Artichokes, and squash......

[drock]

so,
I wanted to know what you guys that about these 2 things. I figure the only way you can truly palate them is if they are softened somehow, so i thought steaming them would be the best way to accomplish this..i am not really asking if "steaming is raw" per se..I know the raw deal, been doing it a while:)..actually went pretty much fruitarian with the exception on flax seeds and one or 2 specific greens. BUT, i recently decided i wanted to Start a very small, the side, as a hobby, raw Foods delivery/pick-up service here In Austin, cause i dont think there is anything here like that. I would have to call it more like 90% raw, because some things i would like to use would be 1. artichokes, 2.spaghetti squash for pasta. The only real way i can figure to make these work without actaully cooking the "living" crap out of them, (pardon the pun), is to steam them. So i decided that even if some things would make or use for others may not be my staples, i at least needed to have experience with them, and know what they tase like..i research the life out of every single fruit or vegetable, and love the art of cooking..so, tonight, i steamed my first ever artichoke with some garlic minced in the water and stuck inbetween the leaves, and lemon queezed on. It was fun, and tasted pretty darn good. The question is, does steaming these sound ok?...and, does anyone follow the school of thought that if it cant be eaten the way it grew..i should leave it alone?....
p.s if anyone in the austin area is interested in this idea of delivery/pick up..let me know
dusty

[Rawkinlocs]

I'm not sure I'm understanding your question. You say you know about raw foods and that steaming is not raw, but you're asking if steaming is okay? I'm not quite following.

But as for making harder veggies more palattable, I tend to marinate for a day or two OR, toss in a little oil (or marinaid) and dehydrate to soften. I've done this with broccoli, tougher greens and had great success making them more palettable and easier to eat/digest. In a way, I kinda feel that things that we can't EASILY eat in natural state are better left alone, but those are some natural hygiene-type teachings that I'm (personally) not quite ready to adopt into my life right now. I have heard of that line of thinking, though.

P.S. The best thing to do if you want to get the word out on this forum about your delivery business is to put it in your signature line or in the classfied forum. Thanks! :)

[drock]

well,
I guess what i meant to say was, does anyone still steam since allot of people say that steaming doesnt loose the nutrients as much as cooking would..and doesnt it seem like an "allowable" thing, if you dont do it allot. and its only to get a few interesting things in. If steaming isnt raw because its heating to a certain point..then i wouldnt really belive that dehydrating is raw either..pulling the necissary moisture out of a food doesnt seem raw if steaming doesnt. If someone only dehydrates a few things just to make certain dishes easier, and taste certain ways..and possibly for convinience of travel.. then having a steamed artichoke, or some squash once in a while doesnt seem like such a sin. Its kind of annoying that we have these "raw rules" and if do anything that doesnt fit in..you not raw anymore, cause the way i see it, technically "RAW" would mean, eating one thing at one time..no mixing, no burgers, no deserts, no dehydrating, no soaking, no big meals with 40 ingredients..cause none of that would or even could happen in the wild where all this stuff comes from...unless you want to think about sundrying..in wich case...all dehydrators should be tossed, and replaced with bigger front porches with drying tables all over them. I really was asking to know if it sounds like something that would be ok in the instance of making other people things in my community who arent raw, and eat junk all day...i would think making them 90% raw things, along with maybe a few steamed dishes would be considerded pretty good and a good thing to try to do..just to get people interested in the knowledge i can give them about health and nutrition..not to mention, lead into what a real "RAW" diet would look like.
dusty

[sweetgoddess]

Hi Drock.
Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 112 degrees. The point of using a dehydrator, is that you can control the temperture, thereby keeping it below 112 in order to preserve the essential enzymes.
If steaming reaches a temperature above 112 it will begin destroying and denaturing your food.
When you eat food that is devoid of enzymes and nutrients your body has to work a lot harder to digest and assimilate. It must tap into its own precious enzyme reserve, thus depleting it further. Also, the food will cause extra work from the pancreas as it releases white blood cells to attack the dead food. And your body will create mucous in defense.
So, avoiding all of this is a big part of the point in not heating foods above that temperature.

Whether it is a sin or not--of course it is not!!!
Its all in what you want for yourself. Thats all! So simply decide what you feel is best for you and thats that. :)

~*May the Blessings of Radiant Health be Yours*~

[Rawkinlocs]

Drock, now I understand your question. Well, of course compared to eating greasy, fried foods or junk food period, steaming is definitely the better choice.

Again, there are some veggies that are not easy to eat or digest in their natural state and that is an argument/debate I've seen...to steam them and be able to eat them or to just leave them alone or chuck 'em down raw and au naturale. For most, it just boils down to personal choice/preference. If you feel your customers will WANT these foods and you don't think eating them raw will fly well with them, then do what you have to do, esp. since it's only a couple of items (I guess) you are steaming and the rest are raw (?)

As for dehydrators, well that may be true, but again, compared to eating junk...which is the better choice. Let's be realistic here...not everyone lives where it's constantly sunny and yes, raw food in it's natural state is the better choice, but dehydrated foods are transitional foods and also foods that some long-term rawies (who DO mostly eat foods in natural state) eat on occasion. Am I defending it, yes I am because it's something I do and it's something that has gotten me eating better than I've ever eaten in my life...even when I was (cooked) vegetarian turned vegan.

But this isn't a debate about steamed vs. dehydrated. When I made my statement about those harder-to-digest-in-natural-state foods, I was referring to for a short moment...not until completely dried out.

All in all, as SG put it, it's no "sin" if you choose to steam some of the vegetables you eat...it's totally your choice if that is what you want to serve to your clientele.

[drock]

all good points,
And i realized i sounded defensive in my post and didnt mean to. Apologies.
I guess then, it comes down to wether or not it tastes good. cause man, i ate a steamed artichoke last night with sime garlic, and boy was it good....really, good..but i did notice a little bit of upset stomach afterwords, but couldnt decide if it was the steaming, the fact that i have never in my life eaten an artichoke, the fact that i havent eaten garlic in going on a year...but it wasnt bad, and it didnt last long...so, when something like that tastes so dad-gum good..and spaghetti squash (wish i have never had, but am really interested in)..how do you prepare it raw?...or can you even do that?..i guess that why i figured just for a taste, steaming one wouldnt be soo bad..and i still belive is wasnt..but if it comes down to it, i belive more in the "closest to nature" philosophy..and unless i could steam one on a hot spring..(which might be fun, actually) that isnt workable..theres just so many things i havent tried before..and so many things in the vegetable kingdom that have negative things..like people with thyroid have to be careful with brasiccas, and goitrogeneous foods..so i dont know what to eat besides fruit..especially if i wanted to try to prepare for people..i just dont know what to do to slowly spread some ideas...plus, the art of preparing and "un-cooking" is something i like even if i dont eat it..but i have to know what it all taste like at least..anyways..any more discussion would be great..