below!

Listen Now!!

Click the player above to listen here, or download the MP3 file here (right click the link and choose “Save file as…” to save to your hard drive for your own use).

Topics we explored include:

• How she got into raw foods
• What it was like for a raw foodie to get cancer
• Her current views on raw veganism
• Speculating on what caused the cancer
• Whether raw helped while on chemo
• Bif’s health today
• Philosophizing about her doggie, Nicklas
• Spirituality and energy
• World travels
• Tattoos
• Her fascination with Russian prison tattoos
• What her Taj Mahal tatoo means
• Being raw while traveling
• Staying raw while touring
• The key to following your passions
• Thoughts on social networking
• Her passions (aside from music)!
• Additional thoughts on cancer and raw

If you’re unfamiliar with Bif, you can connect with her online at her web site, blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page, or Myspace page.

Here’s one of her latest music videos!

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So, we’ve been building up to something exciting all week long — and here it is! As it turns out, Kevin Gianni is not only a “renegade health” expert, motivational speaker, and all-around great guy; he’s also a singer/songwriter!  And he even has his own CD called “God Loves Guinea Pigs” (original songs and artwork by Kevin).

During the past few days, we shared some great interviews with Kevin. In addition to all of the material covered so far, both Jim and Wendi had asked Kevin some musical questions. So, we saved those parts of the interviews for today. Here are the bonus sections from those interviews, including the funny story about Kevin dropping his pants in public!

Listen Now!

Click the player above to listen here, or download the MP3 file here (right click the link and choose “Save file as…” to save to your hard drive for your own use).

As you may have guessed from those audio interviews, we’d known about the CD for a while, but never got to hear it. So, when Kevin and Annmarie were last visiting, we broke into the Kale Whale and “liberated” an entire box of these rare CDs. When they pulled away the next evening, we gave a victorious laugh; we’d scored not only a CD for ourselves, but enough to spread around to a few lucky members of the raw food community.

Okay, so we’re not actually thieves. And, besides, their guard-cat, Johnny 5 would surely have foiled our plot.  But seriously, as fans of his work in the raw food community, we knew that if we were interested in having one of the limited-edition CDs for ourselves, many of you may be interested as well. So, we did convince Kevin to leave his small box of CDs here, with the understanding that we’d figure out a way for his fans to obtain a copy.

There wouldn’t be much of a point to all of this if we weren’t going to offer some samples. So, here are a couple of free tracks to add to your MP3 player:

• Sample Tune:  On the Beach (right-click / Save As… to download these)
• Partial Bonus track (“Be Outrageous”)

If you’re a fan of Kevin’s and you’d like to have one of these amazing, limited-edition CDs, you can get one HERE!

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So, did you like Part One yesterday?  Pretty great, right?  Well, today we present Part Two, in which Wendi takes the interview into a more up-close and personal place. In this audio, Kevin shares details about:

• the first interview he ever conducted
• what he wanted to be when he grew up
• what his family thinks of his raw lifestyle
• his tattoo, Joseph Campbell, and thoughts on life and death
• spirituality, religion, and guilt
• the book that opened his mind to a deeper connection
• running and spirituality
• his typical day / routine
• his business expanding
• what “systems” are and how he uses them
• the shocking truth about his teen years
• recent personal development programs he’s listening to
• “taking 1%, applying it, and moving on”
• mentors and influences
• the books that shaped his life
• making shifts in friendships
• his thoughts on “The Secret”
• whether he thinks he can do more push-ups than Gabriel Cousens
• why there was a donkey at his wedding
• his biggest wish (it’s a beautiful one!)

So, what are you waiting for?  Listen NOW!!

Click the player above to listen here, or download the MP3 file here (right click the link and choose “Save file as…” to save to your hard drive for your own use).

And we’re not done yet!!! Don’t forget to return tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion to this three-part series – in which, not only will you find yourself rolling on the floor laughing after hearing a hilarious tale about Kevin “dropping his pants,” (ummmm, yes, you read that right!), but where you’ll encounter one of the coolest limited-time offers to hit the ”raw blogosphere” in ages. (Don’t even try to guess what it is… It’s truly unique!)

You can learn more about and connect with the Gianni’s at:

• Renegade Health (their main site)
• Kevin on FaceBook
• Annmarie on Facebook
• Kevin on Twitter
• Annmarie on Twitter

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We’ve got three incredible posts coming your way this week, and we’re going to get started right here and NOW with a one-hour interview with the incredible Kevin Gianni. As most of you know, we postponed our RV Tour recently. As part of that, we’d planned to stage a fun event related to the All Raw Directory. We’d planned to air this interview with Kevin (conducted back in December 2008) for that event.

Fast-forward to today and we realize that, like our raw RV Tour, our All Raw Directory promotion will have to wait. It’s funny how things trickle down like that.  But, all is not lost. This is still an incredible interview – and guess what?! It’s only part one of a two-part interview, as well as a special super-fun surprise we’ll be announcing on Friday. We promise: No one in the raw food community will want to miss Friday’s post. All we’ll say now is that it’s a truly unique, limited opportunity unlike anything you’ve seen here before! Trust us: You couldn’t possibly guess what it is!

For now, we hope you enjoy this one-hour interview with Kevin Gianni – the first of two such interviews! (Tune back in tomorrow for the thriling “conclusion.”)

Listen Now!!

Click the player above to listen here, or download the MP3 file here (right click the link and choose “Save file as…” to save to your hard drive for your own use).

A few notes:  This audio interview was taken in December 2008. There are some references made to Kevin’s personal training coaching business, which he and Annmarie are no longer involved in. However, 99.9% of the topics covered should be of great interest to anyone familiar with the Gianni’s. In this audio, Kevin shares his insights on:

• looking young
• who to look to for mentors
• what’s missing in the natural health movement
• creating an indoor exercise space
• Vitamin D
• abdominal fat-blasting and patience
• what people really want in terms of health
• what causes people to hold onto weight
• the hallmarks of a good fitness coach
• how he gave up beer and cigarettes
• the book that started him on the health / nutrition path
• health challenges on the raw food diet
• the benefits of mentors
• graphic candida tales
• stained and sensitive teeth
• digestion and gut health
• what’s missing in the world of health
• the myth of “rice and beans” for adequate protein
• the basics of “high raw”
• is it your genes or your environment?
• Kevin’s system for information overload
• dairy / raw goat’s milk?
• thoughts on marine phytoplankton
• the agave controversy

Again, don’t miss tomorrow’s spectacular interview OR this Friday’s super-amazing blog post (in which there will be a limited-time offer of great interest to most people in the raw food community!).  So, be sure to come back each day this week. You won’t be disappointed; we promise!!

You can learn more about and connect with the Gianni’s at:

• Renegade Health (their main site)
• Kevin on FaceBook
• Annmarie on Facebook
• Kevin on Twitter
• Annmarie on Twitter

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