The Complete Book of Raw Food: Healthy, Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine Made With Living Foods Includes Over 350 Recipes From the World's Top Raw Food Chefs [Paperback]

I prepared and ate food from this book only for one month and was for the most part satisfied. Some of the 50 recipes I tried were redundant and others ranged from inedible to fantastic. I didn't become emaciated, lost maybe 6 pounds which is fine, because I'm a little overweight. I also wasn't hungry and my cravings for cooked food minimal. This experiment has certainly led me to incorporate more raw foods into my diet. Anything that calls for honey can easily be substituted with agave nectar. You don't need to have all the top-notch equipment listed, I used a cheap food processor, ordinary blender and a used Ronco dehydrator I got for free. Admittedly, most of this is very labour intensive.

Karyn's Tomato and Pea Salad (63)- Crunch, light and good. I would use less Bragg's.

Lentil Salad (63)- Pretty good.

Quinoa Tabouli (68)- Great in small quantities because the flavour is so potent.

I Can't Believe It's Not Waldorf Salad (79)- Quite good, but not spectacular.

Butternut Squash Soup (95)- Pretty good, but bland. I used  the amount of water for desired consistency.

Carrot/Orange/Pumpkin Soup (95)- Good, I used fresh onion and garlic instead of powdered. The recipe didn't include a liquid, so I added two cups of water.

Ants in a Canoe (110)- Almost as good as Ants on a Log.

Ants on a Log (110)- A person could easily live off of this!

Mesquite Melts (124)- Absolutely terrible. The texture is very unpleasant.

Spring Rolls (131)- Good, can be almost anything wrapped in anything.

Corn Torillas (169)- very good, they've got some kick. Nothing like tortillas though.

Jameth and Kim's Original Flax Crackers (168)- Good, easy and flexible.

Sweet Golden Crackers (176)- Not so good, but edible.

Barbecue Chips (177)-Okay, just don't add too much cayenne and skip the beat.

Almond Milk (182)-Tied with hazelnut for the best milk I ever had.

Almost, Hazel, or Sunflower Milk (184)- Can be done with pretty much any nut or seed. I used soy and added maple syrup and vanilla. Strain it in a cheesecloth.

Quickest Tahini Milk (186)- So, so terrible.

Banana Bites (193)- Good, but no very exciting.

Granola/Grawnola (194)- Made a combination of these two recipes and it is wonderful, takes a long time though, so make a lot.

Spiced Strawberry Granola Crunch (197)- Very tasty, would be better with less allspice because it's pretty overpowering.

Viktoras' Secret Raw Horamola (198)- Terribly bland.

Italian Rawsage (202)- Very very filling and pretty good.

Italian Style Zucchini Pasta Pesto (202)- NEVER put 1/4 cup of salt, I put 1/8 and it was still not edible.

Mock Spaghetti (205)- Okay, but boring.

Avocado Burritos (208)- Very boring and way too many tomatoes.

Chinese Wild Rice with Tender Vegetables (217)- Good but I would use less ginger.

Chow Mein Memory (218)- Wonderful! I would add more tamari.

Curried Kofka Ball in Cashew Tomatoes Curry Sauce (219)- One of the best recipes in the book, especially the sauce. I upped the spices a lot.

Easy Sushi (221)- Fast, easy, good and flexible.

Roast Tofu with Satay Sauce (223)- Good and simple. Don't overhydrate mushrooms. I added  can of coconut milk, some garlic and some chile pepper to the sauce.

Falafels (220)-SUPER! Just as good or better than traditional falafels.

Live Gardenburgers (232)- Delicious. Next time I will add garlic.

Neat Balls (234)-Really good, but again, better with garlic.

Pecan Almond Stuffed Mushrooms (237)- Pretty Bland so spice at will. Cut pate recipe in half or you will run out of mushrooms.

Spinach and Potato Latkes (241)- Just awful. I like spinach, but this has a fishy taste.

Sun Garden Burgers (242)- Really good, mild flavour. Easy and fast, makes 14 large patties.

Thai Crane's Nest in Coconut Curry (244)-Tastes pretty ok, but I was unable to form nests because they fell apart.

What's for Dinner Loaf (247)- Very good! I made them into patties and dehydrated until crisp on the outside.

Carrot and Tomato Spread (250)- Okay, but bland.

Miso Mayo (254)- Good, but a very strong miso flavour.

White Sauce/ Salad Dressing (270)- Not more than ok.

Guacamole (274)- Pretty great.

Pine Nut Sour Cream (276)- Good Base for any dip.

Ranch Dip or Dressing (276)- Easy, fast and super yummy.

Raw Hummus (277)-Pretty good, not spectacular.

Salsa Fresca (278)- Good and fresh tasting.

Tahitian Almond Dipping Sauce (278)- Really, really wonderful.

Raw Candy (295)- Good, but not at all like chocolate as the book would suggest.

Whip the Mister (327)- Yum! Mix with 50% frozen almond milk.

This book has a number of errors on its recipes. Like a recipe for pesto that calls for a 1/4 cup of sea salt when there is no way any human could eat it that salty. Or How about a recipe for raw sausage that doesn't even mention a dehydrator, when we made it the final product was a dense liquid? Try forming that into a patty??! This is a book compiled of the recipes of a number of people. Each recipe has credits for the source. Some of the recipes are very good, and have even become staples around my house. Some seem as if they came off the top of someones head and never were even tried. It is very frustrating to go out and buy groceries for a special recipe only to find them all wasted because the recipe doesn't even work. I mean not even close. This is a small percentage of the recipes in this book, but it still sucks. If you are on a raw food diet, it's not like you can just say "oh well" and head out for pizza! Send a message and buy a more researched and reliable book.

This book was actually the worst and the best that I've gotten so far. It's divided into three sections. The first is a sort of guide to raw. I really liked this section because it had an in depth explanation of how to sprout things. There was also a good dehydration chart and a wonderful explanation of the various appliances needed. I didn't like the juicing overkill...but that's personal. That said, all of this info can be found on the web. The second part is full of recipes. They are, for the most part, awful. The ingredient lists are a mile long and the prep and lead times are beyond hellish. The last part wasn't needed. Anyone with access to the internet could find this info.

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