Best 10 Raw Food Books Reviewed

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Whether you’re a raw foodist, raw vegan part-timer or raw vegan curious, there’s a huge range of raw food books that’ll help you live your best raw vegan life. You wouldn’t know this was a raw vegan blog, would you…

From nutrition overviews to myth busters to decadent desserts, here’s 10 of my favorite raw food books full of tips, advice and the odd raw vegan cheesecake, that I’d recommend to anyone wanting to live a healthier, environmentally-friendly, cruelty-free life.

Next stop, raw food connoisseur! And knock-out raw vegan chef. And raw nutrition expert. No big deal…



1) 12 Steps to Raw Foods

How to End Your Dependency on Cooked Food
by Victoria Boutenko

’12 Steps To Raw Foods’ by Victoria Boutenko is a great starting point on your journey into the wonderful world of eating raw. A true fruits and veggies expert, Boutenko has penned several guides to living raw, runs her own website and contributes to regularly to health publications. Her works are referenced in loads of raw vegan publications and she’s even been a keynote speaker at health expositions around the world. Mind. Blown. So it’s safe to say she’s bossing it.

She not only talks fresh food, but examines the psychological and biological aspects of our eating habits: why do we overeat, find it difficult to lose weigh and continually make poor health choices? Backed up by scientific research, she explains why we can so easily develop unhealthy eating patterns and discusses what we can do to tackle it.

Related Post: Cooked Food Addiction, And How It’s Destroying Our Health

It’s a must-have for truly getting to the root of unhealthy eating, unhealthy habits, and how to change your life for… well, life.

The Best Bits

  • Easy to read 12-step format
  • Backed by scientific research
  • Embraces long-term change, not quick fixes

2) Going Raw

Everything You Need to Start Your Own Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle Revolution at Home
by Judita Wignall

A graduate of the Living Light Culinary Institute and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Judita Wignall knows her raw food stuff. She’s a raw chef and health coach who, luckily for us, is sharing her wealth of wisdom on nutrition and its power to heal the body in ‘Going Raw’.

A how-to guide come cookbook, Going Raw is a must for newbie raw vegan foodies. If you’ve ever looked up a raw vegan recipe and thought ‘Oh, this must be a French version’, or simply don’t have the money for 95lbs of organic medjool dates hand-picked from a single 200-year-old tree in North Africa (because who does?!), then this raw vegan Bible is a must! Forget needlessly complex recipes. Judita explains how to make cobblers, pizzas, green smoothies and crepes simply and deliciously, no traversing deserts required.

She even shows you how to use raw vegan equipment, like dehydrators, mandolins and spiralizers, in easy to follow online videos. And trust me when I say that you will come to love your dehydrator like it’s your first-born child.

The Best Bits

  • Features practical, straightforward recipes
  • Covers basic raw food cooking techniques
  • Includes bonus videos online

3.     Ani’s Raw Food Essentials

Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food
by Ani Phyo

When Ani initially came across the delights of raw veganism, she saw it as a ‘treat’. But after seeing the incredible impact on her mental clarity, energy levels and sleep patterns, she fell in love, and has been dedicated to living the raw vegan life ever since.

Think raw vegan means nibbling meagerly on seeds and crying into pictures of fast food? In the words of Beyoncé, hell nah. (who, incidentally, also enjoys a healthy vegan dish of fanciness). Let Ani smash the rabbit food stereotypes with her raw vegan take on class comfort foods. From Broccoli and Cheeze Quiche and Enchiladas to nachos and Reuben sandwiches (seriously), you will not miss cooked foods with this little weapon in your health arsenal.

And if you can experience all of those incredible benefits, and eat nachos, well… sold!

The Best Bits

  • Offers raw vegan versions of classic comfort foods
  • Features a range of recipes, from basic, to super fancy
  • Features a range of recipes, from basic, to super fancy

4. Choosing Raw

Making Raw Foods Part of the Way You Eat
by Gena Hemshaw

Before releasing Choosing Raw, Gena Hemshaw had helped thousands of readers live their best raw lives with her blog. She pours all of this experience and expertise as a clinical nutritionist into the book, which includes fuss-free recipes, tackles questions and concerns of newcomers and even meal plans to help get you started. What a gem!

From nutrition guides and FAQs to simply delish recipes – raw granola, raw blueberry ginger ice cream and raw spinach and mushroom burgers to name but a few – it makes a fab addition to your bookshelf! Not that it’ll spend much time on the shelf…

Not all recipes are raw, but there are plenty of recipes for those who are fully raw.

The Best Bits

  • Includes meal plans
  • Aimed at all levels of expertise – from raw food newbies to raw vegan gurus!
  • Addresses common concerns of those who are new to veganism and raw veganism

5. The Raw Food Lifestyle

The Philosophy and Nutrition Behind Raw and Live Foods
by Ruthann Russo

As a vegetarian and vegan for over 20 years, it’s safe to say that Ruthann Russo knows a bit about how to live a meat-free life! In 2007, her passion for raw food and its health benefits began. This book is so much more than an advocate for raw veganism; it looks at how living raw can benefit not only your physical health, but your mental, emotional and spiritual health too.

She encourages making small changes to see what works best for you and your body and discusses the benefits of supplements and spiritual healing practices, like yoga and meditation.

If you’re looking to change your life in more ways than simply dietary, this book is an absolute must-have.

And you’ll have to thank her when you have your own raw vegan/meditation/yoga/spiritual healing wellness center. Namaste.

The Best Bits

  • Looks at raw veganism holistically – physically, emotionally and spiritually
  • Explains how to make small changes
  • Explains the benefits of meditation, yoga and peacefulness

6. Green for Life

The Updated Classic on Green Smoothie Nutrition
by Victoria Boutenko

If you’ve read my article on the benefits of green smoothies, you’ll know they’re one of the loves of my life. No, I’m not kidding, and yes, I realize how this sounds. But seriously, drinking a green smoothie a day will boost your energy, clear your skin and give you some serious love for these health and nutrition powerhouses.

Boutenko, the raw vegan superwoman, if you will, explains how these underrated veggies manage to do it, from their crazy vitamin and mineral content, to their abundance of protein to the healing power of chlorophyll (which is essentially liquid sun). Rid your mind of the soggy lettuce stereotypes, and realize the superpowers – and super tastes – of greens with Green For Life.

She even details green smoothie recipes to have you blending and juicing like a smoothie superstar. Vitamixes at the ready!

The Best Bits

  • Uses scientific research to explain why green smoothies are great
  • The Updated Classic on Green Smoothie Nutrition
  • Think yo can’t get enough protein eating raw? Read this.

7. The 80/10/10 Diet

Balancing Your Health, Your weight, and Your Life, One Luscious Bite at a Time
by Dr. Douglas N. Graham

An advocate of raw food since 1978, it’s safe to say Dr Douglas Graham knows a thing or two about the benefits of low-fat high-carb plant-based diets. Taking a whopping 5 years to complete, this book explains the 80/10/10 theory and has been dubbed the ‘diet of a lifetime’. And don’t panic; you don’t need an advanced math qualification to understand it.

Related Post: What is 80/10/10 diet? Just Another Fad, or Vital to Our Health?

Essentially, for optimum health, around 80% of our total calories should come from carbohydrates, along with 10% from protein, and 10% from fats. And this should be from raw vegan foods, given their power to reverse heart disease, fight cancer cells and help your body and mind to thrive. They’re just bragging now…

You might also have concerns about the ‘lack’ of protein in a raw vegan diet, considering how the meat and dairy industries have managed to convince us that we’ll wilt away to nothing lest we eat 20lbs of animal products a day. What you’ll most likely get with a meat-heavy, carb-light diet is an increased risk of heart disease and cancer. Yum. Luckily, it’s raw vegan protein and carbs to the rescue. Take a look at my protein article for some knock-out sources of raw and cruelty-free protein. But we should aim for only around 10% per day, whereas we need a whopping 80% carbs. Oh, okay then…

Suffice to say, The 80/10/10 Diet is a fantastic read!

The Best Bits

  • Tells you how to prevent disease with fruits and veggies
  • This ‘diet’ is not about restriction.
  • Offers meal plans


8. Live Raw

Raw Food Recipes for Good Health and Timeless Beauty
by Mimi Kirk

If you’ve seen my article on raw food vs cooked food nutrition, you might remember me mentioning the crazy talented and beautiful Mimi Kirk. If you haven’t heard of this raw vegan goddess before, take a look at her picture, and tell me how old you think she is. Now, add 20 years on to that (she’s in her mid 70s). I know, right. Gimme what she’s having.

Luckily, what she’s having can be found down the road at your local supermarket – a smorgasbord of raw fruits and veggies. No fancy pants beauty products in sight.  Mimi is now somewhat of a celebrity, having gained copious amounts of press given her crazy youthful looks and enthusiasm for a raw vegan diet. She was even voted PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian Over 50 in 2009, although why she needed to be in the over 50 category, I’ll never know.

Luckily, not only is she passionate about keeping her mind and body young, but she’s passionate about helping others to do the same. Her book features 120 recipes, along with loads of hints, tips and advice about living your best (and most youthful) raw life. From sweet potato gnocchi to shitake mushroom skewers, learn from the best with this fantastic guide! A great replacement for those wallet-busting face creams. Just saying…

The Best Bits

  • Recipes to make you feel beautiful, inside and out
  • Focuses on how eating well can make you feel amazing – it’s not all about looks!
  • Includes some seriously stunning recipes

9. The Fully Raw Diet

21 Days to Better Health, with Meal and Exercise Plans, Tips, and 75 Recipes
by Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram

So if you’ve read any of my blog posts before, you may have seen Kristina’s name pop up once or twice. Okay, I mean pretty much in every single article. In raw vegan food world terms, she’s pretty much on par with the Queen of pop (Beyoncé, obviously), and has helped thousands and thousands of people discover the life-changing benefits of the raw food diet, myself included. Who run the raw vegan food world?

If you have heard of her before, you will have probably seen one of her YouTube videos. With over 1,000,000 subscribers and millions of views of her incredible videos, she’s one of the biggest influencers in the world of fully raw veganism. And you can take one look at her and see why. She looks absolutely glowing, and after eating a fully raw vegan diet since the age of 18, I guess it’s to be expected! She even overcame type 2 diabetes with this lifestyle, ran a fully raw cooperative, and has penned several guides to changing your life with food. If this isn’t woman power, I don’t know what is!

In terms of raw food books, The Fully Raw Diet is fabulous for anyone who wants to change their diet for the better. Kristina offers a 21-day plan to transform their eating habits, including tips, tricks and advice, meal plans and stunning recipes galore. From caramel-apple cups to spicy mango basil salad, you will not miss cooked food when following Fully Raw Kristina into the world of vibrant health. Count me in!

The Best Bits

  • The photography will make you drool!
  • Get invaluable tips and advice from the raw vegan Queen
  • Includes recipes and meal plans

10. Rawsome Vegan Baking

An Un-cookbook for Raw, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Beautiful and Sinfully Sweet Cookies, Cakes, Bars & Cupcakes by Emily von Euw

I have talked about this book a lot. And no, I’m not being sponsored by Emily; I just like raw cheesecake. Which I may also have mentioned a couple of times… sorry.

Before writing Rawsome Vegan Baking, Emily was smashing the blog life. Her raw blog was named one of the top 50 raw food blogs in 2012, and won the Vegan Woman’s blog award in 2013. And with recipes from chocolate crème brulee to fruit tarts with a chai cream filling, each divine recipe paired with some seriously stunning photography, is it any wonder? No, no it isn’t.

Whether you’re curious about what you ‘can’ eat on a raw vegan diet, a sweet-treat lover or literally anyone in the world (because who turns down a cake that does wonders for your body? No-one, that’s who!), you’ll fall in love with Rawsome Vegan Baking by Emily von Euw.

Now, as I’ve discussed before, one of the biggest mistakes  people make on a raw vegan diet is eating too much fat (remember 80/10/10!), and, more often than not, raw vegan desserts use lots of nuts and seeds. But, to be honest, life is about moderation, and if you can’t have a slice of raw cheesecake for breakfast every so often, then… well, you can.

Related Post: 7 Common Mistakes People Make on a Raw Food Diet

Some of my favorites in this book of raw dessert amazingness include Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake with Peanut Butter, Carrot Cake with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting (and check out Chicago Raw’s carrot cake for ready-made heaven) and Rawdical Raisin Cacao Cookies. Considering my other love in life is puns, you can see why I like this book. A lot.

The Best Bits

  • Includes recipes for decadent, yet healthy, cakes, cookies and cheesecakes
  • Includes recipes for decadent, yet healthy, cakes, cookies and cheesecakes
  • Includes recipes for decadent, yet healthy, cakes, cookies and cheesecakes

Is there anything else to say?


From raw newbies to eating raw experts, give your bookshelf (and your body) some TLC with these life-changing raw food books. You’ll learn how to rid yourself of unhealthy habits for good, whip up some culinary raw vegan excellence in the kitchen, and start experiencing the crazy number of health benefits that come with this lifestyle.

And once you’ve perfected that Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake with Peanut Butter, please send a slice over first class to my home address, as I am the raw cheesecake Queen (self-dubbed, if I’m honest) and I will find time in my busy schedule to test it out. I know, I am nice.

Just kidding. Kind of.

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