A lot of people have been speculating about Victoria Boutenko's diet on another thread. I recieved this excerpt from her book "Twelve Steps To Raw Foods" in a recent Raw Family newsletter and thought I would share it.

This is



How My Family Eats

"In this plate of food, I see the entire universe supporting my existence."
-A Zen blessing at mealtime

Is it expensive to stay on raw food? Yes and no. Let me explain. In order to be understood correctly, I am going to pull out my receipts and share in detail exactly what I spend. For my family of four, I spend on average $45 per day. That comes to $1,350 per month; but if divided by four, it is only $338 per person. I would like to clarify that we spend so much money on food, not because we are very rich, but because we do not have health insurance; and we consider our health to be the priority among all of our expenses. My intent is to not save money on nourishing the body. I am aware that I need to receive adequate nourishment not only for today’s performance but also to make up for thousands of days in the past when my body was malnourished. I would rather reduce spending on other things: furniture, clothing, household chemicals, fancy cars, and surely health insurance.



There were times when my family didn’t have much money. Once, for two years, the four of us lived on a total budget of $900 per month. That was including car insurance, gas, and the rest of our expenses. My children like to remember the Christmas of 1997 when Valya received a hair band for a present, and Sergei got a pencil. For some reason, they cherish the memory of that holiday more than any other. Even then, we managed staying on a high quality raw food diet. We discovered many different ways of obtaining good produce for little money or at no cost at all, we just had to spend more of our time sorting or gathering produce, rather than buying it. Igor built a special attachment to our van for growing sprouts in jars, in two large coolers. We constantly had an abundance of fresh sprouts for the cost of pennies. We approached different organic farmers and offered our help in exchange for fresh fruits and vegetables. We bought marked-down organic produce from the health food stores. We learned to arrive at farmers’ markets at the end of the day to get the best deals on their goods. By attending several wild walks with experts, we acquired foraging skills and started gathering wild edibles during most of the year. We went to countless U-picks and gathered anything from cucumbers to peaches. Finally, we offered help in picking fruit to owners of fruit trees who did not have time for harvesting. Many times, people were curious about what we were going to do with so much fruit and were quite surprised that we considered persimmons or cherries to be an important part of our diet. We ran into families that lived in big mansions but who ate very poorly. We were poor, but we sure ate like kings and queens, or I should say, as “educated kings and queens.”



Today all four of us work and we are happy to be able to buy all our food from health food stores and farmers. I am committed to obtaining only the best quality, fresh, organic produce, preferably seasonal and locally grown. During the warm seasons of the year, we buy most of our produce from farmers. I love talking to organic farmers. I consider them all to be heroes for their dedication to natural gardening despite tremendous challenges and hard labor involved.



I am fortunate to have a health food store two blocks from my house that I visit every other day or 3-4 times a week and buy food for my family. My husband and children like to help, but I do most of the food shopping. Typically, I bring with me several cloth bags that I fill with produce. In the wintertime, I alternate buying a case of apples or pears every week, to always have fresh organic fruit on hand at the house. Buying in bulk saves me twenty percent of the retail cost.

When I began consuming green smoothies and was looking for ways to increase a variety of greens, I went to the growers’ market and spoke to at least ten farmers. I offered to pay each one of them $20 for bringing me a large box of edible weeds the following week. I believe that wild edibles are our true super food. Two farmers became interested. Both of them have been bringing me chickweed, stinging nettles, lambsquarters, thistle, plantain, dandelions, purslane, and many other different edible greens on a weekly basis since then. Because of this supply of the most nutritious greens, I stopped buying greens from the store almost completely from April to October. Encouraged by my support, these farmers offered edible weeds to our local co-op; and I was pleased to see these most nutritious greens there for sale.

During the rest of the year, I usually buy eight bunches (two days worth) of different greens from the store, including but not limited to the following: dandelion, kale, chard, spinach, romaine, cilantro, parsley, scallions, collard, arugula, frisee, escarole, and endive. Once a week, I purchase a bag of baby greens mix. For two days’ consumption for my family, I usually buy 12 avocados, 8 ripe, bright yellow lemons, and a bunch of bananas.

I consider that the fruit variety is not perfect in any of the stores because most of the fruit has been picked unripe. I also find it frustrating that I cannot enjoy seeded grapes anymore. I always buy the fruit that is the ripest of all, and sometimes I ask the produce manager if he has riper fruit in the back. Typically, I buy one pound each of 3-4 different fruits, such as mangoes, pineapples, papayas, grapefruits, kiwis, figs, persimmons, or whatever is in season. I always buy a lot of berries, as they are less hybridized, riper than other fruit, and rich in many essential nutrients. I usually buy 4-5 pints of different berries. I almost never buy watermelon, except when it is in season, because I only buy the best organic seeded watermelons directly from farmers.

I usually buy a dozen ripe tomatoes, 2-3 firm cucumbers, and a couple of red or yellow bell peppers. I never buy green bell peppers, as they are unripe. Once or twice per month, I buy several carrots or beets to shred them in our salad. Approximately once a month, I buy a bag of dates, choosing a different brand each time.

About every other month, I place a bulk order for a 5-pound bag of sunflower seeds, a 5-pound bag of almonds, a 2-pound bag of chia seeds, and a 25-pound bag of flax seed, that is a lot but we share a large portion of our flaxseed crackers with friends.

I do not buy chocolate or raw cacao beans. I also do not buy any kind of salt but only sea vegetables: kelp, dulse, nori, arame, and others. I do not buy oil, as we stopped using oils altogether a while ago. However, I cannot guarantee that we will stay away from oils forever. In my family, we are following our intuitive guidance rather than other people’s recommendations. We attempt to consume fats in a more natural form rather than using oil, for example coconuts, avocados, occasional durians, and a small amount of seeds and nuts. I especially enjoy sea buckhorn berries that I pick in August through September in a local garden. I consider sea buckhorn berries to be a wonderful source of healthy oils, folic acid, B-vitamins, and many other important nutrients.

Often people ask my family to describe what we eat in the course of a day. I will tell here what I eat.

I always have one quart of green smoothie for breakfast, around 8 A.M. If I remember, I snack on a piece of fruit around noon. In other cases, I get so busy with work, which I love, that I forget about my snack.

We have a tradition, almost a ceremony, to eat green soup with our friends and family every day at 2 P.M. in the afternoon. Whether at my office, or at home, one of us quickly prepares green soup in a Vita-mix blender, which consists of just four ingredients.* This soup is incredibly satisfying, and it is the most essential meal of my day.

When I come home at 7 P.M., I have another smoothie accompanied by either a bowl of greens and veggies without any dressing, or a bowl of fruit. Another option for my dinner is a bowl with a pint of berries topped with a spoonful of raw almond butter, which we grind ourselves. I really would like to not eat anything else, but I do eat an apple or two later in the evening.

I am providing this information only as a means of sharing and not as recommendation. Please do not try to copy me, keep in mind that it took me over 14 years to come to this way of eating and it is continuously changing. Follow your inner guidance and treat yourselves as if you were well-educated kings and queens.



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I can't wait until she becomes a fruitarian :-) The books she will write.

Lillianswan Wrote:
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> I can't wait until she becomes a fruitarian :-)
> The books she will write.
I think she's doing it the way she wants to right now. I
stumbled onto a picture of an old Hero of mine....Viktoras Kulvinskas.
Most people would say he looks like Warmed-over-Death, but I can see
his Beauty. Kind of reminds me of myself.
May we all see the beauty in Victoria Boutenko...and everyone else.....WY
[www.piratedogs.org]

I guess I am not limited about what is beautiful because, although I wonder how Victoria maintains her weight, I think she is so beautiful. I don't put boundaries around my definitions of beauty. I love the way Victoras looks too. He is so distinguishing to me. I saw another raw Russian woman at the spirit fest and she was big like Victoria. I thought she was so beautiful also. I think it is a look that they (Russians) like. I think they want to be robust. Who am I to say what looks good for someone else anyway? They should look pleasing to themselves first and foremost. Her diet makes me wonder if she maintains her weight because of genetics. I certainly stay skinny eating more than she does.

I agree, she is where she want to be now,and all her green drinks are healing her, but everyones diet evolves and one day she will evolve into a fruitarian. I was just commenting on how someone with her skills would go a long way to promoting a fruitarian diet (fruitarian would be defined for me as 75% or more fruit). She's done the green smoothie book already and I can't wait to read her books when she starts writing fruitarian.

not everyone aims to be fruitarian though, i sure don't. i think greens are the best source of minerals there are.

viktorus is a gorgeous human being. when you see him speak a fire, a passion comes through him straight from the heavens. it's a wonderful thing to behold. i've yet to see the boutenkos in person but i'll bet they are the same.

I think that Tonya Zavasta is about the same age as Victoria. They are both Russian.

Tonya looks great to me. I haven't seen her in person but there are some videos on youtube.

The Boutenko's are so nice in person. I was lucky to see Victoria speak and she is very genuine. I love the way her mind works and her ability to teach in a simplistic manner. Her skin is clear and pretty, as is the rest of her family. I thought she looked healthy.

>Whether at my office, or at home, one of us quickly prepares green soup in a
>Vita-mix blender, which consists of just four ingredients.*

Can someone share what the four ingredients are?

<Can someone share what the four ingredients are?>

She probably wants you to buy the book to find out .

There are so many great soup recipes. I make at least one up every week.

just put greens, like spinach, water, garlic, lemon, salt (optional) in a blender and blend it up. Then add chopped veggies like red pepper, carrots and zucchini or cucumber, avocado and tomato. You can make it as simple as you want. Adding avocado to the blender before blending makes a creamy soup.

Thanks! Mmm red pepper. I never thought to add that. I make an avocado and greens (romaine or spring or kale or spinach) soup almost every day for lunch. I add dulse and sea salt to it - it's the best thing in the world!

I found the ingredients - was just curious:



"1 large handful of greens (kale, spinach, chard, or any other)
1 bell pepper with seeds (or 2 tomatoes, or 1 cucumber)
juice of two or three lemons
½ one large (or one whole small) avocado

We add water as needed and blend to a desired consistency. We like to eat it with
dulse leaves, grated carrot, or sprouts. This soup is incredibly satisfying and it is the
most essential meal of my day. "



Source: [64.233.169.104]

I love soup. It is my fav. so satisfying!!!

glad you found the ingredients.

I don't need other people to eat what works for me.

There are plenty of people who seem to thrive on raw/vegan diets that differ from mine.

I'm ok with that.

[www.google.com]

[www.google.com]

Also, I would caution against those who judge others by how they look. You don't know what challenges a person has had in living -- both external and internal challenges. And, your judging other people's dietary practices based on your subjective, conditioned response to their physical appearance... isn't very compassionate and is usually woefully inaccurate.

Right now, I'm dealing with a friend who has made some changes in her life. These changes are working for her. However, the idea that the rest of the world is going to get aboard her ship and sail along happily with her is getting tedious.

There are so many ways to do this... food, life, living, loving.

Lee

Agreed, isnt our place to judge.

If what she preaches works for YOU..ace!

Be your own guru!

I love Victoria Boutenko.It's because of her I am a raw fooder.I am always thankful for her researches.She is a brave woman in my opinion.

Re: Tanya Z. - I saw her in person and she glowed - porcelein skin, rosy cheeks, shiny eyes and hair - and a funny sense of humor too. Very charming lady.