RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine – A Chef's Guide to Delicious Raw Vegan Cooking with Recipes for Pizza, Tacos, and Desserts

by Matt Amsden

Following a vegan, raw foods diet does not mean you have to give up your favorite delicacies or condemn yourself to a life of celery and carrot sticks. As renowned raw foods chef Matt Amsden reveals in this vibrant, inspiring book, raw cuisine represents the discovery and innovative use of luscious natural ingredients. From imaginative new dishes such as cactus salad, onion bread, and spirulina pie, to tantalizing variations on everything from pizza, tacos, and cookies, to the signature "Big Matt with Cheese," Amsden's mouthwatering recipes feature soups, sauces, salads, appetizers, entrees, and even desserts. More than a cookbook, RAWvolution is the indispensable, all-inclusive guide to the many powerful benefits of raw food. Beginning with his personal account of "How I Went Raw," Amsden shares essential advice, information, and encouragement for adopting a raw foods lifestyle. His delectable recipes are organized by type, level of difficulty, and what equipment, if any, is necessary in their creation. Accessible to both beginners and experienced cooks, RAWvolution addresses everyone from vegetarians who want to take the next step in natural cuisine, to those who simply want to diversify and improve their everyday diet. There has never been a more important time to incorporate raw foods into your lifestyle. Raw, vegan cuisine is making news daily, providing healthy and nutritious alternatives that are changing lives. Best of all, raw food can be delicious. There is no need to sacrifice flavor for bland and boring "health" food. Enliven your senses and taste buds instead with rich, living cuisine.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking, Nutrition, Vegan, Reference

224 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 2006

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this 4 stars but the dude fills the first half of the book with the worst autobiography possible -- complete with creepy, shirtless yoga poses in fields or on the beach (after long, romantic walks presumably). He wrote something about how he got the idea to write the book when he was listening to the Howard Stern show.

Good recipes though! I really like the idea of using sliced / grated zucchini as a pasta substitute. Oh, one other downside is that you'll need a dehydrator to really nail a lot of the recipes unless you can set your oven at really low temperatures.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to my growing list of vegan cookbooks!

[Laura Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made several of the recipes and enjoyed them all.

[Tanner · Rating 2 out of 5]

No doubt the book is beautiful and inspiring (aside from all the creepy pictures of the author). My first problem was the cost of almost all ingredients. I think he could have made it a little more budget friendly. Not everyone has $20-30 to blow on every meal. Next problem was with the lack of details. I was unfamiliar with some of the ingredients and he didn't explain how to use them or where to get them. I think the biggest problem with this book is that the proportions are WAY OFF. You learn and tweak as you go but a general rule is if he says 1/4 nama shoyu, just do a teaspoon. Same thing with the agave syrup. I don't think this guy realizes how much sodium and sugar are in these 2 ingredients. If you make his recipes the "right" way you might be eating 3 or 4 days worth of sodium in ONE MEAL! Overall it was a good start and I just use it as a guide.

Where did this guy go? He had a beautiful restaurant in Santa Monica that suddenly shut down with no notice or explanation. His website seems to be mostly gone too.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a cookbook count as reading? I have made more recipes from this book than any other cookbook, and every single one of those recipes is immensely delicious and ridiculously healthy. This book is a great entrance into raw foods since the recipes are very clear and not too complicated, and the photos of the food are beautiful (plus they help you figure out what this stuff is actually supposed to look like). I recommend this to anyone trying to add a little health to life and particularly to vegans or people with a long list of food allergies like me.

[Eris]

Excellent excellent!
I totally recommend this for any raw food enthusiast. Amazing if you have the proper tools. But you should know this already, if you are a raw foodist. Don't attempt these without a food processor, dehydrator, blender, and perhaps a coffee grinder. Also requires a source of Nama Shoyu (expensive raw soy sauce).
I tried already, with great success:
Raw Walnut meat tacos
Tomato Salsa
Sunflower cheese
Onion bread
Coconut Haystacks
(i do tend to modify recipes a bit, but it's fun to have a starting-point)

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suzy brought this to school and I was able to read it in its entirety (there's not much text here). Some of the recipes looked enticing - the corn salad, the onion "bread" (which serves as a base for most other traditionally dough-centered dishes), certain sauces - but there was a ton of overlap, especially in the dessert section. Also, the chapter ("chapter") about eating raw on the road was mighty vague.

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful photos of the food, but too many of the author. If you can't find Thai coconuts, as is my case, then over half the recipes are excluded. I don't have a dehydrator, so there's a bunch more recipes I can't try. And his soups? Who would dirty up a juicer AND the VitaMix for one meal? Besides, I don't have a juicer either. Clearly, this is not the book for me. Glad I borrowed it from the library and can return it without any cash out of my pocket.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. The recipes are easy and have few ingredients--things easily found in the grocery store, too. The food is amazing. And the recipes are often named after rock songs, which amuses me to death ("Maggie's Farm Marinated Greens, anyone? "Ruby Tuesday Borscht"?) Also gives an explanation of why one should adopt a high raw diet and has a chapter on utensils, appliances preparation techniques, etc. A definite necessity for any vegan or raw kitchen.

[Michelle Campbell-Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book after listening to a podcast (can't remember which one). Wasn't disappointed. Some complciated recipes in here but every one I have tried has worked - and I'm not a good cook! There are some special, heavy recipes, as well as some everyday ones.
I bought this book at the same time as Kate Magic's 'Eat Smart, Eat Raw', which also good and I find I use that as more of an everyday book.

[KellyWells · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about eating raw food and this is hands down, the best raw food cookbook I have found! It has incredible recipes with easy-to-find ingredients and mouth watering pictures! This is definitely a book for those who have researched the raw life and are ready to be gourmet!

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

the salads especially are very nice. Feels really good after eating. the concept of raw soups is interesting too and tasty. i don´t know about the other, dehydrated dishes though... ;-)

they also have a restaurant in LA...

Not far from Beverly Hills Juice, the nicest juiceshop in town.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This raw foods book has some inspiring ideas that I plan on trying - the famous onion bread looks tasty, raw pizza sauce and the zucchini hummus is totally a new concept for me that I look forward to trying when my zucchini harvest starting coming in!

[Xine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a great cookbook. I've just requested it from my library again.

This book will be the most fun for you if you own a dehydrator and have access to young coconuts and other delicious things like that.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We could never fully embrace the raw diet, but this was the book that got us closest to going all out. Matt is truly awesome at coming up with flavor filled dishes. We actually eat many of these recipes regularly, very good!

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy to read and prepare recipes

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Raw recipe book so far!!

[Joan Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yum. I totally want to go to Santa Monica, CA to eat. There are doable recipes as well and lifestyle helps for the rawfoodist.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love my new cookbook! Well, I guess it's not a "cookbook" since everything is raw.

[Simone]

WILL READ EVERY SO OFTEN FOR RECIPES

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a cookbook with scrumptious 'always reading' recipes.

[Saskia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep, official raw food nut... that's me! This has all kinds of goodies I can make for Thanksgiving! And David Wolfe recommends it, well, that's enough for me!

[lindsay]

rawvegan

[rachel]

i'm recovering from a tooth extraction and bone graft on a liquid diet...this book has brought several fantastic soups to life that are full of nutrients and easy to eat while i heal.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got me all psyched up about going raw, until I ate the food....

[Christopher Colegrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with lots of photographs on the different recipes!! Way to go Matt! It's worth buying not just reading!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

not for the beginner...(which includes me)

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, unique recipes.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!! Many recipes I would like to try, will purchase as there are so many recipes... library book.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don't mind searching out esoteric ingredients and buying a dehydrator this book has very interesting meal ideas