Customer Reviews

Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

I received my copy hot off the press only a few days ago and already it is quite evident that Gabriel and the Tree of Life chefs have provided us with the best live-food book currently existing. The few recipes I have tried are outstanding, and I am having a difficult time deciding which to try next, since all of them appeal to me.

Perhaps the single best thing about this book are Gabriel's updates concerning live-food nutrition. Though he frequently cites Conscious Eating for a more thorough discussion of many topics, Gabriel also extends his previous theoretical insights with new, exciting evidence published for the first time. His extended discussion of mycosis and the concept of a "compost button" vis-a-vis body metabolism are particularly intriguing. For instance, Gabriel cites the brilliant work of Dr. Robert Young (cf the book, Sick and Tired?) as support for the fact that high-glycemic foods, including many of our favorite raw fruits (e.g. dates, mangoes, bananas, etc.), create biological conditions favorable for the proliferation in our blood of bacteria, yeasts, fungus, molds and other nasties whose primary function is to compost dead matter. So long as we continue eating foods that undermine the vibrancy of our internal biological terrain, our "compost button" remains switched "on" and organisms which compromise our health continue their nasty business. Gabriel provides vivid evidence of this process of degeneration by presenting a series of color photographs that clearly show, via darkfield microscopy, the breakdown of our red blood cells and the proliferation of bacteria, yeasts, fungus and molds. Only by switching our "compost button" to the "off" position, via rainbow green live-food cuisine can we transform our biological terrain and reverse the process of mycosis.

Gabriel outlines how rainbow green live-food cuisine in particular, and not mere raw foods and live-foods per se, facilitates the transition away from mycosis to a friendly biological terrain and optimal health. He identifies three phases, beginning with low-glycemic foods, that we can follow in this process. Most importantly, the authors designate each recipe according to which phase it supports, meaning that we know precisely which recipes we can follow contingent upon where we are in the process of transition. And, Gabriel discusses how he himself, and everyone at the Tree of Life, altered their live-food diets by beginning Phase I and transitioning through Phase I.5 to Phase II, which is the lifelong maintenance diet. In an through this process, Gabriel and his staff experienced even more energy and feelings of well-being than experienced on their previous live-food diets. In other words, rainbow green live-food cuisine is NOT mere "live-food" but a specific, unique approach to live-food preparation and eating.

Finally, of particular importance for the live-food movement is the presentation of burgeoning evidence in support of the fact that Excalibur dehydrators require higher temperature settings (e.g. 145 degrees) during the initial stages of dehydration and then need to be adjusted down to the usual temperatures (e.g. 95-115 degrees) live-food preparation previously utilized from start to finish. The authors note that more research concerning this issue is currently underway as part of the Master's program in Vegan Live-Food Nutrition (see the Tree of Life site for more info about this program). Nevertheless, the recipes in the book reflect this new research, so adherents to live-food preparation ought not to be confused by the recipe instructions calling for higher intial temperatures (in other words, read the intro chapters!).

In short, an awesome book that is accessible and highly informative, and a must have for both long-time live-foodists and those interested in the possibilities for using live-foods to improve their health and experience optimal well-being. Hurray for Gabriel and everyone who contributed to this beautiful, insightful book! Thanks!!!

How to transform your life in record time with
the most delicious and energetic food on the
planet! This book is an essential addition to
the library of any serious student of health.
It is my favorite book on health and nutrition.
It also contains some of the best recipes I've made.

If you want to learn about health, you must study
those who have mastered the art of healthy living.
You must look to the world's best health and healing
retreats: "The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center" in
Arizona, and "Hippocrates Health Institute" in Florida.

Brian Clement is the director of Hippocrates and his
book, Living Foods for Optimum Health, is required
reading. Dr. Gabriel Cousens is the director of the
Tree of Life. Rainbow Green contains the diet used at
the Tree of Life for healing and rejuvenation.

I use the recipes in Rainbow Green daily. The cakes,
cookies, soups, salad dressings, nut milks, pates,
sauces, fermented foods, crackers, and other recipes
are easy and delicious. I also enjoy making the vegan
kefir drinks, KimChi, and essential oil delicacies.

Rainbow Green discusses how there are microscopic
organisms in the blood such as yeast, mold, fungus,
and bacteria. These organisms enter the blood through
various food and beverages and they contribute to poor
health. They they are fed by foods high in sugar, and
they thrive in an acidic body.

In Rainbow Green you'll discover how to alkalinize your
body to prevent the microorganisms from growing. You'll
discover which foods to eat and which to avoid for
optimal health. Rainbow Green foods are classified low-
glycemic, high-mineral, and high-vibrational foods.

I also enjoy the chapters on how to raise babies and
children on a raw foods diet. One chapter discusses
how to reduce jet stress, jet lag, and it gives various
yoga poses for the airplane. You'll discover how to
sprout, how to grow high mineral organic foods, why it
is essential to eat organic foods, effects of pesticides
on children, the many benefits of enzymes, How to
dramatically increase your life-span using the secrets
of a Calorie Restricted Diet, modern research on living
foods and superfoods, how to travel on a raw foods diet,
what kitchen appliances you'll need for your kitchen, and more.

Give this diet a try and I guarantee you'll experience the
greatest health of your life. Even if you don't do the diet
100%, you'll fall in love with these recipes.

The theories and practice recommended by Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine miss the mark.

Like so many, I have health challenges. I visited the Tree of Life, a wonderful and beautiful place, and saw Dr. Cousens. I followed his suggestions, which included the no-sweet-fruit diet (phase I of RGLC) and many expensive supplements. I followed the diet for over a year -- strictly.

At first, I felt well. But after a while it became obvious that the program wasn't working: I felt weak, was unfocused, and had tremendous cravings for heavy, fatty foods. (And I have been on a high raw/all raw diet for many years, so this was not just detox.) This program simply does not provide the energy required to function, leading to cravings for dense foods, and most of the calories consumed *by far* come from fat. This is extremely unhealthy! Most world health experts recommend that fewer than 10-15% of calories come from fat. While I haven't checked the actual quantities in any of the recipes, it is clear that all or almost all of them FAR exceed those guidelines. I gained weight and was not thriving, as a person eating a healthful raw diet should. The diet recommended by this book is unsustainable.

Many of the recipes in this book taste good, but again, they are extremely high in fat.

As to the "science" presented here, the wrong conclusions seem to have been drawn. Many of those whose blood was tested by Dr. Cousens may have been people who were not eating a healthful raw food diet at the time, but the quality of the subjects' diets is never shared with the reader. Was it considered? A typical cooked food diet is extremely acid forming in the body and creates the ideal breeding ground for candida, fungal infections, and the mycosis, as Dr. Cousens describes it. If someone is eating this type of diet, then it's true that adding high glycemic foods of any kind may be a poor idea.

Dr. Cousens states that an acid diet, junk food, dried fruits, high glycemic foods, and low oxygen levels in the body contribute to this mycosis, or "internal composting," as he calls it. Most of what he lists *is* unhealthy; however, some of the fruits he considers to be "high glycemic" are extremely healthful and valuable foods.

Even if Dr. Cousens' blood test subjects were eating a raw diet, as most raw food diets contain much too much fat, it is likely that all subjects, whether eating a cooked or a raw food diet, had pre-existing conditions of candida and fungal overgrowth. Fat in the bloodstream prevents insulin from effectively transporting sugar to cells; naturally-present (in small amounts in the healthy person) candida feeds on the sugar in the blood to prevent prolonged high blood sugar levels, and it blooms.

Did Dr. Cousens consider the lifestyles of the people whose blood he tested? It's not clear. Also, it's true that cancer cells grow on sugar solution. Most cells do! But avoiding fruit is not the answer. Getting healthy is.

We are designed to function on simple sugars such as those found in fruits, not on the high fat vegetable diet espoused in this book. A healthful diet that is primarily fruit-based, with sufficient quantities of greens but little fat allows the body to rid itself of candida overgrowth very quickly. It also provides enough nutrients and energy for the individual to be healthy and vibrant. I have started to get well by living this way, and I know I am now on the right path to heal. But it is a simple way, not one that leans toward complex recipes and dietary supplementation.

If you are interested in seeking health and a healthful eating program, please try a low fat raw vegan diet that is fruit-based but also contains substantial quantities of greens and green vegetables with limited fat, such as the one recommended by Dr. Douglas Graham. See also "The Raw Secrets" by Frederic Patenaude.

I truly believe that Dr. Cousens is a kind man who wants to help others. But I cannot recommend this book.

Please be cautious.

I consider Gabriel Cousens to be the most tenable among the proselytizers of live food/raw food nutrition. I say proselytizer not necessarily as a pejorative but to describe that Cousens is advancing a particular program as a believer to convert others. All authors of diet books do this, of course, so this book, like any other, should be approached with a healthy skepticism. Some of the science in the opening chapters may seem hokey, but I think that the general principles that shape Cousens' dietary regimen are quite reasonable. For instance, he is very attentive to the pitfalls of a high glycemic diet, which is why his recipes do not contain many fruits (bananas, mangoes, etc) and dates, the latter a food that is overused in many raw food recipe books. Sweeteners are also quite limited and he doesn't use much agave nectar, an ingredient used in just about everything by some rawfoodists. This is a recipe book that is very sensible and healthier than most, raw food or otherwise. It is also perfect for those suffering from yeast overgrowth.

All this being said, the book is not without problems. Because Cousens desires simultaneously to espouse a strict vegan diet AND be mindful of the individuals have different dietary needs (metabolic typing/Ayurveda), he has to do some odd contortions. Protein types, he believes, can get all the protein they need from nuts and seeds but he doesn't seriously consider that with such sources of protein comes a lot of fat, so the percentage breakdown of macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) for such types doesn't quite add up. And he also quickly wishes away the Ayurveda use of meat for some people and rather monomaniacally insists that a raw vegan diet is doable if not ideal for everyone. It's fine if Cousens advocates a vegan diet for ethical reasons but to prescribe such a diet for all people as one supporting optimal health seems unsupportable, even according to his own reasoning, and perhaps irresponsible. The fuller case that Cousens makes for veganism and livefoodism in the new edition of Spiritual Nutrition doesn't do much to dispel this problem and others.

Now live-foodism clearly has much to recommend it, so I say all this as someone who is not at all hostile to many of its precepts. And Cousens's recipes are generally easy to prepare (although you will need a dehydrator, high-speed blender, homogenizing juicer, and food processor to take full advantage), use readily available indredients, healthful, and often delicious. There are some problems with the recipes, however, which more careful proofreading could have corrected. Very often the amounts of some ingredients, such as salt and oils, are way off (tablespoons are indicated instead of teaspoons, etc.). I've made a lot of the recipes in this book and always proceed with caution and recommend not adding immediatley the full amounts of oils, salt, and spices indicated and let common sense and taste be your guide. If you do this and use the recipes as a starting point, you will consistently have good results--at least that's been my experience.

One other problem with this book is its construction. Soon after I got the book, pages started to come loose from the spine. Over a year later about half the pages are detached--rather a nuisance. And I treated this book as I treat all my books, with great care. I've heard similar reports from other owners of this book, so this may not be an isolated problem. If after getting it you discover that pages are coming loose, return it and get another one before Amazon's return period expires. (I emailed the publisher over a month ago about this problem but have yet to hear back from them.)

Overall, this is a book that I very much recommend to rawfoodists, dabblers, and just those interested in eating more healthily and who are open to trying something new.

I've been eating raw for over a month now, only using this book and still haven't managed to eat all the recipes. I find my-self asking constantly: Is this REALLY a raw food dish? You'd never believe you were eating living cuisine.

Most praise this book for it's simlicity. I personally don't find it exactly simple but then again I have never used any other raw uncook book before. I'm dissapointed to some degree though and sometimes feel chained to my kitchen. At times like that I simple look for a quick recipe and just throw something together and guess what...it still tastes amazing.

I love the first part of the book as well. It's wonderful to see how complete his research is and to be encouraged to make raw cuisine personal to your body, mind and spiritual needs. Most people don't eat raw the right way because they don't know there's a better way. Cousens does and he's not afraid to share it!

Buy this book, change your life.

I barrowed this book from a friend who had brought a fabulous uncooked pepper marinara sauce to a dinner party.I tried a few more recepies and they were all so excellent that I knew I should own this book too.I do try to eat alot of raw food but am not bound to eating soley raw,so I enjoy mixing some of the soups and sauces with steamed food and it works out great.The chefs who developed this recipe book are truely some of the best!It's a great addition to any cooks collection of cook books.I love it!

This is one of the best book of raw recipes I've ever bought. The recipes are simple and taste with no fancy ingredients.

I'll be to the point. Lots of good vegan, raw recipes that are relatively simple to make and don't require exotic, difficult to find ingredients. Classified according to glycemic index, helpful to those trying to alkalize their systems. Can't wait to experiment with the large selection of appetizing concoctions in this book. Very much appreciated!

With Gabe's fine work on Conscious Eating, you'd think he understand the concept of individualizing one's diet, for one's particular constitution. He's a diplomat in Ayurveda, and has written extensively on the concept of eating right for your Ayurvedic body type and Oxidizer status. However, in this book, he recommends a high green, low glycemic, high fat raw diet to ALL. All, being the key word. Where has his 30 years of experience gone all of a sudden?

People with Type O blood will likely thrive on this type of diet. People who are "fast oxidizers" or "Vata" Ayurvedic types. Since Gabriel himself is a Type O, he has excellent success with this kind of diet. This kind of diet is in line with my body type as well, since I'm also a Type O/Fast Oxidizer. However, a Type A blood type, who is generally a Slow Oxidizer will absolutely TANK on this diet. These are the people that gain excess weight, feel sluggish, and can't stick to the diet. Dr. Cousens should know better!

With that said, roughly 40% of the people who read this book and try the diet will be singing their praises. Some will find it to be "ok", and many will fail miserably. Just as many fail miserably on other raw food approaches, such as the high fruit, low fat type diet.

Bottom line, you need to individualize your diet to your own needs. The one size fits all approach doesn't work, and I'm very surprised Dr. Cousens wrote this book in such a fashion.

I'm giving this book 4 stars, because the diet jives with me, and my body type. However, I can understand the many 1 star reviews.