Raw Meat....ok that sounds gross but I tried it.

[catherinethegreat]

Jerry and I went out to lunch at a restaurant I had never been to. I spotted the seared rare tuna and asked about that. And told them I'm all raw.
So they brought it out - 5 tiny slices of tuna
on a huge bed of raw spinach.

The taste of the grill was heavenly to me, but the tuna itself was just not as amazing as I wanted it to be. Unfortunately they drizzled some type of lemon poppyseed sauce over it ( not raw of course )which gave it extra flavor, I didn't take the sauce off - and I didn't plunge it into the puddle of sauce - just left it as it was.

I tried to eat a ceasar salad without the croutons but the cheese was on every single piece of lettuce. I had a little bit - but just didn't enjoy it as much as a raw salad(!!!!)

I felt fine for a while Thought if anything was going to bug me it would be the little bit of sauce on the tuna.

It's been a few hours since the meal and my tummy has pretty sharp pains and I'm bloated and my eyes feel puffy and I'm tired in a different way then I've experienced in a while. I don't feel awful - but I can tell a huge difference from when I don't eat the raw meat.

So even though Carol Alt does - I've decided after this experiment to not do that again. My body doesn't want/like it.

I had been craving a hamburger with bluecheese and bacon for the past 3-4 days so I thought that this might just do the trick...and you know - I still crave that amazing bluecheese bacon hamburger FLAVOR - but I know that my body couldn't handle it.

I watched Jerry eat his cheeseburger and fries and thought - that could be me - but the consequenses of that are so enormous that it's just not worth it.

So we went to a bookstore after that meal and I found a book on all the vegetarian restaurants in LA. We picked it up - so that when I'm out and want to try a salad or something raw at least these places will have more specific options.

At least that is the theory.

Feeling tired of having raw be a bit of a chore when going out to eat - and sometimes at home. I don't want to always eat a salad. Like it to be easy and a non thought. Now it will be that much easier for me to NOT eat raw meat! That is my new non thought.

lol!

*c

[levamssg]

Wow - you said this soooo well ...

"I had been craving a hamburger with bluecheese and bacon for the past 3-4 days so I thought that this might just do the trick...and you know - I still crave that amazing bluecheese bacon hamburger FLAVOR - but I know that my body couldn't handle it."

I've been having heaps of cravings for cooked food lately. ... almost like I can Taste them. Like I just want to go into a restaurant and order "normal" food. However, you are not the first person who has written about how their body did not like cooked after being raw for a while. Every time I read about the results, it strengthens my resolve to not give it a try. Thanks for posting this!!!!

[Alissa]

Ok so its bad enough to eat cooked food and feel lousy the next morning but anyone thinking of trying raw meat or fish really needs to be careful of this. i would highly recommend NOT doing this. There are so many reasons not to eat raw meat. One is because as bad cooked meat is, at least your killing a lot of the bacteria and disease that is carried by the animal or fish. But when you eat it raw your opening yourself up to a host of problems. This is really a dangerous practice in my opinion so anyone thinking about this, don’t just go and eat at your local store or pick up some raw meat to try. Its really too long of a list to write at the moment, but i just wanted to caution you all against this as i personally do not believe this is a healthy thing to do in any situation. You can really make yourself sick and do some long term damage with raw meat.

[Revvell]

the best vegetarian restaurants I know of in our area are ~

Happy Family Restaurant in Monterey Park ~ not raw at all
Leonor's in No. Hollywood ~ can get some good, raw salads and other cooked veggie stuff
Of course, Wild Oats and Whole Foods are available near you
In Canoga Park there is Follow Your Heart ~ interesting salads ~ all veggie, mostly vegan
In Burbank ~ mmmm, forgot it but it's on Magnolia. You can request a half side of shredded carrot and half side of shredded beets with a half an avocado. It's amazingly good! They are closed on Saturdays I believe.

Of course, there are quite a few other places on the westside ~ Juliano's Raw (knocked me out before I got to the freeway on the drive home) and a few others I'm hearing about. Oh! The Goddess something. Had some of their "cheese" pate on a cracker at an expo we were at in Pasadena.

I have gone to Thai and Chinese restaurants and ordered their stir fry ~ raw. Just brought my own dressing.

I've read Carol's book and have gone out with two gents who are into the Paleonthetic (or some such thing) diet where they eat everything raw including meat. Not my thing.

Hope this was of some assistance.

Injoy~

Revvell

[sweetgoddess]

What an interesting experience. I am glad you shared it. Interesting too that you feel different so quickly. lol Still cant believe you tried that. :p Yep, brave just like I said!


Carmel

[VeganVixen]

ALL RIGHT I CONFESS!!!!

Before I went veggie ,when I was about 10-13 I ONLY ate raw fish (sashimi),I HATED chicken ,pork and beef. I ate raw oysters and sushi, sashimi- I loved it -but soon I relised that even though I was closer to veggie than alot of people,it was STILL not vegetarian -so I stopped.

but I got to admit I never got sick-but I only ate it at higher end sushi places that buy sushi (or grade a) grade fish -so they check for coloration and impurities in the fish.alot of times they use lemon and freezing techniques too.But rarely things do happen.....

so IF YOU MUST EAT FISH I WOULD NEVER RECOMEND "UNCOOKING" FISH YOURSELF OR EATING IT AT A "QUESTIONABLE" PLACE...

Also I dont recomend eating meat or fish at all...but thats my opinion......

[catherinethegreat]

yes - I of course had the memories of my one and only time I had food poisioning...it was from cooked salmon and or cooked shrimp.
That was the worst experience ever. Thought I was going to die. I'll let you all know if I wake up tomorrow with any adverse side effects. I'm hoping not. My dream was to eventually eat sushi from time to time as I do love it so. But the thought of the parasites makes my skin crawl...literally ! ACK.

Alissa. I totally hear you about not doing this. That was why I decided to write - to let people know that it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to add raw meat into the mix.

I think tonight I may take an extra dose of your enzymes!

Luckily I don't feel bad anymore - all that passed very quickly....hopefully for good!

I never thought about being a vegan - it just happened all of a sudden when I went raw so this was my first and last experiment...guess I am vegan afterall.

Hope this can be a learning post for others who are / were considering it.

*c

[catherinethegreat]

Revvell - thanks for the ideas on other vegetarian restaurants.
My FAVORITE raw food place is Taste of the Goddess but it is true - it's on the West Side and so I don't get there often. But they have a raw delivery service that I'm going to do - it's $108 for 10 meals! I think that will help me out a lot as I am not loving the prep part of a lot of the raw food meals.

http://www.tasteofthegoddess.com

Another place in Culver City is Leaf Cuisine
He mainly has wraps made with collard greens. Or you can make that into a salad for another $1 or something.
I had the very best hummous EVER there. TASTY!!!!
He also has some stuff in a deli case that you can take home which is nice!

http://www.leafcuisine.com/


RawTruth keeps telling me about a wonderful place in Fountain Valley called

Au Lac

http://www.aulac.com/

I'm really wanting to check that place out.

Feels good to have figured out from my own experience that raw meat isn't for me and that I'm sticking with the vegan diet. After some of the posts, I felt fear - which is horrible right after you eat something and it's still in your belly! :eek: The thoughts made me sick to my stomach! lol! Glad to report no adverse effects outwardly anyways.

*c

:)

[Punky]

I admit I love sushi before I went RAW VEGAN; I admit I still love sushi, but haven't had it in awhile-except veggie ones w/out rice. Sushi is made of very high grade raw fresh fish, if at a reputable sushi bar. With this said, I still did not have any uncooked sushi when I was pregnant, and will not let my kids eat the raw ones. They eat california and cucumber rolls. I see other kids eat the raw ones when out at sushi restaurants, but I was always paranoid I guess.
My friend up North makes sushi from time to time. I asked her if she gets sushimi quality? she said they don't have that up there and she just uses
regular raw fish from the supermarket. She remarked she never got sick
from it yet. IMHO, that is pretty risky....I personally wouldn't take that risk, not that I judge....but she serves it to friends up there who have never had it before, and I would be paranoid of food poisoning, esp. to my guests.

Thanks Catherine the Great, for sharing your experience with us.
It was really insightful and interesting....
I think the prices for the food delivery service in your area are excellant!
I am so sick of cleaning up dishes constantly from cooking my families meals, than my own. I have been eating simply because I am getting to lazy to
do all that cleaning up all the time, yet I am really craving more complex meals at times. The food service here is alot more expensive..I think it's either $125-150 for 5 meals and 1 dessert...good size portions but I cannot afford it right now. I hope the service works out for you and gives you a well needed break.

[Revvell]

Taste of the Goddess was the one I "met" when at the convention in Pasadena.

We've been to Leaf. Not overly impressed yet, glad they are there.

I've not heard of Au Lac. Fountain Valley huh? Not much chance we'll be getting out there too often (have no shrekkin' idea where it is even). lol

MAYBE we can go out there sometime together? Whatcha think?

The BEST raw food restaurant (regular ~ not gourmet as in Roxanne's) we've been to so far was (surprisingly) in Las Vegas. Would LOVE to go there again.

I'm thinking cuz I make my own stuff ~ and like it, that the foods I've gotten in restaurants often don't sit well with me. YET! if I'm out and about ~ I'll be there! <G>

So, Taste of the Goddess delivers all the way out your way? Coool! Please let me know how that goes, 'k?

Injoy ~

Revvell

[catherinethegreat]

Punky - Yes - That is exactly what I mean about making raw meals - the only difference is - I am only making MY meals - no one elses and I STILL get tired of the dishes. Just making a simple salad gets complicated in my kitchen! LOL!

Yea - I don't think I could serve raw fish to anyone else - it would have to be something they did on their own. I'm impressed that your friend hasn't gotten sick. I actually asked them to make me a veggie roll first - without the rice - and they couldn't do that. And they told me that the mushrooms in it were not raw they were marinated in something. I'm sure that would have been a sugary type of marinade or something.

oh well.

Glad this place was a high end restaurant that had high end fish - that's all I can say!

I'll let you know how the delivery service goes. I can't do it just yet . Maybe in a week or two. There are otehrs too - there is one called rawvolution here

http://www.rawvolution.com

it's a little bit more but you still get a lot for the money. I was surprised that it didn't cost more actually!


Revvell - Yes - RawTruth and I have been talking about having a so.cal. meet up at Au Lac soon! So I will keep you posted. I don't know where Fountain Valley is either - somewhere on the 405 south from here??

[Alissa]

Au Lac is the BEST raw place ever! The food is very unique. It’s very unlike anything you have probably tasted in any other raw place. We get the risotto, the fried rice, and you MUST get the humannese soup. All the soups are amazing. Maybe ill meet you guys there! We haven’t been in a while.
It’s right off the 405 not far from Huntington Beach. Easy to get to.

[Sharon in Colorado]

My husband and I went to Au Lac a few years back for a raw dinner. It was wonderful. There were many, many courses. The chef was a monk taking a vow of silence and he did a lot of bowing and nodding. Here's their website. Check out the photos of the raw dishes:

http://www.aulac.com/

[catherinethegreat]

I actually saw the chef at Taste of the Goddess one day - I knew it was him because he wasn't talking - he had a very sweet energy about him and he was doing a lot of bowing and nodding. I had heard he was in silence. I've done that for a day or two but not any longer. It's an amazing opportunity in so many ways to be silent.

Yes yes - RawTruth ( Diana ) and I will figure out a date and let you all know. Alissa I would love it if you joined us!

*c

[Alissa]

catherine, you mean au lack?

[Sharon in Colorado]

Whoops I didn't realize you'd already put the link up Catherine.

The restaraunt I went to with hubby is a Vietnemese restaurant in Fountain Valley called Au Lac. It's a vegetarian restaurant that specializes in a lot of meat analogues, but if you call ahead they'll make you a raw meal. We went in with an Orange County raw support group, we took up the whole back of the retaurant and was served so many great courses. Starting off with a young coconut to drink, then a juice, a soup, a salad, a couple other courses, a delicious dessert and then the chef came around with a large bowl of fresh cut durian (it looked very strange), spooning it out to everyone!

For those in the LA area, Fountain Valley is about 15-20 minutes south of Long Beach.

[jmo]

Hi, If you guys go to Au Lac let me know I'd love to meet you guys there.

Catherine- I tried the eating seared tuna too and yuk! It made me feel gross, it sounded good at the time but something I probably won't do again.
Plus I'm always leary of the whole mercury thing.

Cam

[karotw]

Could I join you all at Au Lac, too? I live very near there and would really like to have a meal with some other raw folks! My biggest battle these days is trying to eat raw when surrounded by those who are eating cooked!!

It would be very cool to have a Orange Co. raw dining experience with you all!

:D

[jmo]

Absolutely! : )
I think that would be great.

Watch out Cooked world! The Raw fooders are in town ; ) hehehe

[Myka]

Let me know when too! I'll join you guys.

[catherinethegreat]

Wow - Looks like we have a Au Lac Party in our midst!

Does Saturday April 16th work for you all??

*c

[karotw]

Works for me!

[Revvell]

I'm thinking Alissa has not been here long enough to know how most of us feel about the 405. fyi ~ it's been called the 405 because it takes 4 or 5 hours to get anyplace. Easy to get to for.... whom and at what time? Hope they are open at 3 a.m!!!! (j/kkkk)


It’s right off the 405 not far from Huntington Beach. Easy to get to.

Injoy ~

Revvell

[Revvell]

we (Bo and I) can make it on the 16th. Hmmm. We can work it out. The next day we are vending at Worldfest. So! How about Au Lac on Sat. and WorldFest on Sunday??? http://worldfestevents.com/ Anyone up for that? <G>

Injoy ~

Revvell

[jmo]

I'm in. I'm totally flexable on time , so whatever works for everyone else, just let me know.

[SedonaSun]

Hmmm... sounds good enough to consider driving from Tucson to join you all. It wouldn't work with my schedule, but nevertheless, it would be fun.

Friends: "Why are you going to California?" Me: "To eat at a raw restaurant." Friends: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Revvell]

Do it! Do it!!! We've got enough room to put you up for the night. Then, unless you feel to drive back immediately, you can hit the WorldFest for a bit! Do it!!!! :D


Injoy ~

Revvell

[Sharon in Colorado]

Hmmm... sounds good enough to consider driving from Tucson to join you all. It wouldn't work with my schedule, but nevertheless, it would be fun.

Friends: "Why are you going to California?" Me: "To eat at a raw restaurant." Friends: :confused: :confused: :confused:

This is funny...my family and close friends live in Southern California (lived there all my life up until 2 years ago), I was even thinking to myself how it'd be nice to possibly take off for a weekend so I can "happen" to be there to have dinner with you all.

[RawTruth]

Wow, I'm gone from the board for one stinkin day and look what happens!!! Catherine and I have been discussing this for quite some time, so I'm thrilled that we're gonna actually do it.

I've been to Au Lac numerous times (it's a mere 10 mins from Long Beach) and run into Chef Ito at Mother's Market occasionally.

For those who haven't been in a while ... or never ... there is now two separate menus -- one vegan and one raw. I like to just ask Ito to make something for me ... and leave it to him. Last time, he created a curried rice dish that was molded on top of a bottom layer of avocado halves (like 4 of them!), then a layer of broccoli and some other veggies -- all tied together with a scrumptious indescribable blend of flavors. And, yes, the hummanase (sp?) soup is fabulous. And every salad I've had is great. Truly, there's nothing bad or iffy that I've encountered there. What's so great is that he retains the Vietnamese flavors and texture, yet he creates things that are entirely unique. Well, there is a spring roll ... and a few familiar things.

Bear in mind that the items are "family" style, like Chinese restaurants where, for instance, someone orders cashew chicken and it comes in a large serving dish meant to be shared by several people. So ... the prices, which are steep, reflect that. So, we should anticipate that and, perhaps, think about splitting the bill equally. When I've gone alone, I've been prepared and know that I'll be taking home leftovers that'll last me for a couple of meals. Even when I've gone with friends ...

Catherine, are you going to get a firm headcount and call in the reservation? Did you want to do PMs? They have a big round table that'd be perfect -- depending on how many. My memory's saying it'll seat 8.

Yay!!!! I'm just sooo excited! :D :D :D

p.s. Revvell -- there are routes that will avoid the 405, if you wish, even though it shouldn't be jammed on a Saturday afternoon. (Depending on where you are, take the 10 or 60 to the 605 south which merges into the 405 around Huntington Beach. From there, Au Lac is only about 10 more minutes south.

[Revvell]

lmao ~ yeah, the 405 not jammed on any day. Pffffftttt!!!!

Thanks hun. I thought I saw that it was near the 605. That would definitely be my choice. How's about the 170 which is before the 605 off the 10?



p.s. Revvell -- there are routes that will avoid the 405, if you wish, even though it shouldn't be jammed on a Saturday afternoon. (Depending on where you are, take the 10 or 60 to the 605 south which merges into the 405 around Huntington Beach. From there, Au Lac is only about 10 more minutes south.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Gotta love that 405. One thing I definately do NOT miss about LA!

Hey guys - I just got the thumbs up for a weekend trip to California. Can you all throw out some dates so I can check airplane ticket pricing? I can go any time except Memorial Day weekend. Friday night would probably work best for me, since I'm going to try flying into Long Beach, then I'll be staying in Culver City (West LA area).

Maybe this discussion should be started in a new thread in the announcement area??? Since the raw meat discussion is pretty much history.

Hey Kelly, maybe we can fly out together? All the non-stop flights from Colorado Springs to LAX usually stop in Phoenix. I can pick you up on the way - LOL!

[Alissa]

LOL, ya, i know, im learning about the 405! Actually i take PHC all the way and go up beach, i hate the highway. It takes me about 45 minutes but its a much nicer ride.
I may actually be able to make the 16th. I was supposed to be away that weekend but it looks like ill be here now.
I know there’s a bunch of others who are from the area so we should probably post this on the events forum if you guys are sure about it?

[Sharon in Colorado]

I may actually be able to make the 16th.

I just checked airplane tickets and the weekend of the 16th is the lowest price that whole month. And it changes over in Phoenix, Kelly. LOL

[catherinethegreat]

I'll go ahead and post this in the events area - I can't believe Sharon is flying out - this is amazing!

I can't wait!
xoxox
*c

[SedonaSun]

I'd love to, but I can't. I have to work Saturday and Sunday. It's hard to get people to cover for me, so I like to save those favors for when I really need them.

[RawTruth]

lmao ~ yeah, the 405 not jammed on any day. Pffffftttt!!!!

Thanks hun. I thought I saw that it was near the 605. That would definitely be my choice. How's about the 170 which is before the 605 off the 10?

Okay -- well, the portion of it by me isn't jammed! You're just so like in the heart of it!

I haven't the slightest idea where the 170 is (and too lazy to look right now) -- a map that shows the entire southland will definitely give you your route -- you just don't want to swing too far east. But, ya know, I'll just stop being "helpful" and let you capable adults figure it out, 'k?

[RawNut]

One more "bumpity bump bump..."