RVAF -- Newbie

[extralizard13]

Hello! I'm a 21 year old American biology student wishing to start up on eating raw foods.

I have a feeling I've been circling this idea for a while, never really realizing it was an option. As a teenager, I always ate rare steaks--well-done ones have always tasted bad to me. (Although once I started dating my boyfriend, in college, I started eating them that way because I wanted him to be able to eat off of me, as he doesn't like the texture of rare meat. I then found that I generally stopped ordering meat.) I first heard about eating raw meat from Russians. I had heard that raw bacon is a treat in either Sankt Petersburg or Mockva--I forget which, and had been really interested in trying it. I've always been a believer in eating what is correct to your nature. I have five cats and have always wanted to put them on a raw meat diet, as they're built like desert creatures, and that's how they are at their most healthy state. (They're really my parents' cats, so I'm trying to encourage them into feeding them raw meat.) Recently, our oldest cat, Shebu, nearly died, lost a kidney, and nearly destroyed her thyroid gland because she's been eating commercial dry cat food all her life (she's roughly 14), which contains a lot of grain--not something a cat can digest. When our youngest cat, Kitten, reached full adulthood, she started to put on a lot of weight. She's quite obese, which is again from this grainy food. But then I started thinking that if they're supposed to eat raw meat, then what am I supposed to eat? As a Homo sapiens, I'm supposed to eat raw vegetables, fruits, and meat.

My only issue is that I love cheese, chocolate, and sausage. A lot. Sausage, I figure, I can do without. But I unduly love blue cheese and I absolutely love making chocolates (one of my newest hobbies).

[Spearhead]

Well I know most people here will disagree, but raw cheese is something some of us do well with, mostly those of us on the primal diet which is not 100% paleolithic. I have found it useful for absorbing and eliminating toxins in the gut and for bouts of diarrhea. However, I plan to diminish my cheese intake as time goes on. As for chocolate, I think there are some substitutes that can be made. Aajonus has a nice chocolate substitute recipe I think which works. I don't see why you would do without sausages unless you mean having them cooked. I have eaten plenty of turkey sausages raw and enjoyed them quite a bit.

[goodsamaritan]

Maybe you are attracted to the bacteria in the blue cheese.
I have made high meat from raw beef cubes and find it tastes like blue cheese.

I also like my beef aging gracefully unwrapped in the refrigerator gaining bacteria.

A majority raw meat diet is what I'm currently on.  High fat, low carb.

There is a section for newbies http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/important-info-for-newbies/

[extralizard13]

Thank you! And I have read some of that before I posted. I wanted to make sure this is something I'd truly be interested in.

I am curious as to how do you avoid trichinosis from eating pork?

[extralizard13]

Well I know most people here will disagree, but raw cheese is something some of us do well with, mostly those of us on the primal diet which is not 100% paleolithic. I have found it useful for absorbing and eliminating toxins in the gut and for bouts of diarrhea. However, I plan to diminish my cheese intake as time goes on. As for chocolate, I think there are some substitutes that can be made. Aajonus has a nice chocolate substitute recipe I think which works. I don't see why you would do without sausages unless you mean having them cooked. I have eaten plenty of turkey sausages raw and enjoyed them quite a bit.

Thank you as well. I figured you could indeed make a raw cheese. And yes, I did mean sausage cooked--although I would think that, as I grew into the diet, that I'd find raw sausage ok. I'll have to look up the chocolate subsitutes, thank you!

[RawZi]

Welcome to the forum extraliz,

... cheese. And yes, I did mean sausage cooked--although I would think that, as I grew into the diet, that I'd find raw sausage ok. I'll have to look up the chocolate subsitutes ...

    These are my experiences with those items, I hope it helps:

    I still eat a little cheese when I can get a good (unsalted grass grazed) one.

    Chocolate/cacao I still like the smell of, but find no need for.  If I cheat with vegan food or anything not suited to me, I get a headache, then eating the chocolate/cacao appears to help briefly.  I find chocolate too actually causes headaches. 

    Sausages I was interested in trying raw.  I waited to find a good fresh raw grass grazed sausage that had no chemicals, added sugar, added salts, onions or garlic added.  I finally found a nice looking lamb/rosemary sausage.  I didn't like the texture raw, so ended up lightly simmering half the package.  Since I really want to be raw, I don't think I'll be trying sausages again. 

    I hope you find that you like raw sausages.  If you find a way it tastes good raw, post it.  Maybe I'll change my mind. 

    I think sausage patties that one forms with your hands to the shape of a burger should be nice.  Maybe raw intestines would be better eaten separately.  Tripe tastes good raw. 

[extralizard13]

Welcome to the forum extraliz,

    These are my experiences with those items, I hope it helps:

    I still eat a little cheese when I can get a good (unsalted grass grazed) one.

    Chocolate/cacao I still like the smell of, but find no need for.  If I cheat with vegan food or anything not suited to me, I get a headache, then eating the chocolate/cacao appears to help briefly.  I find chocolate too actually causes headaches. 

    Sausages I was interested in trying raw.  I waited to find a good fresh raw grass grazed sausage that had no chemicals, added sugar, added salts, onions or garlic added.  I finally found a nice looking lamb/rosemary sausage.  I didn't like the texture raw, so ended up lightly simmering half the package.  Since I really want to be raw, I don't think I'll be trying sausages again. 

    I hope you find that you like raw sausages.  If you find a way it tastes good raw, post it.  Maybe I'll change my mind. 

    I think sausage patties that one forms with your hands to the shape of a burger should be nice.  Maybe raw intestines would be better eaten separately.  Tripe tastes good raw. 

That helps a lot, thanks! It's hard with chocolate, because I like making it. I like baking as well. Never was really into cooking (particularly because I get really impatient when cooking meat because it takes so long). If I find any good sausage or ways of eating it, I definitely will mention it. I have a feeling that as goodsamaritan  says, I'm attracted to the bacteria in the cheese. I used to consider myself as a large cheese-lover, but have come to realize that I only like blue cheese.

I think my biggest issue that I didn't think about until I started talking to my friends about this, is that I'm at college. I live in a dorm, which means that I'm forced into purchasing their meal plan, and the food they serve is most definitely not going to work with this diet. I truly want to do this, which means I'm at a dilemma. I know I like some foods raw--particularly fish. I hated fish all my life until I tried sashimi. It was absolutely delicious. I'm going to try and alter what I eat at college, but until I get my own apartment, I'm stuck with the meal plan. I can get sushi (but I don't think I can get sashimi) and salads, but they're not exactly organic. I love meat, so I'm not sure if I could do with 3 years without it. (By the time I'm a grad student, I should have my own apartment.)

[djr_81]

Sausages I was interested in trying raw.  I waited to find a good fresh raw grass grazed sausage that had no chemicals, added sugar, added salts, onions or garlic added.  I finally found a nice looking lamb/rosemary sausage.  I didn't like the texture raw, so ended up lightly simmering half the package.  Since I really want to be raw, I don't think I'll be trying sausages again. 

I hope you find that you like raw sausages.  If you find a way it tastes good raw, post it.  Maybe I'll change my mind. 

Rawzi, try dehydrating them some (not a ton so they're brittle but maybe a day or two at 104*F so they get a bit more leathery) as this may help your issue with the texture. I've done this with some things, like organs, as I acclimatized to the flavors.

[djr_81]

Welcome ot the forum.

I think my biggest issue that I didn't think about until I started talking to my friends about this, is that I'm at college. I live in a dorm, which means that I'm forced into purchasing their meal plan, and the food they serve is most definitely not going to work with this diet. I truly want to do this, which means I'm at a dilemma. I know I like some foods raw--particularly fish. I hated fish all my life until I tried sashimi. It was absolutely delicious. I'm going to try and alter what I eat at college, but until I get my own apartment, I'm stuck with the meal plan. I can get sushi (but I don't think I can get sashimi) and salads, but they're not exactly organic. I love meat, so I'm not sure if I could do with 3 years without it. (By the time I'm a grad student, I should have my own apartment.)

My brother is in college now and his college makes allowances for those with food issues. His alternative plan entitles him to the gluten-free equivalent of whatever they're offering that day to the regular students but he can speak with the kitchen and alter as needed. Now, he's there on a full scholarship so it's possible they're making these concessions as a result wanting to keep him there but with the higher incidence of food sensitivities and allergies nowadays it's likely just a sign of the times. You may be able to get something similar done where you are.

[extralizard13]

Welcome ot the forum.

My brother is in college now and his college makes allowances for those with food issues. His alternative plan entitles him to the gluten-free equivalent of whatever they're offering that day to the regular students but he can speak with the kitchen and alter as needed. Now, he's there on a full scholarship so it's possible they're making these concessions as a result wanting to keep him there but with the higher incidence of food sensitivities and allergies nowadays it's likely just a sign of the times. You may be able to get something similar done where you are.

Thank you, and that's great! I shall have to ask them. My college is a state university and they already allow me a singles room (aka--no roommates) because of my issues with fragranced sprays, like perfume and air fresheners. I know they're attempting to bring in more vegan and vegetarian options.

[RawZi]

Rawzi, try dehydrating them some (not a ton so they're brittle but maybe a day or two at 104*F so they get a bit more leathery) as this may help your issue with the texture. I've done this with some things, like organs, as I acclimatized to the flavors.

    Thank you.  Good idea.  I'll think about trying that.  

    LOL.  Maybe I figured something out now.  This one room in my house smells every day all day, to me and only to me, like hot dogs cooking.  It doesn't smell bad or good, but the smell is very definite.  There are no hot dogs nor anything of the like around.  

    Now, I read your post and I think where in my home can I dehydrate meat without my veg family getting upset?  The garage smells like exhaust.  Almost anywhere in the house could potentially upset them.  If I would keep it outdoors the stray cats would probably get in to it.  That room!  This may be it, the reason I smelled that "ghost" scent.  We're not really using the room.  I can use it as my dehydrating room and keep the door closed  

    Extraliz, maybe you can dehydrate in your dorm room too if necessary.  Instead of fragrance spray your room might smell like delicious raw sausages.

[extralizard13]

Extraliz, maybe you can dehydrate in your dorm room too if necessary.  Instead of fragrance spray your room might smell like delicious raw sausages.

Hahaha, that'd be marvelous. It tends to be relatively dry and warm in my room (I have no control over the heat, it's almost always around 75-80F--partially due to location and that we don't have control over the thermostat).

I wish you good luck on dehydrating your sausages as well, and I hope that they're delicious!

[RawZi]

Hahaha, that'd be marvelous. It tends to be relatively dry and warm in my room (I have no control over the heat, it's almost always around 75-80F--partially due to location and that we don't have control over the thermostat).

I wish you good luck on dehydrating your sausages as well, and I hope that they're delicious!

    You would never freeze ever, that's for sure.  The dehydrating will raise the temperature in your room slightly, and maybe lend the meat moisture to your air.  Maybe it would be a little like having a humidifier, but less sterile and more healthy.

    You could carry your sausages to the cafeteria, on picnics, dates and hikes.  Nice to have a convenience food that doesn't look bloody or like raw chicken wings.

    Thank you.  Now I guess I have to dig out the dehydrator.  I stopped using it years ago.  It should still be in perfect shape.  I checked it out about a month or so ago.  Has anyone used an Excalibur brand dehydrator on meat (or on any other RAF)?  I've never even seen honey used in one, as I recall ...

[William]

    Has anyone used an Excalibur brand dehydrator on meat (or on any other RAF)?  I've never even seen honey used in one, as I recall ...

I've never used my Excalibur dehydrator for anything else. I like it.
But honey? In a dryer???

[TylerDurden]

Maybe you are attracted to the bacteria in the blue cheese.
I have made high meat from raw beef cubes and find it tastes like blue cheese.

Yes, I've found "high-meat" tastes much the same as the stilton and other aged smelly cheeses I used to eat pre-rawpalaeo. The catch is that it takes longer for newbies to adapt to the taste of "high-meat" than raw fresh meats.

Chocolate can be easily replaced by raw cacao, which is perhaps not too palaeo, but at least raw.

I've had raw sausages before, but they were undoubtedly filled with preservatives. Perhaps you could compromise and use a food-mixer/blender and just grind your meats, adding  some raw herbs to the mix beforehand.

[djr_81]

Thank you.  Now I guess I have to dig out the dehydrator.  I stopped using it years ago.  It should still be in perfect shape.  I checked it out about a month or so ago.  Has anyone used an Excalibur brand dehydrator on meat (or on any other RAF)?  I've never even seen honey used in one, as I recall ...

I have an Excalibur and it works great to dehydrate meat.
In my pre-RAF days I did try making jerky with seasonings (including maple syrup) and it was a big mess. It took a long time to make a really sticky and unstorable food. If you're deadset on attempting something with honey you may want to try it with one of the paraflex sheets as opposed to the open grid insert (the same sheet they mention making yogurt on).

[Stig of the Dump]

Hello! I'm a 21 year old American biology student wishing to start up on eating raw foods.

I have a feeling I've been circling this idea for a while, never really realizing it was an option.

Welcome fellow newbie.  I've been circling it too - I even ate some raw mutton once - on an inarticulated impulse.

It's interesting that you do biology classes.  Will you be able to resist correcting the teacher if you ever get to cover human nutrition?

[extralizard13]

Welcome fellow newbie.  I've been circling it too - I even ate some raw mutton once - on an inarticulated impulse.

It's interesting that you do biology classes.  Will you be able to resist correcting the teacher if you ever get to cover human nutrition?

Hello! I ate some blue rare steaks before, primarily because I got bored of cooking it and it looked good enough anyways. It tasted it fine and wasn't sick (which was a minor worry at the time).

So far, my biology and archeology teachers seem as though they'd support the idea. Most of my friends understand and believe in it, but don't desire to practice it themselves. I figure they can make their own adult decisions. They like a lot of food that's cooked. A friend and I are epicureans, haha. She wants to remain eating what she has, and understands the repercussions. That's fine by me.

[Stig of the Dump]

It's really great that they support you.  Nice one.

[extralizard13]

It's really great that they support you.  Nice one.

I explained it to them logically, and if it works that way, then what's the problem? My boyfriend is still having issues with it. He is very strange. He grew up in an uncultured and quite judgmental family, where as I grew up in the complete opposite. My father wanted to expose to me a lot of historical things, so we have a lot of strange stuff in my house. I think my favorite is the chamber pot.

[William]

O you are lucky.
A thundermug is essential if you sleep far enough from the toilet. It's possible to make one, and a fellow camper whipped out his saber saw and cut a seat for me out of my plywood which I still have 15 years later (fits my bum perfectly), but on top of a 5 gal. bucket it's too big to keep under the bed; looks wrong too.

[extralizard13]

It's a beautiful thing. It came with wooden seating as well, but, if so needed, you could just use the bowl. I haven't seen it around in quite some time, now that I think about it. My dad loves mildly embarrassing and interesting objects, but my step-family does not. They may have made him get rid of it. (We have so many things, that it's hard to find something. It's a lot like a museum, really. We have a garage in which we keep stuff, and in time, revolve it through the house. Although we weren't allowed in one room of the garage for about 7 years because a battery exploded.)

[Stig of the Dump]

It's a beautiful thing. It came with wooden seating as well, but, if so needed, you could just use the bowl. I haven't seen it around in quite some time, now that I think about it. My dad loves mildly embarrassing and interesting objects, but my step-family does not. They may have made him get rid of it. (We have so many things, that it's hard to find something. It's a lot like a museum, really. We have a garage in which we keep stuff, and in time, revolve it through the house. Although we weren't allowed in one room of the garage for about 7 years because a battery exploded.)

Your childhood sounds quite wonderful.  My parents are very cultured but somehow it didn't rub off on us children (although we did go to Oxford, so something stuck).  It used to amaze me that my mother and father could ski, ride, shoot, play the piano, the violin, that when they watched 'Name that Tune' they could always name the obscure classical piece from watching hands on a dummy wooden keyboard (a few rattling finger movements, a few thuds, and "ah yes, isn't that one of Chopin's piano interpretations of Voríšek's impromptu 7th Opus ... etc.", that when they watched Mastermind they would often beat the contestant on his or her specialist subject, yet we children could do none of these things.  (And still can't - although we are a wicked pub quiz team.)

(Truthfully as a child I always wanted to grow up to be like Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (and be an astronaut).  Your dad sounds a bit like that. :-D )

[extralizard13]

Your childhood sounds quite wonderful.  My parents are very cultured but somehow it didn't rub off on us children (although we did go to Oxford, so something stuck).  It used to amaze me that my mother and father could ski, ride, shoot, play the piano, the violin, that when they watched 'Name that Tune' they could always name the obscure classical piece from watching hands on a dummy wooden keyboard (a few rattling finger movements, a few thuds, and "ah yes, isn't that one of Chopin's piano interpretations of Voríšek's impromptu 7th Opus ... etc.", that when they watched Mastermind they would often beat the contestant on his or her specialist subject, yet we children could do none of these things.  (And still can't - although we are a wicked pub quiz team.)

(Truthfully as a child I always wanted grow up to be like Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (and be an astronaut).  Your dad sounds a bit like that. :-D )

That sounds a lot like me. My grandparents and father did such marvelous things, but I, myself, seem to haven't. I'm at UMBC, which is probably the least cultured (student-wise) college anyone in my family has gone to. (My paternal side was all Yale and Princeton. Maybe one or two at Harvard.) I've always been awful at music--although I listened to classical and orchestral music as a child. Skiing is still my favorite sport. A good friend of mine is a horsewoman, so I really should ride more than I do. I've taken lessons in many things--riding, piano, tennis, art, but it never entirely stuck. Although I suppose language did. I'm always constantly learning a new one. (Tolkien is one of my favorite authors for his philology; he certainly influenced me as a child. Studying languages is a hobby of mine.)

I was raised, primarily, by my grandmother, who was an artist, and my father, a geologist. So my grandmother was pretty much in charge of culture and the arts, while my father was history and science. I'm an OK artist, but I believe that's primarily because I don't do it often enough. My father tried to teach me how to shoot, but at the time, I was much too small (in size, not age--at roughly 100lbs, its hard to handle a rifle), but I still want to learn. I know he hated hunting, for a variety of reasons, but primarily because its boring. If you're a Class B skeet shooter, then its hard to enjoy dove hunting when you hit your target all the time.

It's always great to see someone else who had a highly cultured family. No matter how much it rubs off, it seems as though you keep that respect for it. A few of my friends don't know much about art, for instance, and have always loathed art museums, but then I might show them a painting or two that I love, and they realize that its a broader field than they realized and find they enjoy it quite a bit. I believe that there is something in any field that someone would love, they just haven't found it yet. (Like not all art is watercolor or oils, but sculpture and architecture. My boyfriend hates painting, but loves pottery--something he never really knew about until I showed him.)

[Stig of the Dump]

That sounds a lot like me. My grandparents and father did such marvelous things, but I, myself, seem to haven't. I'm at UMBC, which is probably the least cultured (student-wise) college anyone in my family has gone to. (My paternal side was all Yale and Princeton. Maybe one or two at Harvard.) I've always been awful at music--although I listened to classical and orchestral music as a child. Skiing is still my favorite sport. A good friend of mine is a horsewoman, so I really should ride more than I do. I've taken lessons in many things--riding, piano, tennis, art, but it never entirely stuck. Although I suppose language did. I'm always constantly learning a new one. (Tolkien is one of my favorite authors for his philology; he certainly influenced me as a child. Studying languages is a hobby of mine.)

I was raised, primarily, by my grandmother, who was an artist, and my father, a geologist. So my grandmother was pretty much in charge of culture and the arts, while my father was history and science. I'm an OK artist, but I believe that's primarily because I don't do it often enough. My father tried to teach me how to shoot, but at the time, I was much too small (in size, not age--at roughly 100lbs, its hard to handle a rifle), but I still want to learn. I know he hated hunting, for a variety of reasons, but primarily because its boring. If you're a Class B skeet shooter, then its hard to enjoy dove hunting when you hit your target all the time.

It's always great to see someone else who had a highly cultured family. No matter how much it rubs off, it seems as though you keep that respect for it. A few of my friends don't know much about art, for instance, and have always loathed art museums, but then I might show them a painting or two that I love, and they realize that its a broader field than they realized and find they enjoy it quite a bit. I believe that there is something in any field that someone would love, they just haven't found it yet. (Like not all art is watercolor or oils, but sculpture and architecture. My boyfriend hates painting, but loves pottery--something he never really knew about until I showed him.)

Captivating post.  Thank you.  (Other people's lives always sound so glamorous and fascinating, don't they?)

Art is an odd one for me - I can paint, but I have very little interest in finished works.  Yet now and then I see a single painting that can almost obsess me, and I need to keep going and staring at it.   Then I suddenly lose interest and forget it.

(By the way, you mentioned Tolkein's philological creations.  You might be thrilled to know that, many a night as a young student, I got blind drunk with my brilliant friends around the same table where Tolkein, Lewis and the other Inklings sat and ruminated on 'Northness', and read out the first drafts of their famous works.  I'm sure our conversations were just as brilliant, but I can't remember a single word. :lol:)