I have heard that nama shoyu is not raw, and I have it at home. I want to give it away. Is it true? Also are hemp seeds, hemp seed powder, nutritional yeast, soy lecithin, curry powder, cummin considered raw? I am new to raw food and preparing foods for myself too.

Nama shoyu is made with cooked soy beans, but they are then fermented, so it is 'live' again. Not the worst food in the world, but too much salt for me.

Hemp seeds - depends. If you are in the USA and are talking about whole hemp seeds then they will probably have been irradiated. In Europe hemp seeds are usually raw - you can tell because you can sprout them.

nutritional yeast - No

soy lecithin - probably not, don't know.

curry powder and cummin - depends on what temperature they were dried at, but personally I still eat herbs and spices, for me such small amounts don't seem to cause a problem.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Congratulations on your healthy choices!

Short answer: The hemp seeds maybe (you'd have to sprout them to find out)...but not the other stuff.

Opinion: Don't get hung up on the word 'raw'. Think: 'fresh, unprocessed plant foods' and you'll be in the ballpark. This is just my outlook and experience. If the items you name help you to eat more of that over the course of your lifetime...then they CAN'T be bad! The hidden ingredient that grants health is CONSCIOUSNESS. That YOU choose what YOU think are the highest foods...and incorporate them. Not some arbitrary standard of raw.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Thanks. I just can't believe this. I bought these at an online raw food supermarket. I am going to discard them.

How about vanilla extract, I forgot to ask this question.

Don't be too hasty! Listen to David and don't get hung up on the word "raw." Those items you have aren't unhealthy. (The only product you have that I question is the soy lecithin.) They can help you transition into 100% raw.

As David says, "There are no raw food police." You had a purpose in mind for them when you bought them. Use them and then don't buy them anymore. Either that or give them away. I hate to think of them being discarded. Heck, I'd take the stuff out of your hair if I were there.

And, if maui_butterfly finds out you're throwing away Nama Shoyu, you'll make her cry. LOL

People do the raw foods lifestyles at different levels. There's no one right way to do it. I'm raw but will use spices, as do many other people. The only product you have that I question is the soy lecithin.

As for the vanilla, I have some. I don't use vanilla extract but I will use pure vanilla.

Yes. The REALLY HARD process is not the eating (believe it or not) it is being LASER CLEAR in identifying what YOU think are the highest foods...and highest dreams...and finding ways to get there. THAT is a life mission worth living. Your dreams are precious. NEVER cease to water, care and support them. Even the greatest buildings started out as a thought in some one's head.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Simple Living Wrote:
> And, if maui_butterfly finds out you're throwing
> away Nama Shoyu, you'll make her cry. LOL

i'll say "you're a better man than i am, gunga din!"
seriously, after tracking my salt intake on nutritiondata.com, i've cut WAAAAY back on NS and sea salt. and i told myself when i run out of my current bottle of NS, i will try to go without it for 3 months and see how i manage. you never know, i might kick the next crutch yet!

Quote

maui_butterfly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i told myself when i run out of my
> current bottle of NS, i will try to go without it
> for 3 months and see how i manage. you never know,
> i might kick the next crutch yet!

A technique that I have used successfully to kick a habit is stop buying it and then try to make the supply last as long as possible by trying to use less and skip using it whenever possible. By doing it that way it is like a tapering off process that lets you down nice and easy. You may even find yourself "unhooked" before the supply runs out and be able to give or throw some away.

thanks EZ. that's essentially what i've been doing. now that i know this is my last bottle of nama shoyu, i am doling it out like liquid gold! in the process, my sodium intake is now well below the DV.

now whether i give the last of my bottle away or throw it out... my first reaction is "you can pry it out of my cold, dead hands." but i am open to what may come up for me...

A great method that works for me is, "When X is all gone, that's the last of it I'll ever have."

Tonight was theoretically my last shampoo, we'll see how that goes!

After I found out Nama Shoyu wasn't *technically* raw, I had a lot of mixed feelings about it, too. And that was when I came to my conclusion. $25/bottle Nama Shoyu... O.O I probably would have broken and eaten regular soy sauce early on, too, so it was fine to have for the time. I just don't need it now.

thanks phantom! good luck on your shampoo adventure! i'm only using bronner's 2x/week now (rinsing with water rest of the week) and my hair has never looked or felt better. its amazing! (talk about your $25 bottles... i should own stock in bumble & bumble...)

If I didn't shampoo my hair every day, I would look like an oil slick. It will be interesting to see if this changes as I'm more steadily going raw.

that's what i would have thought too, SL! surprisingly not.

check it out:
[www.smh.com.au]
[www.iht.com]
[www.naturemoms.com]

You can get raw hempseeds in the US. I got some at Rawganique and also at my local health food store. Although when I got the Rawganique order, it was warm outside and the UPS delivery truck must have been hot and one of the packages came open () . But anyway, I agree with what others are saying; I don't think condiments and small amounts of spices affect much of your intake, UNLESS they make you personally feel unwell. I only like salad dressings which have nutritional yeast, personally.

[utopiankitchen.wordpress.com]