Spa it Girl chats exclusively with Felicity Evans, Author of PROBIOTIC DRINKS AT HOME (Murdoch Books) to find out more about her Gut Friendly Recipes and Healthy Lifestyle tips.
Here is our exclusive Spa it Girl Q&A with Felicity Evans:
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I’m a creator, lover and Mumma, aiming to add more goodness and beauty to the world. I produce a range of handcrafted probiotic water kefir drinks and teach people how to make their own probiotic drinks with my book, Probiotic Drinks at Home.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVErmLqh-lr/?taken-by=imbibeliving
You are a Alchemist, what does that really mean? Alchemy is the process of transforming one thing into another, and that is exactly what I do – I transform a flat collection of ingredients into a fizzy delicious probiotic drink, called water kefir.
What inspired you to create IMBIBE Living? I had a a health crisis and needed to heal myself. My research lead me to the importance of gut health and probiotics to overall wellness. So with a baby strapped to my chest and another at my heels, I started to ferment drinks in the hope that they would help me get better. And they worked!
What is the meaning of IMBIBE Living? IMBIBE LIVING is a way of living – with more energy and radiance in your everyday. Imbibe is an English word meaning “to drink” or “to absorb” and I hope people will absorb much goodness through my creations. It’s also the name of my company!
We see you make Kefir can you tell us more about this? “Kefir” is a Turkish word meaning “feel good” and that’s exactly how you feel after drinking water kefir, you feel really good! It’s a living fermented probiotic drink that’s low in sugar and high in enzymes and probiotics.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU6CZV5hiNq/?taken-by=imbibeliving
What is a Probiotic Drink? an the health benefits of drinking it? A probiotic drink is a liquid with probiotics in it. The word “Probiotic” literally means “for life” – and that is their function, they give you more life!
I prefer to get my probiotics from wholefood living sources like fermented products, rather than pills that are made in a lab.
The benefits are so many and varied – we are outnumbered around 10:1 bacteria to human cells, so we need to help these guys out by adding more good bacteria (probiotics) to our systems to help outnumber the bad bacteria.
Should we be having a probiotic tablet and a probiotic drink daily? Or just one or the other? It’s up to each individual. If you need to take a specific strain for a specific purpose, then go ahead. But I find that taking a variety of probiotic food-based products, like a water kefir, kim chi, sauerkraut, beet kvass will give you a living and broad range of probiotics to enjoy.
Plus they taste delicious!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUZAHJcBKE3/?taken-by=imbibeliving
We see you sell DIY Kombucha Kit’s and all you have to do is add water how long does it then take to ferment? Yes, I wanted to make the process of fermentation fun, easy and accessible. So I created something that I wish I had at the beginning of my journey to adding more probiotics to my life.
It’s a jar that could change your life! It contains everything you need to start making either water kefir or kombucha.
It takes between 5 – 15 days to ferment.
There is a free comprehensive Ebook that goes with the kit that has everything you need to get you started, including a video tutorial.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUVaEj0B44J/?taken-by=imbibeliving
What is Kombucha? It’s known as the “Immortal Elixir”, and ancient fermented Chinese Tea. A base of tea and sugar is fermented with a SCOBY (a culture).
What are benefits of drinking Kombucha? Just like any probiotic drink, it has enzymes and probiotic s for overall great health. Plus you get the benefit of the ingredients you can add to it to make it more potent.
We hear a lot on social media that gut health is linked to your brain health do you believe in this also? Oh yes, it’s not just a saying, it’s a medical fact. The vagus nerve connects the gut to the brain like a superhighway and this constantly sends messages between the two.
Plus the gut creates a range of hormones, including serotonin, the happy hormone. In fact, more serotonin is made in the gut than the brain!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUTlPifByKh/?taken-by=imbibeliving
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to Detox? Yes, there is a video and blog post on detoxing on the website imbibeliving.com
My belief is that devoting happens every minute of everyday – the body is wired to detox!
Here are some simple tips:
1. Eat local and organic
2. Turn your home into a jungle – invest in some green leafy plants for cleaner air
3. Drink pure filtered water
4. Take a probiotic drink daily to help with elimination
How do you like to Keep Healthy and Fit? Well, like many woman, I am juggling many different roles – wife, Mother, CEO, daughter, friend, sister and most days, it’s incredibly exhausting trying to fit it all in!
I’ve had to accept the cold hard fact that trying to do it all is going to stress me out. So, I have to take an overall look at staying healthy, well and fit.
Nutrition: This will never waver – you won’t ever see me through drive through or chomping on a sugary fake cake. Its gotta be whole food, preferably organic, preferably local and definitely cooked with love.
Fitness: This has defiantely taken a back seat. I focus on more yin activities that are calming to my nervous system. So you wont find me at cross fit or a noisy gym. At my stage of life it’s all about nourish and nurture.
What does a day on the plate look like for you? Slow and low cooked foods. Lots of tea. Lots of variety. Lots of healthy saturated fats.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVTbXv8HpoT/?taken-by=imbibeliving
What about your drinks? I have an Imbibe Living water kefir every day and swear by it for the probiotics it gives me. I also am obsessed with Beet Kvass, a liver cleansing drink.
As a busy mother do you have any tips on how to keep the balance? REST. Be patient. Look after yourself. The rest will fall into place and if it doesn’t, its ok. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
images and recipes from Probiotic Drinks at Home by Felicity Evans (Murdoch Books RRP $27.99)
How did you manage to fit in writing a book to your already busy life? I’m not going to lie and say it was easy, because it wasn’t! It took a lot of grit, long hours and sacrifices (like exercise!). But I would not have it any other way.
What made you want to share your own recipes when you could have simply continued to make the ready made products only? Because I want to cater to people whatever stage of life they are on. For example, a large portion of my community are corporate women and health is the top priority, but they don’t have the time to make their own drinks – so I deliver direct to their homes.
Others may be at a different stage of life, where they are spending more time at home and they may have more time to be in the kitchen and are fascinated with fermentation – so I can support them there. It’s about being available wherever people are at in their journey and serving them at each point of their lives.
What has been the most exciting thing about becoming a published author? To be able to inspire others to access probiotic nutrition.
What do you love most about your brand new published book by Murdoch Books? That it’s so beautiful!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUq7UyXBmtz/?taken-by=imbibeliving
With everything you do, do still manage to get enough sleep? Yes, sleep is my number one – at least 8 hours a night.
What’s Next For You? To fill up with more space, love and light. And hopefully another book! I’m working at getting Imbibe across more shelves in Australia, so watch this space.
How can we stay in Contact with you?
website: imbibeliving.com
instagram: @imbibeliving
facebook: Imbibe Living
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*images from Probiotic Drinks at Home by Felicity Evans (Murdoch Books RRP $27.99)
*images from instagram @imbibeliving