Tiger Eyes, I, too, tried the raw thing for a while and loved most of what I tried but did not have all the gadgets to make most of the recipes – like the dehydrator. I have continued with the “least processed” and “most whole” diet selections from that experience, like you, and love it. I don’t think I could go back to a “frankenfood, mostly processed, and/or overcooked” diet again.

That’s some great information you posted and I will look at Ani Phyo’s information to see how I can best combine that way of eating with the low carb lifestyle.

This is just a small sampling of what I get.

–Jimmy

I am not a vegan myself, but I’m very interested in learning about raw foods. I credit my research in that topic to the fact that I gave up all artificial ingredients in my diet, whether low-carb or not. It really makes sense to only choose foods that give a maximum amount of nutrition, to me.

One thing that does frustrate me is that most of these raw foodists speak “neo-hippy” instead of “scientific evidence” when they make arguments. I liked the description of them being “fruity and nutty, like their diets.” Ha ha. I do see the common sense argument, though: humans are the only animals that use fire to prepare their food, and the “Pottenger’s Cats” experiment really highlighted how bad it was for the cats that were fed cooked food.

About the only things I cook anymore are eggs (sometimes, and even then it’s usually soft-boiled) and meat. However, I sometimes eat raw eggs when I make my own sugar-free ice cream from scratch (smoothies are another idea, but I rarely make those right now), and I sometimes eat raw meat. BUT to be safe, I try to only do that when my eggs are organic and free-range, and my meat is organic and grass-fed. Oh yeah, and I only drink raw milk from organic, grass-fed cows. Can’t stand the pasteurized and homogenized stuff. Gotta watch out for almonds from the USA, too, since those are also pasteurized, even though the FDA allows them to still say they’re raw. Hooray for fraudulent claims!

I do gently cook (usually steam) some vegetables that are more nutritious when cooked, such as tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. However, I’m looking into alternative processing methods to free up the nutrients. Still researching!

A lot of raw foodists are really big into dehydrated foods. That sounded like a swell idea at first, but I can’t find a freaking dehydrator that doesn’t use Teflex sheets! Teflon is bad for you, people! Best to stick with sun-dried, air-dried, or just untouched stuff.

My favorite raw speaker so far is Ani Phyo. She’s got a couple books out, some youtube videos, and a website with a ton of great recipes that are super quick with very few ingredients. She’s got a great personality, and she really emphasizes low-glycemic foods, as well as liberal use of coconut, avocado, and nuts. All great low-carb stuff! She really encourages people to just find ways to incorporate more raw foods into their diet, whether or not they want to be 100% raw and vegan.

All right, I hoped I helped a bit! Happy Thanksgiving!