About your food

[machineguts]

Sugar is still a food I am hooked on. 😛 I know I need to ditch it..but it is so hard!

And for sugar… have you tried agave nectar?

That’s what I use, it is very good! 🙂

[Jessie]

Do you have any tips for eating a raw (or even mostly raw) diet affordibly? I can do it in the summer when the growing season is going on, but buying produce in the winter (6+ months here) is very expensive, often lacking in variety of any sort, and is often imported from areas I know rainforests were cut for food crops. 🙁

great question! well, to be honest, eating raw can be pretty pricey. when i was working several well paying jobs recently and could afford it, i think i spent over $400 one week on groceries (and it was only my husband, 2 yr old daughter and myself!). but now that money has gotten really tight since i’m just a stay at home mom now, i have to get creative on how to stay on our diet.

for raw nuts, seeds and grains, i buy in bulk. probably a no brainer there. but it does save quite a bit of money as long as they are stored well. a major part of my diet are green smoothies… and those use up a ton of greens and fruits. the fruits for those i buy frozen OR if i find a good deal on something in season at the market i will freeze it and save for later. for veggies… i eat whatever is in season or available. i have definitely opened my eyes to a lot of things i never imagined i would eat before. bargaining at the farmer’s markets are great… of course i am in southern california here and the options are nearly endless. i’m not too familiar with the selection in the colder regions where you’re at. do they have any CSA programs there? i hear those can be good especially if you can go in on a box of produce with a friend or neighbor. i also grow a lot of my own vegetables, fruits and especially herbs. that’s always a very economical solution as i’m sure you know. also, growing your own sprouts and wheatgrass is a great idea… the most nutrition for very little money and effort.i try to avoid all the costly exotic superfoods like maca, yacon, acai, goji, cacao etc. sure they are nutritious but really don’t need them. and, make everything from scratch!! it gets incredibly expensive to buy prepared raw convenience foods ($14 for a tiny bag of raw chocolate granola?!).

i’m not the best at keeping costs down, so i don’t know if that helped at all, but i hope so!

[Jennifer]

Thanks daydreamer! It can sometimes really expensive to get produce here. When I was in California earlier this year I was blown away by the variety and prices! Everyone talks about how expensive CA is, and I know that is true, but for base products like fruits, veggies… base components, the prices were much better than here. For example, I love Avocados dearly, and they are very versatile for me but I cannot get them often when they are $4+ each for small fruits!
In the summer, I can get local produce for a better price. Our farmers markets are very small but they run once a week from June-August and I can get pretty much anything that can be grown up north as long as it’s not too exotic (most basic veggies, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, herbs, a few fruits such as apples and pears, cherries, berries) for a reasonable price. We do have one CSA program in my area, but it is $620/year for summer share– which is just not something I can dream of affording, and I don’t know anyone who would go in on it with me (sadly there is little focus on that sort of thing around here). I do help my mom with her veggie garden, though again that is very seasonal and next year I am investing in creating a large garden too. This year I have started with chickens to raise my own eggs as I refuse to buy battery chicken eggs.

Thank you for sharing your insights! There are only two of us to feed (well… plus my parrots which also get lots of this stuff too) and it’s been a struggle.

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[Lupuslunae]

ugh this seemed like the appropriate place to rant, so remember to read your ingredient labels because they’ll put nasty sh*t in anything!
I was munching on dry roasted sunflower seeds….hmmm those sound safe for a vegetarian, yes? I was looking at the can to see if there was a recipe idea on it, I usually just use them for brocoli slaw, and I read the ingredients label and proceeded to spit out the seeds and did three shots to burn that crap out of my mouth. Mr. Peanut dry roasted sun flower seeds (part of Kraft foods so I’m going to purge my fridge and blacklist them as revenge) contains gelatin! And even if you aren’t vegetarian, gelatin is nasty, icky mystery crap! Gelatin is the rendered down left over bits of animals, like skin, hooves, joints, and parts that can’t be eaten on their own, and usually its made of various animals though sometimes it’s only cows or pigs. So yeah, I called their comment line heh. WTF is that doing in sunflower seeds?!?!!!

[Kujacker]

From my understanding, everything made by Kraft is fake, gmo, or otherwise terrible for you.

[Skigod377]

Kujacker, That movie is a great recommendation. (King Corn was ok, too, and The World According to Monsanto was ok, if a little long and drawn out.)

I watched it while I was in Iraq and it changed the way I ate entirely. I now buy most of my food and all my meat from the Whole Foods Market. I stay away from genetically modified anything, and if I dont know what an ingredient is, I usually dont but the item. I stay away from milk, cheese, and anything that uses the Bovine Growth Hormone… yes, they say there is no difference in the product, but they fail to mention the problems the cows go thru because of the hormone-like foot and udder infections. I also planted my own garden with GMO free seeds, and sometimes, things actually grow in it. 🙂 Because of this movie and the changes I have made, I have lost 13 lbs and feel better about the way I eat and the people I support with my purchases. Great post!

* Just a little interesting tidbit of information- I have done a lot of traveling and during one of my overseas stints we got to talking about smells associated with locals… in Korea, people smell like kimchee, in Germany, they smell like sausage, etc etc… well, they said that Americans smelled like fast food. Yuk.

[Jessie]

Thanks daydreamer! It can sometimes really expensive to get produce here. When I was in California earlier this year I was blown away by the variety and prices! Everyone talks about how expensive CA is, and I know that is true, but for base products like fruits, veggies… base components, the prices were much better than here. For example, I love Avocados dearly, and they are very versatile for me but I cannot get them often when they are $4+ each for small fruits!
In the summer, I can get local produce for a better price. Our farmers markets are very small but they run once a week from June-August and I can get pretty much anything that can be grown up north as long as it’s not too exotic (most basic veggies, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, herbs, a few fruits such as apples and pears, cherries, berries) for a reasonable price. We do have one CSA program in my area, but it is $620/year for summer share– which is just not something I can dream of affording, and I don’t know anyone who would go in on it with me (sadly there is little focus on that sort of thing around here). I do help my mom with her veggie garden, though again that is very seasonal and next year I am investing in creating a large garden too. This year I have started with chickens to raise my own eggs as I refuse to buy battery chicken eggs.

Thank you for sharing your insights! There are only two of us to feed (well… plus my parrots which also get lots of this stuff too) and it’s been a struggle.

I wish I was of more help 🙁 Wow!! Avocados at $4 a piece? Yikes! Especially when we go through several a day…that would be tough. My daughter eats them like crazy. We actually have an avo tree in the backyard but I can’t seem to figure out why the fruit has such thin skin and taste weird. That would certainly help save money for us, ha!

Winters must be tough! I thought that just dealing with snow would be bad, but I could not imagine going six months without a selection of fresh produce. Hopefully the summers are worth it there?

[Jennifer]

I wish I was of more help 🙁 Wow!! Avocados at $4 a piece? Yikes! Especially when we go through several a day…that would be tough. My daughter eats them like crazy. We actually have an avo tree in the backyard but I can’t seem to figure out why the fruit has such thin skin and taste weird. That would certainly help save money for us, ha!

Winters must be tough! I thought that just dealing with snow would be bad, but I could not imagine going six months without a selection of fresh produce. Hopefully the summers are worth it there?

It would be so cool to have an avocado tree! I wish I could help you re: thick skins and weird taste. 🙁

Summers are great, but (and some would laugh) winters are, too! I love all of the seasons we have. I do wish that winter was a bit shorter… after 3 or 5 months I always feel like I’m ready for it to be done but I still enjoy it. We can still get produce in the winter at the grocery store, but it’s trucked in of course and not the same as buying from local farmers. And the prices are higher in the winter, generally, unless it is a seasonal item that they have in abundance. In the old days it would be dealt with by canning/jarring a lot, pickling, and root cellars. But I am spoiled by modern convenience and like fresh things quite often. Still, I have started to jar some items such as tomatoes.

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[Kujacker]

Is anyone here a vegetarian? I watched some videos of an american guy that lives in Japan who was a vegetarian. He said he did it for the health benefits. So I started researching and the apparent differences between the health of meat eaters and vegetarians were big.
Anyone here one? Is it something that’s difficult? Is raw pretty much the same thing?

I’m not a vegetarian… I don’t plan to be either. But I’m not a big meat eater anyway. Most of my diet consists of [asian] noodles and milk lol (I love tofu too, but don’t eat a lot of it because most of it ends of going bad… I don’t eat a lot of anything). No seriously, the days I go to donate plasma, I stand in the kitchen for forever trying to figure out what I can eat… since it’s better not to eat pasta or dairy before donating (“thickens” your blood).

[Jennifer]

Is anyone here a vegetarian? I watched some videos of an american guy that lives in Japan who was a vegetarian. He said he did it for the health benefits. So I started researching and the apparent differences between the health of meat eaters and vegetarians were big.
Anyone here one? Is it something that’s difficult? Is raw pretty much the same thing?

I’m not a vegetarian… I don’t plan to be either. But I’m not a big meat eater anyway.

I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat much meat. I do it for economic and health reasons yes, but mostly I do it for environmental and for the sake of the animal. Without getting political I pretty much limit myself to meat sources where I know that the animal has led a good life– so for me personally that means I try to only eat meats that were from animals I hunted myself, from local true free-range animals (that I can drive and see running around and living it up in person if I need to), or from sustainably harvested seafood only. Since hunting is rarely successful and local free-range meats are more expensive, our meat intake is limited. Which is okay with us– it makes it more of a treat, and we tend to be more thankful for it (I don’t know if the animal cares, since it’s already deceased, but it makes me feel better that it did not suffer). It’s not hard for us, since we have weaned ourselves away from junk and find that after a few months the cravings for junk food are replaced with cravings for healthier items (avocados are one of my personal junk foods now!).

I think in general many Americans are raised on a meat diet. In my household growing up, it was not dinner unless it had meat as the main portion! Therein lies the key as to why a ‘carnivore’ diet can lead to problems in humans. Too much of any one food– meat, or corn, or dairy, peanut butter, doritos, etc etc… over a long period, can cause problems.

Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
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[Jessie]

Is anyone here a vegetarian? I watched some videos of an american guy that lives in Japan who was a vegetarian. He said he did it for the health benefits. So I started researching and the apparent differences between the health of meat eaters and vegetarians were big.
Anyone here one? Is it something that’s difficult? Is raw pretty much the same thing?

I’m not a vegetarian… I don’t plan to be either. But I’m not a big meat eater anyway. Most of my diet consists of [asian] noodles and milk lol (I love tofu too, but don’t eat a lot of it because most of it ends of going bad… I don’t eat a lot of anything). No seriously, the days I go to donate plasma, I stand in the kitchen for forever trying to figure out what I can eat… since it’s better not to eat pasta or dairy before donating (“thickens” your blood).

I’m (raw) vegan. I don’t eat anything that comes from an animal or animal product, and none of my food I eat is prepared over 105°. I was vegetarian for many years and became vegan after my first daughter was born after learning all of the horrible health problems that dairy cause. It’s just nasty stuff. I dropped TONS of weight immediately after going vegan. Now, after learning about how many nutrients are lost during the process of cooking your food, I only eat whole, raw foods in their natural state. What an amazing feeling to be on this diet! I have so much energy… and I have a six week old baby that keeps me up all night.

In response to Jennifer…. I really wish all the people who actually enjoy eating animal products thought the way you do. There is so much suffering in the world caused by people’s ignorance about where their food comes from. I grew up as a meat eater in a family of die hard meat eaters. We knew no other way and meat was just something you bought at the store and expected to be the centerpiece of every meal. Education is a beautiful thing. I’ve now converted most of my entire family into vegans and we are SO much healthier and happier.

I do recommend a movie if anyone is interested: Earthlings

[Kujacker]

I’m (raw) vegan. I don’t eat anything that comes from an animal or animal product, and none of my food I eat is prepared over 105°. I was vegetarian for many years and became vegan after my first daughter was born after learning all of the horrible health problems that dairy cause. It’s just nasty stuff.

The fight with dairy will never be solved. I drink raw milk, totally unaltered from cow to glass. I won’t be able to drink raw goat milk unless I finally make my way to Washington.
People that have problems with dairy generally don’t have a problem with raw dairy.
And I’ve read studies that people that drink milk weigh less than those that cut it out. So really, it’s all up in the air @__@ I don’t know which is correct.
Probably 50% of my diet is milk, raw cow or goat. Sometimes if I don’t want to eat, I just drink some milk instead of eating a meal. Sometimes this is multiple times a day. And I always have a cup before bed. I really love milk, and will buy different milk products just because (like sheep’s milk yogurt). I’ll be all over camel milk if it ever becomes legal to sell in the states.
Many people and/or studies claim the problem with the milk is all the things in it. The cow’s pus and blood is a big one. This is caused by over milking and illness… and illness leads to antibiotics and so on and so forth. The blood and pus in the milk means it needs to be pasteurized, which destroys the milk all together. I remember reading something that said after the milk is pasteurized, it “changes” completely into something that isn’t milk (though if this is a fact, I don’t know). Hence why lactose intolerant people can supposedly drink raw milk just fine.

My biggest problem with vegetarian diets is… I don’t like greens much at all! The only way I can eat a salad is if it’s covered in ranch. And the only green I ate growing up was broccoli. Again, needed ranch. Same with fruit… I just don’t have a taste for any of it at all. There are fruit that I do like, but I just never buy any because I know I won’t eat it. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I mostly eat asian noodles lol. People would probably be surprised if I actually wrote down what I ate day to day haha. I love potatos though. I heard those are bad if eaten raw though. Plus I tried once and ick. I’d love to try the Okinawan sweet potatos, but I don’t know where to get them around here.

[Lupuslunae]

I’m vegetarian, mostly because I am lazy, but when I have the time to cook or prepare a meal, I cook vegan and rarely get a complaint from the meat eaters in the house. Of course, when it’s vegan cookies, they are eating them with a big glass of milk which they continue to do no matter how I glare at them =P I recently got my meat-eating brother into beet burgers. No meat, just a huge slice of steamed beet in the middle with goddess dressing, tomato and lettuce. YUM. It’s pretty easy for me to stay away from milk, eggs, and butter because I have so many other healthy substitutes to use. I don’t even think we have any butter in the fridge right now, just a giant tub of Earth Balance. However, my vegan longings are defeated by cheese! I like soy cheese just fine when I melt it, it’s tasty in a tuNO casserole, but on everything else….no. My guilty cheese of choice is Tillamok because it has no animal rennet.
All the avocado talk is getting me hungry. I have two avocado seedlings I started, they need bigger pots, and it takes like 10-15 years to produce avocados! Maybe the tree with the thin skin problem is still too young? They also need a special nutrient in their soil like many citrus trees utilize.

[Jennifer]

However, my vegan longings are defeated by cheese! I like soy cheese just fine when I melt it, it’s tasty in a tuNO casserole, but on everything else….no. My guilty cheese of choice is Tillamok because it has no animal rennet.

Did you know that you can make cheese at home, with no rennet, with Kefir? If you could find a local smalltime farm that you could buy raw milk from happy cows or goats you could do it at home. I hope to do so sometime soon, myself. 🙂
I understand if this is not something you want to do since it’s not vegan, though!

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[Bodine]

I am not an all veggie eater but I have made myself cut way back on meat,especially red meat, and I have been able to tell a difference in myself in a short amount of time.As we age we change inside too and I can tell you,by my body,to eat as fresh as possible,eat very little red meat,if any,veggies and fruits of all kinds are a must.I eat a lot of red beans and rice,peanut butter and crackers,less cheese than I used to,love milk,so many other things that a lot of Americans do not.Fast food restaurants are too easy and too abundant and if you are like me and do not eat at them,you can really tell a difference when you do.I remember the first Burger rest.,literally,and they were good but didn’t make them a habit.I didn’t raise my children on them.I cooked everyday,still do.I tried one the other day and took one bite.That was it.Nothing like it used to be and nothing like home cooked.I believe people are so used to it from longtime use that they really have not noticed.I think we should eat fresh and what is in season like nature intended.The way some tomatoes I have seen from big stores have made my mouth drop open.When you cut into it,nothing is hardly there.They’re almost hollow.Get a home grown,cut into it and you have to clean your cutting board for all the juices and meat in the tom.,BIG difference.Grow your own in buckets all year if you cannot have a garden.It is also therapeutic.Rooftop gardens where you can.I have a Jalepeno plant going on three years now and it is loaded with peppers for the third time this summer.Easy to do,bring it in for the winter,keep it alive and set it out early spring.I have done this with other veggies too.The more we can do for ourselves,since fresh farms are not always available,raise some for yourselves,the better off we and the kids will be.Start small community gardens and share.Eat fresh,live healthier and therefore,longer.To long life! 🙂

Every act matters.No matter how small💞
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Male Hearth....one day🤞Dream on.

[Author]

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