DVD:
What's NOT Cookin'
in Rhio's Kitchen
Vol. 1
$29.95
Watch Rhio Make Yogurt from Nuts & Seeds

In this DVD Rhio discusses some of the negative effects of consuming dairy, as well as providing delicious and satisfying substitutes... dairy-like foods made from nuts, seeds, vegetables and herbs to provide a means for people to transition off of dairy successfully.

Did you know that the people of the United States are one of the largest consumers of dairy products in the world? Dairy products are known to be high in calcium but isn't it ironic that with all the dairy we consume, we also have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis? We associate good feelings with dairy because let's face it, most of us were raised with dairy and we enjoy the flavor. We all grew up hearing positive phrases like "milk and honey", "peaches and cream", "milk... it does a body good", "la crème de la crème", and many others embedded in our language which color our perceptions.  

Dairy today is not what it used to be.The idyllic farm of yesteryear has been replaced with industrialized factory farming. Unfortunately, in the United States many cows are injected with a genetically engineered synthetic hormone called rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) which makes them produce a lot of milk.They become super milk producers, but the price to be paid is an increased incidence of mastitis and other diseases for which the cows are then treated with antibiotics. And these antibiotics end up in the milk. In the US the milk supply is pooled, so even if a farmer is not treating his cows with rBGH, his milk ends up in a pool with other milk from rBGH treated cows. rBGH has negative effects on the human body and for that reason it has been outlawed in Canada, Europe and many other countries. And since the cows are fed conventional feed, some of the pesticides from that feed end up in the milk as well.

Dairy is also addictive... that is why it is so difficult for people to let it go. Casomorphins, by-product peptides of the digestion of casein in dairy products have addictive qualities - specifically casomorphin opioids.

Running Time: 92 minutes

—Victor Zeines, DDS, MS
Author of Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body

Anyone serious about making raw foods taste great needs this DVD. Rhio's been a leader in the raw food movement for years and her recipes are simply delicious!

—Paul Nison, Raw Food Author and Chef
www.Paulnison.com

Rhio reveals a few tricks that will get you eating raw at home. Beginners can avoid the disappointment, expense and wasted food that comes with trial and error. This DVD is a great investment in your health and your dining pleasure. Rhio has hit a home run with this one.

—Dr. Jennifer Daniels
Salud de Oro
Fasting and Healthy Lifestyles Center, Panama
www.SaluddeOro.com

Have a Good Laugh... Watch Rhio's Outtakes

Even Non Raw Fooders Will Love These Recipes

Many people who are into the raw food lifestyle or who are considering adding these foods to their diet are worried about being able to go out to eat or be invited to an event at a relative's home. Rhio and I are usually able to find a place to eat with friends or relatives that can accomodate our needs and keep them happy, even if it's just getting the chef to make us a raw salad. Not long ago I we were invited to my brother's home for a barbecue. I decided to bring Rhio's Veggie Seed Pate and her Rainbow Super Slaw. I figured that if the other people didn't eat what I brought, it would just be more for Rhio and me. It seems that everyone was intrigued with my offering. I never used the word raw food. Not only did they devour my food, leaving me to hide our share, but at least 10 people asked me for the recipes. I wish there was a DVD like this available when I was getting into this lifestyle. —Leigh Crizoe

The Raw Gourmand's Review of
What’s Not Cookin’ in Rhio’s Kitchen
Volume 1
A Recipe DVD by Rhio

What do you get when you combine beauty, charm, talent and a desire to share what the raw/living food lifestyle can do for you? Rhio! Rhio is an exciting, innovative singer, author, investigative reporter, and preparer of raw/live foods. I found myself rapt in my desire not to let this 90-minute video end. Recipe after recipe, tip after tip kept me engrossed and waiting to see what she would teach me next.

Having not heard of Rhio, I really did not know what to expect. I saw an attractive woman, in a kitchen setting, and assumed that this video would be like any other. I could not have been more wrong. From the opening scenes of Rhio acting silly, attempting to play tennis, riding her bicycle, and singing, I was hooked. I wanted this video to run forever. Her sweet melodic voice kept me wanting more. And that was just the introduction. She then moved into the kitchen.

Her first “lesson” is about the dangers of dairy products, and the solution for this in the raw food world. She uses her investigative research skills to explain why dairy products are dangerous for us, and shares her recipe for nut milks by demonstrating how to prepare almond milk. Unlike many presenters, Rhio does not waste any of the leftover by-products leftover from preparing raw foods. In the case of almond milk, she explains how the residual pulp, which remains after “milking” the nuts, can be used as a wet ingredient in other recipes, or can be dehydrated to make almond flour for future use.

I especially enjoyed two things about this video. First, the video is not a “thrown together” production. It was obviously well planned and choreographed. The technical aspects are perfect, and the transition from scene to scene is precise. This is not something I am accustomed to seeing in inexpensive video productions. And second, I appreciate the fact that she transitions from recipe to recipe in a coherent and systemic manner. First, she made the almond milk, and then shows us how to make a smoothie using the milk. After this, she makes a “cream cheese” using macadamias and a variation of the almond milk. Then, as promised when she made the almond milk, instead of leaving us wondering what to do with the leftover almond pulp, she shows us how to dehydrate it into almond flour. Rhio goes on to suggest using either the wet almond pulp or the almond flour as an ingredient, in addition to whole almonds, to make the bagels; and finally the cream cheese can be used as a topping for the bagels.

Rhio reminds us that the cereals for sale in the grocery store are loaded with “preservatives, additives, artificial colors and flavors, fillers, are pumped full of air, and loaded with lots of sugars under many different names.” Her recipe for g’raw’nola cereal made my mouth water as it was being preparing. You could almost taste the sweet almond milk poured over dehydrated sprouted buckwheat. She then tops the cereal with mango, kiwi, raisins (left over from a crème brulée recipe) and banana. This breakfast would fill even the heartiest of eaters. As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel lobby watching the guests eat a breakfast of processed cereals, various chicken and cow products, saturated fats and canned fruits. What I would not give for a big bowl of Rhio’s cereal!

Many of us who are raw, find ourselves missing some of the foods of the past. Even though we know these foods are bad for us, we miss the tastes and textures of those old “comfort foods.” For Rhio, one of her favorites was crème brulée. She said one day she “became inspired” and tried to think of something that she could substitute for the cream. She decided to try coconut. Using her Champion Juicer and a young Thai coconut, she is able to make coconut cream. She added a few more ingredients (sorry, you have to buy the DVD), and topped it with Sundial Black African Honey to mimic the flavor of caramel. This critic has not tried the recipe yet, but if it is half as good as it looks, it will be a winner.

For me, Rhio’s next recipe is amazing. Prior to my change to a vegan lifestyle, yogurt was always one of my favorite foods. Every week, I would buy dozens of small containers at the grocery store, and I even went through a period where I made my own yogurt. Of course as a vegan, I expected to never eat yogurt again. The thought of putting a dairy product into my mouth was tantalizing, and yet disgusting at the same time. Then came Rhio. This video showed me that I could make yogurt from nuts and seeds. Is it possible to make nut and seed milk yogurt using kefir or yogurt cultures? Yes it is! This video helped me understand that I can make this yogurt without using kefir or cultures as starters, and I can actually make it from scratch without adding anything. Rhio makes it look especially easy. Yum! Yogurt to serve over my fruit or in my smoothies made from almonds, macadamias or any other nut or seed, YUM!!

From here, we are introduced to such recipes as “Broccoli and Chedda Sauce,” “Chedda Cheeze,” “Veggie Seed Paté,” and “Collard Rolls.” Each of these recipes are included on the DVD in pdf format so that you can print them and add them to your recipe file. However, before you put the DVD away, be sure to keep watching for the bloopers at the end. Rhio is so good about laughing at herself and her mistakes. It is Hilarious and fun.

In summary, I have one word for this DVD….WOW!!! Rhio makes preparing raw food recipes fun and easy. This is one that I will watch again and again, and expect to prepare each and every recipe for friends and family. I look forward to the Volume 2 & 3 scheduled to be released in 2010.

About Rhio: Rhio is a singer and author, as well as an investigative reporter in the area of health and environmental issues. She is of Hungarian-Cuban descent, raised in the U.S. and completely fluent in Spanish. Her first book Hooked on Raw is about living a life more closely aligned with Nature, by adopting a raw/live food lifestyle. Rhio also hosts an internet radio show called Hooked on Raw which can be heard worldwide at www.NYTalkRadio.net.