Ani Phyo

As a book, this is a delight. There are excellent photographs throughout of the most appetising looking desserts. There are also interesting explanations about why the author eats raw food, with its many health benefits, and here and there are extra hints or tips for - for instance - keeping one's skin young, or boosting metabolism. It's the kind of book to sit down and read pretty much cover to cover. I did that when I received it, and found it very inspiring.

Unfortunately, although Ani show more Phyo insists that most the ingredients she uses are easy to find, that simply isn't the case in Cyprus. I couldn't even find most of them in the UK, although I gather they can be ordered online. But such items as coconut oil, agave syrup, cacao nibs and mesquite powder simply aren't in the aisles at Sainsbury's. And unfortunately, most of the recipes use at least one of these ingredients.

Still, although I agree with the principles of raw food eating where possible, I realised that I could make substitutions. So I tried creamed coconut (in sachets intended for use in curries) instead of coconut oil, and honey instead of agave syrup. I did manage to find 'Medjool' dates - much juicier than regular ones, and with no sugar added, although I hadn't previously heard of them.

I tried three of the recipes, and they were very successful. I intend to try more, although I still don't know what I could use instead of cacao nibs or mesquite powder.

The emphasis seems to be more vegan than raw foods; for a truly healthy dessert there's nothing to beat fresh fruit salad, after all. But these recipes make a nice change, and as far as I can tell are all fully dairy-free and wheat-free, although certainly not nut-free! show less

We are pretty much a meat-free household here, and have been experimenting with various non-carnivorous points of view to broaden our dining experiences. Raw food came on the horizon for several reason recently. We're not convinced to take the plunge, but it's certainly added a new aspect to the possibilities for dinner. Ani's recipes (or at least the ones I've tried) are tasty and liked by us both. I still think it's a little weird to call things mylk or cheeze, just like I object to soy or show more mushroom products being called "chicken" or "beef". They're not. And if you go into an experience expecting these nachos or salmon burgers or minestrone soup to taste like nachos, or salmon or minestrone, you've got another think coming. But that doesn't mean they're not tasty in their own right.

The annoying bits for me were all the pictures of Ani, and her (moderate though it is in comparison to others) Raw Food proselytizing. We had a good laugh over her saying she was saving the earth by not putting a stove in the land fill, but neglecting to consider the electricity used by her blenders, food processers and dehydrators. And javaczuk swears he's getting me the pedal-powered blender some day.

All in all a decent book for a glimpse into Raw Foodie World. We're incorporating some of the recipes into our regular meal plans, for sure. show less

DNF@ 47% Healthy, nutritious and weight reducing, yes. But when she says eating these foods burns fat, burns a specific area of fat I call BS. You can not target specific areas of fat on your body by eating certain foods, food does not burn your fat. I stopped here for a few days to decide if I wanted to continue after this misinformation was given. No. There are vegan/raw books that don't throw this nonsense out there, I'll support them.

After reading this book I am giving serious consideration to having one day a week as a raw food day. I loved this book's approach and methodology. It really makes it look simple and feasible.