Raw Food For Real People
Rod Rotondi
Raw Food For Real People; Living Vegan Food Made Simple
New World Library, Novato, CA, 2009
Chef Rod Rotondi is on a mission to "change the world, one bite at a time." Founder of the popular Leaf Organics restaurants, his efforts combine his passion for delicious food and great health with his love for the environment. In Raw Food For Real People; Living Vegan Food Made Simple Rotondi welcomes the uninitiated to the raw food movement, but he has a few confessions. First, he admits that being a raw-food chef is easy. Really easy. (Cut an apple in half and you're a raw-food chef, cube it and you're a gourmet raw-food chef.) Next, he admits he hasn't cured himself of any diseases or ailments with raw food. But, he has seen raw food restore and enhance health. Lastly, he confesses he doesn't always eat a 100 percent raw-food diet. But with a last name of Rotondi ("the round ones" in Italian) he credits his good health to eating predominantly raw food.
Raw Food for Real People is the ultimate no-cook cookbook. The chapter explaining how to set up a raw-food kitchen suggests a knife and cutting board as a great place to start; the cuisine is basically chopping fruits and vegetables, and sprouting grains, seeds and nuts, and dehydrating them. A detailed easy-to-follow chart covers sprouting basics, and pages of scrumptious photographs inspire the slicing and dicing to begin. Flying falafel croquettes, mango bread and flaxseed crackers are tempting treats, as is the chocolate brownie sundae made with raw cacao powder. Rotondi's culinary philosophy: enjoy your food. If you’re just eating healthy food out of fear, you won't get the full nutritional benefits. "And if you eat less-than-optimal foods, eat them with gusto and appreciation. Love your food, love your world, love yourself." —Gail Lord
