Few questions from a new user

[Dirkg]

They say its good to start with a funny story, so here goes - till a week ago, I had absolutely no idea about this raw food thing. I was in Costco and they had the Vitamix demo, of course I didn't even know what a Vitamix was - as far as I knew it was just a blender. I must've walked past it 3-4 times, without bothering to look at the price, or taste the samples (they kept running out).

Now I know what the fuss was all about!

One of my reasons for trying raw food is going to sound selfish - besides the obvious health benefits, I just want to save time cooking! Due to a busy life, being a single guy, and laziness (but mostly laziness), I don't cook daily, which leads to eating out and bad food habits. So I'm thinking a nice thick smoothie or salad should be a lot faster, and then its just a matter of habit and discipline. Anyone else feel this way?

I'm a vegetarian so its not going to be so hard to switch. But I have a few specific food questions -

1. Is it ok to roast or fry spices in a little oil, and use that as a topping? Heating spices (like cumin, fennel, pine nuts) really brings out the flavors in the essential oils.

2. Thoughts on yogurt? I know its dairy but it has benefits due to the live bacteria, and I really like it. Plus its cheap.

And one more - I get a lot of severe headaches (they are only on one side), probably a migraines or cluster. Does anyone know if raw food diet can help? (I mean obviously it can't hurt, just hoping someone has specific experience).

[sport]

Hi and welcome
Regarding question 1. This was posted here a couple of days ago and may explain why you should not ever heat fats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBu4qZBioT0&feature=related
Maybe you could find some other way to heat the spices. Maybe dry roast.

I am not sure about the bacteria being live in commercial yogurt. It is pasteurised so I can not understand how anything is live in it. I have read that Activia have had to remove the claim that it is beneficial to your tummy from their advertising because they could not prove it. They say that as dairy goes it is the pest form as it is partially pre-digested and not as much strain on your digestive system as other forms.
This would not apply to home made yogurt. That would be live. Get a yogurt maker and have a go. I did it a few times back in the eighties just using bowls.

[Steven]

All I have to say is try raw kombucha tea - there is a good source of live bacterias. Plus many health benefits.

[Psychalone]

They say its good to start with a funny story, so here goes - till a week ago, I had absolutely no idea about this raw food thing. I was in Costco and they had the Vitamix demo, of course I didn't even know what a Vitamix was - as far as I knew it was just a blender. I must've walked past it 3-4 times, without bothering to look at the price, or taste the samples (they kept running out).

Now I know what the fuss was all about!

One of my reasons for trying raw food is going to sound selfish - besides the obvious health benefits, I just want to save time cooking! Due to a busy life, being a single guy, and laziness (but mostly laziness), I don't cook daily, which leads to eating out and bad food habits. So I'm thinking a nice thick smoothie or salad should be a lot faster, and then its just a matter of habit and discipline. Anyone else feel this way?

I'm a vegetarian so its not going to be so hard to switch. But I have a few specific food questions -

1. Is it ok to roast or fry spices in a little oil, and use that as a topping? Heating spices (like cumin, fennel, pine nuts) really brings out the flavors in the essential oils.

2. Thoughts on yogurt? I know its dairy but it has benefits due to the live bacteria, and I really like it. Plus its cheap.

And one more - I get a lot of severe headaches (they are only on one side), probably a migraines or cluster. Does anyone know if raw food diet can help? (I mean obviously it can't hurt, just hoping someone has specific experience).

1.) I would avoid it from a health perspective but if you want to keep it as a "transition" piece then thats fine, as long as you eventually work to eliminate it. If you want them dry you can just use a dehydrater but personally I find spices more potent when fresh. Especially fresh basil and tomatoe mixed together XD. Or if you don't feel like picking the leaves you could just juice the herb and add that to some dressing (yes, i too am lazy, lol)

2.) Normal yogurt is pasteurized dairy with cultures added, it's eating alot of bad with alittle good. Now if you can find farm or store with RAW dairy that would be much better. Raw milk is pretty easy to find depending on where you are and if you go right to the farm they may sell raw milk yogurt, if not you can make your own with the milk. I've personally used raw dairy with a good deal of success in term of gut health, my stomach didn't get TRULY flat until I introduced that in my diet and I noticed a great improvement in digestion, but in terms of energy and awareness....well, it's very sedative, I found myself at times rather legthargic and "foggy" if I had too much. Therefore it may be better to just find an ACTIVE probiotic. Many probiotics are "dead" and don't do anything for you (s'kinda like a sugar pill), so you have to test to make sure they're alive. here's an easy method:
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/03/is-my-probiotic-supplement-active-at.html
You can also use probiotics to make fermented foods like kimchi, saurkraut, rejeuvlac, etc.

THere a good post here about making fermented stuffs:
http://www.giveittomeraw.com/forum/topics/cultured-food?page=2&commentId=1407416%3AComment%3A1070761&x=1#1407416Comment1070761

Re-headaches...I've had two kinds, one was caused by muscle tension the other by a clogged up plumbing. If it's muscle tension I recommend a heated vibrating thing-a-ma-jig or some good massage. If it's caused my bad plumbing then I HIGHLY suggest the saltwater flush. Wait 8-12 hours after your last meal (usually I just sleep and do it in the morning) then mix 1 litre of water with one tablespoon on SEA salt. Heat the water so that it's warm (not too hot) so that the salt dissolves. Then drink it down as fast as possible. It'll be too salty to pass through the kidneys but too watery to get filtered by the liver so it'll go right through you and wash out your entire digestive tract. Usually if I have a headache or if i'm "stuffy", clogged sinuses, sore throat, etc (common cold symptoms) I do a SWF and with 2-4 hours i'm back to normal. DIsease truly starts in the colon ;)
But it may be caused by other things in which case...best of luck to you XP There can be alot of causes but healthy diet is the first defense to cleaning up all the negative symptoms one experiences. You may also want to try avoiding loud abrasive sounds or artificial lighting like computers and TV screens and cell phones. The electro-magnetic stress they all cause can be quite irritating. but anyway.
Best wishes to you

[BeingK8]

One of my reasons for trying raw food is going to sound selfish - besides the obvious health benefits, I just want to save time cooking! Due to a busy life, being a single guy, and laziness (but mostly laziness), I don't cook daily, which leads to eating out and bad food habits. So I'm thinking a nice thick smoothie or salad should be a lot faster, and then its just a matter of habit and discipline. Anyone else feel this way?

I'm a vegetarian so its not going to be so hard to switch. But I have a few specific food questions -

1. Is it ok to roast or fry spices in a little oil, and use that as a topping? Heating spices (like cumin, fennel, pine nuts) really brings out the flavors in the essential oils.

2. Thoughts on yogurt? I know its dairy but it has benefits due to the live bacteria, and I really like it. Plus its cheap.

And one more - I get a lot of severe headaches (they are only on one side), probably a migraines or cluster. Does anyone know if raw food diet can help? (I mean obviously it can't hurt, just hoping someone has specific experience).
The saving on cooking question? Ummm, yea. That would be me. And I'm a girl and aren't we "stereotypically" supposed to be down with cooking? LOL! Not me. AND, I'm a girl with two kids. They have learned that smoothies are perfectly acceptable as meals.
Always hated cooking and raw foods were a way to do even less of it. It's why I seldom do "raw gourmet," - way too frigging much kitchen work. If I'm working for my food, it's in my garden to grow organic, heirloom veggies or to spread things like energetic psychology (tapping therapy) and meditation to the world (for pay) to exchange the compensation I receive for groceries, baby!

Okay,
on 1) If you want to toast and it feels good when you get quiet and ask yourself what your body needs and it says, "yes, roast spices," then roast spices. Are they raw? No. But DO NOT EVER do "raw" because someone or some group or some source "told" you to. Do what you do because it feels like the best way to honor you, your body and your spirit. There are plenty of people in this world (THINK about the population of the world) who have done things that are "crimes" or "cardinal sins" against raw living and they enjoyed healthy, robust lives.

Here's the deal, in my very humble opinion, and what I choose to live and love by because my intuition tells me to: There are many complex factors to human health and they all boil down to doing what is right for YOUR body and YOUR spirit. When something doesn't feel right, doesn't bring robust, radiant health and JOY to you, consider changing it. But consider changing it IF and ONLY IF, what you are seeking is health and joy.

On yogurt? Thoughts are kind of the same, but slightly more opinionated, since you're asking for opinions. Raw, natural yogurt can be healthy and beneficial. Anything sold in a grocery store? Leave it be. Do the research and you'll find the exact right answers for you for why it's crap. For some people it's the hormones the cows are given, for others it's the pasteurization and/or homogenization, for others it;s the actual cultures used; for others it's the sweeteners or what-have-you that are added to the mix; for still others it's the idea that it comes from animals and that milk was naturally intended to feed the animal's young and is a personal ethics violation. You have to decide for you and live, laugh, love and celebrate who you are, as you are in this vast soup of human possibility.

On headaches? Tune in, get quiet, listen to what they are trying to tell you. Do what feels right. Trust your body. Wishing you lots of love and quick insights to a speedy turn-around on this situation.


All I have to say is try raw kombucha tea - there is a good source of live bacterias. Plus many health benefits.
As are many other things - fermented veggied, rejuvelac...
If one is looking for probiotics (the good, live bacteria) there are plenty of options that don't require dairy.

[Dirkg]

About the strict adherence to raw principles, this is my take - of course I would like to do what's best, but I'd rather choose a sustainable 80% over unachievable 100%. I don't mind a few indulgences as long as they help me stay on track and don't do harm.

Thanks all, learnt a few things about bacteria/probiotics that I need to read more on. I don't buy flavored/fruity yogurt, its only ones from Asian stores. I've seen people make homemade yogurt with Pavel's so I believe it does have active cultures.

Does anyone here make Kimchi? Its fermented, raw and delicious! I like it (all Asian food really) but the pre-made one's in Korean stores all have shrimp paste, and I 'd rather make my own anyway.

[Dirkg]

1.)
Re-headaches...I've had two kinds, one was caused by muscle tension the other by a clogged up plumbing. If it's muscle tension I recommend a heated vibrating thing-a-ma-jig or some good massage. If it's caused my bad plumbing then I HIGHLY suggest the saltwater flush. Wait 8-12 hours after your last meal (usually I just sleep and do it in the morning) then mix 1 litre of water with one tablespoon on SEA salt. Heat the water so that it's warm (not too hot) so that the salt dissolves. Then drink it down as fast as possible. It'll be too salty to pass through the kidneys but too watery to get filtered by the liver so it'll go right through you and wash out your entire digestive tract. Usually if I have a headache or if i'm "stuffy", clogged sinuses, sore throat, etc (common cold symptoms) I do a SWF and with 2-4 hours i'm back to normal. DIsease truly starts in the colon ;)
But it may be caused by other things in which case...best of luck to you XP There can be alot of causes but healthy diet is the first defense to cleaning up all the negative symptoms one experiences. You may also want to try avoiding loud abrasive sounds or artificial lighting like computers and TV screens and cell phones. The electro-magnetic stress they all cause can be quite irritating. but anyway.
Best wishes to you

I will have to try the SWF, thanks! Esp since you mention sinus issues which I also have.

[sport]

I will have to try the SWF, thanks! Esp since you mention sinus issues which I also have.

I do believe that dairy does not help sinus problems.