Nieft / Secola <[log in to unmask]>:
>...--I had become increasingly dismayed with what I considered the
>emotional/intellectual imbalance of nearly every 100% rawist I have come
>across...

Tom:
Agreed. In my experience, the few 100% raw (long time 100% raw) people who are
mentally balanced usually eat raw dairy, RAF, or are vegans using supplements
like dried barley grass (all "taboo" items to the mentally unbalanced "100%
RAW NOW" purists). That is why I always emphasize that I am ~90% raw and use
some dairy; I don't want to be associated with the crazies.

Nieft / Secola <[log in to unmask]>:
>Raw Dairy:

>high-quality a RAF (a hard combo to find!) as it seems to be. Anyone ever
>see goat butter? (And my attraction to avos disappeared for days after
>eating the cheese, which I consider a plus ;))

Tom:
Goat butter is available here (Redwood Hill Farms), however it is made from
pasteurized milk (not their wonderful raw milk), and it is very expensive.
Raw cow milk butter is available, the Stueve's brand.

I also find that avos are much less attractive after eating raw dairy. That is
significant, as most raw vegans are avocado-addicts (and many don't even
know it). Having raw milk as an option is very handy, especially when
avocados are expensive or low quality.

I recently found a raw swiss cheese (cow milk) - it is very nice. Other
raw cheeses available include: feta, cheddar, colby, monterey jack. The
(sharp) goat milk cheddar is quite nice.

Nieft / Secola <[log in to unmask]>:
>Steamed Veggies:
>No problem. No "addiction" occurred as rawsters so often state about the
>consumption of any cooked food. If they cook to long they seem to go
>through pretty much undigested, but otherwise I consider them a fine meal
>useful for crowding out excessive fruit consumption. Surprisingly, the

Tom:
I can digest them OK, if unsalted. If salted, they seem to pass through
undigested. (I don't react well to salt.) Of course, they are not addictive.

Nieft / Secola <[log in to unmask]>:
>I wonder if I can get away with these foods because of my relatively long
>time exclusively raw--or if the would have worked all along. My hunch is
>that excluding them for years gives me a good perspective (emotionally,
>intellectually, and metabolically) from which to judge their usefulness.

Tom:
I suspect you could have eaten them all along, for it sounds like you
are eating "clean" cooked foods - simple, unprocessed foods, lightly
cooked. Ayurveda uses a mono-diet of a cooked dish called khitcharee
(similar to the "congee" of Traditional Chinese medicine) as a cleansing
diet. I have tried it for short periods (3 days), and it works very well. So,
clean cooked foods may help with detox as well. (Khitcharee is a blend
of white basmati rice, split yellow mung beans, and lightly spiced;
for recipes, see any Ayurvedic cook book.)

Nieft / Secola <[log in to unmask]>:
>And most of all, I can now proudly say, I am not and no longer intend to be
>100% raw. Hopefully this will keep me from falling off whatever edge so
>many 100%ers seem to fall off ;) ;)

Tom:
We don't want you to fall off the edge (of sanity), that's for sure!  :-)

Nieft / Secola <[log in to unmask]>:
>BTW, he says casually ;), Melisa has a bun in the oven which will be done
>in late January. A huge delight to us after two miscarries...

Tom:
Great news! Congratulations to you and Melisa!

Regards,
Tom Billings
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