www.manitobaharvest.com
(scroll below this review to click on the machine that could help save your life!) 
Anyone who has read any of my (many) blog entries probably knows that I-- fifty-something semi-retired woman-- have done a lot of wading back and forth between different vegetarian lifestyles. In our twenties, my husband and I 'did' the Diet for a Small Planet variety of vegetarianism-- I guess you might call it "rich" (as in ovo-lacto) vegetarianism. In our thirties and forties we flirted with such regimens as Fit for Life, The F-Plan Diet and the Adventist C.H.I.P way of eating (lots of soy products, boatloads of water).
Sometimes we ate meat. Sometimes we were closet eaters of meat-- shocking ourselves at the nefarious desire for an omnivorous lifestyle. We even 'came out' in the early part of this century and ate voraciously of animal (but "clean") products a la Jordan Rubin's The Maker's Diet.And then we heard Howard Lyman talk about his mission (see his Mad Cowboy site) and we re-converted to veganism, on the fast track to raw veganism, because our son, Con, lived with us and was doing a good deal of proselytizing about the benefits of 'eating unheated'.Last Spring and Summer (2006) we 'went raw vegan' (probably about 75-90%). I lost a whopping 35# (which I am happy to say has not all come home again) and we felt and looked (we think) better. During this period of time we were introduced to the local raw food association (with their monthly potlucks and local raw food/juice bar and lifestyle center).
In the Fall, as it got cooler and darker, we upped our eating of cooked foods. Our home expanded to include our son and family from the Philippines and they insisted on cooking wonderful-scented dishes-- some chicken, fish, etc., but mostly just great veggie dishes-- and we succumbed to eating a lot of cooked vegan food through the winter. Some of the weight came back on, and digestion problems flared up again.
Then along came one of the great green divas of the Raw Vegan movement, Victoria Boutenko. You can read about her in more detail at her Raw Family site. I had followed her newsletter and heard her speak on-line, but I hadn't heard her in-person, and I hadn't read any of her books yet. On March 25th we joined 100+ others to hear her talk about her brain(food)child, the Green Smoothie. We were very impressed with what she shared about her research, her 'journey' from illness to health on a raw vegan diet to some 'issues' (tooth decay, weight-gain, food cravings) that were re-corrected with the ultimate raw vegan add-on, the "Green Smoothie." We left with a lot of enthusiasm, a Green for Life book , DVD and laminated reminder chart for our fridge.
Both of us 'devoured' the Green For Life book. It is well-written and has a neat format with laminated foldouts on each cover that are handy-dandy page markers.
Victoria's research is extensive. As Christians with a Creationist bent we don't agree with all of her conclusions and allusions (to things coming about 'millions of years ago'), but we certainly believe that the original healthful diet of the Bible (the green herbs and fruits) was an optimally healthy diet. Victoria has just provided the science to show this.
Like other health advocates, Victoria recognizes the importance of achieving and maintaining an alkaline body state. If one stresses (who doesn't?) and eats a highly acid-forming diet (coffee, chocolate, dairy, meats, etc.), the body is going to reflect this with high acidity. Victoria goes a little further than the usual nutrition discussion and includes her research into the necessity of hydrochloric acid ("stomach acid") in digesting and absorbing the nutrients in the foods that we eat. When was the last time you were tested for your hydrochloric acid levels?
Green For Life includes excellent, easy to understand research (including testimonials from a small study that Victoria and a nearby retired physician carried out in a California community), the 'case' for eating greens and eschewing the roots of vegetables (potato, carrot, etc.). And, of course, lots of information about the benefits of the Green Smoothie consumption.
Do you have to make a total flip-over into "nothing but" Green Smoothies to enjoy the benefits? No. You can just introduce a quart to 2 quarts of Green Smoothies each day to your regular diet (even for meat eaters) and notice the changes that take place. There are some delicious easy 'recipes' at the back of the book. You will also learn to make green smoothies that you enjoy more than what other people have put together.
I will be featuring more information about the Green Smoothie in my upcoming Smoothie Moves newsletters.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VITA-MIX SUPER 5200
Anyone who has read any of my (many) blog entries probably knows that I-- fifty-something semi-retired woman-- have done a lot of wading back and forth between different vegetarian lifestyles. In our twenties, my husband and I 'did' the Diet for a Small Planet variety of vegetarianism-- I guess you might call it "rich" (as in ovo-lacto) vegetarianism. In our thirties and forties we flirted with such regimens as Fit for Life, The F-Plan Diet and the Adventist C.H.I.P way of eating (lots of soy products, boatloads of water).
Sometimes we ate meat. Sometimes we were closet eaters of meat-- shocking ourselves at the nefarious desire for an omnivorous lifestyle. We even 'came out' in the early part of this century and ate voraciously of animal (but "clean") products a la Jordan Rubin's The Maker's Diet.And then we heard Howard Lyman talk about his mission (see his Mad Cowboy site) and we re-converted to veganism, on the fast track to raw veganism, because our son, Con, lived with us and was doing a good deal of proselytizing about the benefits of 'eating unheated'.Last Spring and Summer (2006) we 'went raw vegan' (probably about 75-90%). I lost a whopping 35# (which I am happy to say has not all come home again) and we felt and looked (we think) better. During this period of time we were introduced to the local raw food association (with their monthly potlucks and local raw food/juice bar and lifestyle center).
In the Fall, as it got cooler and darker, we upped our eating of cooked foods. Our home expanded to include our son and family from the Philippines and they insisted on cooking wonderful-scented dishes-- some chicken, fish, etc., but mostly just great veggie dishes-- and we succumbed to eating a lot of cooked vegan food through the winter. Some of the weight came back on, and digestion problems flared up again.
Then along came one of the great green divas of the Raw Vegan movement, Victoria Boutenko. You can read about her in more detail at her Raw Family site. I had followed her newsletter and heard her speak on-line, but I hadn't heard her in-person, and I hadn't read any of her books yet. On March 25th we joined 100+ others to hear her talk about her brain(food)child, the Green Smoothie. We were very impressed with what she shared about her research, her 'journey' from illness to health on a raw vegan diet to some 'issues' (tooth decay, weight-gain, food cravings) that were re-corrected with the ultimate raw vegan add-on, the "Green Smoothie." We left with a lot of enthusiasm, a Green for Life book , DVD and laminated reminder chart for our fridge.
Both of us 'devoured' the Green For Life book. It is well-written and has a neat format with laminated foldouts on each cover that are handy-dandy page markers.
Victoria's research is extensive. As Christians with a Creationist bent we don't agree with all of her conclusions and allusions (to things coming about 'millions of years ago'), but we certainly believe that the original healthful diet of the Bible (the green herbs and fruits) was an optimally healthy diet. Victoria has just provided the science to show this.
Like other health advocates, Victoria recognizes the importance of achieving and maintaining an alkaline body state. If one stresses (who doesn't?) and eats a highly acid-forming diet (coffee, chocolate, dairy, meats, etc.), the body is going to reflect this with high acidity. Victoria goes a little further than the usual nutrition discussion and includes her research into the necessity of hydrochloric acid ("stomach acid") in digesting and absorbing the nutrients in the foods that we eat. When was the last time you were tested for your hydrochloric acid levels?
Green For Life includes excellent, easy to understand research (including testimonials from a small study that Victoria and a nearby retired physician carried out in a California community), the 'case' for eating greens and eschewing the roots of vegetables (potato, carrot, etc.). And, of course, lots of information about the benefits of the Green Smoothie consumption.
Do you have to make a total flip-over into "nothing but" Green Smoothies to enjoy the benefits? No. You can just introduce a quart to 2 quarts of Green Smoothies each day to your regular diet (even for meat eaters) and notice the changes that take place. There are some delicious easy 'recipes' at the back of the book. You will also learn to make green smoothies that you enjoy more than what other people have put together.
I will be featuring more information about the Green Smoothie in my upcoming Smoothie Moves newsletters.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VITA-MIX SUPER 5200