Embracing My Health

Posted for Evan.  Evan mentioned he’s been interested in trying raw food and has been debating about either adding in raw foods or going “gung-ho.”  Like I told Evan, for many people, going gung-ho can actually be too hard on the body. I’d suggest starting by adding in green smoothies each day. I’ve discovered this myself and have read again and again… Raw food is a journey. Definitely start by adding in raw foods. As you transition more and more to raw food will definitely change your health and how you feel. That’s been my experience (in a big way!). Thanks Evan for your comment! Keep me posted on what you do and how it works for you.

For a more in depth conversation on green smoothies and their health benefits, I highly recommend reading Victoria’s book Green for Life.

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As the Russian proverb says: New- is something old, that has been long forgotten. This summer I re-discovered green smoothies. What do I mean by green smoothie? Here is one of my favorite recipes: 4 ripe pears, 1 bunch of parsley and 1 big cup of water. Blended well. This smoothie looks very green, but it tastes like fruit. I like green smoothies so much that I bought an extra blender and placed it in my office, so that I could make green smoothies throughout the day. More than half of all the food I’ve had in last several months have been green smoothies. I have so much more energy and clarity that I have removed green juices from my diet. (Juicing has been something that I’ve been doing regularly for years.) Green smoothies have numerous benefits for human health.

1. Green smoothies are very nutritious. I believe that the ratio in them is optimal for human consumption: about 60% – ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% – organic green vegetables.

2. Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, all the valuable nutrients in these fruits and veggies become homogenized, or divided into such small particles that it becomes easy for the body to assimilate these nutrients, the green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.

3. Green smoothies, as a posed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber.

4. Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60:40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the green vegetables balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding nice zest to it. Green smoothies are simply the best tasting dishes for the majority of adults and children. I always make extra smoothie and offer it to my friends and customers. Some of them eat a standard American diet. They all finished their big cup of green smoothies with complements. They were quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice and sweet.

5. By consuming two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough of greens for the day to nourish your body, and they will be well assimilated. Many people do not consume enough of greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. The molecule of chlorophyll has only one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, to consume chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion.

6. Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. Many people told me that they do not consume green juices on a regular basis because it is time consuming to prepare green juices and clean the equipment after juicing, or to drive to the juice bar.

7. Green smoothies are perfect food for children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old when introducing new food to them after mother’s milk. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.

8. When you consume your greens in the form of green smoothies, you can greatly reduce the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.

9. Regular consumption of Green smoothies forms a good habit of eating greens. Several people told me that after a couple of weeks of drinking green smoothies, they started to crave and enjoy eating more greens. Eating enough of green vegetable is often a problem with many people, especially in children.

10. Green smoothies can easily be freshly made at any juice bar, restaurant or health food store for the great convenience of health-oriented customers. Please bring a copy of this article to your local juice bar.

I encourage the readers of this article to start playing with green smoothies, and to discover the many joys and benefits of this wonderful delicious and nutritious addition to the menu. Here are more ideas for your green creations. Some of my favorite greens to add to green smoothies: parsley, spinach, celery, kale and romaine. My favorite fruits for green smoothies are: pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, mangoes and apples. Strawberries and raspberries taste superb in green smoothies, when combined with ripe bananas.

Delicious Combinations To Get You Started

Mango-parsley
2 large mangos
1 bunch parsley
Water

Peach-spinach
6 peaches
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
Water

Mango-weeds
2 mangos
1 handful of lambs quarters, stinging nettles, purslane, etc
Water

Strawberry-banana-romaine
1-cup strawberries
2 bananas
1/2 bunch romaine
Water

Apple-kale-lemon
4 apples
1/2 lemon juice
4-5 leaves of kale
Water

Kiwi-banana-celery
4 very ripe kiwis
1 ripe banana
3 stalks of celery
Water

Pear-kale-mint
4 ripe pears
4-5 leaves of kale
1/2 bunch of mint
Water

Finger banana-spinach
10 finger-bananas
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
Water

Bosc pear-raspberry-kale
3 bosc pears
1 handful of raspberries
4-5 leaves of kale
Water
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Victoria Boutenko teaches classes on raw food at South Oregon University and, as a result of her teachings, many raw food communities have been formed throughout the world. Victoria and her family have lived on a 100% raw food diet for nine years and all four have cured their incurable diseases. The transformation of Victoria’s family to raw food is described in her book, Raw Family. Victoria is also the author of 12 Steps to Raw Foods. Her two children have written a book containing delicious raw food recipes called Eating without Heating. Visit Victoria’s site at http://www.rawfamily.com