Uncooking

[Mallet]

Wouldn't raw foodists also object to any food that was prepared in such a way as to destroy the "natural" enzymes or "alter" food etc...?? I'm thinking pickles, brines, charcuterie, fermentation etc...

[Patrick S]

Raw chocolate isn't too bad - made with raw cacao nibs, soaked nuts and seeds and dried fruits blended together with some fruit like banana. Well, it doesn't taste too bad, but the texture is obviously nothing like.

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Raw, unroasted cocoa nibs? Yuck!

[jsolomon]

Wouldn't raw foodists also object to any food that was prepared in such a way as to destroy the "natural" enzymes or "alter" food etc...?? I'm thinking pickles, brines, charcuterie, fermentation etc...

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But, fermentation is a living process done by live bacteria and yeasts, so it still matches.

However, I'm not sure about sandwiches, unless they're made with bread dough.

[Pontormo]

Salad and a sandwich?

A cold blended soup, and raw sauce of tomatoes, red onion, capers, parsley & tuna tossed with yesterday's rice might not be better for you than a slow braise, but it might be better for the environment were some of our stoves not turned on every night...

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Not much that a raw foodie can eat there I'm afraid. Maybe substitute the bread for some dehydrated crackers or something. Raw tuna is not on the diet as, in my experience, most raw foodies tend to be vegans as well. Capers are probably cooked too aren't they? Uncooked rice?

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I know, I know. I was moving away from the focus on a vegan diet of raw foods & simply making a plea for the rest of us who may not believe our bodies benefit from "uncooking" to prepare more than is needed one night so there is leftover rice, for example, and to avoid cooking the next evening since it would conserve energy. Think about buying bread as equivalent to taking public transportation; you're not turning on your own oven in the middle of a heatwave.

BTW: Here is the web site of Nourishing You, the business of someone local who trained at a school in California that advocates a Raw Food diet.

"An alternative place," she said. "There were no stoves."

I might have mentioned her cooking demonstration at our farmer's market since she made a frittata with pancetta, herbs, cheese, etc. It would have been easy for her to omit the meat at the very least if she simply wished to promote things that could be purchased from the farmers and to appeal to the crowds, but not everyone attracted to Raw Food remains a steadfast believer that it is the only way to eat.

[MissAmy]

Hey Offcenter, make sure your girl is getting enough of the B-complex vitamins. They are generally only found in animal products, so she should probably be taking a supplement.

That said, one of my coworkers has a wife who is trying to go raw. I've heard all the propaganda, and don't buy it for a minute. Evolutionarily, humans are not meant to eat an entirely raw diet. We don't have the necessary enzymes in our digestive system to properly break down a diet entirely comprised of raw food. After days of eating raw, my coworker is tired, irritable, and hungry. He tends to wolf down (vegetarian) cooked food when not around her. Not to mention, he has consistantly complained of the cost and time the diet takes. You would think eating raw would be really easy... not so much. Unless you want to eat salads day in and day out for every single meal, the prep time involved is unreal. I just think it's an absurd and completely unsustainable way to eat.

[jsolomon]

Heh, your coworker is in ketosis! See if he stinks, too! Those are sure signs that his body is breaking down itself to make sure he has enough calories.

What I'd recommend for him is to get a little electric tea kettle and boil eggs in it at work. That always did the trick for me when I was living with a vegetarian girlfriend.

[MissAmy]

I thought ketosis came from not getting enough vitamins and nutrients from veggies. Like what happens to people who stay on Atkins for too long.

[jsolomon]

It happens to people on Atkins because they don't have sufficient intake of glucose for their bodies to stay out of glucose debt.

Then what happens is a process called gluconeogenesis where the body takes fats and proteins and makes glucose to fuel the brain (other parts of the body are much more agnostic about their energy sources). But, the volatile acids and sulfur compounds formed during gluconeogenesis do smell bad.

But, it just indicates that they are in a longer-lasting-than-most glucose debt. Not any other sort of lack of nutrition.