Raw food isn’t heated beyond 118 degrees because at that point nutrients lose potency. Instead, raw foods remain “living” in a way that many find vital and healing beyond mealtime and throughout their lives. Russell James felt better when he began to incorporate raw meals into his diet, and so he started playing with the taste, texture, and look of his “raw materials.” The resulting recipes are as satisfying as gourmet cooking. While some dishes employ blenders or dehydrators, James assumes only an average kitchen, which he helps readers stock, from knives to pantry. His tantalizing array of meals and snacks cater to everyone from the already raw committed to the raw curious; those who need a gluten- or sugar-free diet; and those experimenting with Meatless Mondays or the kind of “vegan before 6pm” diets recently adopted by New York Times food journalist Mark Bittman.