GS I agree. There really is something to the yin/yang, hot/cold theory in chinese medicine. Of course cooking foods often make them more yang but those trying to adhere to a fully raw diet may need to find other ways to do this. Here are a few that seem to work for me. I always think in nature how this would work. A lion kills a gazelle. When it eats it, it is already body temperature (of course). It is hard for modern humans to accomplish this feat.
1. Keep a BIG fruit bowl for the counter. Keep the fruit in there instead of in the fridge. This makes sure they are at room temperature. Meats I keep in the fridge but often take them out to thaw before I eat them. When I thaw a nice salmon fillet in hot water in the sink I take it out early enough to let it become somewhat warm before I eat it.
2. Use WARMING spices and seasonings. Cinnamon goes great on apples and pears. Sea salt is pretty warming if your body likes that. I believe most things like thyme, oregano, etc are all fairly warming to the body.
3. Don't be afraid to use the oven/skillet. Warming things up in the oven or skillet can work too. Just set on extremely low heat for awhile. I think I remember one user awhile back talking about how she would heat up a little olive or coconut oil in a skillet and roll little chunks of salmon or meat in there with seasonings. All of these things are warming.
Personally, I cook some of my food although the percentage keeps decreasing as my body adjusts to more raw/rare meat. I do fine with salmon sashimi and stuff like that although raw red meat doesn't sit with me as well as rare meat at the moment. I generally eat fruit raw, fish raw/rare, red meat and lamb rare or raw liver in blended drinks, and some cooked chicken/turkey meat. I juice some raw veggies. I keep most of my fats (coconut, olive, avocado, butter, bone marrow) raw. I sometimes cook starchy tubers and other vegetables. I think eating in tune with the seasons is a good idea. In the winter we naturally want more warming foods. For those attempting a "paleo" lifestyle, eating foods out of the fridge and out of season just doesn't seem to work. =) I hope this helps.
p.s. on gaining weight? A raw paleo diet is naturally very filling. We get all the nutrition we need. Just make sure you focus on macronutrients also. Proteins, fats, carbs. I guess on raw paleo the best foods are truly fatty meats, good fats (coconut, olive), fruit, nuts, and eggs. I find starchy tubers and cooked vegetables to be a great benefit also. Other than that, doing some weight training, sprinting, and sleeping should help with that as well. Try sprinting once or twice a week and see how that does for leg muscles.
-Joe
