Classic Gazpacho with Avocado & Mango is the perfect summer meal for a hot day or night! 

Happy Monday, everyone! Between working on my book and traveling (I'm currently in New Orleans), I've been a little overwhelmed, so I reached out to my dear friend Carley to see if she would be interested in doing a guest post. I was thrilled when she agreed, and I'm so excited to share her amazing recipe today. Carley is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and the genius behind Fairy Gut Mother. Hope you love!  xo Candace

PSA: Don't forget to enter this week's Back to School giveaway where we're sharing stories from the good ol' days (jk those days were not so great haha). Also, our Costa Rica yoga retreat is happening in November! I'd love for you to join us! And, we're down to our last few YBC Holiday Mantra Boxes - our awesome discovery box - so order now if you'd like one! Lastly, if you have the YBC App and take a min to review it, send a screenshot of your review to Lauren and we'll send you a little something in thanks.

While I was out in Michigan visiting my husband last week, I had an entire day to myself while he was on the road. It was one of those beautiful days that perfectly blends summer and fall, and has just the hint of a chill in the air. It was toward the end of my stay, and I thought I'd make a big ol' pot of soup so my husband could have some to bring to work in the coming days. 

One of my spring goals as part of my partnership with Kohl's #MakeYourMove campaign, is to take better care of myself, so I've been making the commitment to take the time to make bone broths.

Monday was one of those perpetually grey, drizzly days that are perfect for a homemade soup. I was craving tomato soup so I picked up the tomatoes, along with celery and carrots and hoped for the best. The only thing I would've changed is the amount of carrots I used- I think one less would've made it perfect. For a garnish I used our homemade sour cream. Sour cream is ridiculously easy to make, is a healthy, healing probiotic food and an essential component to the GAPS diet. You can get the recipe in my eBook (along with a bunch of others, yoga sequences and meditation prompts) for free when you sign up for the YogaByCandace newsletter.

Butternut squash is one of my favorite cold weather foods. Whipped in the blender with a little butter is my favorite way to eat it, but the other day I switched it up and used it as the main part of a soup. It came out creamy and filling, but not too heavy, and was so good we had it for lunch the next day. 

I'm going strong on the GAPS diet and I'm approaching the four month mark this January. I have seen so much improvement in my health, that I'm happily continuing the diet in an attempt to heal my stomach after longterm antibiotic use. This is the latest soup I've added to my list of healthy soups. It's one of those soups where you can throw in whatever veggies you've got in the fridge and it's pretty much guaranteed to taste great. 

In case you're wondering, it isn't easy to make a fish soup look appetizing in photographs. However, this soup tastes so good that I'm going against my better judgment and sharing the pictures with you anyway. 

Truth be told, I've always been too intimidated to do anything with fish besides bake it. Unless it's salmon, I never know when it's fully cooked, and after too many failed attempts with cod, I decided it's just easier to stick with chicken or some other meat. 

It's pretty safe to say that pumpkin reigns over fall food and drink, so I was eager to experiment with it this season. I've never had pumpkin that wasn't from a can (is that weird?), so it seemed sort of daunting to me to use the real deal. I realize now that...

This is the first year I've started cooking with beets, and I'm just starting to develop a taste for them. As long as the beet flavor isn't too powerful, like in beet brownies or this liver cleansing beet juice, I'm happy. The other day I made this roasted beet and butternut squash soup. It's easily customizable if you don't eat meat, too. Perfect for fall, this is a hearty yet healthy soup. 

Packed with vitamins A and K, a ton of fiber, and anti-inflammatory properties, broccoli is a powerhouse in the veggie world. Arugula also has vitamin K, lots of fiber and anti-inflammatory properties, but it also is high in B vitamins making it beneficial for hair, nails and skin. This recipe comes from It's All Good, but I altered it a bit, as the first time I made this soup it came out too watery. You can make it in 10 minutes...

We bit the bullet and bought our own vitamix. My mom had generously given us hers for the summer, but Whole Foods had a vitamix rep who offered a deal we couldn't refuse and now we don't have to inconvenience my mom for hers. The temps have been in the 80s all week so I made this soup inspired by a sweet potato recipe in thisbook and served it cold. I'm not usually a big fan of cold soups, but this worked well. It's a blended soup, so it had this whipped consistency which I loved. It took five minutes to make, so if you're looking for an easy meal this is the one to try.

Miso soup is a favorite of mine and I never realized how easy it was to make. I also had no idea it was actually healthy for you. Miso itself has anti-aging properties, and is packed with vitamins B12, B2, K, and E. It is also good for the skin due to its linoleic acid. Who knew?! Wakame, the seaweed in miso, is also really good for you. It's loaded with magnesium, iron, and vitamins A, C, E, K and B12. Paired with the fact that it's so easy to throw together makes this a no-brainer. Here's what I did: 

Every once in a while I wake up with a very specific idea of what I want to eat that day and I am psyched when I throw it all together and it comes out just as I had imagined. This soup was one such example. It's still pretty chilly up north so I wanted a soup to warm me up, but I didn't want it as hearty as my go-to lentil soup. I threw the following ingredients together and it was a success. C'mon, warm weather! 

Two food posts in one day! Maybe make this first and have the avocado chocolate pudding for dessert. Anyway, enticed by its bright color I made this soup on a cold dreary day last week. I used this recipe as a guide, but I changed a couple things. I left out the garam masala because I didn't have it, and used cinnamon instead. And I don't really like the texture of cauliflower when it's whole, so I blended everything.

I love making soup because it's relatively easy and lasts for a long time. I made this soup on a Sunday, just throwing in whatever I had around, and it lasted well into the week for easy lunches. I keep telling myself spring is just around the corner, but until then this is perfect to warm you up on a cold, dark winter day. 

Not surprisingly, soup is not the easiest dish to photograph. I mean there's really no way to truly capture how hearty nor how flavorful a soup is in a mere photo, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Lentil soup is a winter staple in my house because nothing quite warms you up the same way. Well, except for maybe whiskey or something, but we're trying to keep it healthy around here. :) Speaking of health, lentils are packed with fiber and protein, low in fat and are easy to digest. 

At the first signs of the new chilly season, I made this soup. It is accidentally more spicy than it needs to be, but I guess it will get you sweating and warm that body right up, huh? :) It's easy to make, but does take a while on the stove. Here's what to do: 

My mom was in town for the past few weeks and the other day she made such a good beef barley soup that I thought I'd share with you all. Vegetarians can leave out the beef- this would still be a delicious, hearty soup even without it. Hope you enjoy!