What do you think?

No extra applied heat is added (I think!!) but you wouldn't find dried fruits in nature would you? Not dried figs or prunes etc. anyway...

I say this feeling a bit funny because I just ate a packet of dried figs.. I bought them without looking up on the internet to see whether they occured dry naturally or not...

i guess technically by definition it is still raw because its not cooked , but, generally when i try to wrap my head around something to decide .. i think about , can i somehow take this item and plant it and make it grow? or take a cutting from it and make a new plant from it and make it grow. if not then i dont really consider it raw ,

i guess our early man sisters and brothers probably stumbled upon some drying fruit and ate them and thought hmmmm not as good as fresh but still edibile and its easy to carry and lasts long time ! thus dehydrating was born maybe out of need for the nomadic people

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I would say that fruits have been dried in the sun for eons for people to eat.

Yeah I agree with you, I think you're very sensible and wise Jodi.

Next time I'll look well for actual figs, I bet they taste better as well, just like plums taste far better than prunes (which are dried plums) and raisins vs grapes... are you kidding me?!?!?!?!

They won't kill me this time in any event.

Jgunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i guess technically by definition it is still raw
> because its not cooked , but, generally when i try
> to wrap my head around something to decide .. i
> think about , can i somehow take this item and
> plant it and make it grow? or take a cutting from
> it and make a new plant from it and make it grow.
> if not then i dont really consider it raw ,
>
> i guess our early man sisters and brothers
> probably stumbled upon some drying fruit and ate
> them and thought hmmmm not as good as fresh but
> still edibile and its easy to carry and lasts long
> time ! thus dehydrating was born maybe out of
> need for the nomadic people

I have heard that if the dehydrating process is done at low heat then minimal damage or maybe even no damage is done to the food except the water is removed. I have also heard that the lower the heat the better with an upper limit of 118 degrees F used as the point beyond which damage definitely occurs to the food. Many people prefer to dehydrate at about 105 F. The best way to make sure about the heat is to take control of the dehydration process yourself and get a dehydrator with an adjustable temperature control. Some commercial dehydrators heat the foods to about 160 F to speed up the drying process resulting in a lot of damage to the food. On a personal note I have noticed that when I eat dehydrated food it dehydrates my body and I need to drink more water as a result.

Jodi can I ask you something?

What do you eat when you're out and about and get hungry? Sometimes I try nuts (trying not to have included salt or vegetable oil!!)... but nuts are noisy to eat.

Bananas are of course a great food because they're a great source of energy and not too hard to digest (for a fruit). What else though? It can get kind of tricky for me eating in public... I don't like people knowing I'm not one of "them".

aww thanks hun !

hehe nah wont kill us for sure

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

these days i pretty much pack a whopping big smoothie in a giant thermos that i keep in a cloth bag or packsack .. i siphon that into my *coffee cup* that you see everyone carrying around that pretty much keeps any hunger at bay for me throughout the day if im running around

when i go out to eat i find out ahead of time where we are going as best as i can and talk to all the cooks on a regular basis around the 2 and 3 towns that are around me theyre all really cool about making me something special

i keep nuts and seeds in baggies with me in the car for quick snacks, and if im really mobile on any particular day i have those little hard plastic and soft plastic 6 pack size coolers in the car with whole fruits and precut veggies with a dip in tupperware in case i get stuck in between meals i keep my fruits and veggies in seperate coolers because i dont like banana flavored celery or onion flavored apples lol
\
i know it sounds complicated but it really isnt .. i just open the fridge and toss things into clean little coolers and dump the blender into my thermos and aways i go !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Try not to stress... LOL

Personally I dont buy dried fruit ... its not part of my everyday diet

but whatever works for YOU!!! of course making your own is better..but.. eh its better than a bigmac!

Jgunn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> these days i pretty much pack a whopping big
> smoothie in a giant thermos that i keep in a cloth
> bag or packsack .. i siphon that into my *coffee
> cup* that you see everyone carrying around
> that pretty much keeps any hunger at bay for me
> throughout the day if im running around
>
> when i go out to eat i find out ahead of time
> where we are going as best as i can and talk to
> all the cooks on a regular basis around the 2 and
> 3 towns that are around me theyre all really
> cool about making me something special
>
> i keep nuts and seeds in baggies with me in the
> car for quick snacks, and if im really mobile on
> any particular day i have those little hard
> plastic and soft plastic 6 pack size coolers in
> the car with whole fruits and precut veggies with
> a dip in tupperware in case i get stuck in between
> meals i keep my fruits and veggies in seperate
> coolers because i dont like banana flavored celery
> or onion flavored apples lol
> \
> i know it sounds complicated but it really isnt ..
> i just open the fridge and toss things into clean
> little coolers and dump the blender into my
> thermos and aways i go !


Okay, sounds really good!!! It's really cool that you're doing all of that. It's better to be smart or we might end up giving way to something not desirable or not optimal.

rawdanceruk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Try not to stress... LOL
>
> Personally I dont buy dried fruit ... its not part
> of my everyday diet
>
> but whatever works for YOU!!! of course making
> your own is better..but.. eh its better than a
> bigmac!

Yes, you're definitely right. However I guess I find that if I aim for 100%, I end up getting 98% or so a lot of the time. If I aim for 98%, I might end up with 95%... etc... so I try to aim to be perfect most of the time. It makes me feel so much better as well if I am.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2009 04:48PM by SuperInfinity.

yea if im not prepared im liable to be found face down in the bakery cart at my supermarket complete with white chalk line around me

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

agreed, nobody is perfect

I find not buying junk is 99% of the hard work done.

Fruit will dry naturally on a tree. I've eaten dehydrated figs directly off a tree before, and it was quite delicious. For store bought ones, look for dried fruit that isn't sulfured, and is either sun-dried or dried at low temperatures.

The thing about dried fruit is that is will dry you out, because is has less water density than your body, and the fruit will stick to your teeth, causing dental problems if you don't brush your teeth afterward.

That being said, dried fruit is healthier to eat than cooked fruit.

SuperInfinity,

Agree with Bryan. I only eat dried foods that have been sundried or dried by me in my Excalibur and then only a small serving every few months. It's a textural thing; variety is nice. I am thinking that you could eat a few apples or some cut-up watermelon out of a Thermos style container in public and no one would look at you askance, no?

Tamukha Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SuperInfinity,
>
> Agree with Bryan. I only eat dried foods that
> have been sundried or dried by me in my Excalibur
> and then only a small serving every few months.
> It's a textural thing; variety is nice. I am
> thinking that you could eat a few apples or some
> cut-up watermelon out of a Thermos style container
> in public and no one would look at you askance,
> no?

Well, one apple isn't much of a problem, I've seen it many times and people don't look twice at others. However a few apples or enough pieces for a full honeydew melon would make me a bit uncomfortable. I tend to wolf the food down fast as well which isn't like me at home and can't be as healthy.

You have to admit it can be a bit awkward. A snack is fine but a meal of bananas even in an eating place makes me feel strange. That's why I try to hide it. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Quote

It can get kind of tricky for me eating in public... I don't like people knowing I'm not one of "them"

Personal experience: If someone is nosing around regarding what I'm eating, and I don't feel 100% comfortable in the situation explaining the "raw" thing, sometimes I underplay it, fib a little, and get them involved.. I usually say something like, "Oh, my friend and I are doing a raw foods challenge for a few days. It's supposed to be really healthy." Then I turn it around and ask if they want to try it out too. While not many people would be willing to consider going raw, a lot of people seem to LOVE the idea of a quick-fix 'cleanse.' (Hollywood juice diet, anyone?) Call me a con-artist if you will, but in the past year I've gotten 2 people to do 3 days all raw. =)

SuperInfinity,

Actually. it never occurs to me to care what other people think of my eating, say, 6 bananas in a sitting. It's not like I'm eating newborn baby shashimi--now THAT would be uncomfortable to do in public : )

Yeah..Ive seen people give me weird looks. I made a zuchini *pasta* salad once and ate it at the food court where I work. People did give me looks...
But I don't care. Its their problem. I don't let it bother me. You shouldn't either. Whats the worst thats going to happen??? Theyre going to grab a steak and hold you down and force it down your throat? Nah....theyll probably not even talk to you, and if they do, and are rude, you can tell them its really none of their business, and you can eat what you want, and they can eat what they want. Simple.
Soemtimes tho, it can spark conversation, that gets people interested, in a positive way. If youre healthy and vibrant, they're gonna want to know what youre doing, and maybe give it a try!
Just be peaceful and loving and you'll be fine! Or you could throw tomatoes...hehe