Another newbie, more questions

[Jane K]

First off, I plan to do a lot of lurking and learning so bear with me.

I watched the documentary Simply Raw, and it was very enlightening. I have Type II diabetes, just oral meds no insulin, so I'm feeling the incentive. After a bit of googling, I found this site and forum.

Biggest issues right now are what to do with the existing food in the fridge, and no, I will not be throwing it out. We do have 5 dogs, so some of the stuff can be "repurposed" to them, and I might add, greatly appreciated. But a lot can't, so I guess I'm asking what's the best way to transition from cooked to raw. Is it better to eat the cooked food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I'm talking digestive-wise.

Secondly, weather plays a huge part in my ability to go raw. Right now in my little corner of southwestern Virginia, it is freakin' cold. Five inches of snow, temps in the teens right now after single digits last night. There's no way I can do without my hot cuppa in the morning and throughout the day. I wear sweats and thick socks, but it's still cold. I know I'm not the only one, so how do you all handle the physiological need for something warm on the inside?

I grow a huge garden every year, so raw is not an issue in the summer or when good veggies are available. But winter is a problem both with availability and cost. Plus, how do you store stuff? Are freezing fruits and veggies or dehyrating them acceptable?

Third question is about yogurt. I understand cheese not being raw because you do have to cook it to separate out the curds (except for paneer which can be processed at a lower temp). According to the definition in Simply Raw, they consider 118 degrees to be the upper limit for warming food. Milk for yogurt is supposed to be a maximum of 110 degrees, and then you add the *live* cultures. So while yogurt (especially homemade) is not raw, it is definitely alive. What's the feeling on that?

Thanks for your patience, and I'm looking forward to learning lots.

Jane K

[Colorawdo girl]

Jane,Use up what you have as you go.Dog yes(poor doggie,just kidding)
As for when to eat cooked. The recommend ,if you eat cooked,is to eat living food first(like your salad) and cooked after.Early day eat cooked b/c its alot of work for body to do while sleeping. Lighter foods later on towards 6 p.m. on.

Storing-freezing and drying in dehydrator but I mostly have fresh greens in fridge at all times.

Cold.Very cold winter.I have been cold too.Detox causes that too.Lotsa warming foods like ginger,cayenne,cinnamon,etc. And you want your "cuppa" you have it. Hot tea whatever is definitely a warmer upper feeling in winter.Its ok what you want to do with that.

Most raw-bees do not use dairy.So yogurt is not on the menu but there are raw cheezes galore to make form seeds and nuts and they are delicious.

Please read raw made easy-er thread as well as all the rest.Every question you have or will have is answered here.
Best to you Jane and WELCOME.We are here to help and assist you on your journey!!

[rawmiss]

I would do a lot of research on raw milk before you drink it, there is a reason that they pasturize it, there are viruses in it.

I would eat the cooked foods for lunch and dinner. Eating cooked foods and then raw foods tends to screw up your digestion, because it takes a longer time to digest cooked foods than raw foods. So if you eat cooked and then eat raw the raw won't be digested as well.

And for warm drinks, I do warm lemonade.

More about the order in which foods should be eaten:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2109430_eat-according-bodys-circadian-rhythm.html
http://www.enotalone.com/article/4153.html

If you don't already have this book, check it out, "There is a Cure for Diabetes" by Gabriel Cousens:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ayg1YaZ2APAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cure+for+diabetes&lr=&ei=UjhUSZHLCoXikwTCud2OCw#PPA285,M1

[mattshor]

I used to struggle immensely with feeling cold--the deep cold that gets into your bones and you can't seem to get out with anything.

Raw has helped immensely. As my circulation has improved I find that the deep cold is not so bad. Warming foods, I am told, help. I can't tell if they make a difference.

For me, taking a hot shower makes a big difference, more exercise and at night I'll take my blanket and throw it in the dryer for 10 minutes before jumping into bed with it. SOOOOOO warm and delicious.

[nellie]

When I went vegan, I gave a lot of food away as well as giving to the dogs. I didn't want to eat any animal products because I knew they were unhealthy for me.

Right now, I'm eating raw but I am feeding my husband cooked foods. I am also giving him a lot more raw foods as he likes them but his goal is not to be 100% raw.

As for dairy (and other animal products), they are bad for the environment, bad for animals and bad for your health. From what I've read, dairy is one of the worst things you can eat so I'd say stay far away.

[ruffsongraw]

as for transitioning---to each her own! my husb went gradual over 2 weeks. myself--100% right away. i too gave some things to the dog but threw some away (like sugar/flour and junk foods).
TO ME, it was expensive to go raw, to buy the juicer and dehydrator and i gave aw2ay crock pots and etc.. eventually i will get a Vitamix but for now a regular blender has to do. also, fresh produce doesnt last long--we seem to REALLY eat a lot (we are almost 6 wks raw) and i have to go to the store every few days to get more. i will start a graden in the spring.
for both of us, eating a lot of avocaodo w/tomatoes REALLY helped with missing cooked stuff.
every (approx) 2 wks i "let myself" have some steamed veggies and brown rice--bad, yes. but not as bad as junk food--as far as cooked food goes. otherwise i dont cheat. my husb is about 95% raw but still has coffe about every other day...i gave that up easy--once the dairy was a no-no i couldnt drink it w/o milk and sugar in it.
throwing away food is financially painful BUT if it's no good--better to toss it then eat it---IMO. and if its unhealthy for humans it might also be bad for dogs....
goodluck~!!!
jen

[contessa20]

Personally, I thought I would have a huge problem with only cold or room temp. foods but it just hasn't been an issue. We have 7 inches of snow on the ground right now; I even went out and played and shoveled in it for 2 hrs. with my 9 yr. old yesterday and the thought never even entered my mind to have something hot to warm up when I came in. I'm a really, REALLY cold natured person too so that's kind of a big deal for me.

When you start getting cold have something with a little spice to it, do some vigorous exercise or crank up the heat a little. Something else that really works is to hold your wrists under the hottest water you can stand for a few minutes. The blood vessels are really close to the surface in your wrists so the hot water helps to heat your body quicker. I learned that from a friend after I spent a night sleeping outside on the ground in freezing temps. and couldn't warm up even after several hours the next day.