NEW YORK (CNN) -- For someone who claims to be incredibly laid back, Jason Mraz is certainly piling up the accomplishments.



Jason Mraz was recently honored with a songwriting award for his work, which includes the hit "I'm Yours."



The singer-songwriter was the recipient of the Hal David Starlight Award at last week's Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee ceremony in New York. The honor typically goes to newcomers striking a chord in the music industry.



Or, as Mraz puts it, "I hope it has something to do with their savvy freshness."



Mraz, who turned 32 this week and took his parents to the celebratory dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square June 18, says he feels great about the honor.



"I never thought my songs would escape my bedroom," he said. "To have the music shared all around the world, and to be acknowledged by communities like this ... it's inspiring."



Mraz's 2008 album "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things" has been a runaway success, with more than 2.5 million copies sold worldwide. It also led to three Grammy nominations, including song of the year and best male pop vocal performance for the reggae-inflected hit "I'm Yours."



Mraz (whose name reflects his family's Czech heritage) hits the festival circuit overseas before kicking off his stateside "Gratitude Café Tour" July 25. The tour's quirky title was inspired by a wholesome San Francisco, California, restaurant Mraz loves.



A fan of maintaining a diet of predominantly raw foods, Mraz is also a farmer of sorts: He owns an avocado farm in his home city of San Diego, California. He's also a juggler, a skill Mraz taught himself during the downtime that comes with touring.  Watch the multitalented Mraz perform »



Mraz shared tales of his avocado farm, as well as what it's like to get the cold shoulder from Simon Cowell, when he sat down with CNN recently.



CNN: So, you live on an avocado farm. What's that like?



Jason Mraz: It's fantastic. Anytime you're harvesting something in your yard -- whether you have a small herb garden or I've got avocados, and now we have a solar system so we're also harvesting sun energy, which is great -- for me that's when I became an environmentalist.



I was like, "Wait a second. This is my environment. This is my piece of the Earth that I'm responsible for." Yes, the trees give me avocado and fruit that we sell and we eat tons of, but I feel like I have a role to play back to that, too. So it's cool.



CNN: So if you're at home, daily how many avocados would you eat?



Mraz: At least two. Sometimes three or four.



CNN: So you must have very nice oily skin.



Mraz: I do, thank you. It's the avocado. I just lather it on.



CNN: Do you really?



Mraz: I do. Yeah, why not? I've got tons of them!



CNN: Do you cook?



Mraz: I prepare. There's not much cooking in our household. We do a lot of raw food so it's more about putting the right ingredients together to create something scrumptious. See Mraz's chocomole recipe



CNN: When eating healthy is so important to you, how difficult is that to maintain when you're traveling around the world so much?



Mraz: Well, I bring tons of backup supplies with me.



CNN: How did you like performing on the "American Idol" final? (Mraz performed "I'm Yours" with contestants Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.)



Mraz: I loved it. It was such a great event. And I have compassion for every one of those kids that dares audition.



I wasn't a contestant. I was just there to sing, and when I saw Simon at the end of
What is Mraz's first name? Did Mraz appeared on "American Idol"? Who was recently honored with songwriters award?
Jason (Mraz performed "I'm Yours" with contestants Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.) Jason Mraz
question: What is Mraz's first name?, answer: Jason | question: Did Mraz appeared on "American Idol"?, answer: (Mraz performed "I'm Yours" with contestants Anoop Desai and Alexis Grace.) | question: Who was recently honored with songwriters award?, answer: Jason Mraz