Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Members' Journals => Journals => Topic started by: yon yonson on June 11, 2009, 01:03:48 pm
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so im on an adventure in the pacific northwest US. i bought a one way ticket to portland oregon and am not sure when im returning home to austin tx. right now im staying with some distant relatives but im probably going to be couchsurfing or woofing at some point. i'll also probably be going to eugene oregon, seattle washington, and maybe up to british columbia. im hoping i will get to sample lots of new raw meats up here... so far so good.
i was at one of the farmers markets here today and guess what! one farm sells grass fed yak! unfortunately the guy said they were out that day but that they're about to slaughter two yaks shortly so i should be able to get some within the week. the ranch was called pine mountain or something but their website says nothing about yak, it only says they sell bison and elk (both grass fed). but anyways, he also sells lots of the organs like rocky mountain oysters and stuff so im gonna try those out too (he was out today). so i settled for an elk heart instead. anyways, i was really excited so i thought id share. i'll keep you posted.
so far though, i havent been able to locate a good source of fat. i was kinda banking on the whole foods to have similar offerings to the one in austin (which has suet and marrow up the wazoo), but no dice. i settled for some raw goat milk today for fat and it went down surprisingly well (so far). im gonna go to another farmer's market tomorrow and see if they have some marrow or something. before i left i did make about 2 pounds of pemmican and about 1 pound of rendered tallow. so i have that as a back up but i want to save that for if i go backpacking somewhere.
also, there is a primitive skills workshop being offered around the end of june and it looks like i'll be learning how to make an atlatl and maybe bows and arrows. then maybe i can do some hunting for my own meat :o
any who, i guess i'll try and keep you guys updated if i find some more cool meats and whatnot.
ps: does anyone know the area or live near here? any tips for staying raw paleo here? we should meet up. i've got a pretty flexible schedule :)
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Ah I loved Oregon when I was there in SAD-eating days. Beautiful scenery. Can't help you re food-sources as all I did then was eat processed foods.
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Aboriginal diet in that area was seafood, and they did well on it. You might consider what of it is paleo.
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Exotic stuff for me.
Take pictures!
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so i've yet to find a decent source of fat here. im still hoping to find some suet/marrow/hide fat at one of the farmer's markets but not counting on it. i contacted some nearby farms as well and one said they might have some suet (they're gonna call me back tomorrow).
so, with an unclear source of good fat, i just thought i'd ask you guys what i should compromise with if i can't find any. here are my options for alternative sources of fat as i see them:
- raw goat cheese (or cow but doesnt digest as well for me)
- raw goat milk (already bought some and it seems to digest relatively well)
- pasturized organic grass-fed butter (from cow)
- pasturized goat butter
- egg yolks (not really an option for me as i hate them but thought id put it out there)
- raw grain-fed fatty beef
- avocado/nuts + an increase in my intake of fruits which is very low at the moment
- raw VCO (could also combine this with more fruits)
- just start eating paleo, sans the raw part :'( (lightly cooked meats; probably grain fed)
anyways, opinions? i hear butter digests well for some, but would pasturized be OK? the raw goat milk seems like an OK option but its really expensive ($8 per half gallon). raw goat cheese seems to digest pretty well also but its expensive too. i almost am most drawn to the increase in avocado/nuts/VCO with more fruits. i was zero carb for the last two months, but i might be able to ease back into them.
by the way, elk heart is very tasty! i recommend it.
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You obviously need to find an online grassfed meat farm which can deliver suet/marrow etc. direct to your home.
As regards what to do when raw animal fats are unavailable, what I do is either go in for some raw chicken eggs(this never really works for me as I develop a food-intolerance to chicken eggs if I eat more than a tiny amount of them at a time) or I switch to organic or nonorganic fruit, depending on what's available.
Don't touch raw dairy(and especially not pasteurised dairy) as you'll regret it. Studies have shown time and again that pasteurised dairy is much worse even than cooked meat in effect. Even the fanatically anti-raw beyondveg.com site admits this.
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My fallback choice is raw organic egg yolks.
I do not like vco or evoo.
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so, with an unclear source of good fat, i just thought i'd ask you guys what i should compromise with if i can't find any.
One of either USWellness meats or Slanker's will ship grassfed tallow; people have bought the 30 pound bucket.
Please note that in spite of all the negativity from one of our members, no one has ever experienced any problems with tallow, even after eating it for years in pemmican.
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I've never been that far west. I went to Arizona one summer and was teased for the way I pronounce Oregon (with 3 syllables, lol!) Have a wonderful trip!!
My fallback choice is raw organic egg yolks.
Same for me if I'm in a crunch on a raw fat source. I love them, though, so it's not so intolerable for me. Also, I would do better with lightly cooked meat than dairy, avocado, or nuts. But that's just me.
Look forward to hearing about your trip!
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great news! i had the use of a car today so my mission was to find a source of fat by calling various farms. i called a few farms and none had any fat to speak of at the moment, but then a farm called me back after i left a message earlier and said they had loads of beef suet! so i drove about 40 miles to Abundant Life Farms. when i got there the guy checked his fridge and said he was out... wtf! but then he said he had tons of pork fat so he gave me about 4 pounds for free just because he didnt have the beef suet he promised. pretty sweet. i know pork fat isnt as ideal but good enough for me. now im pretty much set on fat for at least a few weeks so i can concentrate on just exploring portland now. im excited!
also, yeah, elk heart is definitely one of my favorite raw meats. it tastes amazing; not gamy at all! now go out and try and find one
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One of either USWellness meats or Slanker's will ship grassfed tallow; people have bought the 30 pound bucket.
Please note that in spite of all the negativity from one of our members, no one has ever experienced any problems with tallow, even after eating it for years in pemmican.
What a load of nonsense, given so many people's negative experiences with cooked food, including tallow! And kindly restrict advocation of cooked-foods to the hot topics forum. It's highly inappropriate.
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today i got some fresh wild sea trout... nothing special in my opinion. didn't have much of a taste. i found an awesome supplier of grass fed lamb at the farmers market today. had some fun eating raw meat out in public. just had it in a plastic bag and no one noticed. that's pretty liberating. also, i brought some of the newly acquired pork fat with me today while i was out and kind of forgot about it. it was room temp for most of the day and still seems very fresh and it almost doesn't seem like it needs to be refrigerated. has anyone else had this experience with pork fat? beef fat seems to start smelling after its room temp for an extended period of time.
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still goin strong. had some hawaiian style poke (raw tuna) at a sushi restaurant yesterday with the people im staying with. hadn't even heard of it til i saw it on the menu, but very good stuff. today i hiked for 10 miles in Forest Park. it was pretty amazing. i did it all barefoot too (got pretty good at fox walking). by the way, my legs are usually pretty sore after hiking for that long, but barefoot caused no such problems. its amazing how well our bodies function when put in paleo situations. also, at mile 5 i chowed on some pork suet and tenderloin. it was fun just rippin it apart in the forest. on the way back i ran into a bunch of salmonberry bushes and snacked on those for a while. they look like a cross between a strawberry and a raspberry but they were really tasty. then, after i trekked back to the house, i had two lambs hearts and about a pound of lamb steak for din din. mmmmmm
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Yes, candles are good nutrition.
One of either USWellness meats or Slanker's will ship grassfed tallow; people have bought the 30 pound bucket.
Please note that in spite of all the negativity from one of our members, no one has ever experienced any problems with tallow, even after eating it for years in pemmican.
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Yes, candles are good nutrition.
One of either USWellness meats or Slanker's will ship grassfed tallow; people have bought the 30 pound bucket.
Please note that in spite of all the negativity from one of our members, no one has ever experienced any problems with tallow, even after eating it for years in pemmican.
(LOL!) Very good point!
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Thanks. Nice to see you laugh. It's not a paraffin candle. It's like those ones made in colonial times. I guess when people got hungry enough they ate their candles. Why not? People have eaten worse. We're in this for health though hopefully. I need very edible fats, not substandard other usage fats.
Do you get brains where you live? I want to eat a brain. I think it's illegal here. I will inquire, maybe US Wellness or Northstar Bison or some farm in Pennsylvania or other neighboring state.
Last night I dined in a restaurant with no raw meat on the menu. I asked to speak with the owner, and he prepared my dish himself and even asked me about each ingredient he thought of mixing with it.
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Do you get brains where you live? I want to eat a brain. I think it's illegal here. I will inquire, maybe US Wellness or Northstar Bison or some farm in Pennsylvania or other neighboring state.
I can only get hold of pigs' brains which are grainfed like almost all pork in the UK. Theoretically, only cattle brains are banned from being sold in the UK due to BSE, but farmers generally prefer to throw away all animals' brains due to concerns re being picked on by the government etc.
You'll just have to keep checking on grassfed farms until you find some reasonable farmer who will sell them.
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Yes, we are doing this for health, that's why I eat pemmican which is proven to support health.
If you can suggest a better source of available fat please do so.
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Yes, we are doing this for health, that's why I eat pemmican which is proven to support health.
If you can suggest a better source of available fat please do so.
I see you can't take a joke. Imagine, eating candlewax for health! Tut tut! And raw suet or raw tongue are a far better examples of healthy fats.
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i finally got yak meat! i bought a little less than a pound of skirt steak (it was pretty expensive) from grass fed yak here in oregon. i just got done eating it... it was pretty damn good. not the best meat i've had (i actually like the lamb meat here more as well as the elk heart i had a while back). it tasted a lot like bison but it definitely had an after taste that was like grassy or something. hard to describe but it was interesting.
the past couple days i've been eating lamb kabob meat almost exclusively. right now it's tasting waaay better than the grassfed organic beef here. i really want to try goat next and i've also been looking for some good quality turkey. i saw whole foods has organic free range turkey, but it doesnt really say what they're fed. i might try it anyway though. anyways, im hoping to head to the oregon coast within the next couple days... im probably gonna try the rideshare thing from craigslist as i dont have a car. hopefully that works out... might have to hitchhike
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Do you get brains where you live? I want to eat a brain. I think it's illegal here. I will inquire, maybe US Wellness or Northstar Bison or some farm in Pennsylvania or other neighboring state.
In Poland, where I live, I can easily buy veal brain and it's quite tasty
lamb brain is banned because of some EU's stupid regulations
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hey guys, figured it's time for an update. i was in eugene for the last five days. it was a pretty awesome town. very cool hiking nearby. anyways, i got a ride back to portland the other day and i just met up with this farmer who goes to one of the farmer's markets here in portland. we hit it off and it looks like im going to be working on their farm within the next couple days (depends when i can get a ride out there). their farm is on the oregon coast and the raise grassfed beef and lamb! the couple running it is very nice and actually pretty accepting of my diet (i told them upfront and they seemed intrigued). here's the farm website fyi: http://www.meadowharvest.com/ (http://www.meadowharvest.com/)
anyways im pretty excited. also looking forward to digging for clams and crabbing in the nearby bay.
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I used to be able to get Dungeness crabs from the Pacific coast. Have you ever had one of those? The first time I ate one it suddenly made me much more tolerant to very hot weather. The summer of '07 was hot as heck, around 98 F every day. It was making me miserable until I ate a Dungeness crab. All of sudden the heat didn't bother me.
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I love crabs, they're so healthy and so much cheaper than lobster.
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so i've never had raw crab... is it pretty easy to get the meat out? any tips would be appreciated.
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I think Tyler said before that you freeze them and chop them up like that and then meat comes out easily.
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cool. i'll be doing that when i get my hands on some crab.
so, i've been herding sheep and cows for the last two days! i'm also learning how to install portable fencing to keep them on their rotated pastures. pretty neat really. as for food, they have about 4 freezers full of meat and i've just been taking the cheapest cuts and stuff from them as payment.
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Do you think you could learn enough to run a small to medium size meat farm operation? Everything from taking care of the animals to butchering? It is my dream to have my own ranch to feed myself and perhaps produce enough to sell to pay for the taxes on the land and some disposable income.
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i definitely think i'll be able to learn enough to run a small lamb operation but the farm im on sends their animals to a butcher so i won't be seeing any of the actual processing unfortunately. im learning lots about fencing and rotating pastures. i guess im not learning about the deworming and such but i probably wouldnt do those anyway on my own farm. in the future im hoping to put goats on my parents small plot of land so this is definitely helping me learn about maintaining a small farm. i'd recommend hooking up with a local farm for a similar style internship. let me know if you have other questions.
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damn. so we came back from a farmer's market yesterday and found out that a coyote had killed a lamb while we were gone. they sent me out to investigate so i went out and scared off the vultures to take a look. there was just the head and skin left! so i got the ear tag number and everything and reported back. then i got to thinking i could go back and get the brain and eyes so i could try those for the first time. but then i got held up because we had to herd the cattle into the barn for sorting and that lasted all day. so i went out this morning to see if i could get the brain and eyes but the head was completely gone... only the skin left. oh well. that would have been pretty awesome though. fresh killed lamb brain and eyes for the first time. bah, anyways, just wanted to let you guys know.
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by the way, i dont know how long i'll be staying on the farm (most likely from 1-3 more weeks) but then im thinking of finding rides down the west coast and then eventually over back to austin, tx. if anyone here is on the way and wouldnt mind a raw paleo guest for a day or two, let me know. i'd really like to meet another rpd'er. it just seems like it'd be soooo nice to sit down and eat some raw meats with someone instead of by myself. so, if you're up for it, send me a pm and maybe we can work something out.
edit: for clarification, this applies to anyone in oregon, california, nevada, arizona, new mexico, and texas. maybe if i go a more northern route even utah and colorado.
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hi yon, glad you're having fun out there! i wish i were in your line of travel cuz I'd love to meet someone from here!!!, but I'm on the complete opposite coast :S are you taking any photos?
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yep, taking lots of photos for sure! not sure how but i'd be happy to post some...
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update: still on the same farm and planning on staying for another week or so. i'm having a great time learning about how to raise really great grass fed meats! they got some fresh lamb straight from the butcher the other day so i got to try some fresh mutton and it was pretty amazing. had some really good lamb marrow too! also, i've seen some of their beef has that reeeaaaally yellow fat like in that video that goodsamaratin posted on youtube a while back. really good stuff. but ya, i've been selling their stuff at 3 different farmer's markets and having lots of fun back at the farm.
anyways, it looks like im gonna head out sometime soon after july 24th. so if anyone is between oregon and texas and wants to meet up/host me, let me know!
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he, i guess i forgot to make a post saying that i returned to austin around the beginning of august. a little late i guess. BUT, i had an amazing time working on the farm. i learned a lot. anyways, i thought i'd show off some pics (if i can figure it out, hope this works).
this is me on top of spencer butte in eugene, oregon
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs096.snc1/4970_922221259120_7956836_53265664_6177284_n.jpg)
some of the sheep
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs169.snc1/6332_944565351380_7956836_54378804_4966077_n.jpg)
on the lookout for coyotes
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs175.snc1/6572_928681517710_7956836_53621856_3545409_n.jpg)
haha, i got to name this newborn 'Suet'
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs169.snc1/6332_944566499080_7956836_54378847_6204891_n.jpg)
at the market
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs169.snc1/6332_944566593890_7956836_54378851_3981515_n.jpg)
look how fucking huge he is!
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs175.snc1/6572_928681512720_7956836_53621855_2616599_n.jpg)
anyways, there ya go. i can post more later maybe
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Great stuff.
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glad you liked it. here's some more pics
this is what's left of the sheep the coyote got to. a few hours later
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs175.snc1/6572_928681477790_7956836_53621848_10484_n.jpg)
more sheep
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs195.snc1/6572_928681377990_7956836_53621831_3138451_n.jpg)
pretty nice scene to wake up to
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs189.snc1/6332_944565965150_7956836_54378829_4421967_n.jpg)
king of the shit pile
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs169.snc1/6332_944566044990_7956836_54378833_5189837_n.jpg)
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awesome pics. post more!
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great to 'see' you!
looks like you had an amazing experience!
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Those were hungry 'yotes! I'm assuming that it takes more than one to eat a whole sheep.
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these are highland cattle. they weren't on the farm i was on but i saw these when bike riding near portland
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs108.snc1/5072_915818390520_7956836_52953136_3456248_n.jpg)
this is a salmonberry. they're good and pretty abundant
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs088.snc1/5072_915405143670_7956836_52932638_7514375_n.jpg)
on a hike in the columbia river gorge
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs111.snc1/4817_918370491090_7956836_53079365_3720852_n.jpg)
this is the beach near the farm (manzanita)
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs195.snc1/6572_928681387970_7956836_53621832_6876126_n.jpg)
the resident donkey
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs189.snc1/6332_944565605870_7956836_54378815_4950342_n.jpg)
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Those were hungry 'yotes! I'm assuming that it takes more than one to eat a whole sheep.
well we didnt actually see the coyotes but ya, i think they hunt in packs. the real damage though was when the vultures came. they picked it completely clean.
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WWOOOOOW amazing pics! the salmonberry is incredible! as is the river photo! also, you look great mate, amazing in fact! Getting out there, getting suck in! So strong and healthy! :) aaaa makes me happy to see pics like that, I cant wait to earn enough to migrate from the big city of london. good boy!!
david, 22, london
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I love Oregon! Those beautiful sand-beaches endlessly stretching everywhere. Those mountains inland etc. If only I could live there.
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Cool pics!
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so i guess i might as well use this as a sort of journal too...
i've been having some strange things going on lately that i think are related to my diet. not necessarily bad things, they might even be good signs. anyways, i've been on a vlc raw paleo diet for about 9 months now. just a couple weeks ago though i started getting really bad mucus in my throat that i would either have to blow out my nose or hock out in my spit. it's lasted for a few weeks, but seems to be dissipating. i never felt ill really, just lots and lots of mucus (some greenish, some white or clear). and now im noticing that i don't desire fats nearly as much as i used to. just been eating lots of meat and only a little fat. I should also note that i started eating one or two small cubes of liver once a day for a week or two in the middle of all this. it started to taste way better than i remembered it. but now it doesn't sound to good and i stopped eating it a few days ago. but the weird thing is that today i've been noticing that my sense of smell has been extremely sensitive. i've been smelling pretty intense smells all day. anyways, i thought it was a pretty strange set of events. i should also say that i still have occasional mucus but usually only in the morning.
anyone have an opinion of what might be going on? im not too fond of the whole idea of 'detox' but it does kinda seem like that might be involved...
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I've had mucus appearing but more usually after eating some cooked foods. I take it a sign of detox, re getting rid of the toxins from cooked foods(the mucus was particularly evident after consuming any pastry or dairy, during certain experiments.
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I love crabs, they're so healthy and so much cheaper than lobster.
If I wanted to keep a lobster alive a little while, what do they eat? Is stabbing them in the back of the head the quickest way to kill them? I've only talked with them or ate them before, never fed them or killed them.
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Beautiful pictures! Have you tried the highland beef? Is that you with the donkey in the bottom picture?
these are highland cattle. they weren't on the farm i was on but i saw these when bike riding near portland
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs108.snc1/5072_915818390520_7956836_52953136_3456248_n.jpg)
this is a salmonberry. they're good and pretty abundant
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs088.snc1/5072_915405143670_7956836_52932638_7514375_n.jpg)
on a hike in the columbia river gorge
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs111.snc1/4817_918370491090_7956836_53079365_3720852_n.jpg)
this is the beach near the farm (manzanita)
(http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs195.snc1/6572_928681387970_7956836_53621832_6876126_n.jpg)
the resident donkey
(http://hphotos
snc1.fbcdn.net/hs189.snc1/6332_944565605870_7956836_54378815_4950342_n.jpg)
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If I wanted to keep a lobster alive a little while, what do they eat?
Any animal that gets near them that doesn't kill them. I'd recommend feeder fish but they're so loaded with bad stuff from their diets and close quarters that you don't want to pass that into your food. Do you have any ponds or streams local you can go catch some minnows in?
I believe lobsters will also scavenge. If this is the case drop some of your raw meat in the bottom of the tank and it should be good.
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Beautiful pictures! Have you tried the highland beef? Is that you with the donkey in the bottom picture?
ha, nope, didn't get to try the highland beef. they looked delicious though. and yes, that's me with the donkey. man, good times. thanks for the reminder. i gotta get up to that farm again
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We fed him some. He's gone now though. Thank you.
My friend said highland beef tastes "sublty different" than regular beef. I'm glad I reminded you of it :). Have a good trip there =)