My bulbs are sprouting, confident that the change of season is here for good. And asparagus are appearing in markets which is a sure sign of early spring. At last! Jonny Bowden, author of our book of the month, wants us to know that asparagus is but one of 150 healthiest foods on the planet.

Speaking of food the article this month is based on this concept; if you want to make changes in your life you must feed your mind. Like the body it must be daily, optimally more than once, only the best of foods, and for best results, with joy and gratitude.

Summer is coming and if you have fallen off your new–body–by–summer–revolutionary– thinking why not sign up for a Tune-Up.

If you wonder whether organic really matters don’t miss the Q & A.

By the time you read this I will be recuperating from my half marathon with my pal Chris. Check out the blog for photos sometime after March 28th.

Happy Easter to all you bunny celebrants, and remember, sadly, Peeps are not going to be found in Jonny Bowden’s book.

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How do we know what we “know”?

That question was asked in a whitepaper designed to bring to light evidence of positive transformation in the 21st century global community. A prestigious university in Brussels founded a research center with the aim of integrating worldviews. It describes worldview as having 7 components. For this article we’ll consider one, knowledge, and how it is gained and transforms into personal truth.

Sometimes what we are told contradicts our experience and our store of information; otherwise known as what we know. This can either be liberating or limiting.

Say you are my coaching client. You express a desire to change or transform some aspect of your life. I might encourage you by saying, “You can create anything you want for your life including a perfect partner” (notice I did not say perfect person with whom to partner), “a better job, better health”. If you have tried and “failed” to create those things before then your worldview—what you know-- would discredit mine because of your experience. Your reptilian brain will automatically say, “not possible, been there, struggled, got gots, not going to try that again; I know it doesn’t work.” Your brain is protecting you. It knows that struggle and the hard work of change is not comfortable. Your brain wants you to enjoy the cozy life of couch potato whose eulogy will read, “died comfortably, potential intact.”

What we know, or conclude, is a soup of what we have read, heard, experienced, and what we want to believe is true. From this soup of knowing spring thoughts; many of them. Our brains undergo physical change in response to our thoughts. Did you get that? Go back and read that last sentence. Our thoughts and especially our strong beliefs leave deep impressions on our gray matter and we become less responsive to new ideas that don’t fit the grooves we’ve created. To quote The Institute of Noetic Science’s 2007 Shift Report, ”The longer that belief has crystallized, the more difficult it is to reshape it.” But there is a positive side. Engaging in activities that produce different thoughts and emotions repeatedly, makes it easier to experience and sustain these new ways of doing and being.

Now what? Well in order to change our worldview of what’s possible for our lives we must read, engage in, and surround ourselves with the kind of knowledge that will allow our brains to form the grooves of the groove-a-liscious life we dream of.

How?

Feed your mind.

Let’s use the example of the Big Decision to lose 20 pounds. “I’m going to lose 20 pounds” we say. That’s good, it’s called intention. What follows often looks like this; buy new diet book, read 1 chapter, skim many pages, abandon book on bed table. End of weight loss program.

What’s happened here is that we did nothing to re-groove our brains and replace what we “know”—“I never succeed in losing weight”—with something new—“I can lose these 20 pounds because I’m feeding my brain and creating new grooves.”

Some tell everyone they know, sort of hoping for accountability. Looking for accountability from people who start and stop, jump on and off the wagon of whatever we’ve given up this week, and have similar truths about what’s possible are not your best ally in the war on weight, debt, or whatever.

Listen to this. We humans are hard wired for cooperation and coordination. It’s a function of “social glue.” Researchers at Rutgers University have shown that our tendency to mimic one another is so strong that it takes a special effort not to do so. Are you with me here? Just being around people who are constantly stuck but talk about changing is enough to pull you into that quicksand.

It’s time to take stock of your environmental pantry. What and who are you surrounded by? What are you feeding your mind as you work at creating something new for yourself? If part of what we know comes from reading and engaging in activities what are you reading? Would it make sense to feed your mind some works of success? How about engaging in something you’ve never done using experts in that field as role models?

Here is a plan for expanding what you know so you can know that anything is possible. Any new way of being requires 3 things: intention, attention, and repetition or consistent action. State what it is you want. Remember, some of what we “know” we know because we want to believe that it’s true. So believe that you can come to know how to do or have your something. An intention could be, I live a healthy lifestyle. Write it down. Put it where you can see it and keep it on a card in your wallet or in your car and look at it every day, throughout the day. Your in-tention needs a-ttention. The attention or awareness of that intention requires that you take action that supports it or you’ll stay a spud. Surround yourself with strong role models and feed yourself information that creates new grooves in your brain.

What are you listening to in the car? Mindless radio with commercials and junk gossip? Why not check out one of the online audio book resources like www.audiobooks.com or www.audible.com? These sites are like Netflix for book lovers who don’t always have time to read. Sound is one of the most powerful energetic “foods” we take in; both negative and positive in effect. How long can you resist a song with a great beat before at least tapping along?(In my case it’s usually a full blown grocery aisle boogie.) And how many times have you wanted to throw a radio out the window when something is a-tonal or heavy? Sound affects us so watch what you absorb.

Ok, the last of that trio is repetition or consistent action. How long does it take a professional cellist to master the complexity of sound which lies within the wood? How many shots did Michael Jordan reportedly take while perfecting the free throw? Does one steamed vegetable meal a week create extreme health? Long, thousands, and no! If you are going to create something new for your life and it’s outside your comfort zone it will take repetition, consistent action, and attention to your intention to take you there.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Van Gogh, a master by anyone’s measure. He said, “Great things are not done by impulse but by a series of things brought together.” Gather your series of things and create something great for yourself. And remember, groove-a-licious living comes when you know you can create something great because you have.

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Pork Tenderloin is one of my favorite easy-to-cook proteins. It lends itself to all sorts of flavor profiles and requires only that I sear it and put it in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. In the summer I’ll par cook them on the grill and finish them in the oven.
 Of course if ginger and sesame aren’t what you are in the mood for how about garlic and herb or honey mustard? You need only reach for bottled dressing and a ziplock bag and voila-your pork is marinating.

Ingredients
2 pork tenderloins, about 1.5 pounds
1 Cup Ken’s Ginger Sesame Dressing
1 Ziploc bag
2 Tbls. olive oil for searing
1.5 Cups of Quinoa
3 Cups stock or water
1.5 lbs of fresh asparagus
2 med. Carrots

Method

1. Marinate the pork tenderloins with the dressing overnight. (Put pork in Ziploc bag, pour dressing over it, squeeze out most of the air, close, and place in refrigerator.)
2. When it’s time too cook pre-heat the oven to 375°.
3. Heat the olive oil til very hot but not smoking and sear the meat.
4. Avoid the temptation to turn the meat too early. For best flavor you want a nice rich brown color on all sides.
   **When you marinate with something that has sugar, such as most dressings, the sugar will get dark very quickly. Keep an eye on it.
5. Once it’s browned on all sides transfer the meat to a pan with a rack so it can roast evenly.
6. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 145°.

Quinoa
Make this according to the package directions which is generally a 2 to 1 ratio of liquid to grain. Season the liquid with salt or other seasoning. It takes only about 15 minutes and should be cooked on a very low flame as it is delicate and doesn’t stand up to over cooking.

Carrot Curls
In the photo you’ll see some carrots strips. These are as easy as peeling down the length of the carrot to produce strips. I blanched these in some chicken stock for about 2 minutes.

Asparagus
Reheat your blanched asparagus (see below) in olive oil or butter. Season with salt and pepper or steam.

Asparagus Basics and A Yummy Hors D’Oeuvres

Most of you can prepare asparagus perfectly by now. I am just going to put a few tips here in case you need a little help.

To prepare asparagus to reheat at a later time; it’s called Blanching.

1. Boil plenty of water-I use a large wok but you can also use a sauté pan. (Why? Think about the shape of asparagus—long and flat right?)
2. Salt the water. The water should taste like the sea if you want to season what you are blanching. A sprinkle does nothing to enhance the flavor.
3. Have a vessel with ice water ready before you put the asparagus in. It’s got to be really cold, lots of ice.
4. I peel the lower half of my asparagus unless they are very thin. (I prefer the fat ones)
5. Once the water is boiling place the asparagus in-Don’t overload the pan or the water will take too long to come back to a boil and you’ll loose the color in the vegetables. This technique goes for blanching any green vegetable.
6. As soon as the asparagus are par-cooked, remove them carefully to your ice bath.
7. Once chilled drain them and lay them on paper towel to absorb the excess water.

They are now ready to use as a cold first course or reheated for a side dish later.

Asparagus Prosciutto Filo Rolls
Makes approx. 12 Rolls

Ingredients
12 Asparagus spears, blanched
¼ lb. of prosciutto, thinly sliced
1 roll of filo dough sheets
Melted butter and a pastry brush
Salt and Pepper
¼ Cup of parmesan cheese-optional

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 375°.
2. Lay out the filo sheets out so the long side is parallel to the edge of the table you are working on.
3. Cut a 4” wide section of the filo sheets--shorter if your asparagus are not at least 6” long. Put away the rest of the filo and cover the section your’ll be using with a clean, damp cloth.
4. Assemble the butter, brush, asparagus, prosciutto, salt and pepper, filo and a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or non-stick foil.
5. Lay a sheet of filo dough on your cutting board and brush it lightly with butter.
6. Sprinkle with cheese if you are using it then lay another sheet on top.
7. Brush this piece with butter also and lay the asparagus with the end aligned with the edge of the filo so the asparagus. top sticks out.
8. Roll the asparagus up in the filo. Go slow and make sure it’s tightly rolled.
9. Brush the edge with butter and place on your sheet pan.
10. When all the asparagus are rolled you can either bake them or cover them and put them in the fridge for later.
11. Bake until golden brown—about 12- 15 minutes.
12. If you don’t want to use prosciutto just leave it out. These are delicious with just the asparagus and cheese.

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The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth
Jonny Bowden

At Extreme Health, I met and fell in love with all things Jonny Bowden. He was a presenter of the highest caliber. I fell in love with Jonny’s NY energy, his tell-it-like-it-is teaching style, and his Google-size storehouse of food knowledge delivered with humor in buckets.

He began by asking if anyone in the room had trouble losing weight. “How many of you just can’t lose weight no matter what you do?” he asked. Hands shot up and so did the hope factor. A photo of the cast of Survivor popped onto the huge video screens flanking the stage. “Do these people look like a cross section of the population?” he asked. “They are, and guess what? THEY ALL LOSE WEIGHT WHILE ON THE SHOW!” Jonny barked.

His point? We eat too much, for the most part, of foods that make it hard to maintain a healthy weight. His prescription for change is nothing you haven’t heard and come to swear at rather than by—eat moderately and exercise til you sweat, every day.
“Aww Mom,” my inner midlife brat whines, “do I have to?”

This is an encyclopedic look at, according to the cover, “The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What You Should Eat and Why.” Jonny’s got opinions and he’s got science on his side to back him up.

The news for some—rice, bean, grain lovers-- is not all good and some of the food police types will surely be incited to riot. If you are willing to consider some important science based stuff about what we put into our mouths you may just learn what you need to finally shift some extra self or increase your energy, your immunity and your overall health.
All I can say is I’ve seen the man and I want what he’s having!

Jonny is a weight loss coach, author, speaker, dog lover—uh, ok, well that seemed like a plus--with a Ph.D. in psychology and a Certificate in Nutrition Sciences. “So what?’ comes to mind but this guy has made a life out of collaborating with people who want to live their best by telling them what they sometimes don’t want to hear, using his knowledge and experience to help. Did I mention that he gets results?

This quote, found on page 196, is the crux of the book's philosophy; “ Beef is beef and carrots are carrots, right? Wrong grasshopper. Whether your food is animal, vegetable, plant, fish, or fruit, where is comes from, how it’s raised (or grown), what it ate, (or was fed), what soil it was grown on (or grazed on), how it is processed, prepared, and cooked (or not cooked) is vitally important to its nutritional content and absolutely central to its effect on your health.”

Ok so what are some of the foods that happily surprised me and will raise the hairs of some?
Milk, from factory farmed animals, is worse than I feared. As Jonny puts it, “though there are many ways to read the facts on milk—it’s a complex subject involving not only food but agribusiness, economics, and politics as well as nutrition—my job is to give you my reading of those facts, and my reading is this: Cow’s milk is a great food if you’re a baby cow, and even if you’re a human—provided it comes direct from grass-fed cows untreated with antibiotics, steroids, and hormones, and is raw, un-pasturized and un-homogenized—but even calves probably wouldn’t touch the stuff we get in supermarkets.” Enough said.

Some good news? Butter, from pasture-fed, organically-raised cows, is a wonderful, healthy food. Jonny gives a short supportive argument for eating some saturated fat with quotes from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Bottom line is saturated fat raises both the good and the bad cholesterol and the net result on health is part of a large debate. Good butter contains vit. A, E, and D and what comes from grass-fed cows contains CLA (conjugated linolenic acid),  a healthy fat that has demonstrated anti-cancer properties and has shown promise in fighting weight gain.

All foods in here are considered excellent sources of nutrition but some get a red star. The star means they are the superstars in an already super foods category.
Coconut anyone? Yes it’s a red star superstar.

Jonny straightened me out about the importance of “glycemic load” vs. the “glycemic index.” Lots of foods I love but had tossed out like carrots, watermelon, and pineapple, are ok since their loads are low.

The data supporting his foods floats my boat and I read the thing cover to cover. Even if you don’t give a hoot about the Indole-3 carbinol in broccoli or how ellagic acid figures in the cancer preventive power of raspberries you’ll love having a reference book for supporting you in tuning up your fuel choices.

There’s a dictionary in back and an intro to Jonny’s philosophy in front. I would buy this no matter where you are on the path towards optimal health. It’s the food reference book of the year.

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Q&A
Be sure to send your questions to Greg so she can answer them here in future issues of The You Revolution. Send her an

Q: How important really is it to buy organic produce? I know you don’t want me to give up my healthy choices like dark chocolate, raw milk cheese, and red wine and there is only so much money left in the grocery account.

A: Well my little heart health nut, there isn’t much sense in protecting your heart and arteries with those healthy food choices if you are going to succumb to heavy metal toxicity or pesticide poisoning. But not all of your hard earned dollars need be shifted away from the things that make you go mmmmmm. Here, from The Environmental Working Group is a short list, 13 out of 43 fruits and veggies they tested, with the highest pesticide contamination:

Peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes—imported, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, red raspberries. See anything you like? Buy organic.

These items can be purchased from conventional growers as less pesticides are used in growing:

asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples and sweet peas.

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I have to brag just a bit about the successful completion of my second half marathon on Sunday the 25th with my good pal Chris. We beat our time by 15 minutes with a vow to do it even faster next year. If you’ve never crossed a finish line it’s a joyous feeling and in my case made all the more so because I did it with a friend I love to celebrate her birthday. Don’t worry we had wine too. For more details and pictures go to, www.theyourevblog.com.

Spring fever has me more excited than ever to get the word out about women’s health, power and joy. I’m teaching a cooking class/Tune Up your fuel for some local smart women. I’ll also be appearing at the local Wild By Nature Market in about a month. If you or anyone you know is looking for a slightly out of the box edu-tainer in food, wellness or women’s transformation I’d love to have the opportunity to design a program just for you or that group. Contact me at Gregory@livebettercoach.com.

Spring speeds us up and gets us thinking about shedding winter’s maybe a bit lazy, hibernation mode. Need some help to get going? Head on over to the new info page for the Lifestyle Tune-Up and see what’s in store for you when you sign up for the next teleclass series. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to change how you look and feel and how much fun it can be. Hey with 8 other smart women how could it be anything but a blast?

I’ve got just a couple more openings for one on one coaching clients. If you have been thinking it might be a good idea now is the time to call me or drop me an email to find out how to get started.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to those of you who are celebrating. For my friend Sheryl and family I have the privilege of making Motzah balls for 50, believe it or not. Something in the goy schmaltz, they just go crazy….

Greg

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Thank you for reading. I know your time is valuable and that there is a mountain of information out there demanding your attention. My highest hope is that I've provided something of value for you. If you know someone who might benefit from any of the content please forward this.

Any recommendations of sites or products are items I have personally investigated and recommend with confidence.