Years ago in a cool little heath food store/cafe in Houston, I discovered a little $6 recipe book – 6″x9″ and plastic comb bound. Today it seems it’s a collectible. “Light Eating for Survival” by Marcia Acciardo.

It could be the only raw food recipe book I would ever need. But since this was years before I discovered the raw, living, plant based diet – it was the cover art by  Peter Max, which probably caught my eye. (He’s one of my favorite artists the other being Albrecht Durer.) If you haven’t heard of Peter Max, you will probably recognize his art.

This awesome little book enjoyed a few reprints but today you can only find copies on Amazon used books or occasionally ebay. I wanted to find a copy for a friend and kept looking to Amazon and ebay. I’ve seen it for over $100 on Amazon and as I write this there is a $69 copy on ebay and a $20 one on Amazon. Being in the publishing business myself, I refused to just Zerox her a copy – I kept looking and got lucky – finding one on ebay for $5 plus shipping! I was the only bidder woo hoo!

There is a preface by  Viktoras Kulvinskas Co-founder with Dr. Ann Wigmore  of the Hippocrates Heath Institute (inside the back cover features a photo of Viktoras and Ann Wigmore in a room of wheatgrass). Viktoras will be one of the keynote speakers on the main stage at this years Raw Spirit Fest in Sedona, Arizona.

The book covers what you need in a raw kitchen (utencils, basic foods…) it covers how to make rejuvelac, how to make Sun Cheeses (seed cheese), Sun Breads (raw sprouted grain crackers), juicing, cleansing, sprouting, wheatgrass and its uses, nut and coconut milks, liver flushes and of course its packed with recipes. This is where I first heard of the Green Smoothie. Hmm, when I type the word Green Smoothie, I swear I hear a choir of angels singing in the background.

I wouldn’t hear about it again for many years when I got into raw food and discovered the beloved Victoria Boutenko. Buy any book of Victorias and you will do yourself a favor. Victoria brought the Green Smoothie to the masses. That is what I usually have for breakfast – 1 cup papaya, 1/2 a banana, 1 cup of greens (kale, spinach, edible weeds, sprouts or whatever) and 1 cup pure water.

I find it difficult to get others to try a Green Smoothie – they are usually a beautiful, beautiful smooth green color. Always sweet and very satisfying. The greens seem to keep me from becoming hungry too fast – like when I have a fruit only smoothie. The secret to a tasty one is to just keep it simple. The half of banana helps sweeten it for me, the nutrient dense greens satisfy any cravings then I add one other fruit like papaya, mango, avocado or peaches to make it full and complete. If I have some young coconut water to add, that gives it a different dimension that’s nice.

If you ever run across a copy of this simple yet profound book, grab it!

Smoothie recipes coming soon -

with loving vibrations ~Julie

Here you will find all things related to smoothies!

See you soon,
Julie