Dear Friends, 

Since August of this year I have been working hard on a surprise project that today, has finally been completed. Apple has just approved my Green Smoothie iPhone Application. If you have an iPhone, you can have instant access to countless green smoothie recipes. What makes my program unique, is the nutrition data that accompanies every ingredient and each recipe. Along with nutritional data, I have included the nutritional highlights of what foods are beneficial for particular health condition. For example, raspberries are associated with colon cancer protective properties, parsley have been shown to inhibit tumor formation in the lungs, and lemons are useful in conditions like colds, flu's, and recurrent ear infections.

It took me five months to compile the scientific information to create this application, and format it in an easily comprehensible manner. All of my nutritional highlights come form the best most trusted sources one of which is http://nutritiondata.self.com/

To make this program esthetically beautiful, and to make the ingredients easy to recognize, I purchased all of the ingredients of each smoothie and hired my good friend and brilliant photographer Robert Petetit to capture artistic images of the produce.

This applications is available for $1.99. This could be a great last minute gift for friends and relatives who have iPhones. To purchase the App go to the iPhone App Store or you can use this link.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/green-smoothies/id409966779?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

For those of you who do not have an iPhone, I have some good news: We in the process of making this application into a website.

Love, Victoria

I apologize for the typo in the link I provided yesterday.

The correct website is http://nutritiondata.self.com

Enjoy the true facts!

Love, Victoria

Dear Friends,

 I was greatly surprised by e-mails that I received after my birch juice joke. People told me that the birch tree is now beginning to sell in America and the world as another super miracle food and is quite expensive. On one hand it could be flattering for me to learn that so many average, everyday Russian foods are now marketed as super foods. On the other hand when I visit Russia they seem to not care about their kombucha on the window sill, the birch tree juice in the fridge, the sea buckhorn syrup, and sweets made with goji berries. Russians pay top money for mangos, avocados and cherry tomatoes which are promoted on Russian television as an absolute must for being healthy.  

I invite you to be more aware of possibilities of exaggeration from marketers. When I hear about a new super food I check what nutrient it claims to be high in and then I see what local food contains that same nutrient. My favorite website for this search is www.nutritiandata.com   This is how I discovered that grape leaves have 200 times more resveratrol than grape seeds; red cabbage is comparable to acai berries in phytonutrient antioxidants, and that pomegranates are comparable to v’i’a’g’r’a.

 Researchers report that long-term consumption of pomegranate juice may help combat erectile dysfunction. Studies show that there is a possibility that pomegranate compounds might prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth. (1)

 In addition, pomegranates have very high content of punicalagins, a potent anti-oxidant component found to be responsible for its superior health benefits. The level of antioxidants in pomegranates is even higher than blueberries, cranberries and oranges.  This was attributed to the very high polyphenol content in the fruit.

They are also a good source of vitamin B (riboflavin, thiamin and niacin), vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus.  These combination and other minerals in pomegranates cause a powerful synergy that prevents and reverses many diseases.

Pomegranate may reduce the risk of having a heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. They possess high levels of antioxidants and thus help support the body's normal defense in the prevention of certain cancers. Pomegranates are rumored to help reduce the possibility of having premature babies and Alzheimer’s disease.

 Pomegranate are rich in antioxidants that can keep bad LDL cholesterol from oxidizing This degradation of LDL may lead to the development of atherosclerosis. In addition, pomegranate juice, like aspirin, can help keep blood platelets from clumping together to form unwanted clots.

 This is the beginning of pomegranate season in the northern hemisphere, so share the benefits of pomegranates with your loved ones!

 Love, Victoria

Dear Friends,

I wanted to tell you a very funny joke that I have to first translate into English.

My sister Marina who is a raw food teacher in Moscow has just sent it to me. Traditionally for centuries Russian people have been collecting birch tree juice every spring by placing buckets under small holes on the tree trunks, similar to collecting maple sap in North America and Canada. When you enter a Russian juice bar there is always birch juice available, it’s almost clear, sweet and nutritious.

Here is the joke.

A raw foodist brought her broken juicer to the appliance repair man. The mechanic looked at the juicer and became horrified, “What in the world did you do to it?”
She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well, I was just trying to make birch juice”

The next time you go to Russia, treat yourself to a cup of birch juice properly made.

Love,

Victoria

Dear Friends,

In my family we have been enjoying adding one persimmon per blender while preparing our daily green smoothies. For example today I made my green smoothie out of one pint of strawberries and one bunch of spinach, plus one fuyu persimmon along with 2 cups of water.

This orange fruit improves the texture and improves the overall bouquet of flavors in our smoothies. It is now the season for persimmons so I invite you to take advantage of their many nutritional benefits.  

One amazing nutritional fact about persimmons is provided by USDA trhough their adjacent web site Nutrition Data. According to the scientific research persimmons have an amino acid score of 110 which indicates a complete or high-quality protein.

Persimmons are also high in minerals Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, and vitamins C and A. Persimmons have been used by traditional Chinese medicine to remedy hiccups. They have been noted to be beneficial for diarrhea, hemorrhiods, lung infections, and asthma.

There are two major types of persimmons:

• Hachiya is the larger variety of persimmon (up to 3 inches in diameter). They are generally heart-shaped, hard and bitter when unripe, but soft, sweet, juicy, and extremely delicious when ripe!
• Fuyu is a smaller variety of persimmon that looks like a tomato. Fuyu appear flatter than Hachiya’s. They maintain their sweetness whether they are soft or hard. Fuyu’s never taste bitter.

 Happy persimmon season to you!

Love, Victoria