Book Review: Green Smoothie Revolution

Knight Ridder/Tribune

As the author of a raw food book myself, I rarely come across a related book in which I find many new facts. But it is clear that Victoria Boutenko did her homework, because I found myself highlighting sentences on nearly every page. Though Victoria includes ample science in her book, the tone is very conversational and easy to read.

I was delighted to come across many surprising new tidbits--such as how, if you blend the greens you only need half as much as you do if you eat them in a salad; green grapes, tomatoes, apples, bell peppers (and more) are really unripe fruits; a zinc deficiency can create a lack of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and much, much more!

Victoria also teaches us how processed foods have created degeneration that progresses with each generation! She found that ear lobes get smaller, which reflects a lack of cartilage in the body. She points out that the current generation of children is not only more obese than ever, but also is using more psychiatric drugs, braces for the teeth, and glasses. Our lack of good nutritious food (especially greens) is clearly degenerating us as a species.

I was most impressed with the research Victoria did on greens. For example, I used to have a nosebleed at least once a week until I switched to a raw diet seven years ago. From reading this book, I realize now that it was due to a lack of Vitamin K. Victoria lists the many symptoms that come from a lack of Vitamin K, which is found abundantly in greens. There are plenty of other useful lists, such as cultivated greens, wild edibles and weeds, herbs, medicinal herbs, and most important: poisonous plants (with a stern warning to learn how to identify these before going foraging for wild plants!)

Victoria assures us that if we start blending the greens with plenty of fruit we will love the smoothies. She argues that this is good food combining, since greens are not really vegetables -- because they are not starchy. Then, as we get used to them, we will not need so much sweet fruit, but will crave and enjoy the bitter greens. There is information on how to get even your cat to eat green smoothies (dogs are easy!) and also guidelines and tips for green smoothie production.

The book also contains personal stories, such as the delightful one about how her grandchild became hooked on green smoothies while in the womb, and another about leaving green smoothies out for wild animals â??which led to, among other creatures, a bear coming for green smoothies! In one appendix we learn about how the Boutenko family went raw, and in another we read about how Victoria sponsored her own sort of "biggest loser" challenge and one guy lost 102 pounds in 14 weeks by doing green smoothies. (When will the TV "Biggest Loser" contestants catch on to this?)

All of the above makes the book worth the price even without the recipes. Yet the recipes make up the bulk of the book -- there are 72 pages of them!

This book has truly inspired me to get back on track with more green smoothies. I had gone down to just one a day because of my fondness for chewing. But reading this has definitely inspired me to upgrade my "raw glow" to a "green smoothie glow."

Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health (North Atlantic Books/ Aug 2009) by Victoria Boutenko

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