Hi Guys and Gals, I'm very new to this lifestyle. 23 feb 07 to be exact. I'm learning and doing ok. I'm having alot of trouble with flavor. I like butter on potato's, bread etc. I need flavor and sauces to put on my food. That is my biggest hang up right now. I'm not discoraged but just looking to add stuff as fast as I can. Any sources you can suggest would be great. I had spinal reconstruction sept 8,06 so I haven't worked since. I'm trying to get back on track and this is the way I want to go. I'm committed. I've been called a tree-hugger and such already by even my friends. I don't care. In 4 days I'm off 6 meds including 4 blood pressure meds. I hunt and kill for trophies. Usto eat everything I killed. Now, I guess I'll give it away. Hope that's not offensive. I do respect all your opinions and lifestyles. Just need some help and support getting down this trail. Any help would be appreciated. God bless.


Ron.

I use raw olive oil and add a little sea salt keep it in the cooler, makes a great butter substitute. Mostly I just eat food as it is.

There are plenty of recipes on this site for sauces, dressings, spreads, etc. Check them out and try the ones that appeal to you. You'll be making wonderful, delicious meals in no time. I've taken SAD meat-eating friends and family to raw restaurants (or my home) and they loved the food, some of them even saying it was in the top 5 meals of their lives. So you can make raw foods that are plenty tasty and satisfying.

Now, you have had spinal reconstruction and that must have hurt, at least part of the time, even with painkillers. That is likely a small portion what the animals you have hunted and killed felt. They feel pain. It sounds like this is a time you are focused on turning your life around, opening to something better. This is wonderful. I am not suggesting that you stop killing animals. I cannot know what is right for you, or for the animals. I am suggesting there is a web of consciousness, you and I are part of that web, and so are the animals. They are the same as you, as you lay in pain, they also lay in pain and fear.

hey Ron

i hope you are feeling better soon
the MOST important thing to this little adventure is to have
FUN

this site does have recipes
click on the left side where it says "recipes"
and just find something that appeals to you that you think you want to do
then

go for it

or , if you like, invite a friend over and u can make a little "party" out of it

it doesn't have to be painful
it can be whatever u want it to be

most people DO have fun, however
they go to potlucks
they get excited talking about recipes and
things that improved for them physically mentally spiritually

u don't have to go it alone either

this is what this place is for

keep asking questions

there are a lot of intelligent people here who can answer them

me... i'm terrible when it comes to being creative about the "recipes"

but others are very talented in that respect

there is a forum called "Recipes"

click on that and ask questions

you'll get answers

there are recipe for spreads and sauces too

for 'butter", some people like to substitute avocado or coconut butter

for "sauces" depending on if you are loooking for fruit or vegetable sauce

for "fruit' sauces, a lot of people blend the fruits and just pour it over their creation

for vegetable sauces, there are so many salad dressing recipes and a bunch of other things

don't give up

its just the beginning of a delicious hope filled journey for you

happy healing

V

Thank you Felicia, I hope to get to a point where I don't need more flavor. I'm so usto ketchup and all the bad stuff my taste buds don't know the good from the bad. Just load it with junk. I appreciate the response. Feels like I have someone on my side personally. Take care.


Ron.

Hi Greenie, Thanks for the response. I will do just that. Today is kind of a downer for me but it'll get better. I do appreciate your position on animals. I do believe they feel pain. Unfortunately I was raised my entire life to be a hunter gatherer. My family has literally grown up on what I hunted and fished for. And being in Alaska it is a paradise for me. I no longer look down on or dispute other points of view. I will only say that when a young male is programmed like I was from a father who believed in hunting for his food cause that's what he was taught and so on it create's an entirely different perspective. I know human beings can change and are suppose to be intelligent but it's not that cut and dry. Whether you believe in God and creationism, evolution or otherwise it is a part of the male mindset. From the dawn of time. So in our future, as we continue to evolve, maybe the old habits and ways of humans will take whatever direction God leads. I am open and do respect opinions like yours. No matter how long it has taken me to get there. Point being we need to be accepting and patient. I am a willing soul. I do love and care. I just haven't taken that emotional attachment to the animals I hunt. I love dogs, cats, birds etc. And I don't harm them. That has always been a line I haven't crossed. Except for the time when I was attacked by a big bad dog. It was me or him. Aside from that I will always listen and bank the info. in my brain. Sooner or later something will click if that is the way I'm to go. So as you can tell there are some chinks in the armor. To be continued. Hopefully your friend.


Ron.

Ron:

I hear you!

-Remember that there are no raw food police. You certainly DO NOT HAVE to do some kind of 'all-or-nothin' thing. I am certainly not judging you....and neither are any of the great folks on this board! Ha! ha! If you are improving your diet for a lifetime (and why do anything else?) then what's the hurry?

-If you are un-satisfied.....taste-wise.....then you have to cut back to a level that you are VERY comfortable with......and don't need to think about much.....and stretch from there. Set small goals and keep them. There are many 'transitional' vegan / vegetarian products that are LOADED with taste.

-In the raw food arena....there are peppers, garlic, and the exotic individual flavors of 1000's of fruits, vegetables and nuts. It is only from years of mixing foods that some folks have become un-able to appreciate these wonderful and delicate tastes......just like failing to appreciate the most godly voice in a crowd of conversations. It's not like it's not there! Ha! ha!

-Your concern is intelligent and thank you for sharing.

-David Z. Mason

rcone,

You know, I went back to try to delete the stuff I wrote about animals but the edit tab was gone. I had no business laying that trip on you. I'm sorry I included it and really appreciate your generous and open-hearted response.

Now on to something more savory: You can make your own delicious raw ketsup using tomatos, soaked sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, salt, and a couple of soaked dates. Here's a link to a recipe:
[www.healthfree.com]. That site has a lot of good recipes, including one for ranch dressing.

Do you forage for wild edible plants where you are? It must be so beautiful there.

man! alaska...my dream.lucky u!! good luck on your path to better health.taylor

[img10.mytextgraphics.com]

Hang in there!! I am fairly new as well, and I can tell you from experience that the urge to taste the butters, sauces and spreads of the past will soon be a distant memory! For example, the other day, I cracked open a canteloupe (I hadnt had one in a while), and I felt like I was "cheating" on a diet. It was so sweet and juicy and wonderful that I couldnt believe it! Better than ANY cake, or processed dessert that I had in the past.....and it was GOOD for my body!!! It doesnt take long for your body to rid itself of those cravings. There are definately days when it is harder than others...just hang in there, be kind to your body, and patient......and come to this website where all of these wonderful people are here to support you!

Hi Ron,

Just get creative. Mash an avocado with some sea salt for butter. Almost any juicy fruit like mango, pineapple, pears or peaches can be mixed with scallions, garlic, and hot peppers to create a chutney. You can squeeze an orange into some almond butter or tahini, add a bit of sea salt, nama shoyu, rice wine vinegar and ginger for a peanut sauce. Make your own ketchup with tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, raw apple cider vinegar, sea salt and dates. Splash on some umeboshi vinegar. Blend together all types of fruit for a nice dip or sauce. As you develop your raw taste buds, you won't need these things. But for now, just do what it takes!

Pam

Hi Greenie, Thanks for trying to understand me or at least giving me more rope. I will look at the web site and make some today if I have time before school. Yes I do forage for alot of things in alaska. I've limited my hunting to above the arctic circle just below the continental divide. Still alot of trees and such there but plenty cold for my liking. While I'm out I eat blueberries, salmon berries, if there not to hard, a white root that I have never known the name. The eskimo people showed it to me in 1987. It is really sweet. Never tasted anything like it. Sometimes there is other berries and plants I've tried. During arctic survival training they taught us alot and I still have the book of everything edible. And the fishing is something I can't even describe. You have to do it to believe it. I try not to tell big fish stories. So that's about it. Thanks for the help. Your friend.

Ron.

Thank you David. I appreciate people who care and try to help. Your words mean alot. Have a great day.


Ron.

Ron,

It sounds like a paradise up there, and like you really live it well. Good luck on your raw journey. You've come to the right place and will find many friends here.

All the best,

Greenie

I'm not there yet but will be soon. My wife is not at all convinced she needs this but I don't push her at all. She's a wonderful lady and has put up with all my ---- for alot of years. And she's still here. So my job is to do the best I can and show her how beneficial it is for everyone. It's kind of a lonely place cause not many people see what you folks do. I was driven by bad health. Never knew this world. I hope the people in my life will benefit. I would feel satisfied to help someone else. Thanks.


Ron.

Thank you Taylor. I've read some of your postings. Good stuff. I appreciate the support. Chow.

Ron.

Thank you Pam. Alot of great ideas. I'm working on finding recipes for the ketchup and the avacado spread. I love avacado anything. I will try these soon. My wife is going out of town to visit the kids so I'll have 5 days to experiment and impress her when she comes home. Unfortunately she'll know I had help. But she will be impressed over the effort. Thanks.



Ron.

Thank you V. I just started this journey and feel like I'm on the right trail with lots of help. All my friends are wild game and fish guys so thank God there is support elsewhere. I couldn't say what some of my own friends think about what I'm doing. I've even been accused of switching sides. (Becoming a treehugger and such). When I try to explain I'm working on my health they give me the "how much healthier can you get with wild game and fish speech". I joined this forum yesterday. I told one friend. What a mistake. People get so focused on what really doesn't matter. Judging others. Of course our own backyards are really cluttered but lets talk about someone else. Trying to get support from my own friends will come slowly. But I'm patient and it's hard to argue with success.So onward through the fog. Chow.


Ron.

Thanks Greenie. You've already been a blessing. Your at the other end of the spectrum from where I am and your gracious enough to tolerate me. Unfortunately something I didn't practice much of my life. I have alot of catching up to do. I promise to be diligent. Chow.



Ron.

Hi Ron,
Here's a really simple but great sauce/spread you can make in a lot of different ways:

The base is sundried tomatoes. Just soak a handful for 1-2 hours in hot water, then blend with water, spices or condiments for about 30 seconds. I like to add basil, and sometimes I puta few drops of Thai peanut sauce or smoked sesame oil in it (not raw, but miniscule amounts & powerfully yummy taste). You can also add garlic, chili powder, oregano, even curry-- can't miss-- and it's really thick like spaghetti sauce.

You're on the right track-- keep up the good work!

Best regards,

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]