Raw Family News Letter, February 2005

February 19, 2005

"Victoria Boutenko" <victoriaRaw Family Newsletter, February 2005Raw Family Newsletter, February 2005In this issue:1. Raw Family recipe, published for the first time: Live Burgers, low fat version2. Our new step-by-step recipe book, LIVE KIM-CHEE AND CULTURED VEGGIES3. Article "Helping children become healthier" by Valya Boutenko (featured in a popular raw and living food magazine Get Fresh in UK)----LIVE BURGERS, LAW FAT VERSION1. Grind 1 pound of sunflower seeds in a food processor.2. Combine ground sunflower seeds with the following ingredients in the bowl and mix with your hands well:

2 pounds carrot pulp (from juice or grated and squeezed) 2 pounds celery pulp (from juice or grated and squeezed)1 medium onion, grated and squeezed2 Tablespoons sweetener (honey, very ripe banana or raisins, blended with a little water to the consistency of honey) 3 lemons juiced3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil1-2 jalapenos or other spice to taste1 teaspoon Poultry seasoning 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)3. Mix well. You have to experiment to get the desired consistency.4. Shape into burgers, you may use ice-scream scoop to make nice uniformshape and serve them on lettuce leaves, crackers or on a side of a salad.This pate will keep for at least one week in a fridge.Makes approximately 24

burgers--------------Our new recipe book is out:

LIVE KIM-CHEE AND CULTURED VEGGIES - $15.00 USEach book has over a hundred color pictures! Like cartoons! These books are step-by-step recipes that are very helpful. People who bought them say they are better than videos.Other books of this series:Raw Jams and Jam Pies - $15.00 USHow to Eat Uncommon Fruit - $15.00 USAvailable now at www.rawfamily.com-----by Valya Boutenkowww.rawfamily.comHelping Children Become HealthierParents often ask me how they can make their children eat healthier. I tell them that they can't make their children eat healthier, but they can inspire them to want to become healthier. It is not true that children don't want to be healthy. Everyone wants to be strong, smart, and full of energy.

What children are protecting themselves from when they say they don't like healthy food, is the pressure to do what they don't want to. If your children are revolting to the idea of health food, it means they have a will of their own. It is a sign that they want to choose for themselves, and this is a blessing. Problems occur when we want a child to want something he or she does not want. In this case, it is important to consider what we would like thereason for the child's action to be. Do we want our children to mindlessly obey our command and the commands of others? Do we want them to do what we tell them to out of fear of punishment? Or do we want our children to make decisions that are motivated by their own positive values?

Punishments can create temporary compliance, but it's unlikely that these kind of tactics will make children better decision makers. When children know they will be punished for certain actions, they deal with the situation in the most logical way, and begin to lie.

Punishments and force produce only anger, defiance and a desire for revenge. They encourage power over reason, and crush delicate relationships between children and parents. As Marshall B. Rosenberg writes in his book Nonviolent Communication, "I wonder whether people who proclaim the successes of punishment are aware of the countless instances of children who turn against what might be good for them simply because they choose to fight, rather thansuccumb, to coercion." So what is there to do? How can we help our children become healthy? I have noticed that children are highly susceptible to inspiration. When kids arearound my brother and I, they start eating healthy things without our even mentioning raw foods. They can see for themselves how easy it is to eat good things, and how much fun it is to be healthy. As Krishnamurti once said, "To teach by example is not the best way to teach, it is the only way." As parent, grandparents, and friends, you are one of

children's greatestinfluences. You can influence them to make good choices.

I think there is no difference between children and adults. Grown-ups have more life experience, but age is not a division that can separate human beings from one another. There is nothing children love more, than to be spoken to as equals. They are so intelligent, that it is often unnecessary to simplify things for them. I am frequently amazed at the depth ofunderstanding children possess. Sometimes children have been told to sit still and be quiet so regularly, that they are not sure how to communicate their true thoughts and feelings. In these situations questions like, "How was school?" are not enough to open their hearts and let them say what they feel. It is sad for me to see how often kids are often hurtled into different diets without any clue of why it is so important.

When I speak to young humans about health, I try to make it very clear why I think it is so essential to be healthy. For me, health is truly the greatest gift there could be. To be healthy means to live a life without disease. It means being youthful throughout all of life, recovering quickly from accidents, and having lots of energy. Live foods have made me more alive!I first changed my diet when I was eight years old. In the beginning, I ate mostly fruits without many vegetables. This is common for children. Eventually, though, they do develop a taste for greens and veggies too. The most important thing to do when introducing raw foods to children, is to make it a positive experience.

First impressions last forever, so it's a good idea to present children with something yummy, like banana ice cream, or mango walnut pie. In all my ten years of eating raw foods, not once have I met a child who didn't enjoy eating sweet fresh fruits. With some of the more difficult cases of wonderfully strong-willed children, it is sometimes necessary to leave something scrumptious on the kitchen table, and leave theroom. Upon return, it is usually gone.

Communication plays a significant role in the success of changing the dietary habits of young kids. Eating healthy can be uncomfortable in some social situations. It is vital that children have someone to talk to who understands how they feel, someone who can reassure them that they are doing the right thing. For me, it was hard to be the only one in my whole school who ate raw foods. It helped me that my parents talked to me and ask me questions like, "What happened today that made you feel the way you do?"

Together, discussed the discoveries we made every day. My mother often shared the information she read about with me. Once, when I was in third grade, we had a pizza day. I was sitting with my friends eating my lunch of cucumbers, bell peppers, and apples, when a girl from a different class sat next to me. "Look at this yummy pizza!" she said. She wobbled the wilting slice of pizza at me and continued, "You can't have any because you eat rabbit food!I could have some if I wanted to," I said, "but I just don't want to." "Why not?" she asked. "Because," I said, "the bread was made out of genetically engineered wheat, sprayed with pesticides so toxic, that the people who worked with it had to wear full-body suits and gas masks. The cheese that is on your pizza could be several years old. The tomatoes have been picked green, placed in a refrigerator and gassed red with ethylene. And the pepperoni might be made out of a number of various

animals. Personally, I have no wish to eat such acombination."

That night, my mother got a phone call from an angry lady, who said her daughter refused to eat dinner. It was these types of experiences that have helped me to believe in myself enough to be comfortable with being different. It's important for me to eat things that make me healthy, because I know what it's like to be unhealthy.

I understand what is true for me, and this is why it is no longer difficult for me to go to social events and interact with others. I feel that I can relate to anyone just by being human.Children (of all ages) are extraordinary beings, and it is wonderful to live on a planet with so many of them!

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