Hello, my name is Ren and I've been doing neanderthin for a few months and love it. I've got a question, though. I'm trying to do this with my whole family and our pets. We're on disability, so don't have alot to spend. My husband has MS and I'm trying to get him to go neanderthin, but he's a bread addict. My 2 kids are being really good about this change of eating. Anyway, on to the question...Is anyone on here living neanderthin with a family? Also, I would like to get our animals on the raw food diet also. We have a small homestead, but have just started building our goat herd, so can't use too many of them for meat. We also have rabbits, and I was wondering how much we would need to feed our 2 dogs and 8 cats? Any input would definitely be greatly appreciated.

Ozarkren

Thanks for answering! My DH is doing pretty good, except for the bread. We've been buying it for the kids, because I worry they aren't eating enough. My daughter will starve before she will eat a piece of fruit! She's getting better though. My kids are 11(girl) and 8(boy). My son will eat pretty much anything you put in front of him. We do have chickens that have just started laying again, so won't have to buy eggs for very much longer. We just started raising animals about 2 years ago, so we are still building our herds and flocks. Hopefully in the next few years we won't have to buy nearly as much as we do now.

Ozarkren

That sounds really good with your son! My husband wasn't too sure about all the animals, but he's adapted quite well. Of course it makes traveling a little difficult! Smile. Gotta find pet and livestock sitters.

Ozarkren

Ozarkren: Glad to hear your family has adopted the NeanderThin lifestyle. It can be expensive purchasing grass fed and free run and I agree with Crate that sometimes I make do with regular if I can't afford the best. My son is 24 and is on the plan with the exception that he also eats sour rye dough bread. He was a little overweight before but has lost around 20 pounds and feels great. I read on the Weston Price Foundation website that this is the least evil of all the breads, if your DH is having trouble giving up bread. I also try and give my cats raw meat and raw egg yolks whenever possible besides canned food but I can't always afford it. However, even with the raw food occasionally they are doing much better health wise since I scraped the dry cat food. I especially noticed it with my older cat who was very fat and lethargic before and now acts and performs almost like a kitten.
Regarding the MS, there is growing evidence that a hunter-gatherer way of eating alleviates MS symptoms. Your husband should make a concerted effort to wean himself off bread by stuffing himself with allowable foods.
Good luck with your new lifestyle. Let us know how things develop.
P.S. Regarding CAP's question on another thread about digestive problems and acid reflux. When reading on cat nutrition and raw cat food, it was stated that raw food runs through a cat's digestive system much more quickly than cooked or dry food. Perhaps this can be equated to us as well, as the food we eat travels through our system faster and doesn't have time to sit around and cause stomach problems. It's a crazy theory but perhaps there is more truth in it than we realize.

Your farm sounds great!
I don't have any kids, so I can't help there, and my hubby absolutely *loves* the Neanderthin diet. He insists on drinking an occasional Guinness, and his copius amounts of coffee, but other than that, he's really good.

About the pets. I have been feeding my 3 dogs and 3 cats a raw diet for over 4 years now. I more or less follow the BARF system (Bones And Raw Food). Your dogs can eat any bones that are RAW and be very healthy, the cats to, but I usually grind them up. You will save loads of money on pet dental care too.
Here is the book that started me off.

Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst

As for cost, I found a local meat packer that allows me to get all the bones I can carry for free! Check your local meat packers, slaughterhouses, butchers, and heck, farmers and deer hunters that process their own meat, for bones and off cuts on the cheap/free. It significantly reduces your cost. (if any one tells you dogs can't digest pork bones, they're wrong!)

I feed my 3 65lb dogs each about 1.5lbs of meat/bones daily. They run loose and are incredibly active, so they stay at a good weight. When they get more sedentary, like in the hot summers, I cut it down a bit. Just watch your pets weight and adjust accordingly. The staple of their diet is chicken leg quarters; bones, skin and all. They also get turkey necks/legs, pig feet/neck bones, leftovers and scraps, ground veggies, eggs, ect. Really, whatever you have leftover, feed to the dogs.

I make food for the cats out of the cheapest cuts I can find, chicken backs, necks, leg quarters, fatty pork, fatty hamburger, liver, gizzards etc. I add fish oil for flavor. My really old, formerly unhealthy and allergic cat looks better now at 15 than she did at 8. It's amazing really.

I think a raw diet is way cheaper than the expensive, specialty pet foods. And healthier, too.

Good luck!

Thank you for responding Hellistile and batgirl! My daughter got excited about feeding the cats and dogs the raw meat diet. Now we just got to get busy breeding rabbits! Good idea about checking out the meat packers, think we'll do that this week.

Ozarkren