Sergei Boutenko - Fresh: the ultimate live-food cookbook

Sergei and Valya share much wisdom and wit with sound nutritional guidance. They have been well taught and have a unique ability to share with others their perspective on the path to ultimate health.

BRIGITTE MARS , author of Rawsome!, Beauty by Nature, The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine, and Addiction FreeNaturally

Valyas and Sergeis new book inspires and encourages people to explore, persevere, and also to be courageous and imaginative with their new way of eating. They offer helpful and practical guidance and recipes that provide a foundation for success and enjoyment on a raw vegan diet.

VANCE M. LOGAN, MD

To Nic and Lily

We would like to acknowledge Victoria and Igor Boutenko for educating us and giving us the proper tools to make up our own minds about health; Robert Petetit for being the friend who is always up for a late-night photo shoot; Allyson Holt of Allysons of Ashland for lending us kitchen utensils; and our editors Aletha Nowitzky, Vanessa Nowitzky, and Rhoma Creary for their careful efforts.

As an author and teacher of raw culinary arts, I am keenly aware of the many books on raw foods. Many contain excellent recipes for special occasions, while others focus on easy-to-prepare meals for every day. Some extol the healing benefits of raw foods, focusing on the relationship between diet and health, and often include first-hand stories of remarkable personal transformation. Fresh does all of this and much more.

Sergei and Valya Boutenkos heartfelt accounts of their experiences as young people caught in a web of disease while craving to be healthyas well as dealing with the pressure of their peersare both insightful and inspiring. In a refreshingly candid down-to-earth style all their own, this brother and sister team shares wise-beyond-their-years insights into the minds of young people and the many challenges encountered when choosing to eat only uncooked, unprocessed foods. They offer strategies for coping with the stresses of everyday life and staying with the raw diet even when friends and medical experts advise otherwise. These perspectives can help adults and youth alike understand why we find it so difficult to choose the foods that we know nourish us best.

In Fresh we visit the late-twentieth-century Boutenko family home through the childrens eyes, learning how desperately this now-famous raw family fought to regain the health and well-being that so deftly eluded them in those early days. We read how these courageous siblings released excess body weight; improved their grades in school; and became free, happy, and purpose-filled young adults with the help of raw foods and the active, awakened lifestyle that accompanies them.

Many of us are succumbing to life-threatening diseases and looking for answers that cannot be found in a bottle. We are tired of being tired and sick of being sick. We want to reclaim our vitality and live a full and joyful life. Yet, for the first time in recorded history, our children are expected to have a shorter life span than their parents! Obesity, which is the cause of many life-threatening illnesses, is now epidemic in the Western world, and something needs to be done to stop it now! Unless they change their course, children raised on devitalized fast foods simply dont stand a chance of living up to their full potential as thriving, radiant, productive adults. Most will lack vitality and drive, endure depression and poor self-esteem, and suffer from a daunting list of debilitating and utterly unnecessary lifestyle-caused diseases.

Fresh proposes a simple, natural solution to this pervasive dilemma: fresh, organic, plant-based foods prepared without heating or processing. That means raw fruits and vegetablesin abundance! In Fresh, Sergei and Valya share some of their favorite, people-pleasing dishes with you. Their style of food preparation is innovative, yet deeply rooted in nature. They wrote this book for ordinary people who have little time to devote to making elaborate meals but want to enjoy the sensory pleasures of food while nourishing their bodies and becoming more fully alive. The majority of their 250 no-nonsense recipes use just a few ingredients, most of which can be acquired anywhere, and the dishes can be made in minutes. The directions are so easy that a child could follow themand that is exactly the point!

Fresh is a very important book, and Sergei and Valya Boutenko are powerful and positive forces in this world. Children and young adults will readily identify with the perspectives of these two remarkably seasoned and engagingly authentic young people, and parents will welcome their positive, life-affirming message. Sergei and Valya shine as living examples of what is possible when we resolve to squeeze every drop of juice out of life. I know of no other book that can benefit both young people and their families as much as Fresh.

Cherie Soria, founder and director of Living Light Culinary Arts Institute and author of Angel Foods: Healthy Recipes for Heavenly Bodies and The Raw Food Diet Revolution: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger!

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Raw Immersion

SERGEI: Often, when teaching food preparation classes, I notice that most of my students cling to recipes and request exact proportions of ingredients. Even though raw-food recipes are particularly flexible and experimentation can even improve the recipe, students still hesitate to take a playful approach with food preparation. For example, when I demonstrate how to make a green smoothie, I often use a combination of spinach, mango, and water, because these ingredients are readily available and excitingly delicious. However, in one workshop I was unable to find these ingredients and had to substitute with bananas and kale. My students loved the smoothie and requested the recipe. I made a point to mention that there are tastier recipes for a green smoothie; however, it seems my words fell on deaf ears, because months later I still received e-mails from people who, in fear of trying anything new, exclusively drank the banana/ kale smoothie. To my surprise, most of my students did not stray from that recipe. While I can understand the fear behind attempting something new (theres the chance of wasting time and ingredients, and getting unsatisfying results), raw recipes allow much room to experiment, often improving the dish.