Joe Bonington is a relatively well known personal trainer in Sydney who I respect for being holistic in his approach to health and fitness.
Being inspired after listening to Joe speak at a business networking function recently, I decided to buy his eBook titled ‘Joe Bonington’s 28 Day Natural Eating Plan’ (only $19.95 AUS).
It was very apparent after the first couple of pages that Joe’s philosophy on life and eating was similar to that of the direction I was heading on my ‘green’ journey.
This ‘green’ journey of mine has been challenging every part of my life and most recently my diet. As regular readers will know, one example of this is now I am only eating organic and free range meat and eggs as I decided that the welfare of the animals was more important. We have also cut down the amount of meat we consume and added more fish and nuts into our diet.
Reading Joe’s eBook made me realise that these decisions did not only benefit animal welfare and the environment but also my health.
For example; my choice to buy only ‘true’ free range eggs. Yes this decision was originally for the welfare of the hens. However I did not know that when compared to cage eggs, pasture raised organic eggs contain:
1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta-carotene
Interesting isn’t it!
So after reading Joe’s whole eBook in one night, my husband Brett and I have decided that we will take the 28 day natural eating plan challenge.
For the next 28 days (well 27 days now) we will not be consuming:
Alcohol
All processed foods
Caffeine
Cage eggs
Conventionally farmed meat
Dairy
Fruit Juice (non fresh)
Soy Products
Table salt
Vegetable Oils
Wheat
White Rice
After going through the list with Brett he said nervously “well what can we eat?” For that I had to go shopping today and why I recommend you have a look at Joe’s eBook for yourself.
I will keep you up to date with how we are going along the way.
Day one and I am excited!
Want to know more about Joe’s 28 Natural Eating Plan?
15 comments
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February 2, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Cabbage Heart
Email me Sahrn and i can add you to the list of invites. I cant get to your email address, for some reason outlook express wont load for me.
xoxoxox
February 2, 2009 at 5:53 pm
nevyn
Hi Sahrn,
Your 28 day eating plan sounds interesting but I do have one very important question. Does he count chocolate as a processed food?
February 3, 2009 at 5:18 am
Wombat064
Hi Sahn,
All that differance in 1 little egg, immagine the differance in a whole chook…..
Phil
February 3, 2009 at 10:20 am
weddingplanningtips
CH – thank you I will do that right now!
Nevyn – you make me laugh. Sorry chocolate would be out as it is dairy and yes propbably processed.
Wombat064 – yes Joe’s book outlined exactly that. It’s ironic isn’t it that when you do good for the welfare of an animal or for the environment it is also good for you. Perhaps if more people knew this many others would start being green and animal cruetly free.
February 3, 2009 at 1:49 pm
nevyn
Oh. No chocolate, we can’t have that, it’s so wrong.
I’m heading off to the hairdressers tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed that I’ll remember to ask about organic hairdressers in Sydney. Preferably before I head home.
February 4, 2009 at 10:08 am
weddingplanningtips
Thanks Nevyn I appreciate that.
February 5, 2009 at 2:23 pm
nevyn
I’m such a good girl. I remembered to ask about organic hairdressers in Sydney. She couldn’t give me specifics but I hope it’s helpful.
There’s one in Paddington, he makes his own colours. I’m sure she said they were watercolour but don’t quote me on that one. There is a down side, he’s expensive.
There a also several in Surrey(?) Hills but she didn’t know names or addresses. Anna said they’ll be in the yellow pages. I’ve seen the Sydney yellow pages….good luck.
In support of your natural eating plan I went out and bought some raw nuts yesterday, for snacks. They’re waiting eagerly to be snacked on, unfortunately I’m in the mood for chocolate and cranberry shortbreads.
February 8, 2009 at 2:13 pm
weddingplanningtips
Thanks Nevyn!
Mmmm chocolate and cranberry shortbreads………are you trying to temp me??
February 17, 2009 at 8:14 am
Amber
Hiya Sarhn!
In all my research on animal welfare, the fact that healthier animals that are raised and kept in environments closer to their natural habitat are better for the end consumer comes up again and again. I think it’s a no brainer really and I’m glad the scientific evidence backs it up.
In reference to your findings on the free range eggs, a healthy chook is a happy chook. Those who are able to free range get a more varied diet and are more able to self medicate. Imagine being stuck in a cage where you can’t move, your only light source is unnatural electric light and you are feed the same pelleted food day after day after day – how awful! I have spent time in a cage with 3 others that was a scaled up replica of a battery hen cage and after 4 hours I was about to go insane! At least I was fed some yummy vegan sushi and didn’t have to eat pellets – lol!
I think if more people knew about the animals they were eating and their emotional lives, they would only buy free range products (or would be vegetarian or vegan)! I love watching my girls (chooks) free ranging around my property. They roam around the paddocks, scratch through the manure pile for tasty bugs, hang around Leo’s (horse) feed bin in case he drops any tasty morsels, come up to the back door for a chat and cluck contentedly when they have their dust baths in the sun. These are things that battery and broiler hens never get the opportunity to enjoy.
One of our chooks has just come back from a 10 day stint at the vets due to an infected foot and I have found that some people are flabbergasted that I have taken a chicken to a vet at considerable cost. Some have said “but it’s only a chicken” while others have said “why don’t you just knock it over the head and get another one”. When I ask them if it was their dog or cat, who was sick, wouldn’t they seek medical attention for them? Dogs and cats have feelings and emotions and chooks are no different and every time I have said that, the response has always been along the line of “gee, I didn’t think of it that way”. Just because the human community places little value on a chicken’s life (or a cow, pig or sheep for that matter) doesn’t mean that I don’t.
Anyway, enough of my rant for the day, I was wondering why soy products were on the black list for foods you can’t eat?
Love ya work!
Amber
February 17, 2009 at 4:35 pm
weddingplanningtips
Amber I didn’t know you locked yourself in a cage with 3 others that was a scaled up replica of a battery hen cage for over 4 hours!!! When did you do this??
As for Soy products I will have to go back and read my eating plan ebook. I can email you once I have done this if you like.
I know I will go back to eating Soy products like Tofu after the 28 days is over.
Amber, Brett and I are now trying Kangaroo meat as the next step towards eating more environmentally friendly products. Apparently Kangaroos do not produce methane (I guess it is all that hopping around) as well as other benefits.
We still have cut our red and white meat consumption by half.
And Amber I would take my chicken to the vet too (if I had chickens) and I think the same way as you. Every animal big and small all have one thing in common – we all feel pain!
February 18, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Amber
ahahaha – yeah me and my animal rights activism stuff! I think it was around June 23, 2007. This is from their website: “The Human Battery Cage is a unique piece of installation/performance art designed to show the public, in a vivid and realistic way, the cramped conditions caged birds are subjected to for the production of eggs for human consumption.” They had a scaled up human version of a battery cage and were touring around Australia to show how bad the chooks have it. They also invited volunteers to jump in the cages with them – I’ll send you the photos. You can read more about it on their website: http://www.humanbatterycage.com. I’ll just say that it was a unique experience and I really felt for the poor girls forced to live like that.
I applaud you for wanting to be more environmentally friendly in your diet but have you researched how kangaroos are culled for meat? It’s not humane at all and the joeys of the female kangaroos are killed barbarically. “The Code of Practice says joeys can be ripped from their slain mothers pouch and hit on the head with a water pipe or iron bar until dead; shooters even bash joeys against their vehicle or a tree trunk. Older, ex-pouch, but still dependent joeys flee in terror when their mothers are killed to die from cold, starvation, predation and maternal depravation. A million or more joeys die in this way every year.” I won’t go into detail about how most shooters aim for the head of the adult kangaroo but if the aim is even a little off, the animal can be shot in the mouth and escape only to die from it’s injuries through infection, starvation or other means. For more information, go to: http://www.awpc.org.au/awpc.php?australian_wildlife_protection_council=7&crm=1
Well done on cutting down your meat intake as this will reduce your footprint but one of the best ways to do this effectively is to cut out meat altogether (is also good on the animal welfare side as well). One of my favourite quotes is from Captain Paul Watson (Sea Shepherd): “A vegan driving a hummer would be contributing less greenhouse gas carbon emissions than a meat eater riding a bicycle.” That gives you food for thought!
A
February 19, 2009 at 12:19 pm
weddingplanningtips
hey Amber got the photos – Amazing!!
Can I use them in a post about the subject???
PLLLEEEAAASSSEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for kangaroos I will need to do more research – thanks for letting me know.
February 20, 2009 at 11:37 am
Amber
ahhhhhhhh – do we need a waiver or something from the other people in the photo to use the image or is that only for commerical use?
February 21, 2009 at 7:53 am
weddingplanningtips
Hi Amber, you only have to think about press photographers or a famous celebrity to find that answer.
As a professional photographer myself it is sensitive issue but it is more about ethical than legal reasons. For this reason, I always ask my clients if I can use their images for promotional or advertising purposes (even though I don’t legally have to because I own copyright). I do this because it is ethical and the right thing to do.
In regards to the other people in the photograph; Amber do you have contact with them? If not it is best just to blur their faces. This would mean it would only be your gorgeous face that would be recognisable.
They are really powerful images Amber and I would love to use them.
It is totally up to you.
Sarhn
March 8, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Review of the 28 Natural Eating Plan « Greener Me
[...] March 8, 2009 by weddingplanningtips It has been one week after finishing Joe Bonington’s 28 days of ‘Natural Eating Plan’. [...]