December 25, 2020
Welcome to Ben Greenfield's Weekly Roundup and Cool New Discoveries!
Ben Greenfield's discoveries, from the latest news on the fronts of fitness, nutrition, health, wellness, biohacking, and anti-aging research. I also recap my upcoming events and special announcements so you can keep up with giveaways, discounts, and more!
New Discoveries Of The Week: Cool New Things I'm Trying, Books I'm Reading, And More!
Get My Brand New Book, Fit Soul, For FREE
As I revealed in my recent Sabbath Ramblings post, as a special celebration for my birthday a few days ago, I decided to give away my brand new book, Fit Soul: Tools, Tactics & Habits For Optimizing Spiritual Fitness, for FREE.
Fit Soul is a culmination of a multitude of valuable strategies and lessons I’ve learned over the past twenty years of my life—specifically for increasing your happiness, fulfillment, and meaning in life.
Chock-full of practical takeaways that you can implement in your own life, Fit Soul can help you to:
- Finally discover your true purpose and make maximum impact in the world…
- Learn how to become detached from silly attachments that are holding you back from finding true happiness…
- Defy the hubbub and distraction of modern life to instead become a fully present, meaningful, and deep-thinking individual…
- Make more friends and connect with old friends, while forming new and meaningful relationships within your community and beyond…
- Ditch smartphone and technology addictions to become a human “being” rather than a human “doing”…
- Become proficient in simple breathwork tactics that enhance sleep, energy, and beyond…
- Fix your aches, ailments, unsolvable illnesses, and mystery pains from the inside-out…
- Implement the exact spiritual disciplines I personally practice each day to become a spiritually stronger being…
- And much more…
And no, I’m not kidding. This book is—until I decide to publish it and sell it in bookstores—completely free for you to download right now. I have zero desire to make any money from Fit Soul—instead, I simply want to make your life better with it.
Click here to download your FREE copy immediately.
A Classic Beef Bourguignon Recipe I Recently Made and Am In Love With (good tasty use for cheap cuts of meat!)
I'm a big fan of US Wellness Meats, regeneratively raised grass-fed, grass-finished beef and recently amassed about 20 pounds of their stew meat in my freezer. This stuff is a bit difficult to make taste “awesomely good.” But enter a good Dutch pot, (or this, from my good friend Julia Child) and this lovely classic beef bourguignon recipe to make the perfect winter comfort stew and elevate stew meat, bigtime. Here's the exact recipe I used:
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless stewing beef (such as beef chuck), cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 8 ounces lardons, or bacon (5 to 6 slices) cut across the grain into thin matchsticks – I used a big ol’ bacon slab, also from US Wellness Meats
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 10 pearl onions, peeled
- 4 to 5 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 2 cups beef broth, or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 6 to 7 sprigs parsley, for garnish
For the Mushrooms:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
About 2 hours before cooking, pat the beef cubes dry with paper towels and season them well on all sides with salt and black pepper. Let rest to near room temperature.
In a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the lardons or bacon matchsticks and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully cooked and lightly crisp. Remove and set aside, leaving the fat drippings in the pot.
Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle.
Working in batches, add the beef cubes to the Dutch oven and brown them in the bacon drippings, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd the pot or overlap any meat cubes, or they won’t brown properly. It should take about 3 to 4 batches to brown 2 1/2 pounds of beef. Transfer the browned beef to a separate bowl.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the Dutch oven and add the garlic, carrots, pearl onions, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the onions are glistening.
Add the beef and bacon back into the pot. Add the tomato paste and sprinkle with the flour. Stir all the ingredients until no dry flour is visible. Pour in the red wine, brandy, and beef stock. The meat should be barely covered; add more beef stock if necessary. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
In the meantime, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, season to taste with salt and black pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked and lightly browned.
Take the Dutch oven out of the oven and place it back onto the stovetop over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms and simmer for 5 to 15 minutes, to thicken the sauce to your liking. Adjust seasoning if needed. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
You can serve over mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, rice, or egg noodles. In my case, I used Miracle Noodle rice (use code BEN to save 15%) for a carb-free option.
How about you? You ever fiddle around with fancy French cooking? I must say that the key appears to plenty of good butter, following careful instructions, and a perfect Julia Child accent.
What My Boys' Healthy Stand Up Workstations Look Like
In my “Supermodel Symmetry” chapter of my book Boundless—and also in my friend Kelly Starrett's book Deskbound—there are several great ideas for enhancing workplace health and productivity while simultaneously decreasing incidences of elbow pain, back pain, hip pain, and even blood sugar dysregulation from sitting all day long.
While I detail my own stand-up/treadmill desk setup here, I'm often asked about how my twin boys' unschooling workstations are set up. It's quite simple, really, and also allows them to navigate in a highly portable way around the house so they can work from their Macbooks wherever they please.
First, they have the Wobble Stool Standing Desk Chair, an adjustable, back-friendly stool that “wobbles” from side to side for comfort and biomechanical adjustments during school. Second, they set their computers, papers, etc. on a portable stand-up desk solution made by Varidesk, called the VariDesk Basic 30. Below are a few photos to show you what this all looks like…
Besides that, they simply have Iris installed on their computers for eye-friendly screens, Ra Blue Light Blocking glasses for nighttime work, and reminders set up for 1-2 minute Pomodoro breaks every half hour for pushups, jumping jacks, etc. And that's it!
How about you? What's your standup or treadmill workstation look like or comprise of?
Podcasts I Recorded This Week:
This episode was brought to you by The Kion Fasting Challenge, Fit Soul, Organifi Red Juice (code BENG20), Joovv (code BEN), Clearlight Saunas (Mention BEN GREENFIELD and you’ll receive an extra discount on your purchase), Paleovalley Beef Sticks (Receive a 15% discount off your order when you use my link).
This episode was brought to you by Fit Soul, The Ben Greenfield Coaching Program, Kion Bovine Colostrum (code BEN10), Beekeeper's Naturals (code BEN), Four Sigmatic (code BENGREENFIELD), and Thrive Market (Receive a gift card worth up to $20 when you begin a new membership).
Ben Greenfield's VIP Text Club: To receive exclusive texts from Ben Greenfield, text the word “FITNESS” to 411247 (within the U.S. only).
Articles I Published This Week:
Sabbath Ramblings: Fit Soul (My NEW Book Has Officially Launched – And It’s FREE!)
My full article feed and all past archives of my articles are here if you want to check out past articles.
Special Announcements:
::: Save 10% On Water and Wellness' Master Metabolic Regulator :::
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The simple combination of 1 hydrogen tablet plus 1 H2 + Chromax chromium tablet daily has been shown to provide multi-system benefits and amplify positive metabolic effects. You can get both of these in Water and Wellness' Master Metabolic Regulator bundle, which includes 2 boxes of Active H2+ Chromax (30 tablets each= 60 total) and 1 bottle of Active H2 Ultra (60 count).
This bundle will get you through the holidays and kick off the New Year with…
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New Year’s resolutions are right around the corner, get a headstart and take the first step in improving your metabolic health today! Just click here and enter code GREENFIELD at checkout for 10% off your first order.
::: Create Your Very Own Lifebook For FREE :::
Creating my “Lifebook” was the most transformational process I’ve ever embarked upon. I mapped out every category of my life—finances, character, spirituality, physical health, parenting, relationships, my dream life, and beyond.
And now, my friends at Mindvalley are giving away FREE access (for the next week only) to the online version of the exact program I used. It’s normally a $1,250 lifestyle design system, but it is literally free right now because they want to expose this course to a new group of people.
During the systematized process, the same as I did, you will take a deep dive into the 12 dimensions of your life—like having a fit and healthy body, a vibrant and active mind, a fulfilling career, a passionate romance, basically any goal you can think of—and map out a fully personalized vision of holistic success for all of them.
It’s like life-hacking on steroids.
Click here to get into Lifebook for free. Remember, free access is open for the next week only, so enroll today!
Kion Fasting Challenge Starts Soon!
The Kion Fasting Challenge is a FREE 5-day health challenge hosted by a team of superstars at my health food and supplement company, Kion.
Before you say, “Give up food for 5 days? I’ll pass,” keep reading, because fasting isn’t just about not eating.
Yes, that’s a big part of it, but there are actually many different ways to fast that don’t include giving up food and drink completely. You’ll learn more about them when you sign up and receive the free Kion Fasting Decoded e-book, a comprehensive, valuable resource for just about every type of faster out there—from the beginner to the enlightened Buddhist monk.
That's right, before you begin your 5-day fasting challenge, we will give you all of the tools you need to help you choose the fasting technique that's right for you and your health goals.
Whether you're fasting for longevity, body composition, or gut health, you'll get the tools, education, and motivation to make it through your 5-day fast feeling healthy and confident.
The challenge starts January 11th, but sign up as soon as possible, because this is something you'll want to prepare for, and you'll need Fasting Decoded to do that.
Click here to sign up for FREE today.
Brand New World-Class Coaching Program
Just in time for the holidays! Get personalized support from one of my expert coaches extensively trained and mentored by yours truly. Packages range from VIP services with all-inclusive guidance and support to customized, data-driven fitness and nutrition plans. There has never been a better time to give the gift of health to a loved one, or yourself, for Christmas.
Explore all of the Ben Greenfield Coaching Services here.
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Leave your comments and any news or discoveries that you think I missed below!
Merry Christmas,
Ben
