Dear Friends,

The time for wild edibles is here again! These nutritious plants are wildly delicious. Here is what scientists say about miner’s lettuce:

Composition of miner’s lettuce (Montia perfoliata).

“Miner’s lettuce, a wild, edible plant that grows prolifically in the western U.S., was analyzed for proximate composition, vitamins, minerals, and oxalic and phytic acids. In the raw state, it contained 20 kcal per 100 gm, and 33 per cent of the adult U.S. RDA for ascorbic acid, 22 per cent of the vitamin A allowance, and 10 per cent of the iron. Oxalic acid concentration was low. Nutrient density ratios, compared with 100 kcal of the U.S. RDAs, were greater than one for all constituents analyzed. In terms of nutrient content, miner’s lettuce also compared favorably with twenty-one other green, leafy vegetables.”

(Source: Schelstraete M, Kennedy BM. “Composition of miner’s lettuce (Montia perfoliata).” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1980.)

Sergei’s Favorite Springtime Green Smoothie

In his new short video, Sergei demonstrates how easy it is to benefit from wild edibles in your backyard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICd1NI-Cc18

Mood Enhancer

All ingredients in this recipe are known to lift up your mood.

1 cup dandelion greens

2 cups miner’s lettuce

1 sprig mint or lemon balm

2 cups strawberries

1 ripe banana

3 cups water

Blend well and enjoy!

A Letter from the Participant of the Green Smoothie Retreat

Green Smoothie Retreat June 8th to June 14th, 2014 at Mundekulla, Sweden..

Stomach Pains Completely Gone

In 2011 I talked my now husband into attending the Boutenko family green smoothie retreat in New South Wales, Australia. It was one of the biggest and best challenges I have done in my life. It is a time that I reflect on often, which gives me inspiration to continue the journey of striving for better health.

While I didn’t have the major health concerns that many people are facing today such as cancers or diabetes, I suffered for about two years with overpowering pains in my stomach and had no idea why I had them. I was confused for a long time considering that I was eating a ‘healthy’ diet. Salad sandwiches, rolls, breakfast cereals, pastas, rice. All the while I was complaining everyday about the pains in my stomach and most days I would have to lay down to try and ‘stretch’ out the pain and wait until it went away. My husband borrowed a book from our local library written by two kids, Valya and Sergei Boutenko. He started talking to me about and making the raw foods and green smoothies that these two kids had written about. I remember my very first green smoothie – mango, banana and spinach – delicious! Gradually I swapped my breakfast cereal to green smoothies for breakfast. Once we started, we noticed that the pains in my stomach were not as bad.

At the end of 2010 I heard about the retreat that Victoria, Valya and Sergei were hosting in Australia in April of 2011. I begged my husband to go, we took time off from work and we flew to New South Wales for the seven-day retreat. This was a life changing experience for us. When we returned we bought a Vitamix blender and have used it everyday at least twice a day! Now I have had a baby and she too drinks green smoothies!

During the retreat we drank ONLY green smoothies from morning until night and as much as we wanted. On day two I wondered if I was going to make it through the week. We woke up every morning by 5:30-6 am and started our day with a choice of barefoot run or yoga. By day three I recognized that I was waking up feeling refreshed and with a lot of energy and was surprised that I did not feel tired. After our morning exercise we drank a glass of green smoothie (or 2 or 3) while sitting around with the other people participating in the retreat. We met some very interesting people, most who were there because of health issues they had. We talked about our journey with green smoothies, health issues, swapped ideas, and one lady even gave us her ‘travel blender’ so we could continue drinking green smoothies on our extended holiday after the retreat finished! During the days we watched Valya demonstrating how to make the perfect smoothie, we listened to Victoria and her research into green smoothies, we picked wild edibles with Sergei and we had time to ourselves to wander around the beautiful grounds if we wanted. At nights we watched documentaries on a range of health issues, informative and also life changing. During the week my body showed signs of detoxing (headaches, cramps, etc) and I remember Victoria saying to embrace these feelings. I now understand that it was my body getting rid of all the ‘garbage’ and that I needed to go through this process.

By day seven I felt energetic, light, my stomach felt great and I felt a huge sense of achievement. I would be travelling for another three weeks after the retreat finished and wanted this feeling to last so I knew that I had to continue drinking green smoothies. Thank goodness for the travel blender! I’ll never forget my first ‘foods’ that I ate at the airport after leaving the retreat.

Still to this very day both my husband, myself and now my nine-month-old baby drink a green smoothie everyday. Some of our families and friends have now too incorporated green smoothies into their daily lives. I do not get any pains anymore in my stomach, unless I eat something that I know I shouldn’t. It has been nearly four years now.

Carmen M., South Australia

Green Smoothie Retreat June 8th to June 14th, 2014 at Mundekulla, Sweden..

 

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