Greetings from a Raw Paleo College Student! - A few Questions

[ColeJames]

Hello all, I'm a nineteen year old pre-medical college student interested in nutrition, bodybuilding, and staying healthy. I've been aware of my body and health my whole life, but until recently I've been following the completely wrong dogma (aka mainstream BS about eating more whole grain etc). I've followed a carbohydrate restricted diet for about a year now, and I've now moved to raw paleo because I find as time passes, I find my body craving raw meat more and more.

I have yet to truly make the leap to eating raw meat however because of the stigma ingrained in me since childhood regarding E. Coli, parasites and food poisoning from eating raw meat. To this end, I need your help. I did a search but didn't find anything though I"m sure there are sources on this forum. Could someone tell me or give me a link to a comprehensive guide on how to select, store, and eat raw meat? What kind of meat is good? Only grass fed? Grain fed? Is pre-packaged like the ones found in the refrigerated section of whole foods okay? How do I store the meat? Thanks!

[TylerDurden]

Vacuum-packed is OK, I suppose. Grassfed- or wild meats are the ones to aim for. I personally avoid grainfed raw meats like the plague as , in the past, when I tried them, my health-recovery stalled to a stop whereas, with raw grassfed/wild meats, I was a bit to slowly recover over time until all my health-problems were solved. I would avoid WholeFoods like the plague, though. They are notorious for being too expensive(their nckname is "WholePayCheck"!) and their foods are not that high-quality. Better to get raw grassfed meats delivered direct to your door, or visit a local grassfed meat farm to by in bulk every week or two.

Here are some useful links:-

http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/important-info-for-newbies/where-to-buy-cheap-raw-animal-food(please-don't-post-in-this-thread!)/

http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/important-info-for-newbies/sticky-advice-for-newbies-wishing-to-slowly-ease-into-a-raw-animal-food-diet/

The issues re bacteria/parasites are nothing to worry about. Just eat your raw meats. Like so many newbies before you, you will become progressively astonished after days/weeks/months that you're not dead yet from food-poisoning or whatever nonsense, and you will gradually recognise that the scares re bacteria/parasites are utterly absurd.

As for storing your raw meats, at first you will want to only leave your raw meats in the fridge for 1 or 2 days before eating them. After some months of RVAF eating and getting used to the taste/smells etc., you will find that you can happily  leave the raw meats for weeks on end in the fridge without issues(or even outside the fridge, in the case of "high-meat"). To avoid issues with SAD-eaters, though, most of us leave raw meats in the fridge for a week or so, and just store any excess raw meats in the freezer, if we buy in bulk.

Selection is meaningless. Most of us just buy the cheapest cuts of raw meats( ie stewing steak instead of fillet steak etc.) as they taste much the same when raw, and most of us don't mind fatty raw meats.

[CitrusHigh]

What do you think you'll do when you realize that mainstream medicine, from our RAF point of view is completely useless because we don't really get sick? Will you continue down the path you're on or divert for some other form of medicine like nutrition or the like? I thought about going for a nutrition cert like Aajonus but decided to just start holding classes this summer anyway, and call them intro to raw food. I might eventually charge for them but for now it's just about spreading the good word and exposing people to this age-old, new idea!

Good luck either way. Also the sheer number of people practicing this on the forum and the fact that animals don't die from eating raw meats should be two very clear indications that what we've been taught in the mainstream is junk and based on erroneous assumptions and poor interpretations of data.

Cheers!

[ColeJames]

Thank you very much for your patience with my obviously common questions and your comprehensive response! Here's a few follow-ups

1. You mention you guys usually buy the cheaper stew cuts since we don't cook the meat anyway. Can you give me a list of all the better value cuts? Not only am I fairly new to the raw WOL, I'm also a newbie when it comes to cuts of meat.

2. I read the sticky on the harmfulness of freezing meat and the loss of nutrients. Is this inevitable if we buy in bulk from online grass-fed producers and find that we HAVE to freeze a majority of it or else it will change in taste/color? I think buying in bulk would be much cheaper for me, but I would definitely have to freeze some of the meat since I'm not yet used to "high meat" or meat kept out for a very long time. Plus, I'm in college and don't think my roommates would... appreciate it

[TylerDurden]

Stewing steak and ground/minced meats are the cheapest.

Freezing the meat isn't the end of the world. Just make sure to eat meat once it's thawed, and not to refreeze it again for consumption. Plus, prefrozen meat doesn't taste as good as nonfrozen meat.

[CHK91]

Hi, 19 year old former pre-medical student here. Chemistry is a bitch isn't it? 

Most of my meat is frozen. What I do is I take it from the freezer to the refrigerator about two days before I plan to eat it. Then I take it out and eat it; simple as that. Make sure to get all grass fed. It's more nutritious and it will likely never cause illness. I was in the same boat as you when I started. Now I don't even give a second thought about parasites/food-poisoning when I eat. Personally, I avoid omnivorous animals, since you are new and worried I would recommend you do this also.

[ColeJames]

Omnivorous, you mean like pork? Is there a reason for this? And thanks for the advice!