> Skip to content
  • Published: 1 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781556436512
  • Imprint: North Atlantic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $32.99

12 Steps to Raw Foods

How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food



With eye-opening self-tests and questionnaires, this step-by-step guide will help you replace unhealthy eating patterns with a diet of fresh, raw foods

Why do we overeat time and time again? Why do we make poor diet choices? Why is dieting so difficult? Using the latest scientific research and an open, conversational tone, 12 Steps to Raw Foods addresses these vital questions and explains the numerous benefits of choosing a diet of fresh—versus cooked—foods.

But 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.

  • Published: 1 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781556436512
  • Imprint: North Atlantic
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Victoria Boutenko

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.

Also by Victoria Boutenko

See all

Praise for 12 Steps to Raw Foods

—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

“The first edition of this book (published in 2000) was excellent. The second edition is masterfully outstanding.”