Organic Origami
Vishnu, I saw this wild thing. I mean, my Thor, it was out there. Buddhadamn, if it wasn’t cool.
(Hey, everyone likes “god” and tosses that around like so much rice at a rock star’s wedding. I thought I’d give the other guys a shot. Doesn’t really work, does it? Except for “Buddhadamn”, which sounds more like a ride at Six Flaggs than a swear word. I’ll keep working on it…keeping it fresh, yo.)
Origami. The art of taking a perfectly good piece of paper and turning it into something that resembles a trendy skirt only a fashion model would wear for 20 seconds on a runway. It’d probably fit, too…size negative 6.
Really beautiful art, this Origami.
Where am I going? Well, I told you TWO blogs, and I’m working my tired fingers to the nub for ya, so give me a break. I have no idea where this is going. I just thought the title sounded cool and witty.
No, wait…I have it.
The art of choosing food that doesn’t kill you. Yeah, I knew there was an angle there. Just give me a few seconds and I’ll have another.
Organic. If at all possible, go organic. Organic food is the artwork of nature, not the Ansel Adams of the grocery masses. This is good stuff, people. And, here’s why.
- Organic veggies and fruits do not have chemicals all over them. Normal produce does. The FDA could care less, so you should start caring for them.
- Organic tastes better, looks better, and lasts longer after being cooked. I can keep my food for over a week and it tastes just as good as the day it was made, and that’s ‘not’ in the freezer…just the fridge.
- No MSG. It’s not just for Chinese food restaurants anymore. MSG should be banned before speed if you ask me. At least speed makes otherwise lousy drivers find the other peddle and actually earn the right to be in the left lane. (I’m actually against drugs, but that was kinda funny for a tired guy.) Seriously, MSG sucks.
- More on MSG: makes you eat like crazy. Now, come on…you knew it was created for a good reason, right? Just think: “eat more food” would go over very well to hurting farmers. Sorry, just calling a spade a spade. The result was MSG being touted as a “flavoring agent” (even a “preservative…ha…insects won’t go near it) and put in everything from canned goods to dingle balls.
- My mama done told me…to go catch a waabit….and she said, “Always buy the best and you’ll never be disappointed.” 90% true, which is more than I can say for some of her other advice (“Art and philosophy? No, no…business!”, “Remember, always be yourself on a date,” and so-forth.)
- Other than the MSG/insecticide issues, organic produce (and hormone-free beef, free-range chicken and eggs, etc.) have more vitamins and minerals in them. Even if that wasn’t the case, they have “less” crap on top and inside of them, and that crap is what’s helping to keep you addicted to sugar, binge eating, and so-forth.
Those are some darn good reasons, eh? Yah.
I’ll be preaching more on the orgasmic flavor of organic, but for now…think “art of survival.” The beauty of nature’s finest. Excuse me while I go eat and then sleep for a day or so.
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Comments (13)
Jim Brechin said:
Hi Jon - been enjoying your blog banter for days and today finally got my arrrse ( I’m Scottish) in the gym for a wee bit of cardio - nice. On the organic front, it’s a little hard right now - I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand and although there are some ‘organic’ products available - some of the basics are not. Also I’ve been veggie for over 20 years so that cuts my choices even more. But,as you said - didn’t you? - work with what you’ve got.
I am going to lose 33lbs overall to get down to 10% bodyfat - can’t wait to see how that feels! I’ve been overweight, temporarily of course, to a greater or lesser degree since I was 8 or 9 years old. I’ll be 39 in a couple of weeks and I am determined to reach my goal and stay that way before the big (is it really that big?) 40.
Anyway, thanks for the information / inspiration / humiliation and any other kind of - ation you decide to dish out - keep it coming!
Cheers - Jim
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 08:32 AM
Marloe said:
Hey Jon, Interesting new swear words (I have always wondered why people swore only in Christian and not in Eastern) HalleBuddha but it’s hot here! We are hitting about 44°C in this hot little African town…and it is already nearly 5 in the afternoon.
Thanks for your encouraging reply - I have been relatively on target today, except for 50g (yes I weighed it) of ice cream that just had to be eaten to cool down my soul. However, it was a low calorie, relatively lowcarb indulgence. 80cal/10cho. And I did have some protein with it in the form of nuts…teeheehee
I was in the gym at 9 and did a good workout - I am doing alternate arms with weights at the moment and I can see how I have been favouring the one arm when using both. I do the same alternating with the legs on their days - yes my legs have their own special days, don’t yours? Lucky legs. My programme changes every 6 weeks which keeps my interest piqued and my body fooled. Now to fool my stomach.
I would love to subscribe to the MasterMeals programme but I am afraid South African money ain’t nothing like your dollars. The programme costs the same as a half month wage for a secretary in this neck of the woods! $149 translates to R1043 in our language. A personal trainer costs me R200 a month to give you some idea of the differences in our pecuniary systems. However I am not fazed - I am learning a lot just by reading this blog:)And as far as the nutrition is concerned, I am following the 5 meals a day plan and about 350/300 calories a meal. (Sorta…with an effort at carb tapering, but I don’t always get that right.) I believe in food not tampered with by man and I cook fresh every day. Unfortunately organic meat is not available here, except for game meat and that has its seasons. However we do get free range chicken and eggs and I try and get fresh (frozen) fish when the truck comes in from the coast - 9 hours drive from here. Meat is a big thing in South Africa, loads of it, but organic is a bit new here. We get it in the cities but not in the back of beyond where I am.
Organic vegetables on the other hand are grown in my own garden and at the moment we are good for carrots, beetroot (wonderful grated raw in a salad) red onions (more quercetin), leeks, and the last of various loose leaf lettuces, spinach, rocket and dandelion greens. We also have mangoes, litchis, avocadoes and lemons and loads of different herbs.
I see there are two questions from others for which I would like to see answers -
why 1000g magnesium?
and do you eat fruit?
As I head into the evening, you are just getting going so have a good day there.
Marloe
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 09:17 AM
Tracey said:
Hi Jon;
we eat organic at our house all the time. I’m married to the private chef of a billionaire sports team owner…. so we are all up on the advantages of organics. Thanks for spreading the word!! On another note, thanks for inspiring me to get my butt up at 5:15 this morning to hit the gym before work…did shoulders, biceps, triceps, abs and cardio…fun!! First thing in the morning is always the best for me, that way I can’t blow it off later in the day, when my 5 year old doesn’t want to go to the gym. One more thing, we’re going to see Nine Inch Nails here in Toronto next week, hope our show is as good as the one you went to!!
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 10:29 AM
Kristy said:
Okay, I’m officially in now. The first couple of days will be rough because I’m moving but I’ve gotta start getting rid of some fat TODAY. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again. Over the past two years I’ve lost about 50 pounds (of fat). I’ve gained a little back in the past few months because I moved across the country and lost my groove but that’s okay. I’m in California so getting more organic produce should be a piece of cake (I’ve got oranges and grapefruits growing in my backyard) and I can run around outside year-round so no excuses for me!
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 11:04 AM
anna said:
hello
I am back from the gym and had my nice meal and i feel great!!
I do try to buy organic as much as i can but sometimes the regular store veggies have to do. although i didn’t know about the MSG in canned food (does this refer to canned veggies as well??)
I never really thought about MSG before ( I knew and know what it is )for some reason is like you know it is there but you choose not to think about all the negative things associated with it.
Keep those information coming and you will open eyes of many out there like me who chose to ignore it more times than they should.
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 02:22 PM
Henriette said:
Hi Jon
I have been reading your blog for the past two days and I’m up to day 12, however I have been looking for the Magnesium here (from Australia) and the products I can get say
“Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate 750mg
Providing Elemental Magnesium 150mg”
so when you say 2000mg Magnesium should it be elemental magnesium, meaning I should take over 13 tablets a day??? I can’t seem to find a product higher in Magnesium.
Thanks so much for your blog it is truly awesome to hear a honest and to the point approach to a diet free life!! I will be reading for the rest of today to catch up on the blog!! But hey - I don’t mind, you have to start at the beginning right!
Sincerely Henriette
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 06:20 PM
Suzi said:
You’re blog is great, what an inspiration. I have lost 1kg (sorry metric in Australia) I think that is about 2 pounds in 2 weeks.
MSG is everywhere in processed food, in Australia it is marked on packaging as additive 621, so beware. Nobody would buy the products if MSG was on the label!
You are so right about organic, I have started eating pork again since I found organic, it tastes totally different. Regular pig farming is so cruel! and we should boycott any products that come from that system, we might choose to eat meat, but we shouldn’t be inhumane.
Thanks again for the blog!!!
Posted on Nov 03, 2005 07:21 PM
Jon Benson said:
To Jim:
Lovely country, Scotland. Big on golf, so I hear.
Hey, it’s cool you have such a definitive, clear goal. That’s a clue to everyone reading these comments.
40 is nothing. Life began for me at…well, hmmm. Conception? Third trimester? Oh hell, I’m not Rowe or Wade, so let’s just say “41”. 40 sucked…but it wasn’t because of 40. I started out in great shape with the world on a string.
A really, really long and high-tensile string, as you might imagine. I mean, come on…the WORLD? String of matter from a collapsed STAR maybe…
Allahdamn, I’m lost.
Oh, no humiliation. Really. Not my style. Unless you’re (let’s see…) Richard Simmons, Brittany Spears, O.J., Michael Jackson, the bitch on the plane that takes up 2 seats, a member of the ALCU’s Whiner’s Club…
yeah, I guess “humiliation” works.
Welcome!
To Marloe:
Because there are only a few monosyllable deities. That’s my theory. Thordamn! See…that works well. If God didn’t allow for the causal surname and kept it Jehovah like all Jehovah’s Witnesses will tell you is the only way to go to heaven and stuff, well, there. You’d be stuck with Thor. Let me know if I’ve missed one.
Legs have always demanded a day of their own and at least one, if not two, rest days afterwards. Yes. I know that pain (good pain) very well. Thor, I love the bavishnu out of it, don’t you? Yeah man…squat ‘till you finish your set.
I take 2,500 mg of magnesium, but 1,000 is a good point for most people. Why? Because it works, and I enjoy peeing out magnesium. (That’s what a doc will tell you…just go ask Dr. Goofyhead over at quackwatch.com. What a maroon…)
No fruit. Read all comments. That’s the new rule. : ) Unnecessary stuff, but berries are cool, and the occasional apple is hardly an unhealthy thing.
To Tracey:
Lucky girl! You sit back and let hubby do the cooking AND you get box seats. Hmmm…can I come over?
I was going to fly up and see the NIN Toronto show…and yeah, you’ll love it if you love a slightly more mellow Trent. As in “I don’t destroy everything on stage including my keyboard player anymore” Trent. I guess being off heroin and on a bodybuilding kick has “some” drawbacks…heh.
To Anna:
Unless God (insert deity thread which is now getting unfunny here) made it in the can, it’s not a good idea. Yes, MSG and cans are very likely bedfellows. Think of MSG as the Madonna of chemical crap: it will bed with just about anything that walks, talks, or comes in cans. (I head she made love to a Slinky once, which I do believe still comes in a can…)
To Henriette:
Don’t expect me to spell that again, okay?
Not ‘elemental’…just the chelate is fine. So you’d start with one a day and work your way up. If you ‘did’ take 13, I hope you stocked up on toilet tissue.
You’re welcome for the blog….now about that magnesium fetish of yours…
To Suzi:
Thanks Suzi! 2 in 2 is way cool and right on the plan.
Yeah, I know a lot of people have problems with the way animals are prepped for death. I had a pet cow once. Really. Made for a lousy pet. So I ate him.
I sleep well.
Others may not, and that’s cool. Most people would swat a fly. Others would not. I swat moos. They’re yummy.
Welcome to the freezer section, and the blog.
Posted on Nov 04, 2005 02:38 AM
Jon Benson said:
To Kristy
Welcome! Didn’t want to forget you… : ) You’ve come to the right place to do it right. 50lbs or 500lbs, same principles. You’re already off to a great start. Keep us posted.
Posted on Nov 04, 2005 02:46 AM
Tammy said:
Jon, thank you for the new versions of swear words; my United Methodist upbringing has been haunting me. I truly believe in organic as being more healthy and nutritious; however it is difficult to, please forgive me, afford it on a fixed income right now and still eat the amounts you suggest. I have actually gained a little weight since beginning the 10 in 10 because of decreasing the amount I have been eating. It is also a mind thing, I know. Thanks for your blogs and keeping me in check. Tammy
Posted on Nov 07, 2005 09:58 AM
Jon Benson said:
Tammy;
Sometimes you get a bit worse before you get better, especially if your body is toxic and needs to detox. You’ll gain water weight on a nutrition plan (even a diet) until the toxins come out. Just drink a lot of water.
It’s a mind thing…yepper. Life could be defined as such.
Posted on Nov 08, 2005 01:57 AM
Gypsi said:
Detox…ugh…. I get scared and eat something that stops it knowing full well I should let it runs it’s course… I would love to have time at home to go through it or go to one of those retreats to help with it…
Posted on Nov 10, 2005 09:20 PM
Gypsi said:
Isn’t the water weight gain to help dilute the toxins and to help release them from the body?? It will hold it for so long then whoosh! the body gets rid of them when it is just the right time??
Posted on Nov 10, 2005 09:23 PM
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