Been waiting for these babies for MONTHS…Oh, the terrible, terrible months, were they.
My love affair with unsalted, pure, raw, unadulterated olives is (almost) unsurpassed…(Don’t tell my avos, though) These are delicious eaten the way nature intended, I imagine, raw and unprocessed — kissed by the sun is quite enough *smooch*
Whenever I purchase these there are, unfortunately, almost always a couple “bad” ones, meaning, bitter and sort of shrunken/wrinkled and dry — Oh, the horr-or. A few are not enough to dissuade 😉 The rest are like biting into a juicy dried plum! They should have a fruity flavor, mostly sometimes, very fruity; but some are savory — never bland! And, if you’re off salt (as you should be 😉 ), these won’t taste bad, and you should be able to taste its complexity.
~*~
Delicious and juicy — sometimes, sweet! Of course everyone has a different palate; and I can see how these may be a “love it or hate it” thing. I think, with the exception of the rare occasional goji berry, and my recent use of sun-dried tomatoes, it is the only dried fruit I consume. Very easy on the digestion, and nothing like eating “dried fruit.”
Olives are a healthful food. Most you read about the benefits, refer to its oil. But, as we know, per wise, nutritional experts, whole foods pack bigger, better nutritional punches. Why would one not want to get all they can from food?
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I love my fats as whole foods, too. Who needs olive oil?! These are much more flavorful than oil. I have also found that simply soaking these in good, pure water removes any unsavory bitterness which a few may possess (how long is up to you; just not too long, or they get soggy). You can marinate in a yummy vinegar, too, if water ain’t workin’ for ya. Add some spices, even. Yum! Your own marinated olives! So, even if these aren’t to your liking, straight, you can make them to your liking with a bit of imagination and tapping into your flavor preferences.
I enjoy them with my raw Zucchini “Spaghetti,” too!
And you can use them for a spaghetti squash dish too, or in salads — how yummy in Summer bean salads?!! They are strong-flavored, as well, and so you don’t need to eat a lot of them. Slice them to distribute flavor before tossing and you will have that wonderful olive flavor permeate your dish. I’ve popped a couple into dressings, and it works — well, sometimes Lol.
~*~
Beloved Avos, I still love you:
Only thing I do not like, is these are first come first serve! And you’d better load up if you do like them, ’cause the “off season” is long and lonely 🙂 I buy these by the case, and have them last quite a long time. I am waiting impatiently for my next shipment — I just received a small one. I get them from NaturalZing (they take them off the site when unavailable) or from SunFood.com. The ‘Zing’s sometimes come in plastic bags, as in pic; also in jars sometimes. SunFood.com always sells them in jars.
~*~
My latest shipment, a mere 6 jars 😉 to tide me over; they are now back to full stock as I await my dozen. Settle for nothing less than fresh olives!
~ *** ~
I enjoyed some of these juicy gems last night, and they are superb! I can tell they are fresh. I ordered from another place, which happened to have them off-season — I assumed they were old, but took a chance anyway. They were okay, but definitely old. In fact, they must have been VERY old because I’ve had olives a year old and they were just as good as the day I got them. Never do that again!
OH MY…
If you love ’em, get ’em while they’re available!
Poxacuatl
BeStrixed 
Barb (kneecap) said,
February 19, 2009 at 4:13 pm
shoot, I went to sunfood.com and they say they don’t have enough inventory.
on a mostly off- topic, you mentioned this is the only dried fruit you consume. Do you eat much sweet stuff? Check out my blog and you can see my latest disaster involving sweets. It seems dates make me go bezerk. I kind of already knew this but it got reinforced to me yesterday. I am more sensitive to sweets than I used to be, along with everything else like caffeine and alcohol and white flour and oil. If you don’t eat much sweets, would you be interested to post on how you have modified ETL to suit you and why? thanks, oh wise one. 🙂
-barb
ps, I still haven’t washed my hair since your post about no-poo. hee hee. I used to wash it every other day. I just rinse it in the shower (usually every other day in winter). Now it’s not as greasy as day 2 (in shampoo days) and not as dry as day 1. It’s perfect! haha. but it’s really short so I think the adaptation was quick.
poxacuatl said,
February 20, 2009 at 11:37 am
Barb, I got them from Natural Zing! They just got them in stock. Have you tried them? Don’t get a load if you haven’t tried them yet, haha.
Sweet stuff — I don’t consume much that is sweet. My tastes have changed SO much to the point that beets, carrots, kohlrabi, etc., are my sweets! They seriously can get cloying if I eat too much of it! This, from a former starch (which is basically sugar) and carbs fiend. So the turn around is dramatic, to say the least. I used to suck on Lemonheads and Jolly Ranchers!
Anyway, that’s where the bulk of my “carbs” come from — root veggies. I also eat mostly raw, NO starches or grains.
I didn’t modify ETL at all — I did it, 100% the way Dr. F. wrote it. No recipes, no trying to duplicate SAD dishes by modifying it, etc. I just made the decision to do it and did it. To do less is disrespectful to myself — that’s how I am, though. I also could not honestly give the diet a chance if I didn’t actually do it! Plus, back to the self-respect thing — why waste my time?! I decided I’m going to do this, and, hey, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. So I had to *really* do it. And you know what? Everything that Dr. J said would happen, happened. The reality is it happens at different rates for people, and people need to tweak for certain conditions, they have, but that is not the majority of people. But the basic things that are supposed to happen, happen (re-set tastes, lose cravings, eat less overtime, etc.). My issue was the carbs and overeating; someone else’s issue may be cheese addiction, or whatever.
So what I’m saying is that I didn’t change it; but I did consume much more leafy greens than Dr. F. prescribes, and I attribute that to one big reason for my success. The reason is because the leafy greens are the highest in nutrients, so when I flooded my body with them, my body stopped being angry! All my cravings went away, when it got fed — with REAL food. Dr. J says we get “cravings” because the body is not nourished; so that means you need more nutrients and you’re not getting enough. Since greens have the most nutrients, it makes sense that Dr. J has them as the BASE of ETL. So that’s the sort-of adjustment — just more greens! I needed them for cravings.
I did the 6-Weeks and was so healed, my tastes so changed, that I stayed with it! I did it without “going off plan” without eating any of my trigger foods — even if those trigger foods were ETL! Afterwhich, I had ZERO desire for anything, and I’ve been sailing ever since. I don’t know if I “can’t eat” such-and-such food but it’s a moot point! Because I don’t WANT to, nor is there any need. Having eaten so cleanly, for so long, I’m never in a situation that I cannot handle or that is desperate to the point I “had to” eat something bad. It just doesn’t happen. I can always call it a day, use that day to fast, think of it as an exercise, whether mental or physical :). I practice hara hachi bu, which is eat to 80% fullness only. That is now just my way of eating and no longer a “practice,” you follow me? 😉
So the only adjustments I’ve had to make is to stop losing weight! So I chose to increase the fats and some higher-cal veggies, and I’ve been at a stable weight for years. I don’t think about eating and how to, etc., any longer cause it’s all automatic now. Only reason I “talk” about food is because of the forums.
No ‘poo still?! Hahaha. That’s cool. It’s funny — my Ex reminded me not long after that post that I actually did do a No ‘Poo that I had totally forgotten! I can’t even remember why I was home-bound at the time, it was years ago; but I do remember now. I didn’t wash my hair for months! I have long hair and I decided not to brush it either. I ran my fingers through it and fluffed it, etc., but didn’t want to pull on it or anything. So I remember one day that I had this huge knot in the back! I was like, “Oh, NO”! But I decided to just sort of leave it. I turned into Rasta Woman, LOL. I can’t believe that slipped my mind when I wrote up that blog entry. It was cool, though: My hair actually created that look without me doing anything at all. It just got like that. It looked horrible at first, of course, but then it sort of came together and I kept that for a while.
That’s cool it’s working for you! It seems what happened to you is what’s supposed to happen. It’s that balance thing again :). You got your hair to a state of neither too oily nor dry. Very cool!
PicksOverPeas said,
February 20, 2009 at 11:18 am
Thanks for the education on olives. I honestly did not know one can buy them unsalted. I am a recovering olive addict (the salted kind of course), so I may have to try these out.
poxacuatl said,
February 20, 2009 at 11:36 am
Ah, let me know if you like them! Some people find they don’t like them at first, but warm up to them after a while :). It’s funny, though, ’cause I never really cared for olives before I found these!
Barb (kneecap) said,
February 20, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Hi,
Thanks for your response! I am heading in your direction so it’s good to hear it from your end. I too find carrots and kohlrabi to be sweet! And fruit is plenty sweet. I realize now dried fruits are too sweet for me. I don’t think our bodies were designed to handle the higher concentration of sweetness. I have no desire for grains either but occasionally eat brown rice and oatmeal. Wow, no starches either? So no sweet potatoes? I still like starches like sweet potatoes and beets. And you consumed more leafy grains than Dr. F recommended? Now that’s impressive! ha. I’m impressed that you stuck to the plan so well. One thing that I learned the hard way is that some ETL foods are triggers for me. But hopefully I have learned my lesson. I will try to practice hari hachi bu. And I will try a jar of these olives.
-barb
poxacuatl said,
February 21, 2009 at 11:33 am
Barb, I always say, I’d add grains back, pronto, if I started distance running again or working out more rigorously! I was into grains bigtime. I don’t need those high calories any longer. I found grains great for distance fuel.
I’m mellowed out, now, and do about the minimum for health, lol. I was way over-training for years, though; and I knew it wasn’t healthful. So slowing down was a good thing for me. Anyway, I think grains and starches are delicious; I just don’t have room for them and prefer to focus on other foods first. But, as per ETL, they are perfectly acceptable as prescribed; so there’s nothing wrong with them!
By the way, Barb, you may not want to start hari hachi yet! It might be better to be in a good rhythm first. If you’re still having cravings, etc., then you may set yourself up for bingeing: You may eat less volume but inadvertently be denying your body the calories and, most importantly the nutrients it needs by cutting back, see what I mean? So it’s best to not have any issues before starting this. It’s a little different from not eating till stuffed — most of us know that one!
You have to adjust to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need in each meal per amount of volume…
Once you’re free of food “issues,” it isn’t difficult at all; you will sort of automatically eat the right amounts of everything, but, as I said, it takes time to get there! Not sure if I’m being clear… I just know that people have tried to do this and find themselves doing okay at first, but eventually, binge because somewhere along the line, the body didn’t get enough nutrients.
Okay, I’m repeating myself, lol. Let me know if you need more clarification. You can also start slower and not do 80% fullness, but rather just to a point where you “know” you could eat more, but also know you’ve had just enough…if that makes sense.
Robin said,
February 21, 2009 at 3:19 am
Yum…I just ordered a case. Next to avos…my second favorite good fat has always been olives. I did find one canned low sodium brand I used in a pinch, but I always knew I was compromising and it wasn’t the best choice. I’m just counting the days for my package to arrive.
poxacuatl said,
February 21, 2009 at 10:16 am
Robin, yes, you are the one who got me on to the avo wagon :D. I think there is one kind of olive that is raw and very lightly salted. I can’t remember which; maybe it’s one from Sunfood…but it’s not too bad, considering. What surprised me was that Dr. F. says additional salt is worse for healthy eaters.
I used to think ETL was “salt-free,” but it’s not really. A little confusing sometimes, lol. But a small amount is permitted; so it can’t be too bad to have some here and there and remain healthy.
I’m still amazed that I’m salt free. I never thought it possible. With the starch diet, I had to add massive amounts of salt and make lots of sauces which had it. I used to love Nama Shoyu soy sauce, lol. Those first couple weeks of ETL were bland-tasting, but not un-doable. I just kept telling myself, either this is going to change because there are people who ARE salt free and love it; or I’ve got 4 weeks left on this God-forsaken diet and then I’m free, Lol! Just kidding; it was good as long as I kept to making good dressings! Glad I stuck it out 😀
What do you do with your olives? Do you eat them straight? Doesn’t an olive dressing sound yum? I haven’t put too much effort into it; I’ve thrown a few into dressing and it has come out okay or awful. They’re really strong, and, I think, that may be the issue to work around. It should probably be minimal ingredients and seasoning. Any ideas?
Robin said,
February 27, 2009 at 7:45 am
I just received my case of 12 jars yesterday. You are so right…they are truly unique….really meaty (can I say that word…lol) with a slight tang. They are unlike, and actually more flavorful then any other olive I’ve ever tasted. I just soaked them in a red wine vinegar and served them over a plate of mixed greens….delicious (I like things plain). The natural oils of the olives could be tasted all throughout the greens. I may try Vita-mix blending some of the olives in the vinegar as well (of course I’ll remove the pits)…I bet that would be delicious…. I could probably use less olives and get even more flavor that way.
I will also be eating these straight (I’ll be packing them in my lunch today). Hmm….I never did that with other olives.
Thanks for introducing me to them!!
poxacuatl said,
February 27, 2009 at 9:13 am
Yum! I’m glad you like them! Yes, they seem to be really strong in dressings. I haven’t figured it out yet. Hey, if you come up with a good dressing, maybe you could send it in for an ETL Friday! 😀
Yep, isn’t the natural oil great? I think they’re better than any other olives. I like how you don’t need so many in a salad, just like you described.
Hopefully, you won’t get a bad one, haha. It’s interesting, too, that the olives can vary in flavor from one another. Some have interesting…what’s the word? Umm…notes?
I like them straight, too. “Meaty” is a great description.
Glad you’re enjoying them 🙂
yummy said,
February 27, 2009 at 7:18 am
Root veggies are your sweets–so you don’t eat fresh fruit then? Or just with green smoothies, exclusively?
poxacuatl said,
February 27, 2009 at 7:37 am
Hi, yummy 🙂
Root vegetables are sweet to me now is what I’m saying. I do eat fresh fruit, mostly berries. And, yes, most in my green smoothies. I focus on berries because they are the most nutrient dense, and that is how I approach eating — what is the most healthful to eat. I also eat some fruit with my dinner in my cultured vegetables — whatever I decided to put in 🙂
poxacuatl said,
February 28, 2009 at 11:11 am
Oh, and olives are technically a fruit ;). Others such as tomatoes — which I confess, I eat loads! — and cukes are pretty much daily. I really don’t like dried fruit any longer; it’s just way too sweet, and fresh is more nutritious, I think.
I am loving the fruit in my cultured veggies. I’m trying out unusual ones, too, and having great success!
Barbara Whitney said,
March 4, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Hey strix, I tried out one jar of olives and decided they are great. I’m addicted to them in salads. So now I’m wondering if I should get a case. How long do you think they last? can they be frozen?
thanks,
-barb
poxacuatl said,
March 4, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Haha! Yep. I love ’em too. Glad you’re enjoying them.
They last a long time. I have had one-year old olives; but, it varies how fast I go through them. I refrigerate the jars I open; but keep the unopened in the coolest place possible. So far, they’ve all been perfect. When I first bought them, I was told by Natural Zing that they can last even longer than a year…I usually eat them by then :D. You can always call them and reaffirm that.
Frozen? Hmmm…I don’t know! I’ll freeze some tonight and let you know. I imagine they might get soggy; but maybe the fat will keep them well…I’ll let you know Friday 🙂
Thanks for visiting!
Oh, I just realized it’s you, barb, Lol!
Barb (kneecap) said,
March 5, 2009 at 11:57 am
oh yeah, I posted from another computer and must have changed my name. anyway, I ordered my case of olives! woo-hoo! Lately I’ve had them every night in my salad. I’m hooked!
-barb
poxacuatl said,
March 6, 2009 at 11:57 am
barb, the texture changed somewhat. I didn’t like it! The flavor seems slightly altered, too. I don’t know if soaking would revive them, though…? I wouldn’t freeze mine. Give it a try and see what you think. Maybe you’ll tell me my imagination is out of control and I’m full of it 😀
Barb (kneecap) said,
March 7, 2009 at 3:36 pm
thanks for the info. I hope you didn’t ruin too many of them. I will store them in the fridge. I did order a case. I’m hooked on them in salads. I’ll have to try them out in a spaghetti sauce sometime. I would think they would be just like adding olive oil, only it’d be healthy!
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