Why You Need Sweet Potatoes in Your Diet
When it comes to changing our diet, we often think that we need to remove things like carbs and sugars, which isn’t always the case! The importance of feeling good and supporting your gut health is to eat a balanced diet packed with all foods. Carbs can play their own role in support you!

Sweet potatoes are actually a great food to eat to support your gut. Not only do they have anti-inflammatory properties, but sweet potatoes have plenty of gut-friendly fiber too! There are so many different ways to eat sweet potatoes to fuel your body and leave your gut feeling good. I love finding different recipes to incorporate them into my diet even though I absolutely had a love hate with them for many years.

But what I discovered and read excited me was the Japanese sweet potato and the purple sweet potato that just aren't as sweet and you can use them in a lot of different ways like baking 😊

Sweet potatoes have about 6 grams of fiber in one cup cooked and are also a good source of prebiotics like oligosaccharides, which help improve the balance of your gut bacteria and overall gut health.

Sweet Potato Toast
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes (small, ends trimmed, sliced lengthwise)
1 avocado (peeled and mashed)
1/3 cup sauerkraut
1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions:
Pop the sweet potato slices in the toaster and toast 2-3 times. Or set your oven to broil and bake on a sheet for 3-6 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Top with mashed avocado, sauerkraut and sea salt.

This recipe has sauerkraut which is a gut powerhouse food! Whether you make your own or you buy one in the refrigerated section of your grocery store with brands like Wildbrine, Cleveland Kraut and others that you can find at your local farmers market! Raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut contains beneficial probiotics that generally do not survive the pasteurization process, so again in that refrigerated section and you can read on the label whether or not it has been pasteurized.

Looking for more gut friendly recipes? Be sure to grab my Gut Health Made Easy Guide here!

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Meet Leah Negrin

 
I am a bold, beautiful, sometimes timid, usually happy, essential oil, nutrition junkie. Although at 39 I feel as if I've had several careers over a lifetime (or at least sometimes when I look back at my resume that is what shines through). I've been a paralegal, an office manager, an administrative assistant, worked in commercial lending and have finally landed on nutrition.

My journey to nutrition started many years ago when my sister was diagnosed with celiac disease and food had to change for the family. From there, along my own health journey I’ve helped people not only figure out what to eat but how to do it so that it can work for them sustainably. For almost seven years I’ve been counseling people on their nutrition and weight loss journeys. 

Finally getting some sunshine in Southern California *Photo credit  Brittany Hassett 

I am knowledgeable about what purpose food serves your body and I focus on finding sustainable options when it comes to food; this also led to my love of essential oils. I had the opportunity to attend a workshop where a registered dietitian spoke about using essential oils in her practice to help her patients. I was floored. I knew that #plantsheal but I didn't realize that others in the 'conventional' medical community thought that as well!! Learning that it was possible to incorporate these magical little bottles gave me a huge sense of hope.


Alina, myself and Caitlin (oily bffs) *Photo credit Anne Negrin

 
As I learned more about these oils I was diagnosed with increased intestinal permeability or as many of us know it, leaky gut. Leaky gut has been around for quite awhile but many of us are just learning what this is or why this is even more common these days than ever before. Many issues can be related to leaky gut including autoimmune diseases. Receiving this diagnosis just led me down a path further to learn about nutrition and how to best serve my body and take care of myself.


Enjoying a vegan ice cream cone in Budapest! *Photo credit to Michelle Owen 

Since birthing our sweet baby boy at home earlier this year I’ve been incredibly passionate about helping other women too who are pregnant and new mothers with their nutrition. Eating healthy for your pregnant body and your postpartum self is a game changer for both mother and baby.

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