Kirk - Live raw - raw food recipes for good health and timeless beauty

Mimi Kirk

Skyhorse Publishing

I was born in Hollywood, California, in 1938, the youngest of seven children. My mother outlived four of my siblings and my father by thirty years. I grew up in less than a middle-class family and far from a glamorous life. My sweet mother was a simple cook and we rarely went out to eat, so I didnt learn much about food growing up.

I was married at seventeen and was widowed at twenty-nine; I am the mother of two girls and two boys and grandmother of seven children.

Before my husband died in a private plane crash February of 1968, I was a stay-at-home mom. I quickly realized we had no insurance or financial savings, and I had to find a job very quickly to support my family. Three months after his death and four months before my thirtieth birthday, a producer friend helped me get a job as a screen extra in the movie industry and gave me a small speaking part in one of his television movies. In 1970, while working at Paramount Studios, producer James L. Brooks discovered me. Brooks thought I resembled the star of his upcoming television series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and arranged a meeting between Mary and me. She hired me on the spot as her stand-in.

Because of my original style of dressing, I worked with Valerie Harper designing a good deal of her wardrobe and I created the famous headscarf she wore on Rhoda. Throughout my entertainment career of eighteen years, I also worked in front of the camera on numerous television shows and movies.

I started my spiritual path in 1969 when a friend told me about meditation and thought it would be a good way to heal from the loss of my husband. Meditation helped ease the pain and gave me strength. It opened the doors of knowledge to the ebb and flow of life and inspired me to live more in the moment. I always felt meditation was like learning a secret about life that not many people knew about. It was exciting and fulfilling and influenced my path in life. My children enjoyed going to services with me and loved to sit in a peaceful little meditation room I made under a stairwell in our home. I was blessed to study with two living gurus: Swami Prabhavananda of Vedanta Society and, later, after his death in 1976, Swami Muktananda of Siddah Yoga.

In 1980, when my oldest children were grown and out on their own, my youngest daughter, Mia, and I went to Swami Muktanandas ashram in South Fallsburg, New York, for several months to study with him. Later, after his passing, I traveled to Ganeshpuri, India, and studied in my gurus ashram with his successor, a woman known as Swami Chidvilasananda. This is the same ashram Elizabeth Gilbert lived at for a short time and mentions in her book Eat, Pray, Love.

After leaving the film industry in 1984, I became an entrepreneur. I designed and manufactured costume jewelry under my spiritual name Prasuti Accessories. (Prasuti means mother of divine children in Hindu terms.) After selling my company in early 1986, I took a job in Beverly Hills as majordomo for a wealthy family, overseeing all aspects of their estate and helping to create and implement many charitable events. It was a very exciting time, with many formal parties and events, European travel, private planes, yachts, and a taste of the rich and famous lifestyle.

My environmental concerns became very strong, and after three years, I left my job there to create, publish, and edit the City Planet, an environmental newspaper in Los Angeles. I later moved to Taos, New Mexico, to find the simple life and, while there, helped start the citys first film festival. I worked with several local nonprofits to help raise money and awareness about health and environmental concerns. In 1998, I created the first board game specifically geared toward women entitled Cowgirls Ride the Trail of Truth, and in 2000, I authored the book Cowgirl Spirit. This is only a small part of my many incarnations, including a short stint as a Las Vegas showgirl at the Flamingo Hotel in 1957. The rest of my life would make a book all by itself.

My family is the most important to me. I have a very close relationship with my children and grandchildren. I am in a wonderful eight-year relationship with a man almost twenty years my junior.

Two years ago, I sold my cowgirl company and retired. I now spend much of my time tending my award-winning cactus and vegetable garden and traveling with my boyfriend. I lecture, give live-food demonstrations, and manage my ever-growing online social network, which includes thousands around the world. I am passionate about helping others attain a healthier lifestyle and share what Ive experienced in my many years here on earth. If this book helps one person who needs a lift, Im happy.

Winning PETAs nationwide contest for the title Sexiest Vegetarian Over 50 was quite a thrill. For me, being sexy has to do with being happy with myself inside and out. Having sex appeal is about energy and vigor, and being kind and compassionate to all living things.

Every day I realize how blessed I am to be healthy and to have gained the knowledge to stay healthy. At my age, I know that life without good health can be complicated. There are health risks when having Botox injections, plastic surgery, and artificial procedures, and besides the health risks, I have friends whove had procedures and turned out looking stiff and unnatural. There is no point in having perfect breasts, an unlined face, or a flat stomach if you are not in good health.

Because I am healthy, there is no need to stop dreaming and having goals. I hope to see my family grow, my grandchildren become parents, and maybe even my great-great-grandchildren graduate from college. I want to accomplish more in my life and try new things Ive never done. I dont think about what I cant do at my age; I think about what I can do. I see myself as a work in progress.

Whether youre new to raw foods, a longtime advocate, high raw, vegetarian, vegan, or a carnivore, I hope Live Raw will inspire you to take a look at improving your health. If we make the conscious choice to celebrate our life and the life of our planet by ridding ourselves of foods and lifestyles that do not support us, I believe we can live in harmony and enjoy a long, healthy, happy, productive lifeand look good doing it!

If you prepare food for yourself, your family, or a house full of friends, raw food will put a smile on surprised faces. There is nothing like fresh, juicy raw food to make you feel sexy and alive.

Raw food preparation is an art, but it can be as easy as you want. Once you decide to eat healthier, you will learn to make the most delicious dishes youve ever tasted. Live Raw is filled with fantastic recipes. You may not recognize some of the tools and ingredients at first, but soon, like I did, you will feel as though youve known them forever.

In the early 70s I decided to give up eating animals and become a vegetarian. I was returning to the Mary Tyler Moore set after picking up some sliced roast beef for lunch. I reached over on the passenger seat where the package was sitting to take a small piece to munch on. As I began to chew the meat, I thought I took a bite out of the back of my hand. I realized I was chewing flesh. That did it. I was sick to my stomach. That was the very moment I decided to give up eating animals and become a vegetarian. It was a spiritual choice; I did not want to kill animals to eat.