Welcome to this week’s Wellness Wednesday. Today is a special one because not only am I sharing my personal story about digestion issues, but also a tummy soothing smoothie recipe and why I’m loving probiotics these days — and why you should too!
Let’s rewind back to 2011 to when my digestion was a complete disaster. I believe that stress, an eating disorder and lack of proper nutrition in my diet all played a big factor in destroying the good bacteria in my stomach. This led to stomach aches, major bloating, constipation (I said it), joint pain and the inability to fight off infections in my body.
I remember thinking to myself that it was really strange, especially since I was doing all the right things. I exercised, ate fruits and vegetables and lean protein; I limited sugar and ate every few hours. What was happening? Do I have cancer? Why am I bloated all the freaking time?
What I didn’t realize was that the only thing that was wrong was my ignorance towards nutrition and fueling my body. Eating a limited diet of egg whites, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, very little fat and copious amounts of vegetables had stopped my digestive system and organs from being able to function properly.
Now while those are all wonderful foods, they aren’t wonderful when you only live off of them (and when you eat too little of them). Now I realize this might be a different when you’re an athlete and eat this way for a reason (and eat enough!); however, I ate these foods, over exercised and exhausted myself to depletion. It was a terrible time in my life for both myself and loved ones; I hope to one day soon share my entire experience with you in an open-hearted post.
After understanding that I had an eating disorder and working towards getting better, I began to notice that my digestion was one hot mess. Once while on a vacation in Mexico, I remember being so bloated that I looked about 6 months pregnant (uhhh I wasn’t).
Building up my gut health
It was evident that I needed to start building up my gut health again, so I took it upon myself to do some research on the foods that are helpful to your overall digestive health & also started taking a daily probiotic.
While we’re on the topics of probiotics, I must tell you about the UP4 Probiotics I’m absolutely loving. They sent them to me a little over a month ago and are hands down my favorite probiotic ever. In general probiotics have been a wonderful addition to my digestive health routine and I believe they’ve helped my system to get back on track. The probiotics I take are specifically formulated for women to maintain our womanly balance and promote gut health, HOWEVER they do make a few different varieties. Tummy troubles begone!
BONUS! I’ve got a $5 OFF printable coupon for you to use at Target to grab some of these awesome UP4 probiotics.
In addition to adding probiotic to my diet, I’ve also done the following:
1.) Eat more organic plain yogurt or kefir. I want to avoid any sweetened yogurt, so greek yogurt or plain kefir tends to be best since it has lower sugar than its respective yogurt counterparts.
2.) Enjoy more fermented foods such as Kombucha, kimchi & sauerkraut. These are full of good for you bacteria for the gut. I do love a good kombucha or as I like to call them booch!
3.) Tummy soothing foods (like the tummy soothing smoothie!): Organic papaya, pineapple, ginger and mint. These are foods known to soothe tummy troubles, especially ginger!
4.) Prebiotic foods: garlic, artichoke, asparagus, onion, leeks. These foods are fuel for the good bacteria and can help it grow and flourish.
5.) Drink more smoothies! I try to incorporate feel-good tummy soothing smoothies into my diet as much as possible by including the foods and herbs that are known to help digestive issues.
Ingredient details!
Banana: Wonderful source of potassium, an essential mineral.
Pineapple: Helps you digest protein & contain the enzyme bromelain.
Greek yogurt: Full of probiotics.
Ginger: Used to reduce nausea or upset stomach, can help aid in digestion
Turmeric: A well-known anti-inflammatory
Chia Seeds: Contain omega-3s, fiber & protein
I hope you love this tummy soothing smoothie and a big thanks for letting me share my digestion story with you. Please feel free to add or share anything you’d like in the comments below!
P.S. Don’t forget to grab your $5 OFF printable coupon for UP4 Probiotics!
More healthy smoothie recipes to try:
Triple Cherry Berry Watermelon Smoothie
Layered Banana Split Protein Smoothie
Refreshing Watermelon Pineapple Smoothie
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Pineapple Ginger Tummy Soothing Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup fresh pineapple
- 1/2 cup 2% or nonfat plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more if necessary
- 1/2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons of chia seeds
- Optional: A few fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and enjoy immediately. Makes 2 smoothies.
Nutrition
This post is in partnership with UP4 probiotics. All text, recipes and opinions are my own! Thanks for supporting the brands that help make this site possible! xo.
This is such a relatable post for me, because I used to have the same digestive issues because I ate very little fat too. I LOVE kombucha, I just jumped on the “booch bandwagon” last month, and it’s awesome! 🙂 Can’t wait to try this smoothie! xo
Can’t wait to try this! Sounds really healthy. Where did you get the cute glasses?
I am actually travelling right now and facing the exact same tummy issues you describe, so it was the perfect time to read your article! I used to start my morning routine with a hot lemon water with ginger (recipe on my blog) and I remember I noticed a huge difference. I definitely need to be back on track and try your fantastic smoothie! I never tried probiotics before, you make me curious. Thanks again for a very interesting article!
Oh my gosh the diet you described is one that I work with my clients on all the time. Don’t fear the fat, you’ve got to eat fat to burn fat! Probiotics have been a life saver for me to, I used to have to take BEANO with every meal! A really good quality probiotic plus prebiotic fiber in my diet finally cleared all that up!
YES thank you for this post! I found that cutting out dairy and eating smaller but frequent meals has helped my digestion immensely! Sometimes I take a few sips of kombucha as well. It’s delicious but I can’t have too much of it at once!
I started taking probiotics a few months ago and have definitely noticed a difference in my gut health. My husband has been taking them too and it almost immediately eliminated his heartburn and acid reflux – life changing! And I started brewing my own booch… we are PRO-probiotics in our house!
I love how gut health is really taking off! I suffered through Ulcerative Colitis with its crazy symptoms and myriad of drugs that only seemed to make it worse. I recently changed my diet to include kombucha, kimchi and sauerkraut- I am feeling my best in years! Congrats on your road to a healthy gut! Love your recipes!
Such a great post and wonderful information! I have also struggled over the last 5 years, and it has taken endless experimenting, doctor visits, and mental adjustments to get back on track. It is comforting to know others have been there too. So many people have similar issues and don’t realize they are tied to what they eat and how they care for themselves. Too often women get caught up in the false advertising of “healthy” eating and ideal body image that the media displays, all of which are detrimental to our health. Nurturing mentally and physically goes a long way. Cheers to the real healthy living!
I love this post has would absolutely love to read your story should you ever decide to share it. This actually sounds a lot like me, I’m a runner (a lot, daily) and eat very little fat due to eating just a few select things. I eat things I enjoy but there isn’t much variety in it. I have fatigue and a permanent bloated or distended stomach. Your post definitely made me stop and wonder if I could be doing this to my body because of the lifestyle I’m living. Thank you so much!
I love this! I am currently suffering from gut issues and so far I have noticed wheat and dairy are a culprit . I will try this and see how I do with the yogurt. What would be a good sub for the yogurt?
Thank you so much for this post! I have been way to restrictive with my diet in the past and am currently dealing with all the negative effects it’s had on my digestive. I totally have the 6 month pregnant bloating going on and it is NOT fun. I am working on adding different gut healing foods into my routine right now.
Swapped Turmeric for cayenne! So yummy
This looks delicious and just the thing I’ve been looking for. I’m also looking to start probiotics. Any hope that you might offer another coupon in the future? I’d love to try UP4!
So I just started taking the Up4 supplements this week after reading this post because I have had the same issues even though I am super healthy. It’s only been three days but I am super gassy and bloated and I’ve read that probiotics can cause that. How long should that last for because I feel like I should just stop taking the probiotic.
Hi Pam! Sorry to hear that you’re feeling some side effects – I’ve found that everyone is different when it comes to using supplements. Perhaps try asking your doctor!
Monique – Thanks for the Pineapple Ginger Tummy Soothing Smoothie recipe – Stomach bug for two days!!
The Smoothie has helped to sooth my Tummy Rumble. Looking forward to trying out your recipes on Ambitious Kitchen!
You’re so welcome! I hope you’re feeling much better (and find some more delicious eats here!)
This was SO delicious! I don’t really have stomach issues but I made this anyway and oh my. I’m already planning on making it tomorrow! The ginger makes it spicy and the fruit makes it sweet. I didn’t have tumeric and I added spinach and it was perfect. Thank you for this recipe!! 😊
So glad you liked it! This is one of my go-to’s (even without tummy issues). The spinach sounds perfect in here!
I tried your smoothie to stop diarrhea .i have a question for you.I have to take antibiotics for 10days.what can I take to prevent diarrhea .a smoothie?urgent!!
The smoothie was really yummy! But please be careful. I had an upset stomach and found this recipe after searching for “smoothie for diarrhea”. This was the first recipe that showed up and it sounded delicious and calming to my stomach so I made it for dinner. I know can’t leave my bathroom!! Guilty I didn’t read the first part of the post where it talked about bloating and constipation issues. I only read the part about the ingredients and how good they were for your tummy. If you have bloating and constipation then yes this is definitely the smoothie you should make. But with an already upset stomach this was far too harsh on my tummy. Delicious don’t get me wrong and I’ll be saving this recipe for another time but not when you have an upset stomach already.
Just made your 24K Gold drink and it is lovely. I will definitely be trying this and possibly getting some probiotics. I am vegan though, what would you substitute the Greek yogurt with? Thank you so much!
Perfect! Try using a coconut yogurt in here 🙂
sub the pineapple with say apple (Banana, Rice, APPLE, Toast; diarrhea remedy) tastes very good
Perfect! Glad you like this one with apple.
Hi. I haven’t made this smoothie yet but I was very interested to read this post. I am currently suffering from IBS C which basically includes all of the symptoms you described. While I never had an eating disorder as such, when I was at Uni I went through a period of not eating properly due to stress and home sickness, and as a result I lost a lot of weight. I think that this is what messed up my gut health. My question is (and I throw this out to everyone else who has replied to this post), how long did it take for you to get your gut health back on track? I’ve been taking a probiotic called symprove for about a month and I regularly drink Kefir and eat live yogurt.
Thanks
Hi Haley! Gut healing is personal to everyone based on diet and their own unique microbiome. I would definitely check with your doctor, incorporate a probiotic and start eating gut-friendly foods. For some it can take months, but for others, it may be because there is a larger dietary issue at play.
Your embedded, floating video is super distracting while reading. It covers the top third of the page!
Thank you for sharing this tummy calming and nutritious smoothie recipe. Delicious!
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
Under Nutrition, it says the recipe makes 1 smoothie but under Instructions, it says the recipe makes 2 smoothies.
Thanks for the catch! Updated 🙂
I was feeling desperate for my husband. His stomach felt bloated and empty at the same time so i googled smoothie recipe for upset stomach and found a recipe as well as information about brand name UP4 probiotics. Everything described what my husband is feeling. I will make the smoothie and purchase the probiotis. Than you sincerely!
I hope he feels better soon!!
I left out the chia seeds and mint leaves as I’m now seeing it. Had this as a breakfast meal. Was hungry after so it wasn’t very filling. Didn’t use any ginger powder either. Tasted ok.
Hi Shalena. Thanks for your thoughts! I often add nut butter or protein powder to make my smoothies more filling 🙂
Thank you for sharing this! I have IBS along with a diverse range of stomach issues. I was in severe pain tonight and this smoothie helped almost immediately to calm my stomach down and eleviate the pain. I added 1/2 tsp of dried mint leaves as well and it was delicious.
I’m so happy it made you feel better, Cindy! Thanks so much for commenting ❤️
Amazing recipes x
Thank you!
My stomach journey is so so similar to yours, which means I get random digestive flare ups where I can’t eat anything that won’t kill me! I made this today and WOW. I feel so much better and am so happy to get some nutrients in my body without feeling like crud. Thank you!!!