AboutRawPalaeoGuy Expertise I can answer most questions on Raw Animal Food Diets such as the Primal Diet, an organic, raw-meat-based diet and a number of similiar all-raw or partially raw Paleolithic diets, such as the Instincto, Weston-Price, Neanderthin, Paleo and Stefansson Diets. Can also offer advice on
how to resist social pressure to eat cooked foods etc. For further info on Raw-Animal-Food diets, feel free to browse through this website:-
http://www.rawpaleodiet.com/
Experience I have been 8 years on a 99%+ raw version of the Palaeolithic Diet and experienced numerous health benefits as a result, being fully recovered from my previous symptoms from my cooked-food days. My own individualised raw, paleolithic diet routine is mostly based on Aajonus Vonderplanitz's Primal Diet(ie 99% raw, usage of "high-meat",no processed supplements, using primarily naturally-reared, organic or wild sources of raw foods) but, for personal reasons, I have also been, to some extent, influenced by ideas from:- Instincto(ie:- taste/instinct,no raw dairy/no raw veggie juice), Weston-Price(eg: preferring grassfed meat to grainfed meat, incorporating a wide variety of raw organ-meats into my diet along with the usual muscle-meats, and Vilhjalmur Stefansson(high-fat diet, pretty high proportion of (raw) animal food), but also eating some raw carbohydrates such as raw organic/wild fruit/veg/honeycomb etc.). I'm also a firm believer in the feast-and-famine idea (ie Intermittent Fasting) as regards boosting one's energy levels, and giving my body a rest from constant digestion.
Organizations Rawpaleodiet Community(Comprising rawpaleoforum , rawpaleodiet yahoo group and the rawpaleodiet.com website among others).
Publications Allexperts and Rawpaleodiet.com
Education/Credentials BA(German) 3rd; No nutritional qualification(I don't believe in standard(misguided) nutritonist doctrine, so I don't feel the need).
Question Hello i would like to ask if you know any places in north London (or close)where good quality lard or suet can be found? Also do you have any suggestions for types of meats that are easy to get used to in terms of taste for a beginner and also the safest types of meats in terms of parasites?
Thank you for your time
Answer The parasite-issue is not relevant as all UK farmers, even organic, routinely deworm their animals. I know there is some hysteria re pork and trichinosis, but, quite frankly, I've checked the data and it's unheard of in the West(you have to go to Vietnam and the like,to be in any danger). That said, while long-term RVAFers are completely unconcerned re parasites, newbies always are a bit overly concerned re the issue(I was at the start). I would suggest adding some raw (antiparasitical) spices such as raw garlic, cayenne pepper, raw pumpkin seeds etc., if only for reassurance, at first.
I don't know of any specific places in North London where you could find high-quality lard or suet. Lard is anyway to be avoided like the plague as it's cooked; there's even hydrogenated lard, nowadays, which is even worse. You might have a look around the markets under the London Farmers Markets(LFM) umbrella organisation. There should be some in North London. Here's the website-address:-
www.lfm.org.uk
The idea is to check which stalls sell organic grassfed meats, ask the stallholder whether the farm also sells suet and make an order for the next week or two(or ask for a leaflet with the farm's contact telephone number if the stall-seller is just a flunky). These stalls rarely, if ever, display organ-meats at the stall, so you have to order them and pick them up the next week.
Other than that, you'd have to search for grassfed/organic farms in the southeast and phone them or e-mail to see if they have raw suet available(they'll rarely advertise on their website re having suet as it's such a rare item because nobody wants it). The advantage therein would be that you could get them to deliver the raw suet straight to your door.
Re raw meats easiest to handle re taste:- Well, everyone is different re tastes. The trouble with adaptation to raw is that cooked foods are very poor re taste(which is why people need to adulterate cooked foods with spices to make them taste a little better). The result is that most humans find raw (animal) foods to be rather too rich in taste, initially. The solution is to, at first, go for raw foods with a blander taste. Start off with raw veg and raw fruit, then try raw ground/minced (organic/grassfed) beef, then try raw seafood(easy to get used to for most), then try raw muscle-meats; then go in for raw organ-meats in general(raw liver is the most difficult for people to get used to); lastly go in for raw meats/organ-meats from wild game animals, as they are the richest in taste. Don't go onto the next stage until you're fully used to the current one.
1 thing I tried, early on in this rawpalaeo diet, was to visit every food-market around London from Brixton to Palmer's Green and I would sample every possible raw animal food they had, but buying each food in very small amounts each time, so as not to have to throw away lots of food if it turned out I disliked the taste. Some foods turned out to be non-starters(eg:- raw squid tubes) while other raw foods(eg:- raw mackerel) turned out to be instantly palatable.
I also found it beneficial if I made sure after this experiment, that 90% of my diet consisted of raw foods I liked and only 10% of raw foods I disliked. This helped me carry on with the diet, and, eventually I got used to and started enjoying the taste of even that 10%. Here's also a useful link or two:-
