I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of QUALITY raw books. I am just starting off and excited to start some new recipes. I have downloaded a lot from the internet, however, I would love a book to have around for quick reference. Is anyone familiar with Ani Phyo's work? I need something that is fairly simply and not too time-consuming...my life, at this point, doesn't allow me to spend hours in the kitchen! Any advice would be much appreciated

ani phyo is my favorite raw chef, but i don't have her book. i've watched her youtube videos and googled "ani phyo recipe" to come up with like 20 recipes of hers. overall they are simple (5-6 ingredients), fast, and flavorful. but seriously, there is such a glut of recipes online, why do people even buy cookbooks (or uncookbooks...)? is it the pictures?

its so much quicker for me to google something than to look it up in a cookbook. if i got a lot of beets at the farmers market, i'd google "raw food borscht recipe" and come up with 10 recipes. if i wanted a soup, i'd google "raw food soup" and some ingredient in my fridge.

I have several books and I love them all. I use them often.

Ani's, Storm and Jinjee's and the Boutenko's are my faves. I like this website too: [www.fromsadtoraw.com]

I think Storm and Jinjee's were the most helpful for starting out: [www.thegardendiet.com]

The Complete Book of Raw Food by Baird & Rodwell

Raw, No Meat, No Heat

Raw Food, Real World

The Raw Transformation

I think are good ones. I looked through Ani Phyo's and didn't see much that interested me. But everyone is different!

[utopiankitchen.wordpress.com]

Great..thanks! I have seen that author (s) listed a few times on here, Utopian Life. Thanks everyone for some new names in the raw world

I have Ani Phyo's book and do not like it. 90% of the pictures in her book are of her and her friends. The few shots of food she does have in the book are black and white. I didn't find it very inspiring at all and as maui_butterfly said above she has quite a few You Tube videos out with her recipes.

The books I have that contain the least time consuming recipes are (in order):

Raw Food Made Easy for One or Two People
Rawsome
Warming Up To Living Foods
Hooked On Raw
Raw Food Real World



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

I enjoy forming relationships with cookbooks, which I can't really do as well with web sites. This was true when I cooked, and remains true now that I uncook. My raw eating has simplified in the last months, so I find myself using all my raw cookbooks less often.

"Raw Food, Real World" - This book is full of amazing, delicious, but complicated recipes. There are a lot of beautiful pictures, though quite a few of those are of the authors. Everything I've tried from this one has been the sort of thing I could serve to the average SAD eater and get rave reviews. The lasagna is life-changing, but the ingredients are really expensive this time of year. The tacos were really complicated to make, but delicious and nice to serve to company. This is the only raw food book I've seen with a section on alcoholic beverages (though there are plenty of amazing non-alcoholic ones too).

"RawVolution" - On average these recipes are simpler and quicker than Raw Food, Real World. Some of these have become staples for me. I nearly always have some of the "mayonnaise" in the fridge (I reduce the amount of mustard). I use it as salad dressing, sauce for collard wraps, dipping sauce etc... The falafel with mango chutney is one of my favorites, and I never even liked regular falafel! There's a lot of dependence on dehydrated foods, and a lot of recipes need to have the salt reduced. Good photos, very few pictures of the author.

"The Raw Transformation" - This is a really great book. It has tons of recipes, and while some are fancier fatty, dehydrated things, on average it has lighter simpler and healthier recipes than a lot of the others. One of her complicated recipes which I just love is the "Indian Vegetable Curry", that's another one to serve to SAD eaters and it isn't even packed with fat! Lots of good photos, almost none of which feature the author.

"The Raw Food Gourmet" - No food photos. There are a lot of good recipes, but I'm afraid that as a visual person I have a harder time finding inspiration from this book when the bright colors of the others draw my eyes. Some of the recipes that I've made would be tough for a SAD eater to take, but there are plenty with wide appeal. The chocolate banana pie is my most repeated recipe and got a good reaction at my office Thanksgiving dish to pass this fall. The gazpacho blanco (with green grapes and almond milk) was really yummy.

"Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" - I think I would have gotten a lot more engaged with this book if I had bought it sooner in my raw food journey. I'm sure the granola or the Spanish breakfast scramble would be really delicious, but I'm no longer that interested in eating so heavily for breakfast. Even so, I've enjoyed a number of her recipes. There was a nice spinach salad with marinated onions, and I've made her curry dressing a few times (I used less oil and a lot more apple than she called for). I tried the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but it didn't turn out that well. The green pumpkin seed crust was interesting and yummy, I might give the recipe another try. The rosemary mushrooms with brazil-broccoli was really good, though the mushrooms are both high-fat and high-salt. I made the rosemary mushrooms (with cremini instead of portobella) for a work dish-to-pass and it went over well. There are a lot more photos of the author than of the food.

i have, like and have used the raw truth by jeremy safron and renee underkoffler. there is a terrific napa cabbage and sea veg salad that i LOVE in there. lots of simple recipes, not too many expensive or complicated ingredients. some dehydrator recipes but lots of fresh stuff. there is a nice intro with info and different foods, edible flowers, sea veg, knives and kitchen equiptment, sprouting, etc. nothing too preachy or heavy.

it's a slim book but lots of variety in recipes to choose from. it's not perfect for everyone, i'm sure, but i like it. there are no photographs but i don't mind, i know what food looks like

drhanna.org - she has a library of books on raw foods and cellular metabolism, very informed and interesting stuff. The books range from scientific to recipe, she actually explains her recipes and how they nourish your body.

If you want to spend some bucks, try Roxanne and Charlie Trotter's book, "Raw." I am not talking about just the price of the book but also the price of the ingredients for the recipes.

He's a 5-star conventional chef who wanted to learn how to do 5-star raw.

It's on my wishlist.