Another great book by my friend Chef Brian Igarta. The recipes in this book contain no soy products and many gluten free ideas. The recipes look amazing. The pictures will leave you hungry and ready to start cooking. This book is a must have in your vegan cookbook library.

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I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Chef Brian Igarta at the Health and Healing Crusade. I was blown away by his talent in the kitchen though he was very humble- never wanting to step on my toes- as I was the head Chef for the crusade. He was always helpful when needed. He is my culinary hero! We had a potato fiasco about an hour or so before we were to serve dinner. Most of the potatoes didn’t cook in time, so we boiled some- and they were over cooked (ready for mashing- but we hadn’t intended on serving mashed potatoes) and the rest just tasted blah! Brian came in with his wife Crystal and worked his magic. The overcooked potatoes were turned into a mashed potato casserole and the others were roasted again with olive oil, garlic and italian seasonings. They were crispy and delicious.. They were the hit of the conference! Everyone was asking for the recipe. Thanks Brian.. (more…)

I absolutely love these bags. They also sent me a smaller kids bag- that I gave to my niece for her birthday. She loved it! I told her the story about these bags- how they are recycling the juice containers to keep them out of the streets, fields and landfills. You should have seen her face light up. She didn’t know anyone else who had one-which made it even cooler!
From their website:
BaZura Bags is working with a women’s co-op in the Philippines that set up a Livelihood Project assisted by the local village council. With almost no capital, the women found a very clever way to support themselves.

Every day, children from the local schools collect over 50,000 used drink containers, called doy packs, then sell them to the co-op. The packs are sanitized and the women sew them together into attractive, durable bags.

We estimate that millions of these containers get thrown in the trash everyday in the Philippines. Until we find a way to recycle them, or stop using this material altogether, we would like to reuse as many empty drink containers as possible and, in the process, support fair trade.

They have a large variety of styles to choose from.. even a whole line of accessories- like belts, camera bags, pencil bags, key chains and more. They make wonderful gift bags! I think it is a great company that deserves our support!

Rhio is a kick! She is a nice lady and very entertaining. I learned a lot from her dvd- so I would say it is good for all levels of raw food expertise.
The dvd is 92 minutes long (sells for $29.95)and comes with all of the recipes that she demos in the dvd. You will definitely want this dvd in your raw food dvd library! I can’t wait to make the bagels!
Rhio is also the author of Hooked on Raw which was published in 2000. It has been republished and a copy is on it’s way to me to review- so stay tuned for that!