Aloha All!
I recently read LWB, which was kind of a "refresher course" for me because I have been eating a very-low- to low-carb diet since June 2010, except for a couple short-term "experiments" after which I eagerly returned to low-carb. I get much better results when I minimize the carbs in my diet :D Reading this book helped to refresh my memory and I also learned some new things, and I continue to learn more in this thread. I'm currently devouring The Vegetarian Myth, and I'll be getting a copy of PBPM soon based on what I've read here. I love reading books, and I really appreciate how you all encourage doing more of that :)
I have read various concerns throughout this thread regarding getting enough of the "right kind of" fats in our diet, and I would like to offer a suggestion. First, I want to establish that what I understand to be the "right kind of" fats are those that are from a wild- or natural-fed animal (eg: grass-fed *and* grass-finished cattle, aka *pastured* cattle). Now here's my suggestion: Make an arrangement with a local hunter or butcher, who regularly processes this type of animal, to purchase fat that gets trimmed off the muscle meat during this process. In reference to cattle, this is called "hide fat" or "back fat". (There is also fat called suet that I understand to be fat that grows around the kidneys; I've had this when I've eaten kidney, but haven't liked it as much.) For a point of reference, here on Maui, I get local grass-fed, grass-finished beef for as little as $5/lb at the local "health food" store. The butcher sells that "trim fat" for $1.09/lb. Pretty cheap for good quality fat...
Now here's the thing: I eat the fat *raw* (as I do the meat and organs). Now, I don't intend to start a debate at this point about whether or not we should eat our animal-based food raw. But *if* you're willing to give it a try, this is a way you could easily (and cheaply) get enough of the "right kind of" fats in your diet. In my experience, raw fat is more appealing in various ways than beef tallow with which I've been experimenting. I find the raw fat to be quite enjoyable without any addition, whereas to eat a lot of tallow, I have to add salt and/or meat to it to make it palatable enough. I recently went back to eating raw fat after eating just tallow as my fat for a while and the difference was palpable; it seems to me that it has, and gives me, more vitality. I suppose eating raw fat might seem strange at first, especially after being in the habit of eating some form of cooked fat. I actually transitioned into it after eating a raw-vegan diet for several years (preceeded by over ten years of a vegetarian diet), so my transition was rather from raw coconut and avocado to raw animal fat...If you can deal with the transition, you may come to learn of the variations and differences in different types of raw fat, even in the same slab of hide fat. Some parts are dry and crumbly, others are moist and chewy, and there are also subtle flavor variations. Sometimes it actually tastes/seems like dough or something. You can't eat it with a spoon, but so what? You just cut it like you do your steak ;) I actually use a good pair of poultry shears/scissors to cut my fat, as well as meat and organs, into bite-sized chunks and that's all I need to do to prepare it for eating :D Eating raw fat is satisfying to me because I get to chew it and enjoy the different flavors and textures, and I can easily get to a point of feeling completely satiated; in fact, I continue to be surprised by how little it takes to fill me up, even limiting the protein in the meal to 25g. Eating tallow just can't compare to that. I can't speak for eating butter because it's been so long since I've eaten that, but I suspect it wouldn't be much better than tallow; the fact that so many people are striving to find some way to eat it, something they can mix it with to be able to eat enough of it, seems telling enough.
So I realize my idea may seem radical, but think about it...
Btw, you can go to http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html to look for a local source of natural-fed meat. Even if you cannot find a local supplier, some of them will ship meat to you; you can find them here: http://www.eatwild.com/products/farmsthatship.html For example, at times I have ordered from U.S.Wellness Meats at http://www.grasslandbeef.com/StoreFront.bok who will ship frozen meat in a cooler to your house (anywhere in the US) for a flat handling fee of $7.50 regardless of the size of the order. Of course it might be more difficult to get raw fat trim this way, but iirc some suppliers might sell that or at least suet. Either way, this is a great resource for local or shipped natural-fed meat :D
Hoping this helps :)
Renee
