297010 Wed May 05 16:29:10 -0700 2004 31 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1637769 a friend at work called my bluff and now i've gotta do a raw foods diet all through JULY. any of you hounds have experience with that stuff? where should i shop? are there restaurants? books with GOOD recipies? ides/theories/opinions/encouragement? i'm going through meat withdrawls just thinking about it...what have i done.......???! Wed May 05 16:29:10 -0700 2004 0 Ray Delgado 1 1637771 You're bummin', dude. Wed May 05 16:40:50 -0700 2004 1637769 0 AlanH™ 2 1637779 Chicago's got a raw foods restaurant - Karyn's. Green Zebra does some raw foods, as does Tru. Trotter's will also do a raw menu with advance notice I believe. But you'll be even more "bummin" if you have to eat at Trotter's and Tru for a month ... you won't get the reservations and your finances will feel the impact. Charlie Trotter also co-authored a recent cookbook called "Raw." There are lots of really bad new-agey books about the power of raw foods ... one of which actually claims that the reason apes can lift 4000 lbs is that they don't eat cooked foods. Needless to say, it's light on the science ... and heavy on the pictures of hirsuite gentlemen frolicking in trees. Well, it has 1, but that's more than I've encountered in any other book. If I were you, I'd try to renegotiate to eating vegetarian or vegan for a month. Maybe push for eggs. Reason being that eating raw and eating well is a tough combination to achieve even if you ease yourself into it. Preparations are time consuming - often requiring many days of dehydrating, soaking, pureeing -require a good deal of equipment - dehydraters, juicers, food processors - and often require hard to find/pricey ingredients. Completely raw prepared foods, condiments, and basics are also hard to find and expensive. Going from zero to raw and eating a balanced diet let alone one that you will enjoy will be nearly impossible without committing insane amounts of time. It's a real lifestyle commitment and it takes preparation over time. Losing the bet doesn't prove much. It'd be like a non-runner going out and trying to run a marathon on a bet without preparing. If you fail, it doesn't really prove much. Out_ Rien Wed May 05 17:30:42 -0700 2004 1637771 0 rien 3 1637784 Add to that that you won't be getting any protein. That is bad for you brain and your muscles. Even total vegetarians eat some kind of protein. Call your doctor or you may do a little damage for one month on raw veggies alone. Seriously. One month! Wed May 05 17:58:27 -0700 2004 1637779 0 kc girl 4 1637789 Why does Raw foods automatically disallow dairy? I know this might sound dumb, but if you can get unpasteurized milks can you eat those? what about beans? fava's and peas and a variety of other legumes are coming in to season. and why can't you eat sushi? that stuff is raw, right? and tartare.... i guess i must be missing something with this whole raw craze.... Wed May 05 18:26:58 -0700 2004 1637784 0 Jupiter 5 1637798 Raw food doesn't really mean "raw food." It certainly doesn't mean "unprocessed." People who practice "raw food" diets tend to have all sorts of self imposed restrictions and internal contradictions. They often seek a vegetarian diet so no sashimi/ tartare/ carpaccios. For some reason, curing isn't a big part of the diet so you loose your gravlax, ceviches, etc. Some people eat honey, some don't. Most of the restaurants serve wine. Can't figure out how that is gets included. Wed May 05 19:27:24 -0700 2004 1637789 0 JudiAU 6 1637870 But this person lost a bet. Why not oysters and carpaccios? Thu May 06 12:43:52 -0700 2004 1637798 0 muD 4 1637792 Actually, the raw foods movement makes extensive use of nuts and seeds for protein. Wed May 05 18:45:31 -0700 2004 1637784 0 Caitlin McGrath 5 1637838 Correct me if I'm wrong but I think almost all (if not all) vegetable proteins are incomplete proteins. Thu May 06 07:52:48 -0700 2004 1637792 0 Sandy 6 1637852 Yes, but you can get complete protein by eating all the "pieces" from various foods containing incomplete protein. And you don't even have to eat it all at once. As long as you're getting all the necessary aminos over the course of a few days, it's fine. And there are a few plant sources, ie quinoa contains complete protein. Thu May 06 10:09:38 -0700 2004 1637838 0 Jessi 6 1637865 I think Quinoa is unique in that it is a complete grain protein. Although, how you prepare this (or other grains) without cooking, is beyond me. Although, I think some "raw foodists" allow cooking as long as you don't go over a certain temperature ... more heating, really. Is soy a complete protein? rw Thu May 06 12:05:58 -0700 2004 1637838 0 rien 7 1637867 Sprouting. Raw foodists (they really need a better name for themselves, or do they have one that I'm not aware of?) eat sprouted beans and grains, and sometimes form the same into cakes which they then dehydrate for things like pizza crusts and flatbread. Thu May 06 12:17:37 -0700 2004 1637865 0 Grace 4 1637851 I don't know much about a raw foods diet, but you can make whey protein shakes to supplement. Make them with water or milk (if allowed) which tastes better. Thu May 06 10:09:11 -0700 2004 1637784 0 Dax 1 1637773 Ugh- BBQ season! I'd be looking for the best vitamin supplements you can find, if that's allowed. Your nutrition will suffer. I don't know where you're located, but there are raw food restaurants in NYC and San Francisco (I'm sure other places but those are the only ones I've personally read about.) If "cooking" for yourself, I understand that a dehydrator is an essential tool. Wed May 05 16:55:10 -0700 2004 1637769 0 dude 1 1637776 All the good vegetables and fruits are coming into season. Perhaps it won't be as hard as you thought if you visited your farmer's market? Wed May 05 17:19:09 -0700 2004 1637769 0 Wendy Lai 1 1637782 Is beef jerky cooked? Sometimes it's just marinated and dried... Wed May 05 17:54:21 -0700 2004 1637769 0 chococat 2 1637803 LOL! Wed May 05 21:10:14 -0700 2004 1637782 0 David Kahn 1 1637800 Ick. Wed May 05 19:53:35 -0700 2004 1637769 0 GG Mora 1 1637801 "i've gotta do a raw foods diet all through JULY." No you don't. Back out,suffer the humiliation, grill a steak on the 4th. Wed May 05 20:10:33 -0700 2004 1637769 0 Bobfrmia 2 1637816 I like the way you think! Dawn Wed May 05 22:59:59 -0700 2004 1637801 0 d2u 3 1637817 MMMMMMMMmmmmmmm...Raw Reuben Burritos...see above post. Link: http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/ruebenburritos.html Wed May 05 23:03:15 -0700 2004 1637816 0 d2u 2 1637834 or lie! suffer no humiliation, still have a steak on the 4th. Thu May 06 05:59:28 -0700 2004 1637801 0 kristen 1 1637822 Sushi? Sahimi? Carpaccio? Steak tartare? Wed May 05 23:16:46 -0700 2004 1637769 0 Phil 2 1637863 Most raw food people I have encountered are vegans. Thu May 06 11:57:18 -0700 2004 1637822 0 snackish 3 1637999 so? Ray Delgado is asking for help keeping to a raw diet not a vegan diet. Sat May 08 02:04:15 -0700 2004 1637863 0 Dbird 4 1638012 He mentioned going through meat withdrawls so I figured he was on that type of diet. Yeesh. Sat May 08 12:35:47 -0700 2004 1637999 0 snackish 1 1637836 Eggnog: raw egg, raw milk, banana - blast in blender with a drop of vanilla and a spoonful of honey. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. There's some protein for you. Pickled herring - more protein. Carrots for carbs. Thu May 06 07:18:51 -0700 2004 1637769 0 Sharuf 1 1637920 Sure, there's a big raw foods culture/movement. Well, maybe not big -- but it's out there. There are two branches of the same restaurant in Manhattan that serve raw foods, as well as some other spots (see link below). Actually some of the foods are not raw, they're just cooked up to a certain temperature so as not to destroy the enzymes in the food. At least that's the theory. The restaurants I'm thinking of are called Quintessence. I'm open to vegetarianism and did eat once at the Quintessence on the upper east side. It was a combination of bizarre, mildly tasty and vile. Link: http://www.amyrachelle.com/raw.asp Thu May 06 19:21:27 -0700 2004 1637769 0 Cara 1 1637940 As July is great for fruits and vegetables, it may not be as bad as you think. I second the poster who said check out what looks good at the farmer's market. But I must say, I love kristen's direction to lie and have your steak. Also, what if you just make sure all your fruit and vegetable sources are raw? I mean seriously, no need to ruin your summer over some food craze (I know I'm gonna get heat for that) that you don't buy into. Fri May 07 10:31:53 -0700 2004 1637769 0 Jonathan Saw 1 1638009 Why do this? Sat May 08 11:23:09 -0700 2004 1637769 0 The Rogue 1 1638020 There's a simple solution to everyones concern about a whole month w/little or no protein. Just look a bit further down the page- use all the Cicada recipes and shorten or eliminate the cooking times... Bon Appetite! Sat May 08 16:17:29 -0700 2004 1637769 0 kelvinator 1 1638033 I'm sorry, but I only see a prohibition from "cooking." Maybe I missed something, but I did not see a prohibition of animal protein. I would assume that cheese, sashimi, ceviche and tartar are allowed? Please correct me if I am incorrect. B Sat May 08 20:56:49 -0700 2004 1637769 0 BeaN