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

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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Victoria Boutenko is my mother in law and she asked me to give some advice on giving green smoothies to children.  I started my little one, Nicolas, on green smoothies when he was 6 months old, he is now 5 1/2.  I continued to nurse him until he was a year old. He began green smoothies by having a small amount in a ’sippy cup’ once or twice a day before feeding, then he would finish off with breast milk.  He grew to really like it and demand his sippy cup at feeding time.  I kept the ingredients very simple and alternated between baby spinach and kale (don’t just go with spinach for a long stretch because it can actually be too much iron for the baby)  plus always a banana because it gives a great consistency and mango is great too, then I add water.  I did ask my pediatrician (as I was a new mommy) who confirmed that it was ok to feed such a young child raw greens, as long as the spinach was alternated with the kale.

From my experience, the green smoothie is the best possible thing you can get/give because it is so healthy and is immediately absorbed into the system. Being a liquid makes it easier to digest as well as starting your little one on the life long path towards eating well.  My family is not raw, but we know that by having the green smoothies, we are able to at least get the kids (we have two now) that extra boost of nutrients that are sometimes so hard to get into their daily diet.  Plus it gets them used to eating “green”.   I don’t know why but kids don’t seem to have a natural attraction to the color when it is in food yet it IS the most healthy!   I really believe it is because we started Nic on smoothies at 6 months of age that he hardly ever gets ill.  Our daughter Lily now asks for them regularly too and she too is in excellent health!

Good luck to all the parents out there!

Over Coming the Food Imprint

Learn about food imprints created when a baby first comes off breast milk in this clip from Valya’s film about helping children to be healthy. View Video Here.

Green Smoothie Recipes for Babies

I can’t believe this is good for me smoothie
By Marina Gadkikh (from Green Smoothie Revolution)
2 ripe mangoes, peeled
1 ripe peach
8 leaves of romaine lettuce
2-3 cups of water

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Please enjoy ten of the best green smoothie recipes which were shared on our Facebook group in June. Number 8 won a copy of Green for Life and an ‘I love Green Smoothies’ bumper sticker. Feel free to join the group and share your own green smoothies recipes, advice and questions. We are noticing that many people are helping each other with health concerns and sharing some interesting links. It’s such a pleasure to watch this community grow.

Show your a part of the Green Smoothie Revolution here.

1 – Jan Jenson
I had a quart of green smoothie for breakfast… STILL not hungry (9 p.m.)! Mixed greens, arugula, sorrell, cilantro (all from my garden), 1/2 avocado and a banana. Liquified thoroughly – enjoyed tremendously!!!

2 – Brenda Rubino Mcfarlin
Hello everyone! I’m new to this group but wanted to share my Yummy Green Smoothie idea. I use frozen peaches, strawberries & raspberries then I add fresh mango, honey, water and cilantro. Sooooo refreshing! If anyone likes this let me know what you think

3 – Lorelie Montgomery
My daughter and I did a green smoothie demo at our local grocery store here in College Place, WA. The breakfast Fruit smoothie is what I think the people liked the best. My husband even likes it too. (Cause he can’t see the green.) The recipe is:

1/2 Banana, 1/2 Apple, 1 slice Pineapple, 1/2 Orange, 3 dates 2 Tb Flax seeds , 1 TB Dulse, 1 lemon slice, 1 Cup mixed berries, 1/2 C. Fz. cranberries, ¼ Oat Bran, 1 Tb sunflower seeds, 3-4 Lg Kale or chard leaves.

I drink 5-6 cups of that every day. My husband drinks only1 1/2 cups. Thats better than nothing.

4 – Shelli Lou P
One of my faves is curly kale, a small slice of fresh root ginger, 1/2 a lemon, and approx 350ml of apple juice its pretty refreshing

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Kiwi fruits add an interesting flavor to green smoothies. If you own a high speed blender and your kiwi fruits are organic,  you can leave the skin on. An alternative is to peel them or cut them in half and scoop the flesh out.

Kiwi fruits are rich in many Vitamins, flavonoids and minerals. They contain a high amount of Vitamin C (more than oranges), as much potassium as bananas and a good amount of beta-carotene. Kiwi fruits are high in Vitamin K. They are a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) and Copper.

I recently found some information about the health benefits of kiwi fruits and how they may prevent asthma, wheezing and coughing, especially in children.
For more information on kiwi fruits you may like to go here

Yummo Green Smoothie
By  Patricia Braun (From the group ‘I’m a part of the Green Smoothie Revolution’)

Kale
Kiwi fruit
Cantelope

Green Buzz Smoothie

By Emily Brett

2 Kiwi Fruit
1 Banana
3 handfuls of spinach
1 cups of water

Rocket Fuel Smoothie
By Victoria Boutenko (From the book Green Smoothie Revolution)

2 cups of green or red grapes
3 golden Kiwis
1 ripe orange, peeled and seeded
1 small thumb-size piece of aloe vera
5 leaves ref leafe lettuce
2 cups of water

For the Brave
By Igor Boutenko (From the book Green Smoothie Revolution)

1 cup carrot tops
1 cup beet greens
1 cup bok Choy
hald cup horsetail
1 cup plums
1 banana
4 kiwis
2 cups water

Victoria Boutenko’s raw recipe book Raw Family Signature Dishes: A Step-By-Step Guide to Essential Live-Food Recipes contains delicious, simple recipes explained with step by step photography. The Raw Family have chosen their favorite recipes which are perfect for beginners, or can be used as a foundation for those with more experience.

We would like to share with you Valya’s famous Mango Jam Pie. This recipe is sugar-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, salt-free and oil-free

Mango Jam Pie

Equipment:
Food processor
Bowl
Pie Pan
Spatula

Ingredients:
For pie crust- 3 cups almonds, 1 ½ cups pitted dates, ½ cup ground nuts or dry grated coconut to sprinkle in the pie pan
For filling- 2 cups raw mango jam * (see below for quick, simple recipe for mango jam)

1. We are going to use almonds in this crust, you may use any kind of nuts. In order to obtain the desired consistency, do not soak the nuts; rather grind them dry. Put the S-blade into the food processor and grind the nuts to a fluffy consistency. Stop grinding when the nut powder is fine but still airy and light. With too much grinding it will become oily.
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I’m a part of the Green Smoothie Revolution

About a month ago we started a group on Facebook called ‘I’m a part of the Green Smoothie Revolution’. We now have close to 4000 members! Its been wonderful to see how the group has naturally evolved into a hub of recipe sharing and green smoothie support.

I’ve chosen 10 of my favorite green smoothie recipes from the news feed to be a part of a competition. Everyone in the group has been asked to vote for the best recipe, and the winner, announced on May 10th, will receive a copy of Green for Life.

Please enjoy these creative and diverse combinations and feel free to join the group to participate or vote in the discussion section.

Green Smoothie Recipes

1 – April Arfa
I and my one year old are enjoying our beet leafs, spinach, kale, strawberry and fresh squeezed orange juice smoothy right now. He loves smoothies so much, that he plays with an old blender of ours without the blades by putting his toys in there and mixes them up. Thank you to the Raw Family for introducing us to this revolution 5 years ago!

2 – Viktoria Nieva Gomez
Having green smoothies almost every day for about 5 years… every day a different one – depending on the season and my mood… today it was mangos, strawberries, kumquats, mandarines, lambsquarters, sunflower greens and tarragon… ♥ it was mega delicious…

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Last week one of our readers shared this fantastic raw soup recipe. Please enjoy this creation from Hsiaoya and two other raw soup recipes with a focus on greens.

Cilantomatro Soup
3 cups of tomato,
1 bunch of cilantro
1 large clove of garlic
Half a peeled lemon (add more if desired)
2 stalks of celery (optional)

Contributed by Hsiaoyu Chang

Raw Family Green Soup
3 leaves of chard
1 stalk of celery
Half a bunch fresh parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large avocado
2 cups of water

Add water as needed and blend to desired consistency. We like to use dulse leaves, grated carrots, grated cauliflower, and sprouts to our bowl of soup.

From ‘Green Smoothie Revolution’, recipe by Victoria Boutenko

Orange Aid
2 cups of arugula
Half an orange
2 oranges, peeled and seeded
1 clove of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
1 dash cayenne pepper, or t taste

Blend and pour into a bowl. Add half avocado in chunks.

From ‘Green Smoothie Revolution’, recipe by Vanessa Nowitzky

Photo from ‘Free Digital Photos’

I have rediscovered adding pears to my green smoothie. They create the most wonderful texture and are in abundance at our local co-op. Pear with mint is an absolutely delightful combination. Please enjoy and share these green smoothie recipes from Victoria.

Pear – Chard – Mint
4 whole Pears
5 Chard
1/2 bunch Mint
2 cupses Water

Pear – Kale – Mint
4 whole pears
5 leaves of kale
1/2 bunch fresh Mint
2 cups water

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The Joy for Life Retreat offers an opportunity to experience the potential of green smoothies and their many flavors. Three green smoothies are enjoyed each day with a delicious pudding served in the evening for dessert. At the end of the week everyone walks away with 26 new recipes. Here are some sample green smoothie combinations from our most recent retreat in Pacific Palisades, to learn about other retreats this year, please click here

Spinach Cumquat Paradise Pudding
(Excellent for Beginners and Children)

2 cups baby Spinach
6-7 cumquats (peel seeds and all)
1 pear
2 bananas
½ cup water

Use the plunger (tamper).  Decorate with fresh fruit.  Yields: 5 cups

Sweet Fennel

1 cup fennel greens
1 cup dandelion greens
1 cup chard
1 pear
1 mango, peeled & seeded
1 banana
2 cups water
Yields: 2 quarts

Super Cilantro

4 cups cilantro
1 red bell pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 avocado, peeled & seeded
1 lemon, juiced
1 pear
2 cups water
Yields: 2 quarts