The Bobby Rock Newsletter #54 (4-16-2022) - Super-Nutrition 101: Get Your Greens!
The Bobby Rock Newsletter #54 (4-16-2022) - Super-Nutrition 101: Get Your Greens!
Hey Everyone -
Just finishing up this week’s Newsletter as we are traveling back to LA from Minnesota. (Lita Ford show last night.) What up with all of this white shit on the ground in April?
Ground transportation shot…
As usual, just want to say thanks again for being here with me. Means a lot to be able to do this every week. Now let’s get into it!:
- Ya gotta Get Those Greens if you wanna enjoy superior health. Here are a few ways to do it…
- Creativity wisdom from Alice Cooper’s original bassist… via his and Alice’s high school art teacher!
- Drum Vid Vault: A three-part series of vids from one of my favorite stops on my 2019 Drumming Tour of China
One more pic from my travels this week:
soundcheck and showtime perspectives from the gig last night,
at a cozy hockey arena in Virginia, MN.
And yes, if anyone’s curious:
I still get at least as much joy out of playing live shows as I ever did….
soundcheck and showtime perspectives from the gig last night,
at a cozy hockey arena in Virginia, MN.
And yes, if anyone’s curious:
I still get at least as much joy out of playing live shows as I ever did….
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Get Your Greens
I’ve always maintained that healthy blood is the number one determinant for overall health and wellness, and super greens are at the top of the list for maintaining healthy blood—given their extreme micronutrient density and high fiber content, as well as the overall alkalizing and anti-inflammatory effects they produce. This should make super greens a top priority food for all humans. However, humans these days tend to not consume them so often. This is a trend I aspire to reverse when possible, given the unparalleled health benefits of greens.
We always request lots of greens on the Lita Ford rider on the road.
This is Jennifer Murphy—Food Operations Manager at
Kewadin Casinos in Saint Ignace, MI—
Kewadin Casinos in Saint Ignace, MI—
kicking ass with a shit-ton of kale and spinach!
“Smoothie" Greens vs. "Grocery Store" Greens
My big-picture distinction for super greens is twofold: what I call “smoothie” greens and “grocery store” greens. Both are great and, in a perfect world, we would get a hefty serving of each every day.
“Smoothie” greens are those superfoods that are either exclusively—or more commonly—available in powder form and, therefore, easy to add to a smoothie: spirulina, chlorella, wheatgrass juice powder, moringa leaf, barley grass, etc. These are among the most nutritionally potent foods on the planet and, essentially, offer a more concentrated dosage of everything we love about leafy greens from the store. This is why I’ve always given them top priority in my regimen and have, to date, hardly missed a single day without my heavy-greens, superfood smoothie since 1993. (That’s literally over 10,000 smoothies, for those counting!)
"Grocery store” greens include kale, spinach, collards, romaine, arugula, and Swiss chard—all of which are available at most any market. These can take a bit more effort to include in a steady regimen, and yet, getting more of these leafy greens is the number one thing I recommend to those who are doing a daily high-greens smoothie, and who still want to take their routine to the next level. Again, the one-two punch of having this variety of greens as many days per week as possible is, in my opinion, the number one thing you can do to up your nutrition game (with the addition of eating beans daily. More on that later.).
Hot Tips
With a greens-heavy superfood smoothie prioritized, how can we sneak in more grocery store greens? A few ideas:
Salads: Simply base a salad around one or two of your favorite greens, chop up a few other veggies (like carrots, celery, bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, red cabbage, etc), then enjoy it with your lunch or dinner. To make it more of a complete meal on its own, add a half-can of garbanzo, black, or kidney beans (for protein) with some avocado or pumpkin seeds (for healthy fats) and you are golden. Just try not to diminish the value of such a meal with tons of oily dressing or (God forbid) shredded cheese.
Sides: Cook up or steam a bit of spinach, kale, or collards and add it as a side dish to any meal. Hot tip here? Eat the greens first. You will likely enjoy its simple flavor more at the beginning of the meal (prior to blasting your taste receptors with what will probably be other more highly-seasoned food), plus the high-fiber, super nutrient-density of the greens will offer a nice head start in satiating your appetite, and you will likely consume fewer overall calories, which is always a good idea.
Soup: Sneak in a handful or two of your favorite leafy greens to most any vegetable and/or bean-based soup recipe. Also, try experimenting with dumping that soup into a blender so it’s drinkable out of a thermos. This is great for “eating” on the go or away from home. Example:
Clockwise from upper left: Simple ingredients like zucchini, squash, onion and celery, cut up, with a few handfuls of spinach, then thrown into a pot on the stove to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. From there, we dump in some beans, maybe add a bit of table salt at the end if you need to, then pour it into the ol’ NutriBullet to smooth out into a nice portable soup. (It usually takes two complete blends to get through a pot of soup like this, although you can get it all done in one try with a larger blender.) This is just one quick idea out of a kajillion.
Smoothies: If you are currently in a groove of enjoying a 2-scoop single serving of Dragon Dirt with your smoothies, it’s not really necessary to add any greens to the recipe. The powder is already highly-concentrated with super green power at 5.5 grams (although it’s not hurting anything if you do add some raw greens). If, on the other hand, you’re currently using more of a conventional protein powder, or pretty much any other brand of all-in-one meal replacement powder, I can almost guarantee there isn’t 5.5 grams of super greens in there (particularly in a full-serving-sizes concentration) so, YES: try adding a handful or two (or more if it will fit!) of kale or spinach to the recipe. And if taste is an issue, try experimenting with small amounts of orange or apple juice in your liquid base (maybe 2 to 4 oz to start?). The sweetness from the juice will go a long way to “covering up” the taste of the greens if it’s even an issue at all.
***Additionally, you can add a 1-scoop, half-serving of the Dirt to whatever brand of protein or all-in-one powder you’re currently using, and even this smaller amount will significantly bolster the super greens (and overall superfood) content of your smoothie.
Try to add these extra greens to your regimen at least every other day, if you can… but the more the merrier, for sure!
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A Creative Hack from the Alice Cooper Camp
“When everything is screaming, nothing is screaming.”
Mrs. Sloan
Finally getting around to scoping out Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group, by Alice's legendary bassist, Dennis Dunaway. In the first chapter, he talks about how he and Alice (Vince, back then) were both art enthusiasts, and how they were fortunate enough to have a stern but insightful high school art teacher named Mrs. Sloan.
Apparently, Dennis took the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to painting, so his early works were a garish mish-mash of color and chaos. One day, Mrs. Sloan perched herself in front of his latest creation and quietly studied the train wreck on the canvas before her. She took her time with her analysis as Dennis nervously awaited her response. Finally, she turned to him and simply said, "When everything is screaming, nothing is screaming.”
Although it took a few days for Dennis to fully assimilate the weight of this wisdom, he took this advice to heart during his next painting session, writing: “I gave my screams some solitude to shatter.”
Mrs. Sloan’s comment would become a valuable life lesson, as Dennis and his best pal Vince would implement this directive religiously in their years ahead with the Alice Cooper thing. Songwriting, set lists, theatrical production, all brought through the filter of... Yes, let’s be bold and shocking, but let’s also provide context and polarity to the madness so it will have maximum impact.
This struck me as great advice that artists, musicians, writers, and storytellers of all stripes might find useful to have in their arsenals. Looking to “scream” a bold creative statement? How might you present it so it can best “jump off of the canvas?“
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Drum Vid Vault - Zhengzhou, China
In our ongoing efforts to expand on our collection of drumming footage, here’s a three-part series of vids from a show in Zhengzhou during my 2019 Solo Drumming Tour of China. This date was in a smaller hall than normal, but the place was packed out… and the show turned out to be a sentimental favorite in a way, just based on the energy in the room—and the unwavering presence of the audience. What a vibe. So many great memories from that run…
Scope #14, #15, and #16 here: https://www.bobbyrock.com/pages/drum-vid-vault-1
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