Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes
THIS IS A MOST WONDERFUL BOOK FOR RAW AND HEALTHY RECIPES. THANKYOU

Easy recipes and good advice! I'm working my way through the recipes and so far so good!

I can easily see why Ani has escalated to raw food fame over the past few years. This is actually the second raw food cookbook I have trialed (as a non-raw foodist). The first was the Raw 50, and I unfortunately found it uninspiring and too complex. However, Ani has recaptured my curiosity about the raw food diet.

Since I have yet to dive into raw foodism, beyond salads and smoothies, I don't yet have the helpful equipment like a food dehydrator and a spiralizer. Ani recognizes that though many of us may be interested in dipping our toes in the raw food diet, we don't want to rush out and buy a car load of kitchen equipment just to give it a trial run. There were a surprising amount of recipes I could make with just a knife and my blender, though a food processor would be helpful. For those like me who are small appliance impaired, each recipe actually has little, easy-to-notice pictures next to them that let you know what equipment will be needed, whether it is simply your hands, a knife, a blender, a dehydrator, or one of those spiralizer do-dads that I still have never seen. I thought this was a very cool feature.

The recipes are also surprisingly unintimidating. For the most part, they have short ingredient lists with brief instructions, but the results are flavorful, especially if you use good quality and in-season ingredients (this is key). Ani is another chef who emphasizes that the quality of the ingredients is really what makes the dish rather than adding a myriad of different flavors. The huge selection of recipes with less than ten recipes even made me feel like I could take on a mostly raw diet.

Of course, I still didn't jump in with both feet, but I have had fun dabbling. Though it is a bit more work without a food processor, the fresh Mango Cobbler is delightful, the simple veggie dishes like the Thai-Style Cucumbers were good starters, and I loved the huge selection of "mylks" and smoothies. Most of Ani's shakes and smoothies are quite thin, like a slightly thick beverage, so I learned to tone down the liquids and add more ice since I prefer them thicker and frostier, but to each their own.

As many people have commented, the book could be cut down a bit in size with less wording and photos. While we all love food photos, and it is inspiring to see how healthy Ani is, I think a few less personal photos and a trim down on the overall writing would make this book feel more cohesive. I do love that Ani includes several tips and ideas throughout, but like many raw food cookbooks I have perused, the message of why to go raw seems to be repeat itself a bit much.

Nonetheless, this is a true find. I can't speak on behalf of veteran raw foodists, since I am far from one, but for newbies or those of us who are just curious, this is a great starter book filled with easy recipes.

I have several raw food recipe books but this one tops the cake. Yes, there are a lot of pictures of her in the book but her info is so helpful-from beginner to more experienced Raw Foodist; this book is what you need. She is very informative and the recipes are delish. I'm enjoying some chocolate mlylk now...

Of course I love Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, since it is my book. :)
Just wanted to post a note since many of you have been commenting and asking me questions.

Thank you for enjoying my book. It means all the world to me to know you are enjoying it, that it is making a difference in your lives, that it is inspiring new ways of thinking.

Some are critical about the number of photos of me throughout the book. I didn't intend for all these photos of myself to be included, but the publisher thought it looked best this way. Also, I really wanted to show a glimpse into the lifestyle of living and eating green. The raw food diet is so much more than just a diet for me. It's changed my life, how I live, how I relate to other living beings, how I treat our planet.

A decision was made to keep the cost of the book as low as possible. I wanted the recipes to be in the hands of more people, rather than less because the book cost $45. This means black and white printing, rather than color. And, much of the food photos didn't look good black and white. However, the lifestyle photos worked in black and white. I just didn't want a black and white book that was all text. Wanted lots of photos and a nice visual feel throughout.

My next book, Ani's Raw Food Desserts, will be all color with a photo for almost every recipe. It'll be available in early May 09. Please keep a lookout for it. And remember to visit my website for more recipes, tips, organic ingredients, and to watch my free uncooking shows on various online networks:

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Thank you for your support and for choosing to live green and healthy! RAWk on.