A piece of juicy fruit, a crisp green salad, a handful of nuts . . . everyone knows how pleasurable and easy raw food can be. My goal is to help you take the fresh, unprocessed food you already enjoy and expand your options into dozens of easy, inexpensive, delicious meals.

Why eat more raw food? One reason is simplicity. When you prepare food without cooking, you spend less time in the kitchen—in fact you don’t even need to be in your kitchen! Whether you are a single person or a couple wanting quick, tasty meals at home, a professional needing a healthy bite right at the office, a student in a dorm without a stove, or a traveler in a hotel, raw is the ultimate fast food.

Another reason to eat more greens, vegetables, and fruits is that they are the easiest way to maintain optimal health and weight. The recipes in this book eliminate the culprits that have been linked to degenerative diseases and weight gain, including “bad carbs” (such as white sugar and white flour) and “bad fats” (such as saturated fats and trans-fatty acids). Additionally, raw greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds have vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes, and fiber essential for good health. Better nutrition will not only help prevent disease and overweight, but will slow the aging process and increase energy.

Any diet you follow can be improved by eating more green leafy vegetables, less sugar, and less refined food. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, adding raw food recipes will give you more nutrition and variety than cooked vegetables and starches alone. My flexible approach to raw food makes it easier to include them. Only a small percentage of people follow a strict, totally raw diet all of the time, but everyone can improve the meals they already enjoy by adding more raw food.

The simplest raw food needs no preparation whatsoever—you just eat an apple. At the other extreme are elaborate raw dishes that require expensive equipment and unusual ingredients, as well as a lot of advance work (such as sprouting, fermenting, or dehydrating). My book aims at a happy medium between these extremes. The recipes call for only a few pieces of equipment, some of which you may already own, and all of which you can purchase conveniently and inexpensively. The ingredients featured are available at most grocery stores. Preparation techniques are simple, so that a kitchen novice can do fine.

There are hundreds of classic, delicious recipes that could be in this or any other cookbook, but only some recipes are both tasty and easy to prepare. For example, a fruit crisp can be made in 10 minutes, but a layer cake cannot. Guacamole is easier to prepare than avocado salsa. I’ve chosen recipes that can be made in minutes, that work every time, and that can be eaten every day.
The book is organized into sections on breakfast, lunch and dinner, and dessert, in order to take the guesswork out of what to eat when. Simply turn to the relevant section for guidelines on how to combine the recipes. Eating entirely raw meals will leave you feeling satisfied, yet light. But if you want to add cooked foods to a meal, it is easy to do, and each chapter provides suggestions.

When considering a particular recipe, first note if advance preparation is required, such as soaking almonds or other nuts for several hours. Most of the recipes can be made immediately if you keep a few basics on hand (see Advance Preparation). Once any advance preparation is complete, get out all the equipment and tools that you’ll need and prepare the ingredients as indicated. With everything ready, you will be able to put your meal together in minutes. If any ingredient, piece of equipment, or technique is unfamiliar to you, check the Glossary or Tools and Techniques.

Two last points. 1. The recipes in this book aim to please the average palate, and therefore call for moderate amounts of pungent seasonings, such as garlic, onion, cayenne, and salt. If you like your food highly seasoned, add more of these ingredients; if you don’t, begin with small amounts, taste, and adjust up. 2. Recipes for one person are easily doubled to make food for two, or to allow for leftovers. Recipes for two should not be halved, however, because the quantities in these recipes help the blender or food processor work more efficiently. Just save any leftovers for the next day.