Guest guest Posted July 29, 2006 Report Share Posted July 29, 2006 Raw Family Newsletter, July 2006 In this issue: 1. Raw Family's favorite summer recipes: Ice Creams! 2. From Victoria about Hot Weather, Watermelons and Other Summer Topics. 3. Photo of Igor with lambsquarters. 4. Cancer, arthritis, hypertension and other conditions reversed. 5. Victoria answers the most popular green smoothie questions. 6. Victoria's article on proteins. 7. Raw Food from Teen's Perspective 8. Cartoon by Sizem 9. Raw Food Gatherings this summer ================================= BANANA ICE CREAM WITH FRESH BERRIES Especially good on a hot summer day! For the best ice cream, buy organic ripe bananas, with small brown dots but not overripe, the bananas still have to be light inside. Peel bananas, put them in a zip lock bag and freeze for one or two days until they are completely frozen. 4 frozen bananas 1 cup fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc) Put frozen bananas alternating with berries through Champion Juicer with the blank on. Serves 3 --\ --------- VANILLA ICE CREAM This ice cream will satisfy any ice cream lover. 4 cups water 3 Tablespoons honey or eight dates 2 cups raw almonds � teaspoon sea salt (optional) Blend in a blender until smooth and strain through a milk bag. Pour the milk into an ice cream maker and stir until firm (usually 12-20 minutes). ============================================== FROM VICTORIA ABOUT HOT WEATHER, WATERMELONS AND OTHER SUMMER TOPICS This summer is very hot in Oregon. The temperature has been in the 100s every day this week. Since we do not have air conditioning, my husband has placed a giant plastic horse trough on the porch of our house, and filled it up with cold water. We all go and jump in it every hour or so. To catch the early cool hours of the day, I wake up at 5am to work on my book. I type on my laptop on my deck until it gets too hot, at 9am! Then I go to the basement and continue working there until 11pm. Have you noticed that during the hot season it is sometimes harder to concentrate? Our thyroid gland plays a major role in regulating the temperature of our bodies. When we are exposed to extreme heat for prolonged periods of time, our thyroid gets overworked. All hormonal glands are interconnected. For example, the adrenal gland cannot function fully if the thyroid gland is tired. As a result, we experience a lack of energy and difficulty concentrating. This is why it is a good idea to cool down by taking cold showers or swimming in rivers and lakes. In my family we have noticed that reducing the consumption of fat greatly aids us in tolerating the heat. During these hot weeks we consume no oils, nuts, and almost no avocados. At the same time, our family of four consumes one or two big organic seeded watermelons every day. I would like to emphasize seeded watermelons; in the research done recently at Harvard University blah… The scientists discovered that seeded fruits have the longevity genes, while the seedless varieties possess fast-aging genes. It is as if the plant decides that its nutritional content has been so altered that the plant commits suicide by not producing seeds. Subsequently, when we consume seedless fruits, we consume fast-aging genes. I prefer to consume longevity genes. We have noticed that the ingredients of our smoothies have changed on hot summer days. Our smoothies have become a lot greener! Instead of putting fleshy fruits we tend to include juicy fruits as ingredients: oranges, grapefruits, pineapple, grapes, and tomatoes or apple juice. We also like to use more tangy greens such as mint or basil. Keeping in mind that weeds are mostly available in the summer, we almost never add kale, chard, spinach, or any other greens that are sold in stores reserving them for the wintertime. I am thrilled that our Ashland Co-op now offers purslane and our local grower's market offers a variety of weeds, including lambsquarters and sorrel. We also add young grape leaves, pumpkin and zucchini leaves, plantain, dandelion, and stinging nettles. Stinging nettles are my favorite. They cease to sting as soon as they are crushed, and they are delicious when they are blended. Please be extremely cautious and ask a specialist to identify wild edibles for you before using them. We have been adding the young light green leaves of Douglas fir trees to our smoothies; but I cannot recommend it yet, as I am unable to find any scientific research about this plant's nutritional value so far. My father was an herbalist, and he always encouraged us kids to grab a handful of those bright green tips and eat them in the summer. Today my family enjoys their zingy taste and it seems like they give a boost of energy right away. We don't put a lot of these fir tips, maybe 10-15 1-inch pieces per blender. Yesterday I was able to locate a book about the healing properties of fir trees of America. I will continue my research and hopefully will be able to include several recipes with Douglas fir leaves in the Green Smoothie Revolution book. I receive over 100 emails daily, most of which are compliments to green smoothies. However, I am concerned that I have not been able to sufficiently emphasize the importance of rotating greens in ones diet. I see from the feedback I receive that most people keep using merely a couple of different greens, and sometimes only one green, for weeks and months. I predict that this lack of variety will eventually lead to becoming tired of the same taste and discontinuing the consumption of green smoothies for good. At the same time I believe more and more that green smoothies are the most essential food for humans. Everyone in my family drinks at least two quarts per day. I have been drinking green smoothies on a regular basis for two years now, and I am committed to continue until the last day of my life. Often I hear people say that they are busy and cannot find a variety of greens outside of the produce section. I would like to address these complaints by saying: I strongly believe that without consuming a sufficient amount of greens, humans cannot enjoy optimal health. Fresh greens blended with fruit are the freshest and most enjoyable way to consume the necessary quantity of greens. Please recognize the strong link between greens and human health; and realize that it doesn't take that much effort to contact local farmers who know all of the weeds and are usually happy to share them. Chimpanzees eat on average a variety of 117 greens per year. We have only about 30 available to us from the best produce markets. I believe that at one time humans were aware of many more edible greens. In the book by Leo Tolstoy, War And Peace, one character says " a peasant is not hungry when he is out of bread, but when he is out of lambsquarters. " Together we can identify the most delicious edible plants and return them to our daily menus, where they surely belong. In this letter, I shared some of my summer experiences and also addressed some of the most frequently asked questions. I will continue answering your questions in the next month's newsletter. For now, I feel that it is time for me to take a dip in the magic horse trough. With Love, Victoria --\ ------------ For more information on edible weeds and green smoothies please read Victoria's book: Green For Life is available at our website: www.rawfamily.com To view photo of Igor with lambsquarters: http://rawfamily.com/lambsquarter.jpg Cancer, arthritis, hypertension and other conditions reversed: http://rawfamily.com/cancer2006.pdf Victoria answers the most popular green smoothie questions: http://www.rawfamily.com/populargreensmoothie.pdf Victoria's article on proteins: http://www.rawfamily.com/proteinsingreens2006.pdf �2006 Copyrighted material! Please reference this source when sharing this information: www.rawfamily.com Raw Food from Teen's Perspective By Sergei Boutenko. An Excerpt from the book Eating Without Heating. Ask the young. They know everything. (Joseph Joubert) Before I ate raw food, I always wanted to be cool. I wore baggy pants with trendy names and had flashy skateboards and other toys, but for some reason I wasn't cool. The harder I tried, the less cool I was. When I started eating raw food, I hid it from my peers because I thought I would be even more un-cool. Later on, however, I found out that in their eyes eating raw food actually made me pretty cool. In fact, I noticed that a person doesn't even have to be way different to be cool. All one needs in order to be cool is sincerity. Eating healthier made me more open. I stopped caring what people said and thought about me. I became more sincere and started speaking openly. People started noticing my sincerity and, as a result, I made new friends. When we are sincere, people gravitate toward us. Are you or your children worried that by eating raw food you'll lose some friends? You might lose some friends, but I promise you, you'll gain three times as many quality new friends. If you are a raw fooder, it is best if you don't seclude yourself from the rest of the world and only hang out with raw fooders. You don't have to try to convert everybody to your " raw-ligion. " In fact, it would be un-cool for you to say, " Stop eating that crap. That pizza's going to kill you. " If you did that, you wouldn't have any friends at all! I like what Howard F. Lyman, the author of the best-selling book Mad Cowboy1 says, " Don't tell people what you are doing unless they ask, and when they ask, you have thirty seconds to respond. That's about how long their attention lasts. If they want to know more they will research on their own or ask more. " Occasionally, people make fun of me for eating raw food, but they're not usually too hard-core. They never say anything like, " You're stupid. " They'd rather make fun of me gently, like, " Have some milk. Oh, I forgot, you can't have that because you're crazy. " I just respond with, " Yeah, I am crazy. A crazy raw fooder that is! I only eat fruit. " When they hear how I start making fun of myself, they lose interest. In Ashland, people know me as the fruit boy. I just laugh with them. I'm not afraid to make fun of myself! I am healthy and happy, and I don't care what people think. It's only thoughts. …When my family and I moved to Michigan, there was even less to do. No TV, no movie theater, no entertainment at all. Just a little town surrounded by cornfields. I thought, " I hate Michigan. It's so boring here. " But life was still going on, and I had to learn how to be with myself. For the first time in my life, I had lots of time, and instead of spending it entertaining myself, I started observing people and nature. I watched how ordinary people around me worked and rested and communicated. They noticed me and asked me questions. At first, I avoided talking to them because these town people and their lives seemed very boring to me. I felt depressed even from looking at them. Later I got into long conversations with these people and started enjoying it. I noticed how much all of us could learn if we talked sincerely. I managed to connect with all people whether children, adults, or college students. I was even fortunate enough to talk to people whose doctors had basically pronounced them dead. That's when real learning started. In a matter of weeks, I was no longer missing any of my favorite entertainment. I discovered that no one but myself could truly entertain me. That time in Michigan changed my whole perspective on life. …What makes going on raw food so difficult? By changing to raw food, you will go against the mainstream! In the beginning, such a radical change creates many uncomfortable and unfamiliar social situations. Children are especially sensitive to them. You cannot expect them to thrive in mainstream surroundings alone. Spending more time with your kids will enable their adjustment to their new lifestyle. I remember how I needed my parents' support in the beginning. I appreciated the hikes and long conversations we had together. We discussed life, death, and everything in between. Enrolling your kids into different fun classes such as swimming, horseback riding, fencing, etc., will divert their attention from the emotional pressure during the transition. A good way to get information to your child about the benefits of raw food is through " subliminal " messages. My mom used to copy jokes onto separate pieces of paper and hang them up around the house. It's funny that this worked best in the bathroom because while sitting on the pot I had nothing to do so, I was forced to read them. After about a month of switching jokes my mother replaced them with raw food quotes and excerpts from different health books. Now I was the one telling her, " Did you know that every can of soda pop has 11 teaspoons of sugar in it? " and " Did you know that sugar is a drug? " My mom would just smile and say " OK, honey, I won't buy you any pop from now on. " Another thing that helped me was that my parents taught me at an early age how to use all the basic raw food equipment. At some garage sale, they bought me my own real blender, food processor, and dehydrator. Knowing how to use these tools gave me an opportunity to create my own raw dishes and practice my own form of art. My parents made raw foods an adventure for me. To this day, a big part of enjoying what I eat is the fact that I make it myself. …Staying on raw food is difficult but possible. Having a support group is very helpful. We put together a teen hike in 2002 that was highly successful. We believe that it is very important for the youth of the world to start thinking about the future. Why? Because we are the future. Our parents and our grandparents will not be around forever. Time flies and soon we will have to step up and take care of our lives and our planet. Sergei has put together two exciting raw food hikes in Southern Oregon. The 5-day hikes will involve learning to identify wild edible plants together with numerous other survival skills. To learn more please visit his website: www.harmonyhikes.com. Eating Without Heating: Favorite Recipes from Teens Who Love Raw Food By Sergei and Valya Boutenko is available at our website: www.rawfamily.com Book review by our reader Judy K. Great book, small, but jam packed with easy to make and delicious recipes. With very inspirational notes by the Boutenko kids in the beginning. It's a very simple book, nothing fancy at all. But I think therein lies it's power: its practicality. I have two more books, which are quite fancy, but for food prep inspiration I always grab this one. If I think: 'pie', I just look up the chapter, gloss over it and immediately get ideas to make my own version. If I had to describe this book in four words: small, simple, delicious and complete! I love it! Price: $11.95 ================================= Cartoon by Sizem RAW FOOD GATHERINGS THIS SUMMER: August 30 through September 2, 2006: The first annual Raw Spirit Retreat at Camp Adams near Molalla, Oregon. For more details, please see: http://www.rawspirit.net THE SECOND ANNUAL VIBRANT LIVING EXPO August 24-27, 2006 call 707-964-2420 or visit www.RawFoodChef.com The Raw Passion Fig Party August 19 in Guerneville, California Inn at the Willows www.raw-passion.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.