Healthy Eating & Fitness For Kids, How Unschooling Works, Top Book Recommendations, Common Kitchen Mistakes & Much More: Ben Greenfield Puts His Sons In The Hot-Seat (The Official River & Terran Greenfield Interview).

Ben Greenfield Life

River and Terran Greenfield are my twin 12 year old sons. They are unschooled, they are hyper-creative, they can survive in the wilderness with a knife, backpack and wool blanket, they know more kitchen and cooking tricks than most adults (and have an amazing cooking podcast), and they are generally crushing life.

So in this very special episode, I put my twin boys in the podcasting hot seat to discuss life, creativity, cooking and healthy eating for kids, fitness, and much more.

During our discussion, you'll discover: -Best breakfast to crush the day.. 4:40

• Fresh-baked sourdough bread w/ jam and butter
• Eggs and bacon
• Smoothies made w/ Organifi
• Florida Cells French restaurant in N. Idaho

-How to tell River and Terran apart, especially on audio...6:50 -Books River and Terran like to read.. 8:15

• Graphic novels (novel illustrated in comic book style)
  • Wings of Fire
  • Asterisk
  • Graveyard by Neil Gaiman
• The Hero's Journey by
• The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler
• Graphic novels always contain a distinct style in the artwork
• The Lost Language of Plants (television destroyed dreaming)
• Almanac of Naval Ravikant

-Unschooling and becoming self-directed learners.. 19:04

• Essay by Naval Ravikant Ben mentions on the 5 core skills needed for life
  • Reading
  • Writing (long form)
  • Logic and/or computer programming
  • Arithmetic
  • Rhetoric/persuasion
• The Almanac of Charlie Munger
• Mathnasium program River and Terran use for their schooling
• Unschooling allows learning how the world works alongside the subjects being learned (math, logic, etc.)
• Advantages of AI and robots outweigh the negatives (skills becoming obsolete)
• Rhetoric game
• Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em; then tell 'em; then tell 'em what you told 'em

-A typical evening in the Greenfield home.. 35:00

• Board/card games
  • Quibbler
  • Web of Spies
  • Telestrations
  • Boggle
  • Scattergories
  • Scrabble
• BGF podcast w/ James Altucher on game theory

-An average day for River and Terran.. 37:35

• Feed rabbits, play a game, play piano, workout, shoot bow
• More scheduled or structured play/learning til 3-5 pm
• Is life school, or is school life?
• BGF podcast on unschooling
• Journal on daily activities
• St. Andrews College in Moscow, ID
• Liberal arts studies is a good way to get a well-rounded education

-Favorites things River and Terran do for their fitness.. 44:30

• Make up own workouts; workouts w/ dad give more motivation
• Animal Movements by Darrell Edwards
• Irwin Lecour movement fitness
• Sandbags, kettlebells
• Exercise is more than workouts, gyms; movement throughout the day
• Breathwork:
  • 4 in, 8 out promotes parasympathetic nervous system
  • SOMA breathwork course
  • BGF article on the SOMA course
  • Far better for stress control than pill popping
• BGF podcast w/ Niraj Naik, the Renegade Pharmacist
• Fish oil supplement
• Restore for gut health
• Glutathione supplement
• Limit screen time

-River and Terran's diet tips.. 50:45

• Breakfast: natural eggs and meat
• Lunch: Sandwiches w/ mom's sourdough bread
• Wild Planet fish
• Pickles, lettuce, arugula in the sandwiches
• Walnuts, raisins for snacks
• Sesame seed rice crackers
• Sparkling water
• Halo stevia drink
• Mocktails at restaurants
• Izzy for parties
• Chai tea and Italian sodas
• Coconut ice cream for dessert

-Is there a perfect diet all humans should follow?.. 54:40

• Mediterranean diet seems more agreeable than other diets
• Eating w/ people, long family dinners
• Making your own food helps you appreciate it more
• Easy to overeat from packages vs. food prepared yourself

-River and Terran's views on screen time and video games...57:00

• They both have an iPod Touch and is for business purposes (podcast)
• Computer used mostly for school

-About the Go Greenfields cooking podcast.. 59:15

• Started 4+ years ago
• Began learning to cook at age of 3 (made mom eggs for Mothers Day)
• The Four Hour Chef by Tim Ferris
• Eggs are a great starting point for learning to cook
• Favorite recipes:
  • Paleo doughnuts made w/ Magic Spoon cereal
  • Terran: Soufflé
  • River: Risotto
• Top baking tip from Terran: Don't overcook; don't rely on looks to determine if it's done
• Top risotto tip from River: Keep stirring, pay attention constantly
• Top tip from the chef: Don't add too many seasonings; keep it simple
• Clean up as you go
• Pay attention to recipes

-Tips on hunting and plant foraging.. 1:09:30

• Do it a lot at home to appreciate the diversity in other locales
• Bow hunting is more natural and dependent on physicality than w/ a rifle

-How to care for yourself spiritually.. 1:12:45

• First thing in the day: read Bible, journal, express gratitude
• Sing doxology every Sunday
• Spiritual Disciplines handbook by Adele Calhoun
• Abide app
• Self-examination at the end of each day allows you to reflect on how you did that day

-River and Terran's own life purposes.. 1:15:30

• "To make the love and joy of God through writing and art"
• "To use my art to make people feel strong emotions"

-River and Terran's take on 2020 w/ COVID-19, lockdowns, masks, etc.. 1:16:35

• They enjoy seeing dad more
• Different reactions w/ kids vs. adults

-One thing River and Terran think everyone should know or experience.. 1:19:40 -And much more! Resources from this episode:

-The GoGreenfields podcast

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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for River Greenfield, Terran Greenfield or me? Leave your comments at bengreenfieldfitness.com/gogreenfields and one of us will reply!

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