On Sun, 21 Feb 1999,  "~ Rainah ~" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Subject: Re: Yam Sundae Recipe (True Confession)
>
> er..Katie:
>
> >>Nuke for 40-50 seconds to heat all
> >> together.
>
> Nuking is not paleo!
>
> >>Ben and Jerry, eat your heart out.
>
> Dairy and sugar are definaely NOT on the list
>
> Sometimes I wonder what people are doing on this list...


Rainah-- a couple of things . . . . most forms of cooking create health
issues (changing the chemical structure of the food); and there is really
no serious body of evidence that microwaving is any worse than any other
means (if there is, I'd love someone to cite it).  So, I wouldn't
characterize it as nonpaleo.  Cooking has a lot of benefits (killing
micro-organisms/parasites; neutralizing many anti-nutrients; improving
taste) and has been around a long time (tens of thousands, if not hundreds
of thousands, of years).  Moreover, microwave cooking has some nice
pluses:  cooking in minimal water for a reduced time, as occurs with
microwaving, promotes the retention of the water-soluble vitamins.
The same logic applies to mineral retention in vegetables. The quality of
protein is higher in microwaved than in conventionally cooked food as less
oxidation occurs in meat cooked in a microwave. Lack of browning makes it
likely that fat-soluble vitamins are better retained than in conventional
cooking. Food can be taken from the freezer, thawed quickly, cooked and
served without it spending long periods of time at room temperature
(which can of course encourage the growth of micro-organisms).


Second, I wouldn't take on a holier-than-thou attitude-- even Ray Audette
admits to craving ice cream (and giving into the cravings from time to
time).  Many others on the list have admitted incorporating varying
amounts of "nonpaleo" food into their diets, as well as occasionally
throwing it all to the winds and feasting on corn chips or pizza or
whatever.  The issue is more what proportion of one's diet is "paleo" and
one's desire to make it even more so.  Most of the people on the list have
strong paleo leanings (50, 60, 60, 80, 90% of their diet) and would like
to do even better.  But I doubt if many (any?) of us is perfect, day in
and day out, week in week out, year in year out.

Cheers!

Gregg
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