12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food [Paperback]

Victoria Boutenko (Author), Gabriel Cousens (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: May 8, 2007

Why do we overeat time and time again? Why do we make poor diet choices while we want to be healthy? What makes losing weight so difficult? These and many other vital questions are addressed in 12 Steps to Raw Foods in an open and sincere dialogue. Based on the latest scientific research, Victoria Boutenko explains the numerous benefits of choosing a diet of fresh rather than cooked foods. This book contains self-tests and questionnaires that help the reader to determine if they have hidden eating patterns that undermine their health. Using examples from life, the author explores the most common reasons for people to make unhealthy eating choices.

Rather than simply praising the benefits of raw foods, this book offers helpful tips and coping techniques to form and maintain new, healthy patterns. Learn how to make a raw food restaurant card that makes dining with co-workers easy and enjoyable. Discover three magic sentences that enable you to refuse your mother-in-law’s apple pie without offending her. Find out how to sustain your chosen diet while traveling. These are only a few of the many scenarios that Boutenko outlines.

Written in a convenient 12-step format, this book guides the reader through the most significant physical, psychological, and spiritual phases of the transition from cooked to raw foods. Embracing the raw food lifestyle is more than simply turning off the stove. Such a radical change in the way we eat affects all aspects of life. Boutenko touches on the human relationship with nature, the value of supporting others, and the importance of living in harmony with people who don’t share the same point of view on eating. Already a classic, this enhanced second edition is aimed at anyone interested in improving their health through diet.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The first edition of this book (published in 2000) was excellent. The second edition is masterfully outstanding.”
—From the foreword by Gabriel Cousens, MD
 
“Sensational! The why and how of a raw-foods lifestyle in a nutshell. A must-read for those who want more vitality, happiness, and success in their lives.”
—Victor M. Vieira, DC, fellow of the International Academy of Clinical Acupuncture
 
“A marvelous book full of useful information for people seeking a better understanding of the relationship between nutritional factors and optimal health. Victoria Boutenko asks probing questions and searches every avenue that can lead to new answers. Her conclusions are remarkable, often surprising, and always illuminating.”
—Melvyn L. Iscove, MD
 
“Imagine what would happen in a society wherein people would take responsibility for their own health and wellness. Victoria Boutenko’s book provides the basis for this healthier shift in our thinking and daily lifestyle.”
—Jeannette Vos, EdD, co-author of The Learning Revolution and The New Learning Revolution  
 
“For those new to Boutenko, this is a great introduction to her ideas, methods and life experiences, the latter of which includes the inspiring account of how she healed her families illnesses through healthful eating and exercise.”
—Spiritualitea.com
 
“Victoria Boutenko’s revised and expanded 12 Steps to Raw Foods is magnificent! If you have ever attempted to incorporate raw/living foods into your diet to any degree, and hit the wall of resistance, you absolutely must read this book… Victoria’s 12-Step outline, which is very loosely derived from her personal research into AA and OA, has helped countless people rise above the struggle of changing behavior, and into an empowered state of raw consciousness.”
—Reader Views

About the Author

Victoria Boutenko lives in Ashland, Oregon. She is the author of Green For Life, Raw Family, 12 Steps to Raw Foods, and several raw recipe books. She teaches classes on raw food all over the world, and is an adjunct professor at Southern Oregon University. As a result of her teachings, many raw food communities have formed in numerous countries. She continues traveling worldwide sharing her gourmet raw cuisine and her inspiring story of change, faith, and determination.

Boutenko’s Green For Life was nominated as a finalist in health and medicine for the Independent Publisher’s Award (IPPY) in 2006. She has published a monthly newsletter since 2003 on her website www.rawfamily.com. Boutenko contributes regularly to a number of periodic publications including Get Fresh, Just Eat an Apple, Alive, Natuurstemmingen, Neva, Die Wurzel, Naturaleza Cruda, and many others. She is a leader in the raw food movement and her works are recognized as having a profound impact on the development of raw food communities across the globe. Boutenko’s work is referenced in numerous books on the subject, and her books have been translated into nine languages. She has been a keynote speaker at a number of international expositions in Germany, England, Brazil, Canada, Belgium, Iceland, Holland, Jamaica, Spain, France, and the United States.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; Revised Edition edition (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556436513
• ISBN-13: 978-1556436512
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Victoria Boutenko is an author, teacher, inventor, researcher, artist and mother of three. In 1994, The Boutenko family, also known as The Raw Family, became seriously ill. Victoria sought out alternative health paths and discovered the raw food lifestyle which enabled the family to gain vibrant health.

Now Victoria Boutenko travels all over the world sharing her inspiring story and teaching classes on the raw-food diet. Based on the latest scientific research, Victoria explains the numerous benefits of choosing a diet of fresh rather than cooked foods and the importance of consuming large amounts of leafy greens. Victoria's most recent and powerful contribution is her research into the nutritional value of greens and the development of green smoothies, which have revolutionized the way people access health, no matter what their dietary or lifestyle choice.

To learn more about Victoria and her family visit www.greensmoothiesblog.com and www.rawfamily.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

210 of 213 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic new edition!! Review by Raw Network of Washington May 14, 2007

By Monika Kinsman

Format:Paperback

Review by Susan Albrecht

Victoria Boutenko believes that our bodies are designed to be healthy, that our bodies are perfect, and that sickness is not normal. For Victoria, absolute health is having enough energy to manifest dreams. Yet many people simply do not have enough energy to do so, or engage in a mental and physical struggle of ups and downs which make it difficult to remain joyful and fulfilled. For Victoria, the health and joyfulness that is our natural birthright can be found in nutrition. Standing in the way of optimal nutrition is a dependency on cooked foods and a corresponding belief that it is simply too difficult or not possible to change eating habits in a significant way.

The dependence on cooked food and the steps that can help one successfully end the dependency are outlined in Victoria's book, 12 Steps to Raw Foods: How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food. The newly revised and updated second edition is now twice as large, containing about 80% new information and more detailed insights into the burning question of why humans should eat raw, about human dependency on cooked food, and how to people can end this dependency. This is a book for people interested in changing their dietary habits, for those completely new to raw, and for raw fooders interested in learning more about Victoria's research into the diet of the first humans, which focuses on the "gatherer" aspect of the hunter-gatherer paradigm of early to recent human lifestyle and nutritional needs. While we all learn in grade school about the hunter culture, not many of us learn about the gatherer lifestyle that was central to ALL people, not just Native Americans. It is exciting to learn that the "first bread" was little more than crushed seeds of grasses mixed with water and "baked" on stones heated by the sun. Clearly, for thousands of years, humans ate their "bread" raw.

Central to the new edition is Victoria's other research into the power of greens. Victoria and her family had been raw for nearly ten years when they began to feel they had reached a plateau in their levels of health, noticing symptoms of less than perfect health. Yet it was when her children started to complain of increased teeth sensitivity that Victoria knew something was not right with her family's nutrition--such symptoms Victoria recognized as an indicator that her family's complete nutritional needs were not being met. This realization resulted in a three year quest to learn and collect data on all human foods. What she found is that the one food group that matches all essential minerals and vitamins recommended by the USDA, including protein, are greens! Convinced that greens are the most important food, Victoria was stumped at how to incorporate an optimal quantity into her diet (even Victoria was not able to consume more than several cups of shredded greens at a sitting). After many experiments, she discovered that blending greens in a high-speed blender with sweet fruit and water resulted in a wonderful concoction that is not too sweet and not too bitter. These "Green Smoothies" as she called them, are "freshness" in a complete package.

The new edition of 12 Steps to Raw Foods also contains more detailed information on the "twelve steps" of how one can end his or her dependency on cooked foods, the ten benefits of green smoothies, and the physical, emotional, biological, and spiritual aspects of how and why we feed our inner hunger. This is a book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in healthy living, and is a "must read" for those seeking to better understand the relationship between nutrition and optimal health. Victoria demonstrates this relationship in an informal yet practical way, offering numerous tips and strategies. Planting a seed to help and inspire others can be as simple as preparing raw food for a friend or family member. While you never know if or when that seed may germinate, you are the most positive example of joyful living. As an ambassador of the living foods raw lifestyle, you have the potential to influence others simply by attaining your own optimal level of health. And this, Victoria makes clear, is worth a try.

95 of 97 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Personal Story Backed by Science July 8, 2007

By Laura Bruno

Format:Paperback

I read the earlier edition of this book over two years ago, along with all the previous Raw Family publications. Victoria's characteristic Russian warmth and passion always come through, and I so appreciate the love and dedication she brings to her readers. Starting with Green for Life, though, she now also offers scientific evidence, studies and research to support her stories, suggestions and claims. If Green for Life impressed me, the revised and expanded edition of 12 Steps to Raw Foods blew me away!

This book is so thorough that even a skeptic would find it difficult to argue. Victoria includes 12 pages of footnotes and a one and a half page bibliography. As her chapter on clarity explains, one need not turn away from intuition to listen to experts; however, it's also nice when spiritual nudges, personal experience and science converge.

In addition to the scientific and psychological references, Victoria has clearly grown as a teacher during the past seven years. She has become a teacher of teachers, and this shift works to empower her readers. Throughout the text, she reminds us that we each have gifts to share and encourages us to find our purpose. Perhaps the most refreshing thing about this book is Victoria's reminder that the "main goal" is not to become a raw foodist. Rather, a raw food diet provides energy that we can use to propel dreams into reality. By assuming that each reader can go on to teach raw food "cooking" classes or encourage others on their spiritual path, Victoria also reframes the way new raw fooders view themselves. Instead of perpetual students grasping for answers, Victoria treats her readers as future teachers who will have valuable insights and experiences to share.

Although I eat a high-raw vegan diet, I am not myself a 100% raw fooder. I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants to lose weight or who finds him/herself obsessing about food, body image, or health issues. Reading 12 Steps to Raw Foods goes beyond just trying to change one's diet. Victoria asks us to look at our relationship to food, to ourselves and to the entire world, but she does so in such a humble, graceful way. This is a book whose wisdom unfolds over the course of time, and thus a book that offers rewards in each rereading. Victoria ends by asking, "How many people can you influence in your lifetime directly and indirectly? Eventually, I think, the whole planet. Is it worth a try?"

After spending any time with Victoria through lectures or her books, the answer bubbles forth as an emphatic, "Yes!"

79 of 80 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for the Raw Food Newbie January 19, 2008

By T. Taylor

Format:Paperback

While it's not yet my intention to go 100% Raw, I am in the research and experiment phase of this diet. In other words, I have not committed either way.

Ideally, my perfect Raw Food Diet book would provide the following information to the person considering this diet: 1)History and benefits of the diet, 2) The author's personal experience from beginning to present, 3) Cons and nutritional-pitfalls to avoid, 4)Before-and-after photos with testimonials, 5)Great, quick raw recipes with and w/out the pricey equipment, and 6)a 30-day diet plan to start you on your way.

That's asking for a lot but I would be willing to pay a reasonable premium to have all of this info in one place and I suspect others would, as well. After all, it's your health we're talking here.

This book touches on all but 2 of the above (4 and 6). I'm a skeptic about things that seem too good go be true but Boutenko eases those negative thoughts. Her delivery is of a sharing nature rather than preachy. I felt like she covered most of the questions a newbie would have in relation to the first steps one should take to get started on this diet. And she doesn't advocate going 100% raw right away which is very refreshing to someone who likes to try before she buys.

I've tried 2 of her green smoothies and a soup and all were surprisingly delicious. The smoothies I had for breakfast and I was hungry soon after. So you may want to have a nutritious snack on hand like carrots sticks or other raw, organic snack to prepare for those hunger pangs. I'm keeping a journal of how I feel as well and how the recipes taste.

I recommend this book as a great starting point for newbies. I'm glad I only purchased 2 books (the other was "Raw: The Uncook Book" by that kooky but fun Juliano)to come to this realization.

Even if I/you never go completely raw, I believe adding one raw meal a day will make a big difference in my/your health. Good luck to all who choose to pursue this way of life!