Jumping in Cold Turkey

[Beyonder]

Hello all,

I have been perusing this forum for quite some time, absorbing information and finding the best way to start on a raw diet.  Everyone here has provided a bevy of helpful information. I used to try to eat raw meat behind my mother's back and now I understand why!   

I currently eat a cooked (often lightly cooked) paleo diet.  I have eaten my meat raw on several occasions and enjoy it very much.

Still, I have several hurdles to overcome:

1. The closest grass-fed farms to me are several hours away and they have offered me a whole lamb. For cost and time reasons, I cannot visit these farms more than once a month.  This is perfect, since I believe a whole lamb (including all the fat, organs, etc.) would sustain me for a month or slightly more.

Now here's the problem: how do I store the meat?  I am hesitant to freeze the meat as I understand that is detrimental.

2. I am totally cool with high meat, but is it too early?  I would end up eating only high meat towards the end of the month -- is that too much of a good thing?

Also, I live in a relatively cramped apartment with four other people.  I don't want to disrespect my friends with smells that might not appeal to them.

Another concern of high meat is that I'd rather not absorb any of its odor.  I have done some high meat experiments and I don't mind the smell, but others find it offensive.

3. I am interested in lacto-fermenting fruits and vegetables.  If I eat too little carbohydrate, I don't feel as well, but if I eat too much, it taxes my digestive system.  I know that eating fermented carbohydrates allows me to digest them more easily.  Anyone here have any experience with this?

Thanks to everyone here for giving people like me the courage to go through with this diet.  There's a wonderful community here and I'm happy to have been given a chance to peek into it!

[CHK91]

Hello Beyonder!

Have you already checked sites like eatwild.com? If there really are not any in the immediate area, there are online vendors, NorthStar Bison and Slankers, that will mail it to your door.

Freezing meat has little effect on nutrient values, but some have said that the meat does not "age" well if it is frozen. I haven't tried this for myself so I'm not sure.

The only thing I have been fermenting is cabbage. It's not hard to do. You can cut into strips, salt it, put it in a jar, and squeeze the liquid out until it is over all the cabbage. It's takes about a week. You have to keep pushing down it from time to time. I would assume you could do this with other vegetables.

[TylerDurden]

*First of all, this really belongs in the Welcome Committee Forum. I'll move it there now*.

As for the other points:-

a) Well, you could save yourself some trouble and have the grassfed meats delivered to your door. I know some farms sometimes have reduced delivery costs if the target address is within <20 miles of a farm.

The storage of 1 whole, raw lamb is either going to have to be done via getting the farmer to cut it all up beforehand into smaller slices and then dehydrating it, or by cutting it up and then freezing it. IMO, I view dehydration as actually a bit worse than freezing as that lowers water-content of the meats. Plus, freezing doesn't do that much damage. It doesn't kill off the bacteria, just slowing them down temporarily inactivating them. Freezing does rupture the cell-membranes so it is always a good idea to eat the raw meat as soon as it's thawed as otherwise nutrients are lost - sticking it back in to refreeze is not a good idea, which is why lots of separate meat-cuts should be frozen, rather than 1 whole large carcass at once.

b) I would strongly advise against eating "high-meats" when you are sharing with others. It really offends people big time.

If you are near the country, it might be possible to store some "high-meats" in the outdoors underground. Otherwise, wait until you have a flat of your own or have some little-used cellar/basement below your flats, where you can secretly store such high-meat. I use concentrated toothpaste of some sort and soap, so issues re "high-meat" or fresh, raw meat or whatever don't come up.

c) No idea re lacto-fermenting fruit/veg, as I have never felt the need. But it sounds like someone should make a sticky topic re the subject.

[miles]

Freezing meat has little effect on nutrient values

I guess that'd depend on what one might call 'little'. I also think more nutrients might be preserved if one eats the meat whilst it's still frozen.

The storage of 1 whole, raw lamb is either going to have to be done via getting the farmer to cut it all up beforehand into smaller slices and then dehydrating it, or by cutting it up and then freezing it.

What about vacuum packing? That's brilliant if done right. It can keep meat fresh and juicy for many months.

[Beyonder]

Thanks to everyone for the in-depth responses and warm welcome!

Hello Beyonder!

Have you already checked sites like eatwild.com? If there really are not any in the immediate area, there are online vendors, NorthStar Bison and Slankers, that will mail it to your door.

Correct, eatwild has shown very little in the way of farms in my area.  But I am willing to make the trek.  I have ordered from NorthStar Bison and Slankers and enjoyed both of their offerings.  But I want to support local farming and I prefer to get things fresh rather than frozen and sealed in plastic.  Of course, I may end up with that option if need be.

Freezing meat has little effect on nutrient values, but some have said that the meat does not "age" well if it is frozen. I haven't tried this for myself so I'm not sure.

Well, hopefully by freezing the meat for no longer than a few weeks, there won't be much effect.

The only thing I have been fermenting is cabbage. It's not hard to do. You can cut into strips, salt it, put it in a jar, and squeeze the liquid out until it is over all the cabbage. It's takes about a week. You have to keep pushing down it from time to time. I would assume you could do this with other vegetables.

Cool, I can't wait to try it!

*First of all, this really belongs in the Welcome Committee Forum. I'll move it there now*.

Sorry!

As for the other points:-

a) Well, you could save yourself some trouble and have the grassfed meats delivered to your door. I know some farms sometimes have reduced delivery costs if the target address is within <20 miles of a farm.

Unfortunately I am much further than that from the closest farm.  I have looked at eatwild.com and also through google and other avenues.

The storage of 1 whole, raw lamb is either going to have to be done via getting the farmer to cut it all up beforehand into smaller slices and then dehydrating it, or by cutting it up and then freezing it. IMO, I view dehydration as actually a bit worse than freezing as that lowers water-content of the meats. Plus, freezing doesn't do that much damage. It doesn't kill off the bacteria, just slowing them down temporarily inactivating them. Freezing does rupture the cell-membranes so it is always a good idea to eat the raw meat as soon as it's thawed as otherwise nutrients are lost - sticking it back in to refreeze is not a good idea, which is why lots of separate meat-cuts should be frozen, rather than 1 whole large carcass at once.

My plan was definitely to have separate meat cuts, so it is good to have some confirmation.  And I will the ask the farm not to dehydrate the meat or drain the blood.  One of my biggest supermarket (even Whole Foods) pet peeves is meat that has been drained of blood. 

I am hoping to coordinate a pick-up time at the farm so I can store the meats and freeze them myself.  Is it better to freeze meats in a vacuum-sealed package, or to put them in pyrex or other freezable containers?

b) I would strongly advise against eating "high-meats" when you are sharing with others. It really offends people big time.

If you are near the country, it might be possible to store some "high-meats" in the outdoors underground. Otherwise, wait until you have a flat of your own or have some little-used cellar/basement below your flats, where you can secretly store such high-meat. I use concentrated toothpaste of some sort and soap, so issues re "high-meat" or fresh, raw meat or whatever don't come up.

So I guess "high meat" will have to wait

c) No idea re lacto-fermenting fruit/veg, as I have never felt the need. But it sounds like someone should make a sticky topic re the subject.

Cool!  Well, I figure if the bacteria in "high meat" can help digest meat, so can the bacteria in fermented plant material.

Thanks again guys and I'm glad to be here!

[TylerDurden]

Not sure re packaging. Much of my meat is vacuum-packed by default, but certainly not all. Not sure how good or bad that is.

Re bacteria:- actually, I suspect that bacteria in fruit/veg merely makes fruit/veg more digestible, and so on.For example, in past years when I was VLC for very long periods, I noticed that I would lose the ability to properly digest carbs if I had a sudden large carb-intake for just 1 meal. It took quite some time for my body to readapt to digesting carbs properly. It was explained to me that this was because the specific bacteria in the gut which were used to digest the carbs came ultimately from previous carb-meals, so that when I ceased consuming carbs, there was less and less of the right bacteria in my digestive system for digesting carbs, thus causing digestive issues when I then consumed some fruit/veg in quantity. Slowly building up the bacteria via frequent carb meals did the trick re readapting.