RAW FOOD ESSENTIALS: Ani's best book yet

I like all of Ani Phyo's books, but her latest effort is the best yet.  Ani's RAW FOOD ESSENTIALS is a  hard bound raw food cookbook sure to be a classic tome on every healthy kitchen shelf.

ARFE is well organized and fun to read.  Ani's tone is upbeat, conversational, and you can see how passionate she is about this lifestyle.  It's an all encompassing lifestyle, embracing chemical free living, reducing our carbon footprint, in addition to eating a healthy organic (as local as possible) diet.

I really appreciate the little icons at the beginning of each recipie so you can see what you need for food prep during a pre-dinner thumb-through.  There are shadowboxes throughout with various tips and information, and several tanalizing color photos in the center of the book, with black and white photos throughout.

Ani's recipes are known for being accessible.   What I like is that she still manages to keep the flavors interesting and complex while keeping the work to a minimum.  The noodle dishes are a great example.  I can whip up a raw noodle dish with complex Thai undertones in a matter of a few minutes.

Being a big fan of the noodle bowl, I was excited to see several raw noodle recipes as I'm always interested in new variations.  Carrot Angel Hair With Sun Dried Tomatoes in Cheddar Cheeze Sauce is a great example--I would have never thought of making carrot noodles and combining them with sun dried tomatoes, arugula, and a cheeze sauce---Yum.

I also love the way she gives you the basics and then lets you run with it--basic salad dressing, basic cake, etc.  You get a solid foundation and then are encouraged to come up with your own variations.

You do need the basics--high speed blender, food processor, and dehydrator.  Ani recommends the Excalibur, but I suggest the TSM dehydrator instead if you have a little extra to spend.  This may seem like a big expense to some, but I use my equipment daily and consider it an investment in my health and well being.  There are enough recipes here that do not require the dehydrator, but the first two items are really essential.

This is a perfect book for people just starting out with raw foods, people who have been at it for a while, and just for anyone looking to amp up their nutritional value and taste of their meals and snacks.  There are a ton of wonderful recipes for pretty much every occasion.  It's a classic, highly recommended!

Find it HERE. 

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