Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko
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Book Reviews of Green for Life
Book Review: Refreshing and Inspirational
Summary: 5 Stars
Green for life is an excellent book. I have been edging my way towards a raw food diet. I keep adding more and more raw foods to my meals. One of the things that I added to my diet was fruit smoothies. They make a great meal. I started adding the green smoothies to my diet instead of just fruit and it really makes a big difference. The author is not joking when she says that a green smoothie will fill you up and take away the cravings. I have been drinking them for almost two weeks straight and I really don't crave sweets anymore. If I do, I can just eat a fruit and be done with it. I have made the green smoothie my breakfast now. It really fills me up for the day. I can drink a big green smoothie for the morning and just have a few pieces of fruit for lunch and not be hungry until night time.
It really is important that you experiment with the different green smoothie recipes and find one that is for you. I started with just one leaf of kale. I now blend a whole bunch of kale and add parsley. I pack my 56 ounce blender to the top with greens, blend it down with water and pack it up with greens again. You really will get used to the taste after a few days. It might be harder for someone who is on the SAD (standard American diet) diet though. I have been vegan for 9 months so my taste buds have changed from the SAD diet.
In her book, Victoria compares the SAD diet with a typical Chimpanzee diet. Chimpanzees share an estimated 99.4% of genes with humans. She explains how chimps have a natural immunity to most diseases. Most of their diet is of fruits and greens. She also tells of a study that her family conducted with participants who drank 1 quart of green smoothies each day for a month and their reactions. The results of the study showed a lot of improvement for the participants. Almost all of them had more energy. Victoria says in her book that she has met many people who have survived cancer by switching to a raw diet with greens in it. There is a lot of other very important information in her book as well. For instance stomach acid, fiber, soil, etc.
I began researching nutrition nine months ago when I switched to a vegan diet. I began to realize after a very short amount of time, how corrupt the nutritional information is out there. Most of the data out there is somehow influenced by the pharmaceutical companies who are making billions of dollars off of the sick. Or it's influenced by the corporate companies. For instance the dairy industry spends around 180 million dollars a year in advertisement. There is no amount of advertisement for kale. I don't believe that if there was a cure for cancer out there, the cancer research programs would even mention it. The medical industry makes billions of dollars per year on people who have diseases. The medical industry makes money on people being sick. They don't make money on healthy people. It is in their interest for people to be sick.
We have to take care of ourselves. There are plenty of books out there to help us. This book is one of them. I also recommend The China Study by T. Colin Campbell.
Book Review: User-Friendly and Inspirational!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Victoria has written one of the most user-friendly nutritional books I have ever read. She takes what very well could be a sweaty subject for most readers, and presents the information concisely, anecdotally, invigoratingly, and with pizazz!
This book details the benefits of transitioning to a raw foods lifestyle. I do not say 'diet' because this is not a diet at all, it is actually a way of life. A mind-blowing, body-transforming, attitude-improving, way of life. Sure, some people will employ the raw foods techniques to enhance their diet, but if you truly want to feel the 'epiphany' (and yes, you will have one if you stick to it), you must commit to living 'green' as fully as you can.
In her book, Victoria starts off with an inspirational message. She challenges everyone to seek their own personal truths, and to never accept what is read for fact until one has personally experienced it. She then goes on to discuss her personal journey and her family's journey into the raw food lifestyle - their pitfalls, their triumphs, and ultimately how it changed their lives for the better.
Victoria provides information on 'green smoothies' and how they have a profound impact on one's health. She also talks about nutritional aspects of traditional SAD (Standard American Diet) versus the Raw Food lifestyle.
Without getting too fussy or overly-technical, she emphasizes the need for fiber, protein, chlorophyll, and also introduces something I never considered - the pH of your stomach juices (aka acidity/alkalinity level), how to measure them, and how they play a key role in whether you 'sink' or 'swim' through life.
She ends her book with Testimonials from a test group who participated in a test study that she herself funded along with friends.
This book was a quick read (took me 4 hours cover-to-cover), easy to understand, realistic in its testimonials, personable, and anecdotal. The Green Smoothie recipes provided were simple and yummy!
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is even minutely curious about the raw food lifestyle, specifically green smoothies, and living more green. It is understood that not everyone can live 100% raw, but Victoria encourages us to do our best and that even small steps will improve your health.
Book Review: Great, Accessible Information
Summary: 5 Stars
In her most accessible book yet, Victoria Boutenko brings the benefits of greens to everybody--not just those willing to commit to a 100% raw food lifestyle. The information she shares in Green for Life will improve the diet and nutrient assimlation for the heaviest meat eater, to the occasional vegetarian, to the 100% raw fooder.
Green smoothies make "objectionable" foods like heads of kale, lambquarters, or carrot tops completely palatable. Through the magic of blending fruits like watermelon or bananas with greens, they become tasty liquid treats that help everything from insufficient stomach HCL to arthritis.
I found this book surprisingly engaging. Admittedly, I enjoy eating greens. I've even been known to make the occasional kale-raspberry smoothie; however, I had no idea of the science behind these strange cravings. Victoria has collected nutritional profiles of specific greens, results from a scientific study about the effect of green smoothies on stomach acid, favorite recipes and some impressive testimonials from participants in the Roseburg Study.
I found her observations about chimpanzees especially refreshing: they share so much of our DNA that scientists ruthlessly experiment on chimps by giving them all kinds of human diseases. Victoria turns this similarity around and suggests we look to wild chimpanzees for ways to stay or become healthy, rather than inflicting illnesses on them in captivity. Chimpanzees naturally eat far more greens than humans.
Green for Life is filled with practical observations, and it contains Victoria's characteristic analytical and experimental quest for "what works." When she finally finds something reliably great, she wants to share it with as many people as possible. Her passion is as infectious as the green smoothies are delicious. Yes, I like greens anyway, but I have personally witnessed non-greens lovers actually enjoying the smoothies I make. These same Standard American Diet people now regularly request large helpings of raw fruits and vegetables. Thank you, Victoria, for such an easy way to make a difference in people's lives!
Book Review: This book may give you back your good health and your life
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most important books I've ever read and has helped me to realize how important raw foods, especially greens, are to our health and well being. It made me re-think what I thought I knew about "nutrition".
In my opinion, based on my own relatively minor health issues, eating a raw diet (with greens) could clear up much of the illnesses we see today in hospitals and the dr's office. I am now motivated to eat RAW - and not just "just smoothies" - and to have both my medical and non-medical healthcare providers develop a food plan for me that I can stick to without having to worry about getting enough nutrients. Since I have many food sensitivities, I do need a food plan written out for me so that I'm less likely to stray.
If more of us ate a well-balanced raw diet, with plenty of raw fat like whole food avocado and nuts, I think eczema - or even colitis - could become "extinct"...unless your eczema is of the contact variety, caused by coming in contact with chemicals, etc. But who knows, perhaps we wouldn't react to chemicals at all if we were eating this highly nutritious way. Books like this are a wake-up call to our McDonald's - and pasteurized milk/pasteurized juice way of life. Yes, did you know that ALL juice in those grocery cases are treated with heat that destroy the enzymes!? Be sure to read the part where she explains how greens have as much protein ounce for ounce as steak, etc. This is what clinched it for me!
Although I wish that Vicktoria had included more recipes in this book, her newest book will have 150 recipes. After experimenting, what I found is that there is an art to mixing greens, fruit, and fresh herbs in order to make a tasty smoothie drink. The recipes in this book are delicious and tasty for that reason. I haven't gotten very good at making my own recipes yet. Never did I think I would find myself loving a smoothie with kale in it. It may take some of you a little while to cleanse your palette of processed sweets, and cooked/fried foods. Before long you'll find that Smoothies Rock!
Book Review: Excellent Book - 10 Stars!
Summary: 5 Stars
I found "Green for Life" an excellent source of information. The cost of the book is under priced in my opinion. Victoria did a lot of research talking to Jane Goodall, did a research study on her own w/ a doctor, she gives other websites for helpful information on how to live better lifestyle. (That was refreshing by the way, most other books I have read they gave links but only so they can make extra money. Victoria is not about that in my opinion, she is about helping people)
Her recipes, and studies about green smoothies are excellent. She only gives a 10-12 recipes, but still you can find so many more out there on the net. Plus of course you can try it on your own and experiment. She gives all the information you will need to branch out on your own.
I work as a vitamin consultant and every customer I talk to I recommend her book. We are taught to eat our meat, potatoes and breads all our life. It is nice to see that we can have an alternative to a better life style.
I have a personal trainer. She inspired me to read this book. She eats all RAW food and looks incredible. She is only 30 but looks like she is in her early 20's. She recently did a fat test. The scale showed her metabolic age to be 13.
I have been on Victoria's plan for 3 weeks. I have lost 8 pounds, my skin is better and I have more energy. I am not totally raw though so perhaps when I make the complete transfer I will do even better.
Here is another recipe for you: In a blender: 1 cup of ice. 1 cup of Ionized (or just bottle) water, 1 apple cored, 2 peeled lemons, 1 half dollar size of peeled Ginger Root, 3-5 bunches of Spinach Leaves, Sprinkle 3-5 shakes of Stevia on top (natural sweetner) add 1 more cup of Water. Blend. Yum. It's the best! In the glass for more punch stir in a 2-3 shakes of Cayenne Pepper and for even more health add some Chia seeds. Wow what a Smoothie!