Robyn Youkilis - Going with Your Gut

I’ve got a question for you.

How’s your gut?

Does it feel happy and healthy? Or bloated and blah?

If you are like most women I know, you are working towards happy and healthy but actually living closer to bloated and blah. For years I struggled with my gut health and honestly had no idea what normal was because my normal was feeling toxic and lethargic.

That is why I am so excited to share my Hello Freedom interview with Robyn Youkilis, my pal and gut health expert. We are breaking down simple (but seriously insider) practices and delicious recipes that will all be in her soon to be released book, Go with Your Gut: The Insider’s Guide to Banishing the Bloat with 75 Digestion-Friendly Recipes.

As a psychotherapist, I concur with Robyn’s theory that how we digest our food can be representative of how we are digesting our lives. There is a strong connection between a powerfully functioning gut and a powerfully functioning gut instinct. Robyn believes that you have to clear up the junk in your body, sweep out the cobwebs, so you can hear what’s going on. This clearing out allows your body’s innate wisdom to come through loud and clear.

Here’s to healthy and happy and as always, take care of you!

Today on the show I’m talking about gut health. I find that there’s this thing that people don’t talk about, especially women, and that is trouble with digestion. There is of course a psychological element to our physical health, and that goes for this too. For years I looked for answers: What is missing in my diet? How can I feel incredible before and after I eat? We have all these assumptions that if you’re eating healthily then everything should be great, but that’s not always the case.

These are some of the reasons I’m super excited today to talk to my friend Robyn Youkilis. Her new book Go with Your Gut is coming out really soon, and it’s all about your gut health. It has amazing recipes, tips, and more.

I love Robyn’s theory that how we digest our food is how we digest our lives. There is a strong connection between a powerfully functioning gut and a powerfully functioning gut instinct. Robyn believes that you have to clear up the junk in your body, sweep out the cobwebs, so you can hear what’s going on in your body. Your body knows what it needs, and it will let you know.

You can Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher or TuneIn

“My passion and way into this has always been through my love of food and cooking and being in the kitchen and the connection with family and with myself.” – Robyn Youkilis

Show Notes:

The inspiration behind her new book
Balancing the spiritual wellness world and wanting to lose weight
How anxiety can affect gut health
What is the chewing challenge
How Robyn was inspired to go into this field

“When you’ve got those gastric juices pumping and flowing and breaking down that food and doing all that amazing work for you, you don’t want to flood them.” – Robyn Youkilis

The connection between your upbringing and your food habits
How to finally reduce bloat
The connection between your health and your instincts
What are prebiotics
Why you shouldn’t drink too much water during your meals

“Getting out of your head and into your physical form and feeling everything that it can do for you, it carries over into everything.” – Robyn Youkilis

*Check out this delicious free recipe:

CREAMY VEGETABLE SOUP

I know it’s not cool to talk about dieting and weight loss anymore in the happy holistic wellness land, but to be real, this is my secret “diet” soup. Why? Because that little ¾ cup of cashews combined with heaps of veggies will fill you up like nobody’s business. And because sometimes, even though we may know better, we find ourselves at the end of a pretty long line of not so great food choices and want to lose a couple of extra pounds that crept up on us. So this soup is it. All of the variations work perfectly. I don’t even have a favorite!

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted raw cashews

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

5 cups chopped broccoli, cauliflower, or tomatoes

3 to 4 cups water (to cover vegetables)

2-3 teaspoons sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Set cashews to soak in a bowl of water from 5 to 20 minutes then rinse and drain. 20 minutes is best but 5 minutes works too!
In a large pot, warm the oil over medium heat.
Sauté the onion and garlic until they are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the veggie of choice, enough water to cover, the sea salt, and pepper. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until and the vegetables are tender and soft.
Transfer the soup to a blender (see Note), working in batches if necessary. Add the cashews. Blend until smooth.
Taste for seasonings and serve immediately, or let the soup cool. Cover and refrigerate it.

Note: If you’re not using a Vitamix, wait for the soup to cool before blending. You can use a hand blender directly in the pot, too.