Raw is Hot: 5 New Books

Only a few years ago, finding well done books on raw foods/recipes wasn’t easy. The market has exploded! Which, to me, is a good thing. So many new ideas, ranging from out-there-hippy-fair to mainstream eating.

Kirk and I played with raw quite a bit, until we found out about Alistaire’s allergies. Due to the heavy use of nuts in raw recipes, we had to back off. Which I miss, but ah well!

Raw, Quick and Delicious!: 5-Ingredient Recipes in Just 15 Minutes is a neat take on raw: 5-ingredients recipes made in 15 minutes (or less). It is very approachable for even novices, which Robert Rose published books usually are. You won’t feel overwhelmed by unusual ingredients, the author stays away from supplements in them (which I found nice, as supplements can be expensive and hard to find).

Not every recipe in The SimplyRaw Kitchen: Plant-Powered, Gluten-Free, and Mostly Raw Recipes for Healthy Living is raw, that is fine though – living shouldn’t be about not having, but rather about being more mindful. Eater better, cleaner and make your meals count. That was on thing about raw for me – we played with it, but I cannot see giving up hot meals, so when I encounter cookbooks with options, a smile comes on. Natasha covers the basics and a lot of hands on recipes that will intrigue the mind. In her recipes, she notes at the top if they call for nuts (thank you!) and if they are served warm. Easy to find what you might want!

On the other side of the raw niche is Raw Magic: Super Foods for Super People, which is definitely treading in the hippy-side

For the definitely hippy-crunchy-granola folks, there is Annelie’s Raw Food Power: Supercharged Raw Food Recipes and Remedies. Written by an author who picked up and move to the jungles of Costa Rica with her family, if you love a nut and seed heavy diet (which I’ll admit I do miss at times) and you love supplements, baby wearing and counter-culture….you will love this book. Unfortunately, with the nut allergies I couldn’t enjoy the book, yet I have friends waiting to borrow this book!

Live Raw Around the World: International Raw Food Recipes for Good Health and Timeless Beauty –

A gorgeous, full-color book, that weaves travel and food together but smells so bad I couldn’t finish reading it. Sadly, one of the downsides of printing big, lush and full-color books is they are normally printed in China. If ink smells don’t bother you (they give me awful migraines), enjoy this lush cookbook and enjoy the raw tastes of Italy, Germany, France, Greece and Spain.

FTC Disclaimer: We received review copies of the books.