Victoria Boutenko's Tour Calendar Europe, March and April 2010

In March and April Victoria Boutenko will visit Europe. Victoria is the author of the book “Green for Life” and will lecture on the benefits of greens and green smoothies. For more info about the lecture in Amsterdam, go to

http://www.rawfood.nl/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=28&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=112

March 9

Helsinki, Finland

For more information email: miiasaastamoinen@hotmail.com

March 11

Stockholm, Sweden

For more information email: marit@udos.se

March 13th

Brighton, United Kingdom

For more information email: kyle@galaxyofvitality.com

March 20

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

For more information email: info@rawfood.nl or go to http://www.rawfood.nl/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=28&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=112

March 22

Budapest, Hungary

For more information email: urbanvaleria@t-online.hu

March 24

Croatia

For more information email: domagoj.bedenikovic@gmail.com

March 25

Ljubljana, Slovenia

For more information email: aura@AMIS.NET

March 27 - 28

Berlin, Germany

2 lectures and 2 workshops at Rohvolution

For more information email:Hickisch@t-online.de

April 2

Berlin, Germany

Whole day workshop

For more information email: Hickisch@t-online.de

April 5-11

Munich, Vienna, Bratislava, Cologne, Hamburg(Germany), and Zurich(Switzerland)

For more information email: Hickisch@t-online.de

April 13-14

Tel Aviv, Israel

For more information email: macrawannie@gmail.com

April 17 - 18

Paris, France

For more information email: revitalisation@wanadoo.fr

Fruit yoghurt with almond milk

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 bananas
1 apple
1 cup almond milk
6 drops stevia
vanilla
1 tbs coconut oil

Mix all ingredients in the blender.
Tastes like fruit yoghurt.
My kids love it.

Enjoy!

You can find the recipe for almond milk at
http://rawfoodsuccess.blogspot.com/2007/12/basic-nutmilk-recipe.html or
http://rawfoodsuccess.blogspot.com/2008/05/victoria-boutenko-raw-almond-milka-fast.html

Victoria Boutenko on green smoothies, greens in your raw food diet

Green smoothies are a combination of fruits and greens blended together. Green smoothies taste delicious and are very healthy.

The Boutenko family cured themselves from various diseases by changing to a raw food diet. The members of their family had a variety of diseases: a congenital heart defect, thyroid problems, arthritis, diabetes and asthma. Within a matter of months the family started experiencing profound improvement in their health and vitality. The Boutenko children experienced remarkable improvement in their results at school.

Other advantages Victoria experienced: red dots on her chest disappeared, moles fell off, her vision became clear, her grey hair disappeared (she doesn't color her hair), nails became stronger, hair stopped falling off, her weight became normal, her mood became more peaceful and she could work for hours at the computer, without getting problems with her eyes.

According to Victoria there are two groups of eaters:
- normal eaters, they stop when they have enough nutrition
- compulsive eaters, they eat because of other reasons, like entertainment, joy and sadness. They eat for intoxication. For those people it is even more important to change to a raw food diet, so that they can't intoxicate themselves anymore.

Some health benefits of green smoothies:
- they taste very good
- they are extremely easy to make
- they contain fibers
- they contain chlorophyl, which is very good for the blood
- they are great for immunity and help to heal diseases
- they don't contain oil or salt
- they don't oxidize for 3 or 4 days and are excellent to take when traveling

For green smoothie recipes look under the label A1 smoothies (right side of the blog).

Raspberry-banana-hempseed smoothie; raw food breakfast recipe

This smoothie is great for breakfast or if you get hungry in between meals.
It is also a good food for kids.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
2 handfuls raspberries
1 tablespoon shelled hemp seed
½ cup water

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
Pour in a nice glass and enjoy!

The hemp seed is rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
Adding hemp seed gives this smoothie a rich flavor and helps to slow down the absorption of the fruit sugars. This creates a more stable blood sugar and a long lasting energy.

Beautiful Carrot-Orange-Dill "Gentle Touch" Smoothie

© RawFoodSuccess.com, all rights reserved

This beautiful orange smoothie has a very gentle taste. The combination is surprising.
You need a juicer to make carrot-orange juice. This juice is the basis for your smoothie.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 large carrots
2 oranges, peeled
1 avocado
handful fresh dill
2 teaspoons lemon

Wash or peel the carrots. I prefer peeling, because they taste better this way.
Juice the carrots and oranges and pour this juice into your blender.
Add the avocado, dill and lemon juice.
Blend until smooth and creamy.
Garnish with some lemon and dill.

This smoothie has a mild dreamy taste. It’s great as an aperitif.

The origin and health benefits of the avocado, a superfood full of nutrients

Avocado tree (picture Wikipedia.org)

Avocado’s have been cultivated for thousands of years. The name avocado came from the Spanish explorers, who couldn’t pronounce the Aztec name. The Spanish called it ahuacate, leading to the name we know it as today. The English, living in Jamaica during the 15th century, called the avocado an alligator pear. It is believed, because they compare the skin of the fruit to that of an alligator.

Avocado’s were first grown in America in the mid 18 hundreds, in California and Florida. They are now widely grown all over the world, but flourish in warm climates, such as the Mediterranean and South America. Today Mexico is the world’s largest producer.

Monounsaturated fat in the avocado is one of its greatest nutritional values. The olive is the only other fruit, with a comparable amount of this healthy fat, which is thought to lower cholesterol. Avocado’s have the highest protein content of any fruit and provide protein, fat and carbohydrate all in one superfood. In addition they contain vitamin E and fiber, which are good for clear skin and healthy digestion. They are also a good source of the anti-oxidant beta-carotene, helping to protect against heart disease and cancers. The pulp in avocado has both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, which help boost resistance to disease. It also contains fluorine, which is said to be vital for maintaining a strong immune system.

Dieters tend to shun away from avocado’s as they are highly calorific, but at just 150 calories for one half it contains more nutrients and protein content than any other fruit with the same calorific amount.

Store avocado’s in a cool, dry place until they are ripe. It is possible to tell this by the flesh feeling firm, yet yielding when gently squeezed. To speed up the ripening process, place them in a brown paper bag with an apple overnight. With several varieties to chose from, the avocado is a superfood, that can be found all year round.

Sliced avocado with mozzarella (in the raw food diet, we prefer something else ;-)) and tomato makes a delicious tricolore salad.

Note from Annet: I use avocado in salads, on dehydrated crackers or in smoothies. Especially in smoothies they are a great substitute for milk and yoghurt.

Yes, I Ate My First Raw Stinging Nettle Today. This is Fun!

Yes, I gave it a try today: to eat raw stinging nettles without preparation! And …. it is really possible without burning your hands, throat, stomach and all the rest. Thanks to David Wolfe, I learned something fantastic about a fresh raw superfood direct from nature .... ;-)
Watch David’s video elsewhere on the blog for the details.

Then we made the most delicious Green Mango-Stinging Nettle Smoothie.
Very easy and full of life force.

Ingredients:
1 ripe mango
½ blender stinging nettle
some lemon
1 cup water

Blend and enjoy.
It tastes really good. The nettle has a very mild taste.
This is the best and healthiest spring smoothie, you can think of.

To Your Health and Success!

Edible Wild Plants: How to Eat Stinging Nettle with David Wolfe

This is a fantastic video. David Wolfe shows you how to eat stinging nettles straight from nature.

How do you pick a stinging nettle? The younger leaves are the easiest. The older one sting more. You come from underneath, pull and grab the leaf, like a taco. If you do it wrong, you will feel the nettles sting in your fingers for a few hours. In your mouth they might sting, but it doesn't last longer than 30 seconds.

Stinging nettle is one of the most powerful wild foods, full with iron, magnesium and silicon. The real nutrition in nature is in stinging nettles and grasses. You can juice nettle, add it to smoothies or salads.

The juicing and blending take away the stinging. I used to put them in hot water for a few seconds and afterwards in cold water. You can do this for a salad. For a smoothie or juice, this is not necessary. Nettle is one of the strongest wild foods with a very mild taste. You can keep adding it.

Nettle is a great food to eat in springtime to build up your blood and energy. The root of stinging nettle is good for the prostate.

Green Smoothie from Kale, Mustard Greens and Tropical Fruits

Another green smoothie with kale, mustard greens and lots of tropical fruits. As you can see, it is real easy to make green smoothies. It takes hardly any time, is healthy, and the smoothies taste good!

Raw Food Recipe for a Mango Green Breakfast Smoothie

This mango green breakfast smoothie is great to start your day with. It is nice and sweet from the mango, contains fruit sugar for energy, and a lot of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, amino acids and enzymes to nourish your body.
The combination of fruit sugar and oils helps to take up the sugar slower, which gives a more stable blood sugar. Coconut oil and flax oil form a good combination for essential fatty acids.
You can also give this mango green smoothie to (your) children and see if they like it. Mine do.

Ingredients for one smoothie:
1 mango
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup romain lettuce
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon flaxseed oil

Blend and enjoy!

My Secret: Chinese Five Element Theory in Your Raw Food Diet

In Chinese Medicine there are five elements: earth, metal, water, wood and fire.
Everything in life, also the food we eat, can be categorized in these five elements.
You can make your raw food diet even more exciting, better looking and better tasting, by using this five element theory.

Basics of the Chinese five element theory:

- The wood element corresponds to the color green, spring, the sour taste and the Gallbladder and Liver meridian. Foods belonging to the wood element are lemon, pear, plum, mango, sauerkraut, wheat and barley. Also sprouts, the young plants of spring, belong to this wood element.

- The fire element corresponds to the color red, summer, the bitter taste and the Small Intestine and Heart meridian. Foods belonging to the fire element are hops, radish leaf, romaine lettuce, alfalfa, dandelion, chocolate, corn and many herbs. Also the large leafy plants of summer (often bitter) belong to this fire element.

- The earth element corresponds to the color yellow, late summer, the sweet taste and the Stomach and the Spleen meridian. Foods belonging to the earth element are honey, apple, cherry, banana, corn, carrot, sesame oil, yam and millet (yellow). Also the late summer fruits belong to this earth element.

- The metal element corresponds to the color white, autumn, the pungent taste and the Colon and Lung meridian. Foods belonging to the metal element are onion, chive, coriander, parsley, radish, garlic, ginger, cayenne, peppermint, clove and rice (white). Also the small contracted plants belong to this metal element.

- The water element corresponds to the colors blue or black, winter, the salty taste and the Bladder and Kidney meridian. Foods belonging to the water element are salt, kelp, seaweed, nama shoyu, salty pickles, olives, celery and beans. Also the roots of plants belong to this water element.

To eat a balanced diet, it is necessary to eat all the different tastes regularly. It is best to have them all in each meal.

An example of a balanced meal is:

1 a smoothie with banana (sweet), avocado (sweet), small amount of lemon (sour), raw chocolate (bitter), a celery stalk (salt) and a pinch of cayenne (pungent)

2 a salad with romaine lettuce (bitter), olives (salt), grated carrot (sweet), red onion (pungent), sesame oil (sweet) and lemon (sour)

3 a juice of apple (sweet), lemon (sour), celery (salt), romaine lettuce (bitter) and ginger (pungent)

4 a dehydrated cracker with flaxseed (sweet), tomato (sweet and sour), nama shoyu (salt), chive (pungent) and white pepper (bitter and pungent)

As you can see, it’s not difficult to eat according to the Chinese five elements. If you vary your diet, it happens automatically.
If you want to create special, nice looking, great tasting dishes, keep the five elements, the five colors and the five tastes in mind. Now you have my secret to the best tasting and best looking healthy raw food dishes ;-)

Recipe for the Ultimate Green Smoothie tested by Annejet

Yesterday my friend Esmé (theBestofRawFood.com), my 6 year old daughter Annejet and I went to our new Dutch Raw Food Café in Amsterdam. We had a delicious raw food lunch, the best raw chocolate milk ever and the best green smoothie ever, all prepared by raw food chefs Jeramaya and Roëll.
Annejet tested the raw chocolate milk and the green smoothie and they passed our test with glory. She loved them and licked her fingers. Today she said: I think I'm born to eat raw food. Isn't that sweet?

The "secret" ingredients of this fantastic green smoothie are:
1 avocado
1 peeled orange
1 ripe banana
1 stalk celery
1/2 apple
1 tablespoon Super Greens Powder

If you live in the Netherlands or visit Amsterdam one day, this café is a great place to go.

The Rawfood Café is open Monday thru Friday from 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM,
Saturdays from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Address: 1e Rozendwarsstraat 10, 1016 PC, Amsterdam

Green Banana Smoothie with Stinging Nettle, Who Dares?

Today we picked our first stinging nettles again!
My youngest daughter Annejet (6 years old) and I went picking wild edible plants.
We both took our camera’s and had a great time.

Be careful picking the stinging nettles.
You can use rubber cloves or a plastic bag over your hands.
I picked them without and can still feel it. I don’t mind and teach my kids, it’s a nice feeling.
They don’t mind either.
Pick the young plants, a few inches tall, or the tops of the older plants.

When we came home, we made a delicious stinging nettle banana smoothie.
I still feel my fingers, but my throat is okay ;-))
Keep reading for our magic trick!

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
2 “handful” stinging nettles
1 tablespoon shelled hempseed
1 tablespoon lemon

Wash the nettles.
Cover the nettles five seconds with boiling water, take them out, and put them in ice cold water.
Now they don’t sting anymore.
Put all the ingredients in the blender and make your wild greens smoothie.
The color is brownish-green. This is normal. The taste is great.

Stinging nettle contains a lot of iron, silica, calcium, magnesium and sulfur.
It clears the blood, helps to cure anemia and relieve fatigue.
It’s great to use in spring.

Enjoy your wild greens smoothie and feel the energy of spring!

Breakfast Recipe Milkshake or Porridge

You can drink this nourishing breakfast recipe as a milkshake or eat it as a porridge. Just add more or less water.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almonds, soaked
10 dried apricots, soaked
soaking water apricots
1 banana
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of salt

To peel the soaked almonds, first pour boiling water over them and immediately afterwards ice cold water. This way the skins come off easily.
Put all ingredients in the blender. Also the sweet soaking water from the apricots.
Blend and enjoy!

Banana Smoothie

p>Cut up the banana, put it in the blender,
And shake it all up, shake it all up [x2]
You got a banana smoothie (banana smoothie)
You got a banana smoothie (banana smoothie)

Drink up, taste it, swallow it
Get up, get on top of it
Feels right, aloha and ohalo...
Stay straight, right now it is
Have faith, getting out of it
Feels right, aloha and ohalo...

Cut up the banana, put it in the blender,
And shake it all up, shake it all up [x2]
You got a banana smoothie (banana smoothie)
You got a banana smoothie (banana smoothie)

Die high, bird is flying now
See straight, seems OK now
Feels right, aloha and ohalo

Cut up the banana, put it in the blender,
And shake it all up, shake it all up [x2]

Banana smoothie... (repeat as the background sings the chorus)

Blending up a Wild Weed Smoothie

My favorite YouTube video!

Green Powder Smoothie

There are many varieties of green powders. You can use them instead of greens, when you are travelling, at work or when you don't have time to make fresh green juice. Green powders are a great natural supplements, containing many vitamins, minerals and enzymes. They are often made of wheat- or barley grass and other green ingredients.
You can drink green powders with cold or lukewarm water, mix them with fruit juices or make smoothies with them. Green powder is a great superfood for children.

Ingredients smoothie:
1 cup fresh apple juice
1 pear
1 tablespoon flax seeds (soaked) or flax oil
3 mint leaves
1 - 2 teaspoons green powder

Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Healthy Mango-Cashew Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 ounce cashews, preferably soaked
1 mango
teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup water or herb tea
4 drops of stevia (optional, depends on the sweetness of the mango)

Blend and serve for breakfast or as dessert.

Raw Food Five Element Smoothie

Ingrediënts:

1 peeled lemon
sweet fruit
1 teaspoon krystal salt brine solution
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup pure water
1 or 2 tablespoons flax oil

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are five tastes: sweet, sour, pungent, salt and bitter. Every taste corresponds to certain processes in the body.

Sweet belongs to the earth element, corresponding to the stomach and spleen.
Sour belongs to the wood element, corresponding to the gallbladder and liver.
Pungent belongs to the metal element, corresponding to the colon and lungs.
Salt belongs to the water element, corresponding to the bladder and kidney's.
Bitter belongs to the fire element, corresponding to the small intestines and heart.

This smoothie recipe contains all five tastes. Bananas are sweet, lemon is sour, cayenne is pungent, the crystal salt brine solution is salt, flax oil is bitter. The blue green algae, that go with this smoothie, are bitter as well.
By combining the five elements in your dishes or meals, the flow of life energy (Chi) in the body is strengthened.

Green Smoothie with Victoria Boutenko

Greens contain all the nutrients we need, except vitamin B12. By mixing greens with fruits in a blender, the greens become very easy to digest and taste great. Victoria describes how she lost all her cravings by adding green smoothies to her raw food diet. Her grey hairs disappeared, red dots on her chest disappeared, moles fell off, her vision became clear, her nails became stronger, she didn't lose hair anymore, her weight feel down without effort, her mood got better, she got so much energy.

Especially for compulsive eaters a raw food diet is very good. They tend to intoxicate themselves by eating too much of the wrong foods. If they keep a raw food diet, this doesn't happen. For normal eaters it's less important to be all raw. They stop eating when they have had enough. They have a natural pattern and don't intoxicate themselves so easily.

Health benefits of a green smoothie:
1 It is extremely palatable
2 It is extremely easy to make
3 It cleans the blood
4 It is without oil or salt
5 A green smoothie protects itself from being oxidize for 3 days