Sometimes, though not nearly often enough, someone comes through and delivers something really special into the raw food scene. On this occasion, and not a moment too soon, it's Alissa Cohen (as featured in Get Fresh! issue 3) from the USA. Alissa has brought to the table Living on Live Food, her first book, and quite literally a work of art inside and out, together with an accompanying DVD set of the same name.

Aimed especially at newbies, though of benefit to everyone, the book is huge! It's one of the largest books on raw food ever to come into print. Cover-wise it measures just one inch short of being A4 size, is exactly 1 inch thick and weighs in at 4.5lbs!

Containing 32 chapters on just about every topic you can think of, such as: It's so easy!; What is raw and living food?; Shopping for raw and living foods; Your raw and living food kitchen; How to start raw ??today!; Four week shopping and preparation guide; Food combining; Detoxing; Learning to have fun; Testimonials, and much more, it really is essential reading and is worth every penny and more. Indeed, the testimonials flooding in to Alissa daily clearly illustrate how completely do-able a raw food diet has been made - even for people who have tried and given up before.

The second part of the book consists of recipes - 254 pages of them - covering all manner of dishes including appetizers, side dishes, dips and spreads, breads, "cheeses", chips, soups, sauces and condiments, entrees, salads, desserts and drinks. The great thing about these recipes is that they're not so simple as to be boring, but not so complicated that you won't be bothered to attempt them! Sitting perfectly balanced in between the two, these dishes are everyday good wholesome filling raw delights that anyone can do, including children.

Also sprinkled throughout the book are great photos of Alissa going about her everyday life (she looks a radiant picture of health), as well as inspiring food photos of some of her recipes and at the back is a useful resource guide and complete index.