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This episode is different.

No guest. No polished lesson. Just me, reflecting honestly on the most transformative year of my life.

One year ago, I was 50 pounds heavier, deep in autoimmune flares, brain fog, lingering postpartum depression, and still trying to function through sheer willpower. My skin was inflamed, my nervous system was overwhelmed, and despite all my training as a feeding specialist, I felt stuck in my own body.

Today, everything looks different.

In this episode, I share:

• What actually changed my health after years of trying everything
• How gut health, nervous system safety, and environment reshaped my healing
• Why mold exposure was a turning point I could not ignore
• How ancestral nutrition and personalized testing shifted my understanding of “healthy”
• The moment with my son at the dinner table that completely reframed picky eating for me
• Why picky eating is not a behavior problem, but a biological signal

This experience did not pull me away from my work. It deepened it.

If you are a parent feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or wondering why nothing seems to work for your child or your own health, this episode is for you. Healing is possible. Safety comes first. And clarity changes everything.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Healing is individualized. There is no universal “healthy.”
• Picky eating is a symptom, not a diagnosis.
• Nervous system safety must come before food exposure.
• Gut health, immune regulation, and sensory processing are deeply connected.
• Environmental inputs (light, air, water, stress) matter as much as food.
• Parents are not failing. Their child’s body is communicating.

If picky eating feels overwhelming or confusing, start here:

Download the Peaceful Plate Checklist

A practical, print-friendly guide grounded in my BLOOM™ Framework that helps you identify what may be driving your child’s picky eating and where to begin without pressure.

If this episode resonated, I would genuinely love to hear from you.

Send me a DM on Instagram: @lena.livinsky

Tell me what shifted for you this year or what you are navigating right now.

Lena's website

Mary Ruddick's Website

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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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Motherhood has a way of cracking us open in ways we never expected.

In this episode of The Livin’Sky Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Angele Close, clinical psychologist, author, and mom of three, for a powerful conversation about what really shapes the way we parent our inner world.

After becoming a mother herself, Dr. Angele realized that despite years of clinical training, parenting surfaced deep emotional patterns, reactions, and beliefs she didn’t know were still there. That experience led her to Internal Family Systems (IFS), a model that helps parents understand their inner “parts,” soften reactive patterns, and heal the generational cycles we unknowingly pass on to our children.

Together, we talk about:

• Why motherhood often feels harder than we expected
• The hidden myths of the “good mom” and how they fuel stress and shame
• How unhealed inner parts show up at the dinner table, especially with picky eating
• The connection between a parent’s nervous system and a child’s ability to feel safe, regulate, and explore food
• Why repair matters more than perfection
• How healing yourself creates ripple effects throughout your home

If you’ve ever found yourself overwhelmed, reactive, questioning whether you’re doing enough, or wondering why mealtimes feel so tense, this episode will help you see that nothing is wrong with you and that real change starts from the inside out.

Dr. Angele also shares more about her upcoming book, Unburdening Motherhood, which brings Internal Family Systems into everyday parenting and offers practical tools for releasing shame, softening survival patterns, and reconnecting with yourself.

This conversation is for moms who want to parent differently, support their child’s nervous system, and raise resilient, connected kids without losing themselves in the process.

www.unburdeningmotherhood.com

https://www.drangeleclose.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drangeleclose

Lena's website

Lena's Instagram

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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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What if speech delays, feeding struggles, eczema, allergies, and sensory challenges weren’t separate issues but connected signals from the body?

In this episode of The Livin’Sky Podcast, I sit down with Tori Starling, holistic health and bioenergetics practitioner, health coach, and founder of Simply Holistic Solutions. Tori shares her powerful personal story of how her son healed from childhood apraxia of speech, severe eczema, asthma, recurrent ear infections, and food allergies, not through a single therapy or supplement, but by addressing the root causes affecting his whole system.

Fourteen years ago, when few people were talking about holistic apraxia or root-cause healing, Tori followed her intuition and uncovered the deeper layers influencing her son’s ability to speak, learn, and thrive. Today, she supports families navigating apraxia and autism by addressing total load, gut health, nutritional deficiencies, nervous system regulation, and bioenergetics, helping therapy work better, not harder.

This episode is a hopeful, grounded reminder that children are not broken and that when the body is supported, incredible healing is possible.

Tori's Website

Raising Voices: A Holistic Starter Guide for Moms Navigating
Childhood Apraxia of Speech e-book

Voice of Truth Book

Tori's Instagram

Lena's website

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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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What if your child’s behavior isn’t the problem… but the message?

In this powerful episode of The Livin’Sky Podcast, Lena is joined by Jen McNerney, a trauma-informed somatic practitioner, former SLP, and nervous system expert, for a conversation that will change the way you see your child.

Jen blends science, intuition, and real-world motherhood to help families support kids with anxiety, developmental trauma, sensory issues, and more. Together, Lena and Jen explore what’s underneath behavior challenges and how emotional regulation, airway health, fascia, and nervous system safety are at the root of it all.

You’ll learn:

• Why nervous system dysregulation is often the missing piece behind picky eating, tantrums, and resistance
• What NeuroEmotional Technique (NET) is and how Jen uses it to transform stress in the body, including food-related anxiety and gag reflexes
• Why fascia, tongue ties, and airway issues often go undiagnosed in kids… and what to look for
• Simple regulation tools you can use right now to connect with your child and support healing

From one mom and SLP to another, this episode is packed with practical insight, lived wisdom, and the kind of real conversation our community craves.

Don’t miss Jen’s final piece of advice, it might be the most important reminder you hear all week.

Learn more about Jen at www.jenmcnerney.com

e-mail Jen: jen@heartrootedhealing.love

Follow her on Instagram

To learn more about NET: netmindbody.com

TOTS Airway Provider Directory

Lena's Instagram

Lena's Website

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Grab your SIGNALS shake at 10% off with code Lena10

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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Today’s episode is one that will stay with you. I’m joined by Mick Wienholt. He’s a devoted husband, homeschool dad of four and host of the When You Look podcast. His life has been shaped by near-death experiences, deep faith, unimaginable loss and a commitment to raising grounded, resilient, emotionally connected kids.

Mick and his wife live by a family philosophy they call “raising adults.” It means teaching kids life skills early, giving them meaningful responsibility and seeing childhood as preparation for adulthood, not an escape from it. This guiding belief influences everything from mealtime routines to communication, discipline and emotional development.

Mick shares how faith transformed his life after the stillbirth of their first son, Luke, and how grief became the doorway to a deeper relationship with God. His story is raw and moving and offers so much hope for families navigating heavy seasons.

We also talk about:

• building resilience through structure and connection

• supporting gut health and behavior through real food

• giving kids responsibility in age-appropriate ways

• raising confident communicators

• simple habits that create grounded, capable kids

• faith as a guiding force in daily parenting

• how grief changed everything about how he shows up as a father

• his miraculous survival of a devastating avalanche

• why parents should prioritize their relationship as the foundation for a stable home

This episode encourages you to slow down, zoom out and remember what truly matters. Whether faith is central in your home or something you’re rediscovering, this conversation will leave you feeling grounded and inspired.

• Raising adults means preparing kids for real life through small, daily responsibilities.

• Parenting isn’t helicoptering or laissez-faire. It’s situational guidance based on experience and readiness.

• A calm mealtime routine starts with connection, protein first and consistent boundaries.

• Gut health impacts children’s mood, behavior and resilience more than we realize.

• Faith can completely transform the way we parent and show up in our homes.

• Grief can soften us, deepen gratitude and reshape the entire trajectory of a family.

• Kids thrive when parents are emotionally regulated, connected and aligned.

• God uses unimaginable circumstances to bring us closer to Him and closer to purpose.

• Connect with Mick: whenyoulook.com

• Listen to the When You Look Podcast

• Download the Calm Mealtime Toolkit

• Follow Lena on Instagram: @lenalivinsky

• Explore holistic picky eating support at lenalivinsky.com

Grab your Bon Charge gear here, code LenaL for 15% off your purchase

Grab your SIGNALS shake at 10% off with code Lena10

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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In this solo episode, Lena takes you far beyond the plate and into the powerful world of your child’s environment , the often-ignored root of picky eating.

If you have ever wondered why your child can eat the same food one day and melt down over it the next, this episode is going to change everything. Because eating doesn’t start in the mouth. It starts in the nervous system.

Inside this episode you will learn:

• Why light is one of the biggest regulators of appetite, mood, gut health, and behavior

• How artificial LEDs and screens confuse your child’s circadian rhythm and appetite signals

• Simple free practices that align your child’s biology with nature again

• How noise, clutter, and background TV push the nervous system into fight or flight

• Why clothing materials impact behavior, discomfort, and willingness to sit and eat

• How air quality, fragrances, and cleaning products affect gut health and picky eating

• The role of water filtration and minerals in energy, digestion, and nutrient absorption

• Why sleep and daily rhythm are essential to appetite regulation

• Small steps you can start today to create a biologically safe and grounded home for your child

Lena also shares her personal home routines, the exact lighting she uses, how she sets up her mornings with her son, and the environment shifts that changed everything for her own picky eater.

Resources mentioned:

• Calm Mealtime Toolkit

• Boncharge lights and glasses (code: LenaL)

• Force of Nature cleaner

• Trace mineral drops

• Aqua Tru, Blue Vua, APEC, Greenfield Water filtration

• Air Doctor purifier

If you found this episode helpful, please leave a rating or review. It means the world and helps more families find support and hope.

Grab your Bon Charge gear here, code LenaL for 15% off your purchase

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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Meet Misa Pignataro, a certified culinary nutritionist, health coach, and former first grade teacher who turned her own child’s failure to thrive and extreme pickiness into a story of steady, joyful progress. Misa grew up with whole foods and later blended that foundation with practical classroom skills, which makes her teaching style warm, simple, and incredibly doable for busy families. In this conversation we talk about how she moved her daughter from hesitant eating to curiosity and confidence, why playful exposure matters more than pressure, and how bringing kids into the kitchen builds skills and trust. You will hear concrete ideas for family style meals that end short order cooking, easy kitchen jobs for every age, and quick breakfast upgrades that support the gut brain connection and calmer behavior through better blood sugar balance. Misa shares real life wins from her kids cooking classes, including the taste o meter game and colorful recipes that make vegetables feel fun. If you want one meal for the whole family, less stress at the table, and a child who is willing to explore new foods, this episode will give you clear steps you can try tonight.

What you’ll learn

• Why “picky eating” is often a skills and environment issue, not a character trait
• How curiosity, play, and low-pressure exposure open the door to trying new foods
• Easy ways to involve kids in cooking based on age and sensory profile
• Family-style meals and build-your-own bowls to end short-order cooking
• Blood sugar basics for calmer moods, steadier energy, and better sleep
• Smart sugar swaps and label detective tips that actually stick
• How to align nutrition with a biology-informed approach to feeding and the BLOOM framework’s Open Exploration pillar
• Mindset shifts for parents so progress feels possible at any age

Highlights and ideas to try

• Taste-o-meter game for rating new foods without pressure
• Mystery-ingredient smoothies to spark buy-in with older kids
• Rainbow veggie sushi and other playful, colorful exposures
• Salt-pinch helper and simple jobs for tiny hands using a learning tower
• Family-style taco or rice bowls that respect preferences while increasing exposure
• Breakfast reboot with protein, healthy fats, and fiber to support the gut–brain connection

Resources mentioned

• Misa’s Clean Kitchen: misascleankitchen.com
• Taste-o-meter download on Misa’s site
• The Calm Mealtime Toolkit by Lena
• Work with Lena one-to-one or book a free strategy call

Connect

• Find Misa on Instagram: @misascleankitchen
• Follow Lena on Instagram: @lena.livinsky

Season 3 is rolling and it’s the best yet. Subscribe, rate, and share with a friend who needs calmer mealtimes.

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Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.

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Today on The Livin’Sky Podcast, Lena sits down with Beth Lambert - author, educator, and founder of the nonprofit Documenting Hope, for a powerful conversation about the modern childhood health crisis, and how families can begin to reverse it.

For over 15 years, Beth has documented the rising rates of chronic illness and developmental challenges in children, asking one essential question: Why are so many kids sick and what can we do about it?

In this eye-opening episode, Lena and Beth explore how our environment, food, lifestyle, and even invisible stressors like Wi-Fi and light pollution shape our kids’ biology. They share hopeful, practical ways parents can start reducing “total load”, the cumulative stressors that overwhelm our children’s bodies and begin creating healthier, calmer homes.

Together, they discuss:

• The real reasons childhood chronic illness has exploded in recent decades
• What the Documenting Hope Project and CHIRP Study are revealing about root causes
• Why behavior-based therapies like ABA often miss the mark
• The biological connections between picky eating, sensory issues, and chronic illness
• The link between environmental toxins, antibiotics, and microbiome imbalance
• Actionable, low-cost ways to reduce chemical, emotional, and EMF stress at home
• Why your own nervous system regulation might be the most powerful healing tool of all

This is one of those conversations every parent needs to hear, full of science, compassion, and practical hope for a generation of children who deserve better.

Resources Mentioned:

• Documenting Hope
• Soft signs that can precede more serious chronic health conditions
• Book: A Compromised Generation by Beth Lambert
• Book: Brain Under Attack by Beth Lambert & Maria Rickert Hong
• Environmental Working Group “Skin Deep” Database
• Made Safe Certified Products Directory
• CHIRP Study (Child Health Inventory for Resilience and Prevention)
• Documenting Hope Healing Success Stories

Grab your Bon Charge gear here, code LenaL for 15% off your purchase

Grab your SIGNALS shake at 10% off with code Lena10

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.