16: Facing the fear of failure & sudden loss with Nourish Your Soul owner Susan Cabana

Hello friends, and welcome to Grief Guts and Green Smoothies. I am your host, Melissa Dugalecki, and I am so excited to be here with you all to chat about ways in which we can all get through different adversities, challenges and loss and how getting outside of our comfort zone and maybe having a green smoothie or two can help us do so. We will cover different topics ranging from interviews to recipes to sharing my own stories of my grief journey and the loss of my daughter Layden. Honor to be able to share her light in hopes of helping you spread yours. Now let's dive in. On today's episode, I have the opportunity to sit with Susan Cabana, founder owner of Nourish youh Soul Juice. For those of you not in the Boston area, Nourish youh Soul is in my opinion the absolute best cold pressed juice shop in the entire unsee. The best that I've ever been to, even nationwide. Susan has created combinations of juices. She doesn't compromise on the quality of ingredients. They are smooth, they are delicious, they are nourishing. And she has really expanded beyond just offering juices to offering all sorts of food products, smoothies, smoothie bowls for people who are on the go or maybe don't have the time to make these things at home. Or if you live on your own, making healthy food can be really hard because the produce goes bad pretty quickly, right? So you're either eating the same thing all the time or you're going to be eating a lot of it pretty quickly. So Susan solves that problem for others by just having things easily accessible. But what's so great about Susan isn't just her products. It's the history of who she is and how she got to where she currently is. So I discovered Susan in my grief journey. I was feeling, when I tell you, low. I was low. I was really struggling and I was desperately looking for anything to make me feel better. I had seen juice cleanses kind of advertised and I didn't know anything about gut health other than my daughter died of a stiff gut. And I thought, well, let me just give this a shot. So I bought a juice cleanse. Never had the green juice. This was very typical former version of Melissa that would just go all in or not at all. So I got a juice cleanse and I was hooked. I immediately felt the difference. Now I had a really sick gut at the time. So what I didn't understand was what was happening. And I started going back. I started juicing every day. Ever since that cleanse, I have had A green juice every single day. I haven't missed a day. Even when traveling outside of the country. I have not taken a medication for three years. So it took a little bit of time of me being on juice and healing my gut before I transitioned off of medication. But whether it was anxiety meds or an Advil or Tums, I haven't taken anything in what's just about three years now. And it completely changed my life. And it really opened my eyes to the gut brain connection, the emotion connection. And that's when I began studying and then now teaching. What I didn't know was that Susan discovered the power of juicing and healthy eating in her own grief journey. She lost her husband 15 years ago suddenly, and found herself as a single mom of three girls, working a job she didn't love, trying to just scrape herself and her life together. And when I think about it, I mean, when I lost Laden, I couldn't get out of bed, but I didn't have other children there who needed me to get out of bed for them. And so I. For me, my heart just goes out thinking how much of her own grief Susan had to shelf and manage more delicately and intricately. There's no right or wrong, there's no hierarchy. I just. My heart literally aches thinking about how that must have been, that loneliness and that pain. And not only did she manage her grief, she actually turned it into these amazing shops. And she's going to tell you more about them. She's going to tell you more about the product, she's going to tell you more about making that shift, how scary it was, what advice she has for any of you who are either apprehensive about this whole green drink thing or who are curious about leaving a job and what people might say and people thinking you're crazy again. When I made the shift, I didn't have other children who were depending on me to have a paycheck coming home. I just had to trust in myself enough. But Susan had three girls, right? And so she had to make sure she's making this shift. This wasn't just a Susan decision, it was a family decision. So, you know, criticism that can come with that or doubt that can come with that is really real. It's really heavy. But not only has she done it, she is, you know, she is just continually growing, which she'll talk about a little bit more. And the last thing which I do touch on, but I just can't emphasize enough, I believe very much that Leiden is constantly shining her light. I think we all have different souls or whatever you want to. People might call them spirits or angels, whatever it is. I think we all have these different lights that are being shined around us, and we just have to sometimes open our eyes up to see it. And I've been talking a lot lately in my own life and with other people about not forcing things right, that if something is forced, if it's not aligned, don't force that energy. We can't make a square peg fit in a round hole. And we tried too often to do that. And Susan and I have had to reschedule. She had something in her life come up. I had something in mind come up. And we could have done the meetings a couple times, but it felt really forced. And I said to her, let's not force it. It's going to work out when it works out, and it's going to be perfect, and it's going to be exactly when it's supposed to. She was like, great. Well, today is neck awareness day, and neck is the disease sick intestines that cost my daughter late in her life and unplanned, did not even realize this when we rescheduled. But Susan, the woman who helped me learn and understand about gut health by introducing her juices, it sparked a curiosity in me so that I would then go learn and study the disease that took my daughter's life. Today is neck awareness day. So it just feels so fitting and powerful to have today be the day that we recorded this episode to share with all of you. Now, let's dive in. Okay. Susan, thank you so much for joining me on my podcast. You've been a huge part of my journey, and I'm just so thrilled that you were able to make time and come hang with us today.

I'm so excited about it.

Yeah. Not many people know this, but I think I've told you before, but my very first green juice and my very first kind of experience with juicing it all was at Nourish youh Soul, which is.

Which I love.

I know. I love that, too. And at the time, and we'll get into this, but at the time, I didn't even know your story. And so it wasn't until months later when I learned your story, that I just identified so much more. And I still say you are hands down. And I. I have tried them all. You are hands down, the absolute best cold pressed juice that I've ever had.

Well, I appreciate that.

Yes. All right. So on this podcast, I always like to start with two different questions, and the first one is what comes to your mind when you hear Greek guts and green smoothies.

You know, that resonates with me so much because my journey to opening my stores came from, you know, a place of grief. Losing my husband 15 years ago, who was an amazing person, you know, father, husband, and just a great guy. You know, he passed away suddenly and, you know, I had some dark days after that, and it was very tragic. And you know, even 15 years later, it's still, you know, a part of our lives and my girls lives. But I was able to, you know, push through and heal by drinking a green juice, drinking a green smoothie. And it wasn't until later that it became something that I was able to do for other people. But that was my healing journey, was really. I started feeling better once I incorporated that into my life.

I love that so much and I love that you just hit on one. The gut brain connection. You know, I think it's so underestimated how anxiety and depression and mood and energy is completely related to our guts.

Completely. I mean, for, you know, at least 18 months after Chris's passing, I mean, you know, it affected every part of my body. Grief, and people don't realize that. And it really wasn't until I started to infuse my body with living things and it really start. I started to, you know, have the light again. And so, you know, it was a conscious decision to do that because I did not want to live my life like that, especially with three little girls at the time.

Right? Yeah. No, I love that. The living things and like literally bringing life back to your body. Right?

Exactly.

It's amazing to think of it that way. And then the second one, a little bit lighter. What is your favorite kind of taco?

Oh, my gosh. First of all, we do taco Tuesday here at the house a lot. The latest one that I love and the girls actually love it as well. My girls? My teenage girls. Now I've been making a brussels sprout with a chimichurri sauce and honestly, it's delicious and it's a little bit different and we've been loving that and having that weekly.

I love that and I love, like the different textures. Right. That's so great. So you alluded to your journey being really rooted in your grief journey. Right. So your gut health journey. And like I said earlier, that was so unbelievable for me to learn because when I first found your shop, I just wasn't feeling well. I was in my grief. I knew I needed something. I'd heard of Juice cleanses. I thought maybe I'll give this a shot. And I immediately felt so much better and I didn't understand what was happening. I didn't understand that I was giving my digestive system a little bit of a break. I didn't understand that I was putting living things into me. I just knew that I felt better. So I was always chatting with your staff. You know, one of your staff members had said to me, well, have you seen Susan's story? Because I shared with her mine. I'm like, you know, I'm a bereaved mom and this has been the first time that I've actually felt better. And I just want to thank you guys. Like this is amazing. I traveled outside of the world to find outside the world that would be pretty amazing. I traveled outside of the country to try and find things to feel better, to go to different workshops and retreats and it was, you know, you're little shop in Medford, the original one where I found this. And she said, have you read Susan's story? And I was like, no I haven't. And I went onto your website and I was just like completely blown away. So I would love for you to kind of share more about your journey with grief and finding health with the listeners.

Absolutely. So as I mentioned and alluded to the fact that it was a sudden passing of my husband one morning My girls were 5, 3 and 1 and just stopped and he was holding my one year old daughter. And you know, in that moment my life was never the same. I mean it was incredible, the shock that, you know, to find my husband, you know, on the staircase holding my daughter. So it took some time. I was grief struck for, you know, as I mentioned, about 18 months. And I had been working in finance as well. I had to leave for a little bit and when I went back I just didn't feel myself. I just couldn't find joy. And as I mentioned about 18 months in I realized like I couldn't live my life like that. I did turn to, you know, moving my body and running and running was super cathartic. I knew one of my goals, the goals of my husband was to run a marathon by age 40. He passed at 37 and I was 37 at the time he passed as well. So I ran Marathon at 39 and put a lot of energy and it was something that I felt good about. I was moving my body. So I didn't find the food piece until a little bit later when after 5 years post my husband passing, I lost my job with Layoffs after working at Putnam Investments for 20 years. Once again, that was like my identity and it was taken from me. But this time I knew I did not want to go backwards. So I started drinking green juice every single day. I started taking yoga classes and it was in that from there. So I had a first wave right after he passed and making that conscious decision to live life. But then I started drinking a green juice and again flooding my body with living enzymes and nutrients, and I started to feel better. I was doing this for a little bit, and one day on my yoga mat, the teacher said, if there was one thing that you could do, if you had no fear, what would you do? And in that moment, I decided to go back to school and I got my holistic health certification and I started taking it to the next level and learning a lot about nutrition, working with clients. And my journey has kind of gone through a lot of different levels. But then I decided to do this for other people and I started creating juices in my kitchen and people would come to the back door and pick up juices.

Oh my gosh.

I knew it was viable. I was one of the first bricks and mortar stores to open in 2012 with juices and smoothies. That's where I started because that was what had resonated with me in my healing journey. But I gave it a shot and decided to open up in Medford and create it. So I think the thing that's a little bit different about me is that when I created the juices, that all came from a healing place. So I looked at the ingredients and I was super passionate about it. I didn't just jump on the juice, the cold pressed juice craze. I really, it was really meaningful to me to make sure the ingredients, the quality, but also what I was putting into each juice made sense from a healing perspective. And then once I opened my store, I just found that stories like yourself and helping you, I just felt that each time I healed somebody else, I was healing myself. So I feel super passionate about what I'm doing. And in the last few years we've added food as you know, so we're eating salads and breakfast and, you know, it just feels really good to be able to do that for other people because it really is what healed me and honestly, quite frankly, saved me.

Yes, I think there's like this misconception, right? And Mooch and I always kind of laugh about it. Like people think we just like run around and drink green juices and smoothies because it's fun but it's because it has really improved the quality of both of our lives. And like you said, like, for me, it saved me. I was enabled to be completely medication free from using juice. And I love how you said thinking of food as medicine and being really thoughtful. Now, before any of this, had you really approached food from a medicinal standpoint?

I had not. So, you know, before Chris's passing, we both, you know, worked in finance. You know, I had my daughters every two years, so they were five, three and one. As I mentioned, Chris passed. So I was really in a fast paced life. You know, we both worked full time, you know, had babies at home and I did whatever was easiest, to be honest. Yeah, I really didn't understand the food component until after he passed. And I started to, you know, you know, when I knew I wanted to make a conscious decision to live life after he passed, I started, you know, eating healthier and preparing healthier meals for my kids because I was, you know, home a little bit more. I went back part time after Chris passed, but I really took it to the next level after I lost my job. I had time and I started to learn more about food as medicine and, you know, the holistic approach to food. And it just really, that's when things really started to click for me.

Yeah, no, I love that. And it's funny, I always tell people I fully encourage juice and juicing, but if you go and just blindly pick a juice, I mean, sure you're going to get benefits, but it's kind of like going to a vitamin aisle and just closing your eyes and grabbing a vitamin instead of knowing.

Exactly, that's exactly right.

Yeah. So you've made this huge transformation in your personal life, in your professional life, and you do it with grace and you're very humble. But obviously there are a lot of challenges. So what did you find were some of the, or if not the biggest challenges in pursuing this shift?

It's a great question because there was definitely some challenges along the way. I think the first one was just believing in myself that I could do this without a background and opening, going into the restaurant business and learning all that you needed to learn about opening one and the board of health and that kind of thing. So it was the challenge that. But, you know, so grateful that I, you know, put the effort in to get to the other side of that. You know, it was people questioning it too. And I had children at home that I had to take care of. So, you know, leaving a job that, you know, I was paid well to like Take on this new endeavor that was new to a lot of people. So kind of just getting through what, you know, people's. Maybe I don't want to say this, like, just, you know, them questioning this different route. So that was a big challenge. And I think the third thing, you know, being one of the first juice bars to open, it was just educating. I think that. That, you know, that was probably the one that took the longest, the first couple years of being open. Just having people understand the benefits and paying for something that's healthy. And I think because it was so new to Boston, maybe not in other parts of the country, there was some education that I go in because I was one of the first. It's very different today because there's a lot of other juice bars out there. But at the beginning, it was just educating people on the price point and why a $10 juice makes a lot of sense.

I know, right. It's like learning to shift the values. Right. I mean, people won't blink, myself included. Right. Spending 10 to $15 on a glass of wine. Right, exactly. And then we have this green juice, which literally has, like, pounds of vegetables and fruits. And we're like, yeah, I'm not sure about that.

I think we've come a long way in the Boston area on just understanding that. But you still get that objection when you have, like you said, four to six pounds of vegetables and fruit that go into one green juice. Think about what it takes of the cases of fruit and vegetables that we have to have to put into these juices. I think people are starting to understand that better. But it took a little bit of time.

Well, absolutely. And I mean, think of if we went to a salad bar and had four to six pounds of something at the salad bar.

Exactly.

No, it's going to cost a lot more than that, $10. And, you know, I think one of the things that I love so much that you're helping educate and spread, and, you know, being in the food industry, that is a tough, tough industry. And so I do it more from the education standpoint, not from the production standpoint, but is understanding, like, the amount of energy, whether it's time, thought, money. Like, those are all energy sources that we spend trying to treat the symptoms. Right. And masking it, rather than coming to the root cause, which is something going on internally, I think is a shift that people are, like you said, starting to come into, but are still struggling. And what advice would you give to somebody who's maybe still apprehensive about investing in their health or in understanding that food is medicinal.

You know, I think I would, you know, tell people that, you know, they really have to take a look and prioritize what they're doing. And everybody's going to prioritize in different ways. But just being preventative about your health is critical. We need to come from. You know, I've been through lots of challenges along the way in my journey. I do know firsthand that food heals, it's medicinal, it can have a tremendous impact on your body both inside and out and how you're feeling. And I do think that people are going to have to, you know, I think people are looking at this and prioritizing. Like as you mentioned, people don't think about spending money on certain things like a Starbucks coffee or something else. So you just have to look at it like, so how is this fueling my body? It's not about deprivation. And what can we do to just lead our best lives and just, just genetically speaking and there's other things that we're gonna come up against and just giving yourself your best opportunity to tackle anything that comes your way.

Yeah, no, I love that, I love that. And gonna do a little off roading here. Cause you just inspired a question I had. But you talked about and I had this vision of what your life was. You and your husband both working in finance, both working full time jobs, raising the family, running. He wanted to run a marathon. Obviously you guys have had health and fitness in your lives. You incorporated that in your lives. And I'm curious as to how your perception and understanding of health has shifted. What was it in that version of your healthy versus what it is now?

So interesting. That's a great question. I think that when I was working at Putnam and running around and having kids and it was all driven on, okay, I need to go, go for a run because I need to lose the weight. My baby weight or it was all about, you know, externally how I looked.

Yeah.

And the shift came when I realized by fueling your body with healthy foods, like the impact that it has in the inside, which actually then transforms outward. So it was more of like from the inside out versus just external. Like what do I, you know, losing the baby weight or just maybe having a little bit more energy was a goal too, but it definitely was much, much different. So there was a huge transformation when I started to understand the connection of what types of foods that you put into your body and the impact that can have.

Yeah, no, I mean, I will be the first to admit I was a chronic Calorie counter and burner. Right. Like, what did I have? How many calories did I have? How can I go burn it off so that I. I'm losing weight, I feel fit. I can't have the apple because it's got sugar, but go ahead and give me that fat free cheese on my Weight Watchers bread.

Exactly. It's interesting because I still overcome those objections with a lot of my friends because the old way of thinking was focusing on just the calorie, not what it was doing for the body. And a bagel is not. And people still come in and ask about the calories. But I think when you really get, you just understand that it's really easy. You don't have to count calories when you're fueling your body with healthy foods that are nutrient dense.

Oh, my gosh. Yes. Retweet that. I mean, I am so relieved to not spend my life counting calories anymore.

It's so true. And I think that was the shift for me. And it's something that I still educate my customers on all the time. Just kind of understand when you're eating nutrient dense foods, you don't have to worry. You feel satisfied. You're not depriving your body in any way. This is not about deprivation, it's just fueling. And you just feel so good.

Yeah, I love that. So did you ever envision your life to be what it is right now? And so for those listeners, before you answer, I just want to make sure they understand that you have opened a shop, which originally was, you know, sounds like originally it was in your kitchen.

That was where I experimented for sure.

Yeah. Then you had this little. Oh. And I know that you've expanded beyond it, but you had this little tiny place in Medford, Right.

That was your original, like 200 square feet.

Oh, I just. There's something about that place that was so. I think that's because that's where I found it. Selfishness.

You know what? It's magical to me. And we just recently closed it, but it is where it all started. And it was what gave me the opportunity to take that plunge to say, I can do this and create these juices and people will come and they did. And that's exciting. Yes.

And then your next transition, your next growth was.

And then I was so I was in Boston in two gyms and that I did that for a couple of years and realized I made the decision to focus on my own flagship store. So I opened in Winchester, which was really exciting two years ago because that gave me an opportunity to have a kitchen, to be able to transition from the juices and the smoothies to food and making healthy options available for food, for people, for food.

Yes. And then you opened your newest location.

Beacon Hill, a year ago.

So great. I know. Unfortunately, you moved into Beacon Hill after I moved out, but that's okay.

I'm excited to go back into Boston. So Beacon Hill is a special place and I'm very excited about that. And then I have a new, exciting opportunity coming up in the summer, so I'll be in another location in Boston. And I'm super excited about that opportunity.

I have to say I am selfishly very excited for this next expansion that people can stay tuned for and learn more about. Hasn't been announced yet, but holy cow, is it exciting and super exciting.

And that's coming soon. We'll be able to announce that soon.

Yes. I can't wait. So looking at all this growth and I actually will say, I remember going to one of those gyms that you were in. The only time I ever went to it was because I was going to get juices.

I love it.

I know. So I never worked out there, but I hunted down when I was in the city to make sure to get my juice. But, you know, would you ever have predicted this is what your life would be like?

I couldn't imagine. And, you know, I'm grateful for the journey. I wouldn't wish a grief upon anyone, but I think there's, you know, a lot of different ways to approach it. And you can never get around grief. You have to go through it. And I feel like I did that, you know, I pushed through it and came out the other side and a stronger, you know, person. And, like, really like looking at things a lot differently. And I'm just so grateful for the journey. It's sad. And grief stays with you and it will always be there for my girls and I as a loss. But we've all come out the other side, being deeper people and looking at things very differently.

I love that you shared that. You have to go through it because, you know, I could never have been able to coach others. Right. Or talk about, you know, Layden's life and my grief journey if I hadn't gone through it. And, like, you gotta, like, you gotta put on, like, the boots and get. Go right into the swamp. Right. And just be there for a while.

And you have to just sit in those moments when it's really difficult. And, you know, I do think time softens, but it's Always there with you. But I think if you don't go through it, you're never going to be able to get to the other side of it.

Absolutely. And you know, I think that's a macro level of what we live on a micro level every day. So essentially saying on the big picture, like grief, like this huge, huge energy force. Right. To go through it, to then be able to give to others. But I think even on a daily basis, whether it's taking five minutes to get your mindset ready for the day or getting your workout in, or doing whatever you need to do to be really whole on a day to day basis, even if it's just a five minute commitment so that then you can give to others. Because I think too often we try to skip that and then give.

Absolutely. I mean, and I named my company Nourish youh Soul just for that exact reason that you just talked about. You know, you do have the food piece, but you also have the body piece and moving your body and then you have the spiritual piece of whatever it is for. You know, might be a yoga class, it might be sitting for five minutes and then just ground yourself and just take that time for yourself. But all of those have to work.

Together to truly nourish yourself 100%. Yeah, I love that. So looking at everything you've done, I know you're so humble. What do you feel the most proud of in your achievements?

I think I'm just the most proud that I've been able to take something that really healed and saved me and bring it to other people. And, you know, the rewards come when people like yourself tell me, you know, whether it's a big change like yourself or me, or just a small change, like, wow, I have more energy now, or whatever it might be that I'm changing lives. And I think I'm most proud of that and that my kids see that as well and know that, you know, no matter what their dream is, they need to push forward and do it because, you know, it can have tremendous effects.

Yeah. And when a lot of these listeners are, you know, they might be thinking, well, how do I get to where I want to go and how do I know when to start? Or I know I'm not satisfied in this job right now, how do I change it? Or I know that I'm not living my life in a way that's in alignment, how do I change it? Like, what would you tell them when they're just wondering, like, how.

Yeah, I think it's going to be different for Everyone. And I think that we all realize, especially when you have a significant loss, that life is too short. So you really have to kind of look at your life and see what really resonates with you and what you feel passionate about and move towards that. So if you're in a job that you're not happy with or, you know, you're not eating, whatever it might be, whatever your goals are, I think you need to just sit with it and kind of figure out what's going to make you happy. Because finding joy in life is critical, because we all know that you just. You just never know.

No, you never know. And I think one of the things like Leiden taught me is one, like, we're not meant to be on this earth to suffer, right? And I think a lot of times our society attributes suffering with success. Like, if you're really working hard, you really earn something, you're really worthy of it. Like, you've got to be suffering. And I think it's so important for people to realize, like, if there's resistance, listen to that. Because it shouldn't be a struggle. Like, energy has to flow through fluidly. Your creative energies, like, your financial energies, your emotional energies, like, all of them, it shouldn't be resistance. And so I think you're spot on in saying that it does. It looks different for everybody, but figuring out and taking the time to find out what's in alignment with their goals and values is exactly where they gotta start.

And then taking the risk and moving towards that goal, too. Like, having confidence. If you feel really strongly about something, there's gonna naysayers, and just because I had them, like, this is crazy. You don't know anything about this. Like, you just need to believe in yourself. When you feel strongly about something and you've thought it through and then. But you got to move. You got to move on it. Like, there has to be movement.

I'm so glad you said that, because I think too often, you know, much, and I call it messy action. Like, you got to just take messy action. But I think too often it's that, like, perfection paralysis or what other people are going to think or that resistance to getting uncomfortable. Like, pursuing your goals. Like, what you did, it wasn't necessarily comfortable. It wasn't like, oh, hey, like, I'm just gonna make juices, and this is all gonna work out. Like, I'm sure it was scary, overwhelming. Like, people are doubting you. You're a single mom raising your three girls, you know, and people are probably like, oh, Susan's gone. Off the deep end. You know, it's true.

You know, my neighbors, you know, complain. Like, there was definitely a lot of things, and I just overcame them and just pushed through and just stayed focused. And I think. I know maybe going off on a tangent, but, you know, staying focused, too, and not coming off that path, too, is really important because people always want to comment and say, you should do this, but just really staying true to what you believe in is really critical, too along my journey, too authenticity.

It comes out, it shines. I mean, it's so funny. I had so many. When I made the transition in mind, it was the same thing, you know, going from a very supported, very predictable, very safe, you know, role to, like, I think my mom is still like, so when are you gonna get a real job again, Melissa? And I'm like, no, mom. This is my real job now. But I love that, like, just not allowing other voices to kind of drown you out. That's such. Such valuable advice.

Absolutely. And learning you can't be everything to everybody, too, you know? So that's another thing about staying on the path and just doing what you believe is the right thing.

Yeah, completely. So I wanted to ask you a little bit about. To talk a little bit about gut health, how it's impacted you and your journey, which you alluded to. Obviously, gut health is really important to me, and I love how much nourish aligns with really having. Helping people, positioning them, because most people don't even know what gut health is. But what's so ironic, Susan, we've rescheduled a couple of times. You know, life gets crazy, and I always. I think I said to you, it'll work out exactly when it's supposed to or it'll be perfect when it. When it aligns.

Exactly.

Well, it aligned today, and today is actually international Neck awareness Day. And I didn't even realize that connection until just before we hopped on, because I was incredible. Yeah. So for listeners who don't know, neck necrotizing endocolitis, it's sick intestines, and it's actually the disease that cost my daughter her life. And I didn't know what neck was. I didn't know what gut health was. And I live, you know, and I fight that what if? What if? And all I can do now is spread awareness. And for me, gut health has changed my life. You know, it costs late in her life, but here you are in your work, doing so much for people to have healthy gut. They may not even realize it. So could you talk a little bit about how gut health has played into your work and your own life.

I think personally it's had a tremendous impact, but I would have to say when I first started, it came from a healing place and flooding your body with live foods and not understanding the connection. I think in the last couple years there's been so much more awareness that having a healthy gut impacts not only impacts so many things, your mental health, your physical health. And, you know, it's been, you know, it aligns exactly with what I was doing. So it was something that was nice to know that I was able to like, you know, what I've done can have that impact on people as well.

Yeah, yeah. So to be able to like, hold space for people who don't know. Right. Who don't know what gut health is and who aren't even sure. Like, they just know these foods make them feel better.

Yeah. And that's okay too. But it has such a tremendous impact when you really are, you know, healing the gut for sure. It can have a tremendous impact across so many different levels within the body.

Absolutely.

And I've known that personally for myself as well.

Yeah, I love that. And one of the things that you've done is, especially Boston based listeners keep an eye is Susan has done workshops to really educate. Right. Free workshops just to really. I think it's just so indicative of your true, sincere desire to educate and support people. Because I'll be honest, I see and I go crazy. I see gut health aisle at CVS and it is not gut healthy. And you put in a gut health hashtag on Instagram and it is like not gut healthy at all. And that's okay. People don't always have to choose gut healthy. I don't mind what people choose. Like you said, it's up to them. I don't get a vote in anyone else's choice, but I think for them to have the right information to make a decision is so important.

And I think being educated and helping people understand because I think nutrition is. There's so many diet books out there, there's so many different philosophies for people. And I honestly don't think it's super complicated, but you just have to get the right knowledge and education to make the best choices you can for yourself.

Yeah. I always say, like, we complicate things and then we spend so much energy on having to uncomplicate it.

Exactly.

Yeah. All right, so anyone listening who wants to go before we tell them where to find you, I would love to know, actually. I think I know which green juice is your favorite, but why don't you share some of your favorite products that you have or anything new coming out, I want to tell you mine. Maybe you can even guess them and then we'll let people know where they can find you.

Awesome. My two favorite juices are the Get Set and the Grapefruit green. All of our green juices detoxify. They flood your body with vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. But the get set has E3 live. And I just think we don't get some of those minerals from kale. I just love that combination of having the kale but then also having E3 live. So you get that from the spirulina. And then I love the grapefruit green because it has dandelion, which detoxifies the liver and fruit which has a ton of vitamin C. And then you get the kale and pear. So I love that combination and I do that on a regular basis. And we now we introduce celery juice. So I do have a celery juice every single day as well. Yes, I do. So I'm drinking three green juices, three juices every day to start my morning. But some of the new things that we've come out with I think is a great addition. We are doing bowls, so we have brown rice bowl with cauliflower, which has been a huge hit. And then we have our quinoa salad that is probably one of our best selling salads. So we have options for people for lunch. Sometimes people say to me, do you just drink juice all day long or smoothies? Are you just consuming liquids? But we have a lot of food that can nourish the body as well. So I'm excited about that. And then we've introduced some new products too, just recently, which is exciting. Like a glow salad that has a ton of things that just make you vibrant. And I'm excited about that and some of the seasonal things that we're launching.

Mm, I love that. And the celery juice has been amazing. Great addition. But anyone listening? If you're curious into other things, because I love talking about it, I am. You know, I've shifted from what my favorite things are. I think one of my favorite kind of snacks, craving something sweet, which happens less and less now. But when I was, I used to be addicted to refined sugar and in my gut, healing process. Like I was still craving a lot of sweets. And you have the best banana chocolate chip muffins that are gut friendly and all natural sugar. And those are still, like, I still love going in, having one of those with of course, the matcha matcha latte.

Yes. I knew you were going to say that, so I saved that for you. But I, you know, and one of the things that I really love about the muffins too, we have, you know, a couple of different options for people because you. Why, you know, a lot of people like, I can't eat a muffin. And you want to be able to provide things for people that you, you can make tasty food that used to be like, oh, no, I can't have it. Right. We're being restrictive that, you know, we have our one pulp muffin that we use the pulp of the juice.

Yes.

The vegetables and the fruit. I love that muffin with, you know, gluten free flour. So, you know, it's exciting to be able to do those combinations, especially within the categories of food that people think are no no's. I love being able to create things so people can have those healthy choices.

Yeah. And your cashew milk. I don't even know if you know this, but your cashew milk and your pumpkin muffin. I shifted my a little bit this year, but for my previous marathons, those were my pre marathon go tos. So I would have your cashew milk and I would add a little bit of coffee in it. I wasn't on the matcha train yet. And the pumpkin banana or no, the banana chocolate chip muffin.

I'm sorry.

Just the best fuel. Right. Like here I am for a marathon having a muffin. It was just talk about quality ingredients. And I love how you said it doesn't, you know, we don't have to think of food in terms of like good or bad. It's just understanding quality of ingredients. Right. And what they do for you.

Exactly.

Yeah. So I am actually probably gonna run down today to Beacon Hill and get myself a muffin because now I'm talking about it and that's all that I watch.

I love it.

So where can listeners find you? They want to check you out online on Instagram and stores. Where can they look?

So nourishyoursoul.com you can place orders online or you can visit our stores. We have. Our Winchester location is at 15 Thompson Street. And at Beacon Hill, it's 282 Cambridge Street. You can follow us on Instagra at it's nourish your soul Juice. And stay tuned for some exciting news about the third location that will be opening this summer. So that's where you can find us.

Awesome. Thank you. So much for taking time. I think that I really do say Layden points me to where I need to be. And I mean, Susan, my entire you're so humble. But my entire life and business right now is inspired around gut health and coaching and empowering. And my very first kind of positive experience with gut health after losing Laden to a sick gut was at Nourish youh Soul. Right. And not even knowing that we were linked in grief journeys. And here we are speaking. I think Layton just gives signs. I'm just going to say it, but here we are speaking on neck awareness day. Right.

It's incredible.

It's incredible. Yeah.

So thank you for inspiring me, too, and all the work that you're doing. And I appreciate you having me on today. And it's great to be able to kind of share my story. And I hope people find us.