Bulk foods help needed

[veganman]

As you may have gathered with some of my posts, I am quite analytical...to my own detriment sometimes.

I am currently trying to branch out on variety and eat more nuts and dried fruits (two things I haven't eaten much of in the past 20 years). I am getting very obsessive about whether the nuts and dried fruit are really raw (calling the distributors to check with their buyers regarding the temperature things are dried at).

How does everyone else deal with this?

[Dimond]

I try to just stick with one or two reliable companies that I order from. When I do come across other places, I'll send an e-mail rather than call which helps save time.

[veganman]

Thanks Gilmore Girl -

who have you found to be reliable?

[Lay-Lay]

when it comes to beans and seeds I always sprout them first to make sure they are raw (this is when I buy them somewhere different). With nuts I can typically determined if they are raw or not. I think this comes with experience. Emailing or calling to be on the safe side is a great idea.

[Dimond]

Glaser Farms is where I get most foods like nuts, crackers, carob, etc. They have dried fruit as well. Might be too costly for you though in California (shipping-wise), but I know there's a lot more sources to buy from there. I would just ask everyone on here who are reliable California sources.

Other places that carry raw:
www.rawguru.com
www.rawfood.com
www.highvibe.com
www.healthfree.com

[veganman]

I find the more questions I ask, the more confused I get.

It appears that dates are picked off the tree and then frozen first to remove bugs. This is according to Jewel Dates, which I believe supplies most companies with their dates.

Is this a problem?

[Lay-Lay]

hmmm, thats new to me.