Raw Food. I've been intrigued by it for ages, but have never been quite ready to delve into it. But when I was asked to be a part of the Green Books campaign and I saw the book
Fresh - The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbookby Sergei and Valya Boutenko on the list of available books to review I decided that now was the time to take the plunge.
Well, I didn't exactly take the plunge. It's not like I went totally raw for a week or anything, but I did try out a couple of recipes and after trying them, I'm definitely ready for more!
I was pleasantly surprised with my first ever raw, garden burger made with almonds, carrots, onion and raisins along with a few seasonings. Admittedly, I had trouble seeing it as a true replacement for a burger - but it was a great-tasting spread, perfect for eating with carrot sticks or crackers. I also whipped up a green smoothie - with spinach, banana, apple and orange - and got a big thumbs up from my 9 year old! We were all feeling pretty darned healthy after our meal!
What I like about this cookbook is that most of the recipes are quite simple and made with ingredients that are readily available. Having a food processor and a high-quality blender are key though - you won't get very far without a couple of strong appliances! And if you are serious about raw food, you might want to invest in a food dehydrator. If you are not up for buying new, look for a used one on Craigslist - that's what I am planning to do!
The story behind the book is quite intriguing as well. The authors, Sergei and Valya Boutenko are siblings whose parents put the whole family on a raw food diet to deal with numerous, chronic health issues. Sergei was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of nine and after switching to raw foods, became cured of the illness!! I've heard that eating raw can give you more energy and help you to feel more healthy overall. I'm all for that but I personally can't see going completely raw at this stage in my life (with a whole family to feed!) but at some point, I'd love to give it a more serious go.
Meanwhile, I will continue to make more recipes from the book. Here are a few that I am itching to try:
- Cashew Garden Burgers
- Romaine Pomegranate Salad (with avocado!)
- Golden Flax Crackers (made in a dehydrator)
- Cashew-Orange Thumbprints
- Pina Colada Bars (I'm a sucker for desserts!)
- Almond Milk (mixed with dates - Yum!
My impression is that Fresh - The Ultimate Live-Food Cookbook is a really good place to start if you are interested in exploring the world of raw food. It's pretty straight-forward and is not intimidating at all. Are you on a raw food diet or have you experimented with eating raw? If so, I'd love to hear about it - what are your favorite recipes and what works best for you?
P.S. The book is printed in the United States on 30% recycled paper.
This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. The goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website. My book, Practically Green is being reviewed over at Gloria's Place. Please have a look!
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I love cookbooks with simple recipes. Thanks for reviewing this for the green books campaign.
Posted by: Serena (Savvy Verse & Wit) | November 10, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Amazing blog very informative it would be helpful for me..thanks for sharing I'll recommend your site to my friends and family members great job very appreciated..keep it up..
Posted by: Fun & Fact | November 10, 2009 at 07:45 PM
I have recently been into the raw food thing. My goal is 50% of my diet raw. I'm not quite there yet. My favorite is raw deserts. I don't have to feel guilty eating them in front of my son, they are healthy enough for him too!
Posted by: Heather Prenger | November 11, 2009 at 12:17 PM
This cookbook seems like it is going to open up the doors to the raw food world for me. Very interesting and can't wait to try!
Posted by: Zach | November 11, 2009 at 02:23 PM