Cancer

Testimonial: Healing Enlarged Prostate with Green Smoothies

1 Comment 27 August 2010

In May 2009, Alan wrote this email and graciously allowed us to share it with you. If you have an inspiring green smoothie testimonial you would like to share please e-mail info@rawfamily.com

Dear Victoria and friends,

I sent you an e-mail a few months back regarding lowering my PSA test for prostrate problems. Now I have even more stunning and impressive news. I just visited my doctor last week and got the results of my most recent PSA test, May ‘09. The number is 2.13 down from 3.74 last September and down from 5.69 last June. So in 11 months I have lowered the number over 3.5 pts, which I guess is unheard of (at least according to my urologist Steven Johnson, MD) All due to staying on green smoothies. Now that spring is finally here I am using greens from my greenhouse to make the drink even more potent.

I have also maintained a 20 lb. weight loss from last June when I weighed 216 lbs. By September 1st I was down to 178. Green Smoothies rock!

Many blessings upon you, Allan

Please share my name and home e-mail allanbyer@hotmail.com

Recipes

Nutrition Benefits of Peach and Green Smoothie Recipes

0 Comments 23 August 2010

Whooo Hooo it’s peach season!!! Our farmers market has stalls selling boxes of discounted peaches  because they don’t look beautiful. I buy a box, then pit and freeze most of the fruit for my green smoothies. My favorite peach green smoothie is simply peaches and spinach; its an amazing combination with a nutty flavor and also works as a base for experimenting.

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Peach

Peaches are a  good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, and Potassium. They are very high in Vitamin C.  The following fascinating information was taken from Lifestyle Lounge site http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com

* Peaches help make the skin healthy and also add color to the complexion.
* It has been seen that consumption of peaches helps in the removal of worms from the intestinal tract.
* Being rich in Vitamin A, peaches might help prevent cancer in organs and glands with epithelial tissue.
* Peaches comprise of more than 80 percent water and are a good source of dietary fiber, making them good for those trying to lose weight.
* Consumption of peaches, on a regular basis, can keep your bowel movements regular and even prevent straining.
* Researches have suggested that peaches have good to excellent antioxidant activity, some antimicrobial activity and good to excellent tumor growth inhibition activity.
* Peaches have a small laxative effect and a powerful diuretic effect and thus, are recommended to people suffering from rheumatism and gout.
* Peach flowers have sedative proprieties and are good for children who are restless, especially when boiled in water with sugar and honey.

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Videos

Salsa Video with Sergei and Victoria’s Schedule

3 Comments 17 August 2010

We thought you may enjoy this entertaining video of Sergei and his girlfriend Bri demonstrating salsa at our resent retreat in Canada. They both just moved to Missoula in Montana, so if your in the area keep an eye out for Sergei.

Please view Victoria’s updated schedule for this month.  We have also just announced a new retreat in Northern California for September.

DETROIT: AUGUST 19th
6:00 – 8.00pm
$20
Location Details Here

CHICAGO: Green Synergy Raw Festival
August 20th – 22nd
Ronar Lodge, Watervlietm MI
For more information please go to
www.greensynergyfestival.com

CLEVELAND: AUGUST 23rd
5:30- 7:00pm.
FREE
Victoria will be a guest speaker for Vitamix. The first 200 people to sign up will receive a free copy of Green Smoothie Revolution.
Details Here

JOY FOR LIFE RETREAT: California
Stewart Mineral Springs, Weed
September 27th – October 23rd.
http://www.joyforliferetreat.com/Stewart-Mineral-Springs.htm

Greens, Raw Food

Using a Vitamix to Compost Absolutely Anywhere!

4 Comments 12 August 2010

As we prepare food, we have the choice of just throwing the scraps in the garbage or returning this nutritional waste back to the soil. Anyone with a garden at home knows the value of composting and how it improves the quality of the soil. Even if you live in a city composting is important and can be quite simple.

Our Raw Family office is located in a complex without a garden nearby. For years we would carry our compost home with us which was inconvenient and could get messy and stinky. Valya came up with a quick and easy way to compost right at the office complex. She puts the food scraps into the Vita mix, and then blends them with a little bit of water. Then she pours this blend onto any soil nearby. After a few months of doing this, we’ve noticed an improvement in the trees and bushes that grow around us and even the soil itself – the earth worms love it!

This way of composting takes literally seconds and is very clean. You may put such food scraps as banana peels, onion skins, avocado pits and skin, watermelon rinds, fruit seeds, orange peels, and so on. It’s important to remember that all these food scraps must be raw – we don’t put cooked food in the compost because it would destroy microorganisms in the soil.

Photo C/O Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Diabetes, Recipes

Savory Green Smoothie Recipe

2 Comments 09 August 2010

Sergei Boutenko demonstrates how easy it is to create a non sweet green smoothie with a low glycemic index (this is a different recipe from the one posted recently). This basic green smoothie recipe can be used as a guideline for savory smoothies, you could add other herbs and spices to this recipe to make your own delicious concoction. The key to most savory green smootheis is an avocado for the creamy consistency and lime or lemon for zest.

This fresh green drink is not only rich in vitamins and minerals, but is also a great food for energy. A true superfood if you will! You can find many interesting savory green smoothie recipes in Victoria’s book, “Green Smoothie Revolution”.

Basic Savory Green Soup Recipe
4 – 5 x tomatoes
3 x stalks of celery
1/2 x spicy Pepper (optional)
1/2 x avocado
1/2 x bunch of fresh parsley
2 – 3 x handfuls of spinach
1/2 x the juice of a lemon

Health & Testimonials, Weight, Women's Health

Testimonial: The Transition to Raw & Dealing with a ‘Healing Crisis’

7 Comments 06 August 2010

One Woman’s Powerful Testimony

Being a mother of four kids (ages 17, 15, 13, and 11) has motivated me to eat better despite the fact that my children don’t want to hear about healthy eating most of the time. I started to have some health problems after my last child was born. I had migraine headaches every day. My doctor wanted to put me on medication and gave me free samples. One time I seriously thought about it as I sat and cried over the pain which also took my attention away from my children. I read about the side effects and threw the samples away. They sounded worse than what I was already dealing with.

Deep inside myself I knew that my body was lacking some nutrients. My hair was not growing well and was turning gray while I was only 30. At that time a friend recommended to me a diet of fruits, vegetables, and brown rice. This helped tremendously. After about a year, I decided that I was “healed” and went back to my old way of eating. To keep myself awake I drank a lot of coffee. To relax in the evenings I would drink a couple of beers. The headaches came back right away, accompanied by varicose veins and a lump in my breast. I was extremely tired all the time and my hair had gotten thin. I started to develop problems with my blood sugar level. I often became irritable, sweaty, and panicky. Life just wasn’t fun.

At that time I began working at the health food store where I began to receive answers to some of the questions I had about my problems. Alternative health practitioners told me that I had no hydrochloric acid and terrible digestion. They said I was in cancerous condition and extremely toxic. I also had dark spots on my face. At this time I began to read books about raw foods and started incorporating them into my diet.

At first it was very hard. I lost a lot of weight and was told I was too thin by many people, including my family. My friends asked if I was doing the right thing. The most difficult thing was to cut coffee and beer. I switched to herbal coffee and only drank beer on Saturdays. This ended up feeling like torture. It was extremely hard to focus on Mondays because I would be tired from a bad food weekend. It took until Wednesday before I would feel better again. The body would have three days to heal before I put in on the roller coaster ride again.

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Raw Food

Events with Victoria & Sergei Boutenko, Aug 2010

0 Comments 29 July 2010

It’s turning out to be an action packed and exciting summer. We would like to share some of Victoria & Sergei Boutenko’s August events. The Raw Family calender is always being updated, to stay informed please regularly check in with the Raw Family main site.

August 1st – 7th, 2010

Joy For Life Retreat – SOLD OUT
Seven days of green smoothies by Victoria Boutenko and The Work of Byron Katie,
presented by Tom Compton
At Ocean Resort, located off the east coast of Vancouver Island, BC.
Visit www.joyforliferetreat.com for more information

August 7th, 2010

Sergei’s Lecture on Greens
Vancouver, BC
Holy Trinity Anglican Church
(Upstairs Parish Hall)
1440 West 12th (Corner of 12th & Hemlock)
7-9:00 pm
RSVP: sergei_talk@rawbc.org

August 9th, 2010

Victoria will be presenting her inspiring new lecture
Abbotsford, BC
Trinity Memorial United Church
33737  George Ferguson Way
6 – 9 pm
pre-sale $20, door price $25 & special offers for Raw BC members
To buy tickets call: (604) 851-5223

Aug 15, 2010

Victoria is a guest on ‘Believe in Green’
To raise funds for a great cause, listen to an interview with Victoria on ‘International Green Smoothie Day’
www.believeingreen.com

Aug 19, 2010

Dearborn, MI
Raw Food Lecture with Victoria
Dearborn Hills Golf Course
6:00 – 8:30 pm
For more information please call 313-561-4527

Aug 20 – 22, 2010

Green Synergy Raw Festival
Ronar Lodge, Watervlietm MI
Special Offer:Mention Victoria referred you & receive $50 off your ticket before Aug 7th
For more information please go to
www.greensynergyfestival.com

Diabetes, Recipes, Videos

Green Soup Recipe with Sergei Boutenko: A way to manage blood sugar

6 Comments 27 July 2010

The Latest from Sergei Boutenko:
In his latest video, Sergei explains how a green smoothie can be turned into a delicious, gourmet raw green soup. By using fruits with a savory taste such as tomatoes or avocado and herbs such as basil and gallantry, you can enjoy a green smoothie without the common sweet taste. In this video Sergei shares a famous raw family trick; adding sprouts, dulse and avocado chunks creates a hearty, textured meal.

You can learn more about what Segei is up to and some of his fantastic wild edible information at sergeiboutenko.com

Concerns with Sugar:

We often hear from people with diabetes or high blood sugar concerns saying they can not drink green smoothies due to the high sugar content in many fruit based recipes. As many of you know greens are an important part of anyone’s diet. We have observed that consuming large amounts can have positive effects on people with blood sugar issues (please see the diabetes testimonials section). The savory green smoothie recipes are an alternative for people who are sensitive to sugar. I have heard Victoria also recommend that people with Candida, hypoglycaemia and diabetes may like to consider using  low glycemic fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb and apples. For more information about the fruit in green smoothies you may like to read this previous post.

Resources for Understanding Low Glycemic Index:

The glycemic index is a way to measure how quickly carbohydrate is digested, enters the bloodstream, and raises the blood-sugar levels.  Foods with a low glycemic index enter the bloodstream slowly and trigger the insulin response less quickly, contributing to a steadier blood-sugar level. (1)

If the GI content of food is a concern for you may like to visit the following resource sites.

- For more information on the Glycemic Index values generated at the University of Sydney, Australia, please see GlycemicIndex.com. To find the GI content of specific foods, go to the database section.
- Ask Dr Sears: Discusses GI, carbohydrates and sugars in fruits.
- Nutrition Data: Explains how to estimate glycemic load
- For articles which list low glycemic fruits you may like to visit Weight Loss For All and this post about a low carb diet

Raw Food

The Gratitude Diet

3 Comments 20 July 2010

Today, as I walked towards a woman enjoying a pizza with her friend in the sunshine, I thought, that looks like fun AND very delicious. I went past her and snuck a look at the topping, which was followed by that unmistakable fresh pizza smell. I actually had to take some deep breaths to resist and ride the temptation wave. Worse than the physical urges, I felt like I was missing out on something and that a part of my life which I once enjoyed, was gone.

This afternoon when I began looking for a post, I found this article which was first written by Victoria in 2006. Reading these wise words has opened me to the idea of applying gratitude to my diet. I can see that by being grateful for the opportunity to care for my body, the positive effects a healthy diet has on many other areas of my life and the rippling effect it has on the planets consciousnesses, I’ll walk past the next pizza with much more ease.  When we resist social foods from our past, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that we are missing out on something that a (mostly) raw, vegan diet can’t give us. The truth is, we have are being given so much to be grateful for.

With Love, Emily

One More Benefit of Practicing Gratitude: It Can Help You Stay Healthy!
By Victoria Boutenko

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
-Cicero

When we adopt a raw food lifestyle, we may feel deprived of our habitual pleasures, especially when we watch others enjoying cooked delicacies that used to be our own favorites. Being hungry, angry, lonely, or depressed at that moment could add even more frustration to our feelings of misery. I would like to share with you a  method that can help eliminate feelings of deprivation from your life forever.

We all have different perspectives on life. Some of us feel that life is becoming  increasingly more frustrating, especially considering all the natural cataclysms and  political challenges. At the same time, others view life as a totally beautiful and enjoyable experience. Initially, I thought that our opinions on the fairness of life  depended on the level of our material wealth. Later, I met some poor people who  were content with their lives and wealthy persons who were deeply upset about their lives. While watching many people caught in a material pursuit (including myself) I developed a strong interest in the true origins of people’s contentment in life. I came to the conclusion that there are two opposite perspectives on life: the materialistic perspective and the grateful perspective.

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Recipes

Raw Food Snack Recipes

0 Comments 15 July 2010

Please enjoy these raw food snacks which do not require dehydration or a high speed blender and are very simple to make.

Sergei’s Hummus

2 cups garbanzo beans, sprouted for 1 day
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons (dry) or 1 cup (fresh) dill or basil
1-2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
Hot pepper to taste
Celtic sea salt to taste (optional)
2-3 cloves of garlic

Bell-pepper Guacamole

Blend the following ingredients in a food processor:
3   large RIPE avocados
1   ripe colored bell-pepper
1   medium tomato
¼  cup lemon juice
1   spicy pepper
½  teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Place the contents of the food processor into a large bowl.
Chop the following ingredients:
½  bunch green onion
1   bunch parsley

Mix the chopped ingredients into the mixture already in the bowl.
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