Raw Food Cookbooks

The following information is for education only and is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat illness.

As raw dieting is gaining ground among health food enthusiasts, various chefs and nutritionists from all over the world are using their experience, talent and love for a healthy lifestyle to bring together exciting raw food cookbooks for everyone. Luckily, there are recipe books to cater to every taste. LA Chef Ani Phyo stresses the importance of keeping things simple and easy in her lovely cookbooks, such as "Ani's Raw Food Asia: Easy East-West Fusion Recipes the Raw Food Way" and "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes", whilst author and clinical nutrition expert Lisa Mann looks at international cuisines for inspiration in her book "The World Goes Raw Cookbook: An International Collection of Raw Vegetarian Recipes". Moreover, gourmet vegan and live food chef Mark Reinfeld has even pieced together a guide for beginners, which he affectionately called "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Eating Raw", while nationally recognized raw food chef and instructor Jennifer Cornbleet comes to the rescue of raw dieters with a sweet tooth in her "Raw for Dessert: Easy Delights for Everyone" cookbook (more on this book below).

Ani Phyo's most recent book, "Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food" was named a top ten vegan cookbook by VegNews in July 2010 and is a treasure for any raw food lover, regardless of culinary experience. Praised by critics for her simplicity in whipping out amazing dishes that taste like a million bucks, Ani Phyo invites readers on a roller-coaster ride of flavor and innovation with her raw renditions of comfort food classics like nachos and burgers, along with gourmet dishes done the easy and raw way, like risotto, angel hair pasta, and mouth-watering "you-won't-believe'they're-raw" desserts. Many people who have purchased this book consider it to be Ani Phyo's best yet, and a great introduction to the world of raw food for those of us who are not yet fully convinced to go raw. However, some experienced raw foodists have found part of the recipes to be redundant and the book to be lacking sufficient colorful pictures to complement the recipes.

Everyday Raw by New York author, chef and entrepreneur Matthew Kenney, puts forth creative and exotic recipes for juices and smoothies (including Sweet Green Juice with carrots, cucumbers, apples and herbs, Mango Raspberry juice with vanilla, and delicate Chocolate-Cherry smoothies), along with raw tomato-based soups and Portobello "steaks", consisting of tasty seasoned and dehydrated mushrooms. While the dishes are very appetizing and nutritionally dense, they also tend to require a lot of processing and specialized equipment, and may seem complicated to the untrained cook. Many customers of this cookbook have praised it for its elaborate and delicious recipes, while noting that some are time consuming and require hard to find ingredients and spices.

Raw for Dessert: Easy Delights for Everyone is an acclaimed cookbook that has reached well beyond the raw food community. Offering healthy dessert solutions prepared outside the oven, Jennifer Cornbleet has proven to be a true mastermind of heavenly treats - Chocolate Cupcakes and Ganache take no-bake desserts to a whole new level. While easy to make fruity tarts seem like the refreshing summer rule for chefs everywhere, Jennifer Cornbleet uses her no white sugar, no white flour, no dairy products, no trans-fats, no saturated fats, and no flame rule to come up with desserts for any season and pocket: Caramel Apple Stacks, Creme Brulee, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Brazil Nut-Vanilla Ice Cream, Coconut Cream Pie, Tropical Ambrosia Tart, Pine Nut Caramels, Concord Grape Sorbet, and dozens more. A lot of people who have bought this cookbook and tried out the recipes have been excited to prepare them and very pleased with the results. Most have praised the desserts for being healthy and savory, while easy to make and well liked by everyone at the table!