..actually ive been wondering this for a while. the local co op sells medjool dates..and then coconut/pecan/peanut rolled dates. what im wondering is if those odd-shaped date concoctions are raw or cooked. they dont have any seeds in them like the medjools....

according to our local store they're not heated but machine processed (process automation). machines carry a level of heat in them by nature so it's iffy at best based on what they've shared.

[rawfoodtrip.blogspot.com]
[jugglingforjoy.com]

Based on the website [www.rawguru.com] it isn't.

Dried Fruits and Dates - A lot of the organic dried fruits that are sold in the bulk bin section of health food stores are coated in corn oil or safflower oil to make them shiner and to prevent clumping. Raisins are the number one coated dried fruit. Medjool and other dates are steamed so they can have a greater water content and be bigger in size. This also improves taste and texture. The ingredient label will not show that the dried fruits were coated.
> Order dried fruit online. Try to buy sun dried whenever possible.

That is why one cannot really claim to have been 100 percent raw for X years



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2007 08:28PM by djatchi.

dang u guys r depressing me,, i just bought some dates from my healthfood store,, medjool with seeds, and djouchi or sumthin..? well they hav no seeds,, im guessing they heated them now that i read this,, and i thought i was 100% raw,, this sux,, no wonder i hav cooked food cravings..

djatchi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That is why one cannot really claim to have been
> 100 percent raw for X years


one cannot?

I used to claim king of the mountain as a kid.

jim claimed he was the lizard king.

hard to argue with ambitious focused people!


while some people actually don't consume dates ('fresh' or store bought), or unshelled nuts, its probably less a fear of them being un-raw as to water content and general vitality of the thing to begin with.

generally if you get a package of dried fruit it DOES tell you if its coated...yet its in a package so thats an indicator of something...

anything in the 'bins' tends to just not really taste very good, call it dead or coated in whatever.

even if you ate 80% hot water treated mangos and 20% off the tree apples, you are still a 100% raw foodist in my opinion..its still fruit..and its still about what you leave out that is important.


fuzzy,

be happy with the choices you make about what you think are the best foods. I doubt steamed dates would causes cravings for cooked...perhaps the dates themselves...being dense and lacking water..cause you to crave heavy things when the dates arn't around.


cheers to the king...later gators

I do not think it is required to be 100 percent raw to be healthy.
My only issue is that some rawfoodist take things to the extreme and want to prove to the rest of the world that they are in an exclusive unique club and make claim that have no substance. It is hard to find 100 percent raw foodist, it is hard to find 100 percent vegans. Let's just focus on being healthy

no no i dont want 2 be 100% raw bc i want 2 be exclusive and unique, lol, i want 2 be 100% bc i hav serious grain cravings and the only thing that really seems 2 help is going 100%,, if i dont i always want 2 binge eat on things like rice and bread, 100% helps eliminate those cravings,, plus id like 2 speed my healing up as much as possible, so thats why lol,, i really dont believe i am any more special than anyone else at all, and i dont think all ppl who do 100% feel that way

i think 100% is healthy for me right now,, maybe it will b different once i have more control over myself

i am 100% raw because i want to overcome type 1 diabetes, cushing's disease, anemia, some kidney damage, PCOS.....that is why i am 100% raw not cuz i want to be in some special club haha..although no just kidding haha
hey fuzzy you are doing great hun!! keep up the good work
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxox

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

No one who eats alot of dates is 100% raw. The desert, where dates grow, here in Cali & Arizona, the temp gets to 120-125 degrees. The dates are still living, as the the date tree loves hot temps, hence where they grow. When the dates are harvested & dried in the sun, they are layed on cement & dried in the sun, where temps reach up to 140 degrees, because of the cement.

Boats that import "raw food", coconuts & tropical & exotic fruits reach temps up to 130-140 degrees.

I think Flying Disc Ranch does have raw dates though because they are dried still attached to the tree alive.

Don't shoot the messenger



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/2007 09:01AM by Rawrrr!.

^ Having spent lots of time in Palm Desert (it is so gorgeous out there!) I have thought about the natural heat technically "cooking" it as well. It doesn't really bother me. But I think it is very rare to find dates that have been dried. They come off the tree just like we find them in stores.

I like dates, tho figs are more exciting to me. Figs are not as heat loving as dates, grow in places not as hot & sundried at much lower temps. I've been buying amber turkish figs in Lakeside from Sunfoods ( a good looking group I might add), and they are the best I've ever had, heavenly delicious, flat & round like cookies, soft & creamy in the middle like a Fig Newton, but better. They aren't like the old hard chewy ones I've had in the past. I think figs and dates have their seasons when they are better at certan times of the year.

In addition to Flying Disc Ranch, the Date People and the Bautista family date farm have real raw organic dates that have not been heat treated or steamed.

silver:

<<because dates seem to be the new hot topic around here.....>>

e'rything is a HOT topic around here

case u haven't noticed

La_Veronica,

I, and a few others, don't hesitate to shake the apple cart.

yes, and this is a good unprocessed date farm too

[www.patosdategardens.com]

but the greatest to me are derries from flying disc.

btw, dates taste super super good with fuji apples.

im going to look into the flying disc ones.....

I was very careful to eat only the raw dates, but I finally stopped eating them completely because it seemed like I was getting a date addiction. I'd start out with 3 a day, then pretty soon it would be 3 after every meal, then pretty soon 6 after every meal, then sometimes 10 together at one time. WHOA!

Also, I did a little experimenting, and found that when I ate as many dates as my date addiction wanted, I gained weight. This doesn't happen to me with oranges or bananas or any other fresh fruit.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought I'd mention it.

Note to djatchi: Hi. I think it IS possible to know for sure that you're 100% raw, but you'd probably have to stay away from all packaged, jarred, frozen, and dehydrated foods, and eat all of your nuts straight from the source. Not impossible, but not often done. I agree that many who say they are 100% raw are possibly really not.

I also think that even if a person is really 100% raw and has been for some time, that person may still have more to learn about what they could be eating, and may therefore not necessarily be the best role model for other aspiring raw fooders.

BUT, I would like to add that when it comes to being 100% vegan, that's not nearly as difficult to verify, especially for a "raw food" vegan, whose diet automatically excludes so many of the prepared mixed foods like pastries and breads, soups, candy bars, etc., where one might normally find some trace amounts of animal products that could be unlisted on the label.

Or, can you give examples of foods that we vegans should avoid if we wish to continue to consider ourselves 100% vegan? Is there a food that contains animal products that a "raw food" vegan might accidentally consume? I'm not talking about accidentally breathing in bugs while we're sleeping, or eating the occasional fruit fly larva. If that's the point you're making, I will definitely concede that to you!

Well, to be on the safe side you might want to avoid eating venus flytraps.

And yeah you are right. I would say that to really claim 100% raw you must grow all your own stuff and eat it fresh, ripe and in season. I also agree with the dates, I always feel different after some dates than with almost anything else, and not in a good way. But every so often I just must have some.

suncloud Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Note to djatchi: Hi. I think it IS possible to
> know for sure that you're 100% raw, but you'd
> probably have to stay away from all packaged,
> jarred, frozen, and dehydrated foods, and eat all
> of your nuts straight from the source. Not
> impossible, but not often done. I agree that many
> who say they are 100% raw are possibly really
> not.
>
> I also think that even if a person is really 100%
> raw and has been for some time, that person may
> still have more to learn about what they could be
> eating, and may therefore not necessarily be the
> best role model for other aspiring raw fooders.
>
>
> BUT, I would like to add that when it comes to
> being 100% vegan, that's not nearly as difficult
> to verify, especially for a "raw food" vegan,
> whose diet automatically excludes so many of the
> prepared mixed foods like pastries and breads,
> soups, candy bars, etc., where one might normally
> find some trace amounts of animal products that
> could be unlisted on the label.
>
> Or, can you give examples of foods that we vegans
> should avoid if we wish to continue to consider
> ourselves 100% vegan? Is there a food that
> contains animal products that a "raw food" vegan
> might accidentally consume? I'm not talking about
> accidentally breathing in bugs while we're
> sleeping, or eating the occasional fruit fly
> larva. If that's the point you're making, I will
> definitely concede that to you!

Of course one could try very hard to be 100 percent raw by taking all precautions but in the end what is the point? I do not see any additonal benefit for going to that extreme. I should be able to enjoy a hot cup of tea with friends or colleagues without compromising my health or being afraid of losing my membership in the have-been-100-percent-raw-the-last-10-year club. If I am drinking juice daily, eating green smoothies and plenty of fruits daily my body has plenty of enzymes to tolerate an occasional hot tea or a slice of bread grandma has baked with love. Animals in the wild feed on other animals killed by wild fire.

The same can be said about being 100 percent vegan because fruits and vegatables have living organisms on them as you acknowledge. If we are so concerned about destroying life, we should not have a walk in the park because of our footsteps kills millions of living organisms in the grass.
It seems to me that people are more concerned about how long they have been 100 percent raw or vegan than how long they have been healthy on a diet of mostly raw food.

rawrr...


shakin the apple cart?

shake shake

craashhhhHH!

ha ha