I own more than a dozen raw food cook books and love this one the most. Hands down.

As a beginner Raw Foodist, it's comforting to know that there's a big world of yummi raw foods!

I'm relatively new to raw foods, and for a long time my first and only book was Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I purchased Rawvolution a few months after getting Ani's, but didn't try it out right away. Boy was that a mistake -- especially considering Ani's has been such a hit or miss cookbook for me. I've made 4 recipes from this book recently and all 4 of them have been amazing. The seed cheese actually tastes like cheese; the Corn Chowder doesn't taste like its missing any dairy; the Thai Curry soup is just a simple and phenomenal recipe. I absolutely cannot wait to try other recipes from this book.

I sort of agree with some people who say that he uses a lot of Nama Shoyu -- a little too much. But honestly, do what sounds right to you. If you don't like salty tasting things, don't put a half a cup of Nama Shoyu in something -- adjust it accordingly and you'll be fine. Thats what cooking is all about isn't it?

As far as the physical book, it is very well designed and the photography is also excellent.

Everything I've made from this book has been delicious so far! It's also very beautifully laid out, great photographs, and easy to read. He has symbols for each recipe which tell u difficulty level, and which appliances will be needed, so u don't have to read through the whole recipe first to know what your getting into. Most recipes are really simple and easy as well as delicious! Great book.

I enjoyed this book very much. The recipes are simple and tend to use more common, less expensive ingredients than many other raw cookbooks. Almost every recipe is beautifully illustrated. It's a very nice selection of recipes, just about everything you might want to make as a vegetarian in a raw version. It's not an overwhelming number of recipes, either, good for a beginner. I give it four stars instead of five because I often have to adjust the seasoning, he'll use way too much for me, and the pictures of someone in patched up blue jeans did not appeal to me.

Matt does a great job of including simple, easy to prepare recipes in this book. And he has pictures of just about every recipe! The ingredients he uses aren't too exotic, but I do wish he's use a little less Nama Shoyu over all. His introduction is nice and brief, and the book is very well laid-out.

This is an AWESOME raw recipe resource. The author gives helpful, detailed information about the philosophy and benefits of a raw foods diet as well as easy-to-follow recipes. This is the second raw food "cookbook" I've purchased (the other was Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Foods Kitchen-another great one)and I like them both equally. However, RAWvolution's recipes in general seem to be more simplistic but just as delicious. My favorite recipes so far have been the Seed Cheese Wrap and the Spirulina Pie. So yummy!! Another perk of the book that I love is the section toward the end with different menu plans for different occasions like holidays and birthdays. I would highly recommend this cookbook to any raw foodie, vegan, vegetarian, or anyone that just wants some fun, new, and different recipes to add some variety to their diet.

The following accounts were my experiences as I tried to create my meals using "RAWvolution Gourmet Living Cuisine" Cookbook.

I first made Mock Tuna Salad recipe . . .exactly following instructions. I took a day off from work and shopped for all the ingredients that totaled a substantial amount. Then I spent the afternoon peeling, dicing, juicing, soaking seeds, etc. in preparation for the salad mixture. When I placed all ingredients together, it resulted in an enormous volume. . . .probably enough to feed several people in a restaurant.

I then realized that for a SINGLE meal (for myself) . . .I should have cut down all amounts in recipe by at least 1/10th. But it was too late. I tasted the salad mixture and it was so pungent with mustard that I realized that I should have cut the mustard out almost entirely. Since I had already spent almost half of my weekly food budget on this one meal . . . .I ended up eating this mixture for the next 7 days. I did not enjoy it with the overpowering mustard. Finally I had to discard almost half of the remaining mixture in garbage because it was too old to be edible. I wished that I had just eaten all the wholesome fresh foods that I originally bought without putting it through all the above processing procedures, as it would not have been wasted and I would have enjoyed it.

Next I bought an expensive Excalibur dehydrator that the author stipulates is the best hydrator to use for his recipes. I bought Excalibur hydrator to make his RAWvolution "famous onion bread." This time I cut all ingredients by 1/3rd --so I would not be subject to a possible upsetting surprise if results proved to be disappointing. I mixed all ingredients as directed; placed them in hydrator for 24 hours at 100 degrees; then turned it over and placed them back in hydrator for 12 more hours. Results: a pile of dried up onion slices and crumbs that all fell apart. Unappetizing.

I'm not sure which recipe that I will try next.

I really appreciate the simplicity of the recipes, the onion bread is fantastic. Some of the recipes are too salty for me, but over all it's a good addition to my raw library.

Well, I'll be honest, I haven't yet read the book, but now I won't purchase it, as I had an email run-in with this author, and he wasn't very nice or professional. He offers a raw food delivery service that costs $100 for a week of food. Not a bad price. But the delivery cost would be $25. Add that up over a month, and it comes to $500. While that might be pennies to some, as a social worker living in Los Angeles, it would be a struggle to pay that. I called Rawvolution to ask if they work deals with people, I thought I could order a month's worth of food for $400 and have them waive the delivery fee. They said they couldn't do that. I then sent an email stating that it wasn't great business to not work with people. A lot of places will give you a deal if you place a large order in advance. Matt's response to me was so nasty. Instead of simply explaining his pricing structure, he got personal. This guy has a real bone to pick, and personally, I wouldn't want someone who is that grumpy preparing my food anyway. Just my two cents. Thanks for reading!

I thought RAWvolution was just OK. Visually, it was put together well with many colorful, appetizing pictures. My favorites were the desserts, which were relatively easy to make (except the ones that required coconut meat, that's a little trickier.) The recipe that I totally hated was the cauliflower "mashed potatoes" and "gravy". I think you can trick your eyes, but the taste buds don't lie. Ewww, I seriously threw that stuff into the trash after one bite. Save yourself the trouble, skip that recipe!
Other than that, I think this book is a good stepping stone, for someone new to the raw food movement. I would like to try Matt Amsden's food delivery service to see if it tastes better than what I had tried to make at home. If I do, I'll let you all know.... :D

I learned about this book from my local Raw Food Group that has potlucks once a month. My friend and I have served a few dishes from this book at that event and other events and everyone raves about the "eggless egg salad" (I LOVE IT myself), the "raw tacos", "Thai Salad" (another TO DIE FOR recipe) and the "pierogies" are all amazing! I can't tell you how many times I've made these recipes. At first, they take awhile to prepare, but the 2 and 3rd time you can whip up the recipes in no time!
I think that each recipe in the book has a picture of how it looks prepared. I love that in a cook book! I've definietly gotten my money's worth out of it!