Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine
by Gabriel Cousens
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Book Reviews of Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine
Book Review: very disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
For some time I was very interested in raw foods, but disliked all the recipes that relied on fruit and grains as staples. Upon reading all the positive reviews of this book and hearing about how it de-emphasized the fruit and grains, I was very gung-ho about ordering it. I now use this book as a paperweight, because it isn't really good for anything else.
The "science" outlined in the beginning of the book is laughable. I googled high and low to find any substantiating evidence of the claims the author made concerning pleomorphism and came up with no corroborating facts from any respectable source (quacks abounded, however). "Fine," I thought, "just because he's a lunatic doesn't mean the recipes can't be tasty." Well let me tell you, everything I have made out of this book has tasted absolutely terrible. Vile, even. It turned me off of broccoli for 2 months. One time I spend a whole free afternoon making a lovely-looking 3-course raw meal for my fiance and myself using the recipes from this book (carrot ginger soup, fake sushi, and a blueberry pie with pecan crust), and the result was so unappetizing that we had to toss it all in the trash and go out to eat. I am normally a very good cook (or uncook), so I place blame squarely on the recipes and not on my own abilities.
Please, for your own sake, do not buy this book. Or at least take my copy, because I sure don't want it anymore. I give it 2 stars only because the book itself is so attractive looking (seriously, the paper it's printed on is really glossy and nice).
Book Review: These are the best recipes
Summary: 5 Stars
I normally don't write reviews at all, but this book certainly deserves one. The highlights:* It doesn't consists of all these sweet recipes but has great tasting alternatives (I could never get into all that sweet stuff); there are no dates, bananas, etc., and there are some good explanations as to why
* The recipes don't require a lot of strange ingredients of which I never even heard before; ingredients are easily found
* You don't have to plan days ahead of time to just produce one dish; a lot of it can be put together quickly
* It does have its share of nuts, but for some reason I don't resent that here as I did in most of my other books; they don't seem to be everywhere
* There are NO wheat recipes (yeah!); I'm terribly allergic to that... Instead there are lots of recipes with flax seeds, and there is a very good explanation as to why wheat/grains are not used.
I ordered two other books at the same time I got this one and I already owned two raw food books, but this one is the only one I use. The recipes appeal to me much more than the ones in the other books. There still are tools that are necessary for the raw food kitchen, like a dehydrator, juicer, high-speed blender, etc., but there is a section in the beginning that outlines which ones they recommend.
Book Review: One of the Best on Raw Foods
Summary: 5 Stars
This book, along with the LifeFood Recipe Book by the Judds, are my current bibles on raw foods. I think this book is better researched and more scientific than the LifeFood book, but I use recipes from both all the time. The one thing I'm not really sure about is the temperature for dehydrating raw foods. The LifeFood book won't allow anything dried at a temperature over 118 degrees, but this book, as well as the manufacturer of the Excalibur Dehydrator, which is supposed to be the best, say you can start with a higher temperature for several hours and then reduce it. Have tried both ways, I prefer starting with the higher temp both for the texture of the food as well as the reduced drying time. Other books I would recommend are: The Raw Food Detox Diet by Rose, Green for Life by Boutenko and Nourishing Traditions by Fallon. Although Nourishing Traditions is not a book about raw foods only, it is about natural foods and does have some raw food recipes as well as a wealth of information about food that I've never seen anywhere else. It's well worth having in your library if you are seriously concerned about the foods you eat or you don't intend to eat totally raw.Book Review: great ideas but included recipes weren't what I expected
Summary: 4 Stars
After seeing "Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days with the RAW diet", I became interested in the Tree of Life's nutritional information & raw food. If you're new to raw, it basically means a diet of whole, unprocessed, natural, organic items. They can be dehydrated or warmed, but most raw books say they should not be heated over 115 (or 140F depending on who you ask), as this begins to break down the proteins/enzymes.
The background was interesting. I didn't agree 100% with all of his theories, but he did have some ideas worth considering.
My problem was that when I got to the suggested foods, they almost all required a special high-end dehydrator with thermostat. Once put into the special dehydrator they'd have to sit for hours. This means I'd be mixing up food in the morning for tonight's dinner -- that's not going to work for me. Some of the ingredients I've never heard of, despite being a regular shopper of my local gourmet & health food stores. It needs more practical recipes. I was also frustrated because when I think of raw, I think of fresh-local-organic. I don't think of obscure ingredients shipped halfway cross the globe.
Book Review: Filled with advice & recommendations for structuring a diet
Summary: 5 Stars
Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens (one of the world's foremost experts in the preparation and nutritional values of raw food consumption for the mind and body) offers sophisticated recipes for true gourmet dining and drawn from multinational menus showcasing natural, organic, living foods. Written and dedicated to those who wish to embrace eating patterns that benefit not only themselves, but for the Earth's technology and inhabitants, Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine encourages readers to select a diet that best fits one's unique constitution and eat as nature itself intended. The first portion of Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine is filled with advice and recommendations for structuring a diet tailored to one's needs; the second is filled with mouth-watering recipes such as Southwestern Stuffing, Peace and Love Porridge (with almonds and cranberries), Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti . Addition tips on everything from proper nutrition for children to preventing jet stress round out this wonderful raw foods cookbook and dietary guide especially recommended for the health and ecology conscious.