The Wide Mouthed Frog

[Lynnzard]

Wide Mouth Frog

Eating is serious business.

[Lynnzard]

Today's adventure in raw eating: bison kidney!

The last time I had kidney in any form was in a kidney pie in the Bahamas, served at a charming little restaurant called the Green Shutters. Its menu was English based, offering a wide range of traditional English fare. I had always been curious, so that was what I tried. My (admittedly distant) memory was that kidney was kind of tough and strong tasting but not unpleasant.

Flash forward to today, fresh off the delivery truck. Cutting into it, I found the texture not at all unlike raw liver. Having a good quality, sharp knife is a must for me or I'll cut my fingers to ribbons. I am a certified klutz in the kitchen. I cut up around a fourth of the portion, removed the white tissue, and retained the organ meat in bite sized pieces, popped it into a bowl, let it warm up from its chilled state, and started to sample.

Yes, bison kidney is strong! Stronger than liver, although the mouth feel for me was nearly identical. It's a little sweet, a little bitter, and very...juicy...for lack of a better word. Tender. It went down very easily, and I found myself full quickly. My stomach had been feeling a little off from a poor food choice earlier in the day made after having to fast for some medical testing. (Fasting + unpleasant procedure = I shouldn't set foot in any cafe afterward but should go straight home where I can't get myself into trouble. I am so the wide mouthed frog. >.< )

The kidney sat well. My body felt calm and pleased. I didn't want any fat with that particular meal, probably because organs are pretty fatty on their own.

Overall impression: successful food experiment. Yes, I would eat this again. However, probably no more than once or twice per month. Did I mention it's strong?

[TylerDurden]

Aged, raw kidneys, unsurprisingly, taste like urea.  It takes time to get used to it.

[Lynnzard]

Yeah, that's really not surprising given their function. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. I didn't feel like I was having to choke it down or swallow really fast to avoid the taste. It was nothing like I recall the cooked organs, but that has been the case for everything I've eaten so far.

Fun is going to be figuring out how to peel the huge tongue that's sitting in my fridge intimidating me with its raspy little tongue buds. I know I'm supposed to do that before I eat it. I've never done that before, so it will be a brand new experience.

[Lynnzard]

It feels like it ought to be a no-brainer. Eat when you're hungry. Don't when you aren't. I remember being that way when I was a kid and actively fighting my parents' tendency to load my plate for me with far too much food for a kid my size then insist that I sit there and clean it no matter how long it took or how full I was. I was one of the kids feeding the dog under the table or stuffing my cheeks surreptitiously and then spitting it out later. Gross, but effective. They were obese, and I wasn't.

But somewhere along the way that changed, and I adopted the Doctrine of the Clean Plate. It's insidious, and it was always much easier to do with foods that were heavily flavor intensive, elaborately prepared, or full of things that throw off blood sugar stability and/or interfere with how the body responds to and produces ghrelin. I lost touch with how it feels to eat naturally, and because of the usual pitfalls of scheduling too much to do in a day also forgot that I can only really tell the difference when I eat slowly.

I'm on the fourth week of raw eating both animal and plant foods. Because of the way my digestive system has been, it hasn't been a struggle to stay raw. I eat anything cooked, I hear about it right away in the form of intense pain and bloating. That instantaneous feedback insured that I stopped testing that reaction within the first week. If it is "better" now, I don't care, because I feel so much better there's very little incentive to return to that other eating pattern.

Yesterday morning I was cranky as all get out and convinced I was hungry because I had to fast for a medical test.

Today I wasn't hungry or thirsty at all until early this evening. Not only was I not hungry or thirsty, I didn't even think about food until I was. I ate about a playing card sized portion of raw muscle meat and some suet. I was still a little hungry after that, so I had a few strawberries. I didn't want many of them, and there are still several left in the fridge. I didn't pull the old eat it until it's gone schtick.

I feel like something clicked into place today that I haven't really been in touch with since I was a kid. Eat when I'm hungry. Don't when I'm not. I can tell the difference again. Also, I've found that for me at least, raw foods are a lot harder to boredom eat and aren't nearly as tempting to use to facilitate socializing. They don't beget other cravings the way salty or sweet junk food does.

There's more to this getting back to basics than eating basic, unprocessed foods. It's getting back to the self, the body self as well as the quiet mind. What a blessing!

[Lynnzard]

Since I'm entering the fourth week of eating this way for health, I thought it would be a good idea to detail some of the changes I've noticed so far. Some of these are totally subjective but some are also measurable and/or noticed by other people before I noticed myself. I think it will be interesting to be able to look back on this later and see if these effects are temporary, more permanent, or perhaps taper off over time as my system comes more into balance. I'd love to hear from anybody else who has experienced similar things eating mostly raw or other changes not listed here.

Physical:

• Weight loss. Anywhere from 6-10 pounds. My weight fluctuates by a pound or two between morning and evening and more as I approach my menses.
• Much harder, faster growing fingernails and toenails. I've always had a problem with weak nails that easily flake and peel. Not anymore.
• No more energy highs/crashes. My blood sugar seems to be steady throughout the day. I'm not having highs and lows, not feeling fatigued by mid-afternoon, and not craving caffeine for an artificial lift.
• More easily readable, noticeable appetite signals + a solid stop when eating. I can now tell the difference between wanting something to eat because I'm bored or feeling off versus actually being hungry. I eat way less than I used to without feeling deprived or getting unhealthy cravings later. I no longer want to clean the plate if I'm full before I've finished what's in front of me.
• Significantly reduced bloating in the belly. I don't think the big, taut belly I had right under my breasts was fat. I think it was some really bad fluid retention. It went down way too quickly to be fat, and all of the tenderness associated with it is gone, too.
• No gut pain after eating and normalized stools. As long as I avoid cooked food, refined sugars and oils, grains, too many seeds or unsoaked nuts, and cow dairy, I don't get the horrible pain and cramping that led me to start eating this way in the first place. I've had no constipation or loose stools since the first week of the switch.
• No morning breath or dragon breath and less buildup on my teeth during the day.
• Reduced sweating during exertion. I've always teased that I sweat like a guy, except it has never really been a tease. If I work out or exert myself to any degree, I'm usually drenched within a half hour. I still sweat with a harder workout, but not nearly to the degree I did, which leads into the next point.
• Significantly reduced body odor. Ever since hitting puberty I always had to wear really heavy duty antiperspirant, or I had disgusting sweat rings and pretty foul BO by the end of the day. So-called natural deodorants or even the more commercial sorts didn't cut it, not even when I went raw vegan. I'm now getting by with a very light patchouli scented product put out by Kiss My Face. No sweat rings. No odor at all beyond the patchouli, even after a good workout. Two days ago, I realized after leaving the house I had forgotten deodorant, something that would normally mean disaster. By the end of the day, I was still fine.
• Better looking skin. This was something friends pointed out to me without knowing I had made any dietary changes. It's also much softer to the touch and no longer prone to dryness, flaking, or excessive oiliness in the t-zone.
• Well rested after around 6 1/2 hours of sleep vs. the 9-10 hours I was needing when I felt my sickest. No need or desire for naps.
• The desire and ability to exercise without feeling completely wiped and like I need to sleep right after.
• No more constant post nasal drip/chronic cough. I'm firmly laying this one at the feet of dairy, because when I was vegan this went away, too, and when I stupidly added cow dairy back into my diet, it came back to stay.

Mental/Emotional

• Fewer mood swings. My mood seems to stay a lot steadier throughout the day.
• Lifting of depression. I also know this has a lot to do with time of year. I've suffered with SAD since my early teens, and March/April has always been the time that this lifted, so the real proof in that pudding will have to come around next fall.
• Decreased anxiety/restlessness.
• Increased mental acuity. I don't feel like I'm walking around in a fog most of the day anymore.
• Increased desire to get out and socialize without the desire to center that around food.

What hasn't yet disappeared:

• Occasional inexplicable fatigue. I haven't been able to pin what causes it, but when it does hit it's like I'm an appliance that has been unplugged. It's a very hard all over crash that is only fixed by a long sleep. This has improved, though. I was feeling like this 24/7 when I started, and the long sleeps weren't helping at all. I was waking up as fatigued as I felt when I went to bed.
• Pressure and random spikes of near crippling pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen. I'm currently going through tests for thyroid function and gall bladder. Still waiting on results to see if these are the issues.
• Thin, brittle hair that is very slow growing and has a tendency to break if I grow it past chin length.
• Extremely tight tendons and muscles. This has been a problem for me all my life, even when I was a very little kid. I've never gotten particularly good results from stretching and have in fact injured myself from too much stretching.

Reading back over this list makes me realize that a lot more has changed than I was fully aware without sitting down and thinking about it. I don't expect that most of these things will just keep improving indefinitely. There comes a point when balance is reached and improvements stop, but it's pretty amazing to see that, yes, in a little under a month, there has been this much difference. I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

[TylerDurden]

I had very similiar health-problems to yours pre-RPD diet(gut pain(though only after eating any cooked animal foods), chronic fatigue, excessive sweating etc. Your problems must be of a glandular nature, therefore(adrenal- and/or thyroid-related).

Since you had it so easy in getting used to the taste of fresh, raw meats, I suggest you try "high-meat" as it is very good at relieving fatigue:-

http://www.rawpaleodietforum.com/display-your-culinary-creations/high-meat-recipe-preparation-for-more-advanced-rafers/

[Lynnzard]

Thyroid is what my doc strongly suspects, even without blood work results. She said that could also cause the gallbladder symptoms and issues I'm experiencing. I've never been so impatient for a test result in my life.

Oh, high meat. Yeeessss, I admit I've read that section of the forums and found myself intrigued and intimidated both. I'm extremely sensitive to the scent of carrion. I think that will be a huge mental and physical hurdle for me to leap, but at the same time knowing at least some of it is in my head is a plus. It's not so different from the struggle I had going for raw eggs because of all the talk about salmonella I had hammered into my head growing up. I've been eating them for a couple of weeks now, and they are straight up delicious. Fertilized and pastured all the way.

Tomorrow is when I'll be peeling the tongue. I'm also getting in touch with a couple of local farms this week so I don't have to keep getting meat shipped in from Wisconsin. After I have a better source will be a good time to start the air fermenting experiments. I will be sure to post the results of that one, because that will be a biiiiiig step for me.

[jessica]

i would just caution you not to lose weight too fast as it can strain the system, make sure you lose it slowly to insure that you dont go below a stable weight, its much easier to keep off what was truly excessive this was.  Also make sure you arent pushing yourself to wake up or going to sleep too late, get enough sleeep! It's so important, even just being restful for times during the day.  Really glad you are noticing all of these changes, it's a great list, I have experience many of the same symptoms become less and many of the same advances in health an energy

[CitrusHigh]

Go on wit yo bad self Lynnzard!! (I like your name!)

Isn't that so cool to see that there are actual, meaningful immediate changes?!?!

Thanks for journaling and keeping a record, you don't know how helpful and meaningful it is for others down the road who are where you are today and where you've been.

It is so helpful to be able to model on success. I wasn't able to get true health for myself until I realized that. But once I did, it was inevitable. Theory is fine, but the proof is in the punch. Keep up the great work! Looking forward to seeing your diet evolve and more positive changes!

[jessica]

i wanted to suggest about the brittle nails and hair.....more minerals! perhaps you have a local raw dairy that makes cheese and see if you can get some raw liquid whey? eating kelp and all kinds of sea vegetables will help too

[cherimoya_kid]

• Much harder, faster growing fingernails and toenails. I've always had a problem with weak nails that easily flake and peel. Not anymore.

I have always have soft, weak nails too, until I started eating clams regularly.  I eat about 2 dozen raw clams a week, and my nails are much, much stronger than ever before.

[Lynnzard]

i would just caution you not to lose weight too fast as it can strain the system, make sure you lose it slowly to insure that you dont go below a stable weight, its much easier to keep off what was truly excessive this was.  Also make sure you arent pushing yourself to wake up or going to sleep too late, get enough sleeep! It's so important, even just being restful for times during the day.  Really glad you are noticing all of these changes, it's a great list, I have experience many of the same symptoms become less and many of the same advances in health an energy

Thank you for that reminder. Sometimes the weight loss train can pick up more momentum than is warranted. I truly believe a large part of the initial loss was excess fluid, but it's good to remember it doesn't need to (nor should it) come off overnight.

The sleep thing has been a fairly effortless switch. I'm fortunate to work a job with hours that coincide well with my own rhythm. I'm not having to force awakening but am doing so without a clock and feeling good instead of tired. The excess sleeping was causing problems for me, and I was staying constantly groggy, not that I was wanting to sleep that much, but I was even falling asleep when out places with friends. That's really NOT me and not something I had ever been prone to before the health problems started kicking into overdrive.

It's encouraging to hear that you've also experienced some of these things, too. I've read some of your posts around the forum, and it sounds like you've got a really good handle on what works for you eating and health-wise.

As for the minerals post, I adore sea vegetables. It wouldn't be a hardship at all to snack on more of them, because they're amazing.

[Lynnzard]

Go on wit yo bad self Lynnzard!! (I like your name!)

Isn't that so cool to see that there are actual, meaningful immediate changes?!?!

Thanks for journaling and keeping a record, you don't know how helpful and meaningful it is for others down the road who are where you are today and where you've been.

It is so helpful to be able to model on success. I wasn't able to get true health for myself until I realized that. But once I did, it was inevitable. Theory is fine, but the proof is in the punch. Keep up the great work! Looking forward to seeing your diet evolve and more positive changes!

Thank you! It's a nickname I've had for...gosh, maybe around 20 years or so now? Long enough that I don't remember how it got started beyond somebody knowing I love lizards. It fits me.

It is very cool to see immediate, meaningful changes, and it's encouraging. It's also encouraging to have the chance to see where other people have been in their journeys, the challenges along the way, and how they've adapted or overcome. Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad this is something that has also worked for you.

[Lynnzard]

I have always have soft, weak nails too, until I started eating clams regularly.  I eat about 2 dozen raw clams a week, and my nails are much, much stronger than ever before.

Oh, neat. I never knew clams could have that effect. Do you happen to know if perhaps oysters would have a similar effect? Fresh clams are hard to find in these parts, but you can practically (literally if you kayak and hike) trip over live oysters around here.

[Lynnzard]

It sat in the fridge for a few days. I pretended I was busy. Oh, I'll get to that later. Let me go ahead and try this kidney first. And this tenderloin. Oh, friends want to go out for sashimi? Wonderful!

It gained this mythical identity all of its own. It wasn't just bison tongue. It was The Tongue. I knew if I let it go bad, the guilt would be a trip I bought and paid for all on my own. Unacceptable.

So I took it out. I thought it was big. I was wrong. It was ginormous. Out of the package it was longer than my forearm, hand, and fingers extended combined. The website had helpfully informed me that bison tongue was once a delicacy. I can see why. You slaughter an enormous animal with all of that meat, bone, and fat, but there's just one tongue. Freakishly long out of context of that big mouth, but a rare thing.

My first impulse was from my inner fourteen year old, to chase my husband around the house with it giving him the world's slowest raspberry. You'll be happy to know I resisted the impulse. He's already just a little freaked out that I eat all this stuff raw now, even if he's being supportive of it. I don't think traumatizing him with my dinner will help his adjustment period. Instead I did it to myself. I never said I was the picture of maturity.

I'm glad I took the time to get to know it. The texture reminded me a lot of sharkskin. After a little handling, it wasn't so terribly odd. It still smelled nice and fresh. I won't be winning any chef of the year awards for my tongue peeling technique, but with a sharp knife, a lot of patience, and an intact sense of humor I managed to get everything but a very thin layer of meat separated from the tough skin and buds.

I reduced the black, vaguely snake-ish cut to a nice pile of fairly uniform cubes of meat. I had read from other raw meat eaters that tongue took some getting used to, so I was prepared not to be thrilled. Let's just say I went from "Getting to Know You" to "Something Wonderful" in record time.  I didn't like it. I loved it. Loved it! Tongue tastes great. Get it? Ba dum dum.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I ate something that started out the size of my lower arm in one sitting. I have no regrets. I had been on a long trail run today, and it was the perfect end to a day of activity. It's such a nice mix of fat and lean that it didn't need accompaniment beyond a little singing I couldn't stop myself from doing between bites.

And I promise.

I'm not being tongue-in-cheek.

/flees

[CitrusHigh]

We should probably have a tongue fans section here on the forum! lol, when people like it, they really seem to like it, I can relate, it is heavenly!

Try it some time with some avocado and a little bit of nama shoyu or tamari if you can tolerate fermented soy, if you get the really tender parts of the tongue it's very much like sashimi. Even tastier with sticky rice, but I understand if people are not interested in the cooked aspect.

You have a delightful writing style L! I noticed that in your very first post, do you write professionally or are you involved in media somehow?

Chasing people with the tongue is something I have myself indulged in on several occasions, and I tell you, smashing good fun!! It is good to keep that inner child alive and mischievous!

Cheers!

[ys]

beef tongue is my staple because it is cheap.  but it is not my favorite.  the fatty back part is good.  but the whole front part is tough, extra-lean, and not very pleasant.  i would rather have a lamb leg as my staple.

[cherimoya_kid]

Oh, neat. I never knew clams could have that effect. Do you happen to know if perhaps oysters would have a similar effect?

They don't.  I wish they did.

[Lynnzard]

We should probably have a tongue fans section here on the forum! lol, when people like it, they really seem to like it, I can relate, it is heavenly!

Try it some time with some avocado and a little bit of nama shoyu or tamari if you can tolerate fermented soy, if you get the really tender parts of the tongue it's very much like sashimi. Even tastier with sticky rice, but I understand if people are not interested in the cooked aspect.

That sounds grand. lol I'd be a card carrying member of the tongue fan forum. We could call ourselves the Raspberries.

Oooh. I bet it would be delicious with avocado. Sadly, soy and I have dropped away from our one-time love affair. Over time my body developed a sensitivity. Also to cooked rice, which is a sad thing indeed for a native Louisianian. Rice is our potato, and it's a component of all of the traditional dishes, gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya, boudin. So I remember it fondly along with my cooking disasters like the gumbo that was so bad even the neighborhood raccoons refused to touch it (you're cooking has never been dissed until a scavenger won't eat it) and my crunchy, chewy rice. To this day I don't know how I accomplished that seeming contradiction.

You have a delightful writing style L! I noticed that in your very first post, do you write professionally or are you involved in media somehow?

Chasing people with the tongue is something I have myself indulged in on several occasions, and I tell you, smashing good fun!! It is good to keep that inner child alive and mischievous!

Cheers!

Thank you! Through the years I've been the editor of several local newsletters for groups in which I was involved and had a few poems published here and there. Seasonally I make a little extra on the side as a storyteller,  hosted a local poetry jam for about a year, and occasionally give presentations for our local tourism board. I guess in a way you could say it's media involvement but not in the strictest sense of the word. Mostly, I'm just a little silly and irreverent, and it's hard for me to hold it back unless I absolutely have to.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with that impulse. The mental picture is just hilarious. Thanks for your input on tongue, my fellow Raspberry. The next time I try it, I will have an avocado on hand, because I can see those tastes and textures working very well together.

Cheers to the inner child!

[Lynnzard]

beef tongue is my staple because it is cheap.  but it is not my favorite.  the fatty back part is good.  but the whole front part is tough, extra-lean, and not very pleasant.  i would rather have a lamb leg as my staple.

I haven't yet had the opportunity to try raw lamb. I recall cooked lamb as fairly strong. Is there any similarity in flavors? Does freezing damage it much, because where I live it's really hard to find fresh raw lamb. They just aren't farmed all that frequently down this way.

[Lynnzard]

They don't.  I wish they did.

Aww, man, that's a shame. The only clams I could be sure of getting truly fresh are the tiny ones along the coast that are about the size of my pinky fingernail. I seem to recall reading somewhere they're either not fit for human consumption, or they're just kind of bitter. Either way, harvesting enough of those to get a noticeable effect would likely be more effort than it's worth. I do appreciate the information, though!

[ys]

I haven't yet had the opportunity to try raw lamb. I recall cooked lamb as fairly strong. Is there any similarity in flavors? Does freezing damage it much, because where I live it's really hard to find fresh raw lamb. They just aren't farmed all that frequently down this way

i never had non frozen lamb so can't comment on it.  but frozen lamb from slankers tastes very nice to me. it's just too expensive.  frozen lamb from costco was terrible.  in my opinion freezing does not affect taste that much.  i've had frozen meat that tasted awesome and some tasted awful.  i think it depends more on the quality of the animal.

[Lynnzard]

i never had non frozen lamb so can't comment on it.  but frozen lamb from slankers tastes very nice to me. it's just too expensive.  frozen lamb from costco was terrible.  in my opinion freezing does not affect taste that much.  i've had frozen meat that tasted awesome and some tasted awful.  i think it depends more on the quality of the animal.

Yes. That's the other factor of lamb that has kept me from trying it yet. Even the frozen cuts are very expensive. That would have to be a treat myself sort of thing, I think. I bet what they're fed has a lot to do with it.

[Lynnzard]

Sometimes you just need to let out a primal growl. It's good for the soul.

I received a letter from the doctor office, the most uninformative letter in the History of Ever, Part II. I mean this stuff is a straight to DVD release quality. "Your Lab results were normal. This means there are no abnormal results to report."

Really? Normal means there's nothing abnormal? I am so glad I have a doctor to tell me that, because that's something I could never, ever have figured out on my own.

How about you people send me the paperwork? Let me see the numbers? I'd do better looking it all up online myself if this is all you have to say to me. My blood work is so normal that for the past three days I've been in worse pain in the upper right quadrant than I have since before the cooked food started putting me in agony? I've put up with a lot of barely adequate service from these people in the past. I'm done with them. I just want my paperwork so I can go to a real medical facility and not some hickville facsimile thereof and perhaps get some actual answers. I wouldn't trust a stray opossum's health to these people at this point, much less my own.

(Then again, I'd probably eat the opossum. Bad analogy.)