17 March 2022
My interview with my father Gary Greenfield (“Why Water, Sunlight, Grounding & Relationships Are The Keys To Your Health & How To Feed, Clean & Protect Your Body Forever: An Interview With Ben Greenfield’s Father Gary Greenfield“) was such a hit that today I am bringing to you the official interview in which I put my own mother, Pat Greenfield, in the hot seat.
My mom currently lives in Moscow, Idaho, and runs Bucer's Coffeehouse & Pub (if you're ever in the area and have a craving for some house-roasted coffee, homemade pastries, hearty sandwiches, amazing local draught beers, or fine wines).
Get ready for a wild ride and amazing conversation with my mom, in which we discuss my own upbringing, diets, health food, coffee, her move to Idaho, trauma, homeschooling, and much, much more!
During our discussion, you'll discover:
- People's Waffle
- Bob's Red Mill Flours
- Chaga flavored coffee (use code BENGREENFIELD to save 10% on the Four Sigmatic Chaga)
- Sous vide steak
- US Wellness Meats (use code BEN to save 15%)
- Joule Sous Vide wand
- Traeger smoking grill
-Pat's upbringing and adopting a vegetarian diet as a child…09:00
- Alpena, Michigan, right on Lake Huron
- Youngest of nine girls (akin to having nine mothers)
- Father was a pitcher for a minor league baseball team but had to retire due to a freak injury
- Father began girl's little league baseball in the town
- The town's field was named after him
-Moving out of the house, striking out on her own…13:40
- Moved to Florida, and at the age of 17 got involved with selling and using pot
- Contrast between the legality of marijuana between Pat's upbringing and the current era
- Podcast on psilocybin with Dr. Bill Richards:
- THC content is far higher today than it was in the '60s
- Humans love to tweak their brains; we're prone to abuse any substance
-Moving to Idaho…40:00
- Wanted to leave Detroit after the incident
- Everything seemed so slow; after a few months, no going back
- Married Ben's dad at a hitching post in Couer d'Alene
- Dad's father was an associate of Zig Ziglar
- Podcast with Tony Robbins and Peter Diamandis:
- Podcast with Gary Greenfield:
- Relocated briefly to Florida, but ended up permanently in Lewistown, ID
-What kind of student was Ben Greenfield?…46:33
- “Couldn't imagine sending them off when I could teach them myself”
- Ben was always an autodidact (a self-taught person)
- Every educational system has its weakness; have to make do with the best that works for you
- Pat knew that Ben would end up reading/writing as an adult
- Mom's perennial red pen was a heavy influence on Ben's wordsmithing abilities
- Institute for Excellence in Writing
-Gushing over Rosie, the adopted child…53:23
- “Wouldn't it be great if God dropped a biracial kid in our lap”
-How Pat spends her days in Moscow, ID currently…1:00:35
- Community center in downtown Moscow
- Bucer's Coffeehouse & Pub
- “Bucer's” is named after Martin Bucer, a famous reformer theologian
- Bookstore, coffee shop, hosts live music, etc.
- Bucer's Coffeehouse and Pub Recipe e-Book
-Pat's food philosophy raising her children…1:04:14
- Veggies and meat; giant vats of soups and stews
- Would also stock up on McDonald's and other fast foods
-How the Greenfield kids got into music, athletics, and fitness…1:06:47
- The discipline of learning musical instruments and reading music
-What is it like to be a grandma?…1:09:38
- Want kids to listen to their parents and honor their family
- New St. Andrews College in Moscow, ID
-And much more!
Upcoming Events:
- RUNGA – The Gathering (May 12-14, 2022). Register for the event now by clicking here
- Health Optimization Summit! (May 22-29, 2022).
- Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldlife.com/calendar
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode
Resources from this episode:
– Pat Greenfield:
– Podcasts & Articles:
- Why Water, Sunlight, Grounding & Relationships Are The Keys To Your Health & How To Feed, Clean & Protect Your Body Forever: An Interview With Ben Greenfield’s Father Gary Greenfield
- Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis & Ben Greenfield Reveal New Anti-Aging Biohacks & Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine You’ve Never Heard Of Before.
- Mushrooms 101: Everything You Need To Know About The Psilocybin Psychedelics That Are Taking The Health World By Storm, with Dr. Bill Richards.
- The Weekly Roundup: Your Go-To Guide For Everything You May Have Missed This Week & More! 6/19-6/25
– Other Resources:
- People's Waffle
- Bob's Red Mill Flours
- Four Sigmatic Chaga (use code BENGREENFIELD to save 10%)
- Kion Coffee
- US Wellness Meats (use code BEN to save 15%)
- Joule Sous Vide Wand
- Traeger Grill
- Institute for Excellence in Writing
- Zig Ziglar
- Martin Bucer
- New St. Andrews College
Episode sponsors:
–JOOVV: After using the Joovv for close to 2 years, it's the only light therapy device I'd ever recommend. Give it a try: you won't be disappointed. For a limited time, Joovv wants to hook you up with an exclusive discount on your first order. Just apply code BEN to your qualifying order.
–Kion Sleep: Contains only natural ingredients with long clinical research history behind them that are safe to take every night. There’s no grogginess: You’ll wake up feeling refreshed, recovered, and energized!
–Organifi Apple Green Juice: The new green juice crisp apple is made with organic, wholesome, hand-picked apples. And tastes like a fresh juicy slice in every sip. If mint just isn’t for you, this refreshing new recipe certainly is. Go to organifi.com/Ben for 20% off your order.
–HigherDOSE: Get your own Infrared Sauna Blanket or Infrared PEMF Mat at HigherDOSE.com today and use my exclusive promo code BEN at check out to save 15% off!
–Ben Greenfield Coaching: Personally vetted and trained by Ben Greenfield, these coaches will personalize your diet and lifestyle, and get you looking and feeling your best.
14 Responses
How could it be that I never heard this podcast before? I was not aware that my nephew Ben made this interview with his mom (and dad) my sister Pat! I was glued to this podcast. It was so endearing to hear his questions and my sister’s answers through this journey of their lives. Thank you for sharing it Ben!
My mom is also from Alpena, I love that place!
God Bess your Mom!!!!
Wow Ben. Your mom’s story is incredible. She has a book in her for sure. Thank you for sharing her with us.
Ben, I was/am addicted to your fitness podcast, but, I really love the new direction you’ve taken with the new podcast.
The interview with your mother was incredible.. That was not the interview I was expecting from you interviewing your mom.. Your mother is/was very brave to recount and share that horrific event that happened in her past.
The episode made me laugh, and cry. And it was very interesting to get an insight in your upbringing and how you became the man, husband, father that you are today.
Ben, I very much enjoyed the podcast with your mom. It made me want to go back and visit Moscow again just for nostalgia… I was delighted to hear that your boys are enjoying the SSS video courses. Please give them my best regards. And thanks for linking to IEW in the show notes! If you ever do a podcast specifically on writing or teaching writing, I’d love to be a sponsor. I’ve learned so much from listening to you this past year and am benefitting (I believe) from the Kion products I’ve tried. God bless you!
Awww…thanks man! I’m loving the fact that my sons get to go through your course just like me!
Wow. I truly enjoyed the podcast with mama Greenfield. It was filled with every emotion imaginable; from happiness to sadness and Thank You Jesús in between. It made me cry and it made me rejoice. Always knowing how power that Name really is. Thank you for sharing those moments of vulnerability with your audience- Ben!
Ps. Hopefully the grammar and punctuation in this short review – made the cut. ????????
this is Ben Greenfield and I approve this message ????
You’ve had a lot of great podcasts but this one is my favorite. I love hearing from women. Especially ones who unapologetically put their families first and fully embrace motherhood. As a woman it feels like most of what we hear from society is that a woman’s true value is based on how much money we earn, how many procedures we can afford to look younger, and how well we can prove that we don’t need a man. Yuck! Pat is a shining example of the incredible value moms & women bring to this world ????
Very powerful podcast Ben and Pat. It’s inspired me to record interviews with my family as they get older.
I was wondering if you could tell me a bit more about the community you mentioned at the end Ben? We’ve got some similarities in our life (strength coach, unschool our kids, desire for strong community, etc) and I’ve been wanting to create a village-like intentional community here in Canada for awhile. Just curious about the one you might be moving to.
Thanks and again, appreciate the episode from both of you!
Paul Hemsworth
Viola Idaho…that is the name of the community I'm likely moving to if I can sell my Spokane WA home or turn it into a retreat center…
Ben,
What a sweet and warm soul of a mother you have been blessed to have
in your life. I was adopted at birth. I never had a connection of
love or happiness with my adopted parents. I felt neglected
and still working though it today.
I really enjoyed the entire podcast.
Have a wonderful day ahead and thank you for sharing!
P.S. I hope someday your products will be available on iHerb.
I moved out of the USA over 16 months ago and would love to continue
to support you and your quality products of KION.
Kudos to you for having your Mom on the Podcast. I loved hearing about Gods Omnipresence in her life. You were very respectful with her in the tender moments of her life testimony. Keep being a light to your audience!