Althouse: "Uncooked, organic foods such as raw sauerkraut, flaxseed and searingly hot habanero peppers."

October 5, 2009

"Uncooked, organic foods such as raw sauerkraut, flaxseed and searingly hot habanero peppers."

What Imus "subsists mainly on."

It's the influence of his wife. He's been a vegetarian for 10 years, but his original idea of being a vegetarian was something I can really identify with. (I was a vegetarian for about 5 years a while back.) He thought: root beer and potato chips.

Yes, you know there are so many things you can eat and still be vegetarian. Most of the great snacks: ice cream, chips, candy, cookies. And all the great drinks: soda, fruit juice, beer, wine. It's only healthy if you make it healthy, which you may be less inclined to do if you're being gnawed at by that deep innate hunger for meat.

But if you can get a highly motivated, food-smart spouse to take care of you and control what food and drink arrives at your table, vegetarianism might work well. And you'll just have to take her/his word for it that sauerkraut is important or whatever crazy food theory she/he believes is true.

71 comments:

Smilin' Jack said...: Yes, you know there are so many things you can eat and still be vegetarian. Most of the great snacks: ice cream...

Really? What kind of tree does ice cream grow on?; 10/5/09, 9:36 AM
traditionalguy said...: There is a trend among rich men in their 80s who have married a younger woman to have their diet controlled by the young wife who derives a credibility for her keeping them alive and in health right up to that final illness which comes anyway at that age. What that means is beyond my pay grade, but it may counter some of the hard feelings of prior family members who are disinherited by that last wife's reign. Meat like lamb and beef in small proportions are good for old people, but the idea of controling death by diet is a common enough hope like Ted Williams Head gives a hope of something too.; 10/5/09, 9:41 AM
rhhardin said...: McCord had a nice rant on Imus's (deliberately) dropping his prostate cancer into the conversation this morning, real audio, mentioning his wifely anti-cancer diet in strong words.

McCord has contrived rants because it's thought to be funny, but the script on this one was exceptionally good.; 10/5/09, 9:41 AM
Ann Althouse said...: If you give up milk and eggs, it's really grim.; 10/5/09, 9:41 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Sorry but I think vegans are a strange lot. We didn't claw our way to the top of the food chain to eat salads.; 10/5/09, 9:42 AM
Treacle said...: Oh my God in Heaven, I am such a sad, miserable and lonely person.; 10/5/09, 9:43 AM
MadisonMan said...: Raw sauerkraut and habaneros? Gas.; 10/5/09, 9:46 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: What struck me about the article was how he has stage 2 prostrate cancer but refused surgery and radiation, instead using diet and exercise.

Reminds me of what Farrah Fawcett did.; 10/5/09, 9:47 AM
Anonymous said...: When I was in college one of the dorm cafeterias had a (relatively) wide variety of vegetarian and vegan options, and some of the vegan desserts were really quite good, though I still preferred things baked with milk and eggs. I could live as a vegetarian, but I wouldn't want to. I would really miss things like the delicious hamburger I had last night. Or holidays in general.; 10/5/09, 9:47 AM
Anonymous said...: What is really so hard about following the simplest rule for a healthy, happy life: "Everything, in moderation."

wv: ovess - the goddess of eggs; 10/5/09, 9:47 AM
Fred4Pres said...: I thought Imus fed on bile and snark myself.

Hey, if it works for him, more power to him. Frankly, raw food is not necessarily always better for you, but if Imus wants to eat like a jackass, I am good with it.; 10/5/09, 9:48 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: Ann Althouse:If you give up milk and eggs, it's really grim.

I have vegan friends and have cooked some amazing vegan dishes (hint: there are spices other than salt).

Now that they have vegan cheese, not that awful vegetarian crap, things have gotten a lot better.; 10/5/09, 9:51 AM
MadisonMan said...: ...and by gas, I mean deadly killer gas. Open up the windows in the middle of winter gas. Get that lit cigarette away from me Gas.

Every picture of Imus that I've seen makes me think he's anemic. Just a ghastly pallor to him.; 10/5/09, 9:52 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Anthony Bordain summed it up best: "Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit."

he also said...

“Oh my God, that was a religious experience, ... In the words of Homer Simpson, the pig is a magical animal.”; 10/5/09, 9:52 AM
John said...: "If you give up milk and eggs, it's really grim."

It is not just that. It is also giving up meat broth and fat to cook with. There is an old canard that says "Why do vegitables taste so awful when cooked by vegitarians and so wonderful when cooked at a steakhouse?". If you can't use butter and broth and fat to cook with, your food is going to be tastless mush.

Even if it does make you healthy, which I doubt, who wants to live longer if it means looking as worse for wear as Imus does.; 10/5/09, 9:52 AM
bearbee said...: Really? What kind of tree does ice cream grow on?

The soy tree; 10/5/09, 9:56 AM
rhhardin said...: I just throw a soy pattie in the microwave and it's fine.

Condiments are everything.; 10/5/09, 9:57 AM
John said...: "I just throw a soy pattie in the microwave and it's fine."

If you are starving.; 10/5/09, 10:02 AM
MadisonMan said...: I once had an in-depth discussion about vegetarianism and cheese, and whether "fake" rennet was truly non-animal. (For all you non-Dairy staters, and those who might not know: Cheese production usually requires rennet, which is obtained from the stomach of cows.)

Apparently, it is, although I'm still not exactly sure why. Maybe I should've gone to the World Dairy Expo here last week and found out.; 10/5/09, 10:03 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: There is no need to eat just raw vegetables to qualify as vegan. In fact many types of vegetables are not easily digestible unless they are prepared. We don't have the guts of gorillas which can process raw fibers.

"If you give up milk and eggs, it's really grim."

I have nothing against vegan eating, it's good: just against the holier than thou preaching vegan converts. We often have meatless meals consisting of pasta and vegetables but to completely give up eggs and dairy products is just silly. Your body needs the proteins and oils from those sources.

BTW: Sauerkraut IS ALWAYS raw. It is raw fermented cabbage. Unless they mean they don't eat kraut that has been canned. In which case it is partially cooked to reach a level to prevent bacteria.; 10/5/09, 10:04 AM
AllenS said...: From the short story

Cooking With Soy Patties
by
AllenS

No.

The End; 10/5/09, 10:06 AM
SteveR said...: Thankfully I have enough other things to deal with than concerning myself with eating bark so I can live to be 100.; 10/5/09, 10:07 AM
Shanna said...: "Everything, in moderation."

Including moderation. I think I could do the vegetarian thing (not vegan, I like cheese too much) for 3/4 of the time and not miss it, but I will never give up the occasional cheeseburger.; 10/5/09, 10:08 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I have vegan friends and have cooked some amazing vegan dishes (hint: there are spices other than salt)."

Oh, really?!

Yes, an occasional vegan dish can be good, but when you *are* a vegan, it's all you ever can have. More lentil soup?; 10/5/09, 10:08 AM
John said...: DBQ,

One of the reasons why we are able to have such large brains is becuase we can cook things and make them easier to digest. That means we spend less energy digesting and more thinking and maintaining large brains. Radical vegans would literally have us living in trees again.; 10/5/09, 10:09 AM
John said...: "Yes, an occasional vegan dish can be good, but when you *are* a vegan, it's all you ever can have. More lentil soup?"

Don't forget Ann, that is lentil soup without any chicken broth or butter cooking in it. Amazing dishes my ass.; 10/5/09, 10:10 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: MadisonMan: I once had an in-depth discussion about vegetarianism and cheese, and whether "fake" rennet was truly non-animal.

The wonders of genetic engineering. You can get bacteria to produce it.; 10/5/09, 10:16 AM
Michael Haz said...: It's important to remember that vegans feel less conflicted about dairy products when the cows have been raised in an envrionment that includes cowmats.

Indian restaurants prepare some really great vegetarian meals. Could I live on them for the rest of my life? No. I just don't feel healthy unless I have some salmon, chicken, or beef a few times each week.; 10/5/09, 10:16 AM
Joan said...: I've had some really awesome Indian vegetarian food, but it's the only vegetarian food I can recall actually enjoying. Of course it was not vegan, since Indian food with ghee (clarified butter) and paneer (cheese) would be, well, sad.

I think it is very hard to eat properly on a vegetarian diet, and nearly impossible on a vegan diet. We need protein, and not just any old protein, but certain amino acids in certain combinations that meat delivers. We also need certain fats that cannot be obtained from vegetables (seeds and nuts, yes -- veggies, no.); 10/5/09, 10:22 AM
Joan said...: Michael H -- GMTA.; 10/5/09, 10:22 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: Ann Althouse: More lentil soup?

Or how about some pizza, lasagna, chili, hot dogs, nachos, or Indian food?

Plus I've got homemade bread and muffins.; 10/5/09, 10:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Speaking of humans and the food chain, 300 people were executed for cannibalism during the Siege of Leningrad.

Peter; 10/5/09, 10:25 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: Everyone should be aware that the use of milk products in Indian food can be done away with if you use South Indian cooking techniques, which means including things like coconut milk.; 10/5/09, 10:26 AM
traditionalguy said...: A loaf of bread, a jug of wine/beer and a day of rest would be about right for a near starvation vegan. But eating the flesh of animals is protein empowerment for all activities that require strength and mental toughness. A friend told me that the Rib-Eye Steak is the favored Kosher cut of beef in Hasidic circles. So keep on raising those cows all of you graduates of the TCU School of Ranch Management.; 10/5/09, 10:27 AM
Jason (the commenter) said...: Vegans who watch what they eat generally don't have any greater health problems than a meat eater, it's the people who eat only raw food who seem to have crossed the line as far as what people are capable of living off of.

Humans are versatile food-wise, especially when plant species from the entire planet are available.; 10/5/09, 10:31 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/5/09, 10:32 AM
John said...: "it's the people who eat only raw food who seem to have crossed the line as far as what people are capable of living off of."

Anthropologists claim that cooking food is what allowed humans to develop large brains and make the leap above other primates. Eating only raw food is just insane. That type of veganism ought to be catagorized as a mental illness; 10/5/09, 10:33 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Yes, an occasional vegan dish can be good, but when you *are* a vegan, it's all you ever can have. More lentil soup?

I put sage sausage in lentil soup when I make it. No vegans will eat it. :(

The college I went to had so many vegans that vegan selections, many created with student recipe input, were available at every meal. I often tried them out. They were not bad, but I never found them as good as the regular food. There was always this sense of the food missing something.; 10/5/09, 10:35 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Vegan meal we are having tonight.

Roasted butternut squash with bow tie pasta.

Vegan can be quite good. You don't need to be a food snob about it, like Imus and his idiot wife.

Hmmm. posted again because the link didn't work.

Vegan all the time would be boring. Lately, however, I find that we are eating less red meat and smaller portions of everything. Just not hungry that much I guess.

vw: messi. what my kitchen looks like when I'm done cooking.; 10/5/09, 10:36 AM
kimsch said...: I love all vegetables except radishes and I can live without lima beans. I could easily be a lacto/ovo vegetarian. But man I love the taste of pork, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, German hard salami, BACON! There are not many things that can't be made better with a little bacon or butter.

wv: vewoupe; 10/5/09, 10:40 AM
robinintn said...: A friend came to dinner with his teenaged son. The friend warned me that his son was a vegan. I did a little research and came up with what I thought was an appropriate meal. Not so much. I made the mistake of using honey, and the young twit lectured me on the evils of "exploiting" bees.

Should have just made it good and lied.; 10/5/09, 10:44 AM
former law student said...: I'm no vegetarian, but the one cafeteria contractor we had was so bad that the Gardenburger was the tastiest item to come off their grill.

And I agree with dbq: "raw" sauerkraut is really just cabbage. But the alsatians have the right idea with their "garnished" sauerkraut: if you put enough sausage, pork, onions, and maybe mushrooms in it, sauerkraut is a right tasty dish.; 10/5/09, 10:46 AM
kimsch said...: Robin,

I think it was in Notting Hill that the Hugh Grant character has a blind date with a vegan who won't eat anything that was picked. Because if the fruit hasn't fallen from the tree naturally, it's murder. She'll only eat "dead" fruits or vegetables.

Ah, thanks to IMDb here it is:

Keziah: No thanks, I'm a fruitarian.
Max: I didn't realize that.
William: And, ahm: what exactly is a fruitarian?
Keziah: We believe that fruits and vegetables have feeling so we think cooking is cruel. We only eat things that have actually fallen off a tree or bush - that are, in fact, dead already.
William: Right. Right. Interesting stuff. So, these carrots...
Keziah: Have been murdered, yes.
William: Murdered? Poor carrots. How beastly!

wv: uncersan; 10/5/09, 11:03 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I made the mistake of using honey, and the young twit lectured me on the evils of "exploiting" bees

You should have used granualted sugar.

It's really hard to exploit beets.; 10/5/09, 11:03 AM
MadisonMan said...: DBQ, how can pasta be vegan? Isn't it made with eggs?; 10/5/09, 11:04 AM
MadisonMan said...: I made the mistake of using honey, and the young twit lectured me on the evils of "exploiting" bees.

This is when I lecture a young twit on the evils of complaining about the food they are served.

I spent considerable time and energy in making this dish to make you feel welcome in my home. I'm sorry you feel the need to find fault with it. Perhaps the next person serving you will do things perfectly. I rather doubt it. Then you turn to the teen's parent and with a great big smile ask Would you like more wine?; 10/5/09, 11:07 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: DBQ, how can pasta be vegan? Isn't it made with eggs?

I guess it is in how you define it. /wink

I probably should have said vegetarian since I plan to use butter and cheese. In any case. It's a good dish and pretty nice as a side to a roasted chicken. :-D; 10/5/09, 11:09 AM
MadisonMan said...: Butternut squash is excellent; I usually put it into a soup with curry and sherry. Yum.

Oh, and chicken broth too.; 10/5/09, 11:28 AM
former law student said...: Like the paste its name suggests, commercial pasta is made from just flour and water.

Regarding vegan lentil soup: Just one time I ate split pea soup at one of the famous chain of California tourist traps, Pea Soup Anderson's (seen in the movie Sideways). It was damn near tasteless, so I couldn't figure out what made the place famous.

I realized that, unlike all the split-pea soup I had ever had, there had been no hambone in it.; 10/5/09, 11:30 AM
Alex said...: I agree with Ann. Life without milk and eggs is not worth living. I might as well jump off the Golden Gate bridge!; 10/5/09, 11:32 AM
ricpic said...: What exactly is the hierarchy in a vegetarian meal? All the dishes, or ingredients in the dishes, are equal. In a normal meal the centerpiece, the dish that all the other dishes circle, the acme is the beef or fowl or fish. Vegetarianism denies this natural hierarchy.

IT'S AN UNNATURAL PRACTICE!; 10/5/09, 11:48 AM
Joan said...: DBQ, that recipe sounds delicious (although the instructions talk about onions and mushrooms that aren't listed in the ingredients?) but I'll note it's not vegan if you saute in butter and then add parmesan or romano cheese when serving -- and I bet it's a whole let better with that parmesan than it would be without it.

In other news, over the weekend I made a fantastic cheese sauce with butter, garlic, heavy cream and asiago cheese. My 12-year-old son loved it so much he ate extra broccoli so he could have more. Giving up such pleasures forever would be a very difficult sacrifice for me, and since there's no upside to it at all, why should I? Saturated fat is actually good for your liver.

Plus, eating meat is what made us human in the first place, so why should we give it up now?; 10/5/09, 11:50 AM
TosaGuy said...: Homer Simpson, "You can't make friends with salad"

Red Foreman (commenting on a vegetarian dish), "This isn't food, this is what food eats"; 10/5/09, 12:19 PM
Sara (Pal2Pal) said...: I love sauerkraut, I love it hot, I love it cold. And it was always part of our New Year celbrations because of the good luck it would bring for the rest of the year.

My Dad used to say that sauerkraut was the nectar of the gods.; 10/5/09, 2:29 PM
blake said...: and the young twit lectured me on the evils of "exploiting" bees.

I saw that movie! It was...weird. That billionaire comedian wrote it.

wv: nuckless
[usage: The nuckless Vegans were slapped with an eel.]; 10/5/09, 2:31 PM
blake said...: I've been doing this program lately where you get tested and they tell you whether you can eat meat or not, based on the results. If your system isn't overstressed, you can have it 3-4 times a week.

But the "meat" prohibition isn't just meat, really, because it's not a religious or moral objection, but a biochemical one. It has to do with the density of the proteins, or somesuch.

So rhh's soy patty would count. Fake sausage or a tofu dog would count. Any food compressed into that kind of density would count.

Pork and shrimp are right out, as are those power bars.

Dunno if it's true but it's interesting. And I have (incidentally) found some good vegetarian stocks (faux-chicken, faux-beef).; 10/5/09, 2:37 PM
Alan said...: You obviously never had good raw vegan food. It's amazing.; 10/5/09, 2:38 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "You obviously never had good raw vegan food."

Like I've never had a good salad that didn't have meat or cheese in it? Come on. We've all eaten good raw fruits and vegetables! I do it every day.; 10/5/09, 3:02 PM
rhhardin said...: "I just throw a soy pattie in the microwave and it's fine."

If you are starving.

I'm with Wittgenstein on food.

The maid asked him what he wanted for lunch.

"I don't care, so long as it's the same thing every day."

wv hyledqpw, cf. nousdqpw; 10/5/09, 3:12 PM
Anonymous said...: I would guess that if you were to rank animals by their intelligence, carnivores would dominate the top of the list. It is a far more complex task to hunt than to munch on grass or leaves.; 10/5/09, 4:08 PM
blake said...: Raw foods are harder to digest, as has been pointed out.

On the program I'm doing, if you get really bad results from the tests, you're supposed eat everything cooked, including fruits.

Give the digestive system a break.; 10/5/09, 5:51 PM
Deb said...: I don't know how he does it, gas-wise. I mean, gas is uncomfortable and painful. For him. All those raw veggies produce a lot of it, making the gastrointestinal system work hard to bust up the little buggers and pass them on through the system. Lots of gaseous, noxious by product. Only one way for it to go, too.; 10/5/09, 6:27 PM
Garry said...: I eat raw sauerkraut almost every day. It contains beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus. If it is pasteurized - it won't contain this and is fairly devoid of nutritional value. Raw or unpasteurized sauerkraut is always kept in the refrigerator.

There seems to be lots of misconceptions about a raw food diet. Our bodies depend upon the enzymes in raw food to give us life. If we cook food, we kill it and must eat more to get the proper amount of nutrients.

Mr. Imus is likely trying to halt or reverse his prostate cancer - which was likely brought on by consuming animal products of some sort. Regardless of health, one more likely to get certain kinds of cancer if one consumes animal products. Even top athletes get cancer - think Lance Armstrong - I'm pretty sure he's not vegan.

Although, it is unproven that animal products causes prostate cancer - have you ever heard of a person with a vegan diet contracting prostate cancer?

Ruth Heidrich was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1982 at age 47. Today at age 74, she competes in triathlons. She never had any chemotherapy or radiation for her metastatic breast cancer. This all due her switch to a raw vegan diet.

I've personally been mostly raw for about 5 years now, (2/3 of my calories come from raw vegan food). Since this time, my health has improved, I've not gotten sick at all and I feel better and have more energy at all time of the day.

If you can get by what other people think of you - I think this is the biggest obstacle to being vegetarian - then you will be the healthiest, most productive person you can be health-wise.; 10/5/09, 6:49 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: If you can get by what other people think of you - I think this is the biggest obstacle to being vegetarian - then you will be the healthiest, most productive person you can be health-wise.

Good for you. More power to you. I'm glad you feel well.

What I object to regarding the vegan lifestyle is that many feel the uncontrollable need to preach at the rest of us, proselytise, nag and otherwise make themselves irritating.

Kind of like the reformed alcoholic or born again Christian. Good for them. Leave the rest of us alone.

Being Vegan is a personal choice for you and no one should stop you. Eating that rib eye steak last night was my choice and harping at me about it just makes me want to shove the half of the steak that I didn't eat up someone's nether parts. Except that it was too good to waste and made a great steak sandwich for lunch.

:-D just saying.; 10/5/09, 7:03 PM
Garry said...: What I object to regarding the vegan lifestyle is that many feel the uncontrollable need to preach at the rest of us, proselytise, nag and otherwise make themselves irritating.

I think it works both ways. When I told my friends that I was vegetarian they got very defensive about it thinking it was something they had done. They then chastised me about my decision. I merely had mentioned that my eating habits had changed.

I'm not an vegan or an activist, (I'm a strict vegetarian/raw foodist) but I do work within the vegetarian community to spread the message when I can. If it's health one is after, a raw vegan diet is best and can help avoid diseases of affluence.

Family and friends listen to what one has to say. I care about my family and friends and want the to be as healthy and happy for as long as possible. If this is the cure to cancer and I'm not telling them all the information I know, then I'm not being a friend.

If I don't do this and one of my friends gets cancer and I don't then they might think why didn't I get it and so on...

Being sick/getting cancer is very conter-productive, stressful and a total waste of time. If we can avoid this and spend our time and energy on more happy pursuits we would all be better off.

The 'vegans' only want you to listen to what they have to say - they aren't asking you to change. Once I was one of the people that thought they were a nag - yes, things you don't want to hear are irritating. Just listen with an open mind.

:-D just saying.; 10/5/09, 7:48 PM
blake said...: I've been on both sides of that veg/carn divide. It can be traumatic regardless of the side. Food is a strong bonding element.

As for "reducing cancer risk" there's probably a reduction that goes along with reduced meat consumption. But it doesn't follow that "no meat" is better than "light-to-moderate meat".

It's also not a 100% correlation. And people really like meat.

People don't always want to live in (presumably) the healthiest way. Quality of life and all that.; 10/5/09, 8:03 PM
Joan said...: The healthiest diet would be nothing but meat, with water to drink.; 10/5/09, 11:16 PM
blake said...: Joan,

Unlikely, I think. First of all, not all meats are equal.

For example, there's polar bear liver. Which is toxic. So, that right there would be pretty unhealthy.; 10/6/09, 2:51 AM
Unknown said...: >>I made the mistake of using honey, and the young twit lectured me on the evils of "exploiting" bees

>You should have used granualted sugar.

You should have used antifreeze as a sweetener for that self righteous little dweeb. Admittedly, that might strain relations with the parents.; 10/6/09, 6:39 AM
Unknown said...: Ruth Heidrich was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1982 at age 47. Today at age 74, she competes in triathlons. She never had any chemotherapy or radiation for her metastatic breast cancer. This all due her switch to a raw vegan diet.

Are you sure that it does not have anything to do with her visit to Lourdes?; 10/6/09, 6:50 AM
Sebastian said...: I always have an organic food delivered to our house like vegetables .. I really like it, especially cabbage then I just put a mayonnaise on it, its very delicious.; 9/23/10, 2:46 PM