Melissa Henig, author of the book Raw Paleo, started on a raw vegan diet 7 years ago after going to a class where people were claiming to have lots of energy and health. After about a year she started noticing deficiencies from cutting out whole food groups of dairy and meats – her nails weren’t strong and she was having bruising. She had been going to the raw food buying club called Rawsome to buy vegan foods and she was encouraged there to try raw meat, eggs and dairy for the health benefits. When she first tried raw meat, she said it felt right for her body.
She said sourcing the raw meats, dairy and eggs is very important. Organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed and finished is very important. Raw meat and dairy have lots of enzymes which are detoxifying; they help break down food; build muscle; and the proteins are not denatured so they are very easy to digest. When starting on raw foods, she suggests adding them in slowly since they are detoxifying. Eggs in particular are high in sulfur and choline; are high in fat-soluble vitamins and digest very quickly.
Melissa making steak tartare with grass-fed and finished filet mignon. She likes to add parsley or other herbs, raw olives, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, Himalayan salt, pepper, raw mustard, pepper and olive oil.
Raw butter pudding is the gateway food to raw paleo. She takes one pound of softened raw butter, 8 raw eggs, about 3/4 cup of raw cacao powder, about 3 tablespoons of raw honey to taste then blends it thoroughly in a high-powered blender. Delicious!
By Karen Hamilton-Roth