Raw Foods for Busy People: Simple and Machine-Free Recipes for Every Day [Paperback]

This very slim volume includes some useful information and recipe ideas, but after reading the reviews and synopsis I was expecting something more suitable for a raw food novice like myself.

Many of the recipes do require a machine, including something called a "dehydrator" (another thing not explained in the book).

Some of the ingredients and weights & measures are American, which is not helpful or encouraging for a beginner in the UK, who doesn't necessarily know what to look for in the shops.

Probably much more useful for someone who already knows their way around the raw food world and just wants some new recipes.

Very disappointed when this LITTLE book arrived. Not many of the recipes are machine free. There seemed a lot of sauces, dressings and dips rather than meals. Good luck to any busy person trying to hand whisk pineapple chunks. I would recommend "Raw food made easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet, has more recipes that do not require machines.

When this book turned up I initially thought "what is this load of rubbish?". No pictures, black and white throughout and no hype to it. For over a week it sat on the side while I read "Raw Food - Real World", a glossy, glam cookbook that I ordered at the same time. After trying recipes from that I began to see that the pictures were far more appetising than the actual recipes. This relinquished my initial reservations and plunged into Jordan's drab book. Wow! Was I surprised!

Anyone who's been raw foodist for a while knows that you'll be primarily living off of salads with a few dishes thrown in to keep you varied. Jordan gives an excellent range of salad dressings and dips which will form the mainstay of a diet. There are some great marinades and soups for those just coming over to raw foodism and who are missing the texture of their old diet. Lastly there are some nice sweet ideas.

The biggest plus point of this book is that the recipes taste delicious, unlike many of the more glamorous cookbooks out there which try and make raw alternatives of cooked dishes but often don't taste that good for the amount of hassle they are in preparing. Jordan's sweetcorn chowder for example is awesome and you can easily modify it to meet your needs - I like to add a little asparagus. Her kebab marinade is really useful one for those with little time on their hands and her ranch salad dressing went down particularly well - I always hated the cooked version of ranch dressing but hers was most pleasant. So far every recipe I've followed has given a very tasty dish and most are simple.

As with all raw food cookbooks there are certain things that are going to make you life easier. A cuisinart or similar food processor takes the hassle out of making sauces or soups. I don't have a blender but I don't think I missed out much as there's no great need for one - a food processor or hand whisk would produce a good enough result for most recipes. There are a few dehydrator recipes. If you don't have one, I guess you could try using your oven on a low setting with the door open, but dehydrator recipes are largely just for the texture. If you want a vibrantly healthy diet you don't need crispy things although they are fun to add to salads or other meals. Compared to other raw cookbooks I've read, Jordan's book uses very little processing and is rather unfussy - lots of other books emphasise presentation whilst Jordan opts for just simple, good tasting recipes.

This book's biggest downfall is it's low budget presentation. Quite simply, the book itself looks cheap and naff. But don't let it fool you! The recipes are very good, quick to make and require little skill or equipment. A book like Raw Food, Real World on the otherhand costs a lot more, is filled with sensationalised pictures on eco-unfriendly bleached paper, the recipes take hours (and sometimes days) to prepare using several machines and don't honestly taste that good for all your hard work. Don't let those pictures of pretty blondes drooling over fruit tarts make you think that it's not the quality of recipe that counts. It is and presentation alone doesn't make up for poor flavour.

If you want to be a raw foodist, or have just started out on this lifestyle you'll need to have a core of 20 to 30 everyday meals you can whip up easily whenever and though you might not find that many in this one small book that you personally like, I think you'll most likely get at least 10 from it. I know I did.

If you are a more experienced raw foodist, Jordan's emphasis on healthful salads with a variety of dressings and dips will expand your variety with simple everyday foods whilst keeping it within a balanced sunfood triangle approach. There aren't any mind blowing secret techniques for gourmet cuisine in here, just good tasting food converted from vegetarian dishes to raw. Overall I think it's very good value for money.

Judge this book not by it's cover but by your tastebuds!