The Livin'Sky Podcast

If your child lives on pasta, crackers, fruit, and snacks and refuses meat, eggs, or protein… this episode is for you.

This is one of the most common patterns I see as a pediatric feeding specialist and one of the most misunderstood.

In this episode, I break down why picky eating is not just a phase or a behavior problem, but a signal that something deeper is going on in your child’s body. We walk through the real root causes behind carb-heavy eating patterns and why pushing, bribing, or forcing protein often backfires.

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When a child struggles with food, parents are often told one of two things:

“They’ll grow out of it” or “you need to push harder.”

But what if neither of those is actually helpful?

In this episode of The Livin’Sky Podcast, I sit down with eating disorder expert, educator, and speaker Jessica Setnick to talk about what’s really happening beneath picky eating, food anxiety, and eating challenges in children.

We talk about how to recognize red flags without panicking, why ARFID is often misunderstood...

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In this bonus episode of The Livin’Sky Podcast, I’m sharing a replay of my Beyond Picky Eating workshop.

If your child eats a limited number of foods, refuses certain textures, or mealtimes feel stressful, this episode will help you understand what’s really going on.

You’ll learn why picky eating is often not just behavior, but a reflection of the child’s nervous system, sensory experience, gut health, and overall development.

We’ll walk through a whole-child approach to help children feel safer around...

Most conversations around childhood apraxia of speech focus on one thing: speech.

But what if we’re missing the bigger picture?

In this episode, I sit down with Dhana Cohen, executive director of Apraxia Voice, to talk about a different approach, one that looks beyond speech alone and considers the whole child.

We talk about what apraxia really is, why so many families feel lost after a diagnosis, and how factors like nervous system regulation, nutrition, movement, and overall health may play a role in supporting better outcomes.

This conversation is es...

In this episode of The Livin’ Sky Podcast, I sit down with Linsey Knerl, author of Homeschool Hacks and a homeschooling mom of six, for a grounded and honest conversation about what homeschooling really looks like in real family life.

We talk about why more parents are considering homeschooling, how to make it work without burnout, and why homeschooling does not have to mean perfection, isolation, or doing everything yourself. Lindsay shares what she has learned from over two decades of homeschooling, including how to support different learning styles, balance work and home education, think about technology, cr...

Welcome to Season 4 of The Livin’Sky Podcast.

In this powerful opening episode, Lena Livinsky, M.A., CCC-SLP, shares a deeply personal story from her childhood in Poland that completely changed how she understands picky eating today.

This episode goes beyond typical feeding advice and explores the deeper root of picky eating: food stories.

Food stories are the emotional experiences children attach to food. They are shaped by connection, environment, sensory input, and nervous system regulation. And they influence how a child eats for years to come.

If...

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:

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...

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...

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...

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 r...

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

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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 he...

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 li...

What if posture isn’t about sitting up straight — but about how your child breathes, moves, eats, and connects?

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Kasia Galica, certified strength and conditioning specialist, movement coach, and founder of Move with Kasia. Kasia brings an incredibly refreshing and science-backed perspective on posture and postural restoration — showing us that alignment isn’t rigid or aesthetic, but deeply tied to how the nervous system, breath, and sensory system communicate.

Together, we explore:

If your child’s mealtimes feel like a daily battle — you’re not alone. In this solo episode, pediatric speech-language pathologist and holistic feeding specialist Lena Livinsky helps you understand why picky eating happens and how to start making real progress without pressure or stress.

Lena breaks down the hidden biological, emotional, and environmental factors that shape your child’s eating — from gut health and oral motor skills to sensory overload and mealtime anxiety — and introduces her B.L.O.O.M.™ Framework, a whole-child approach to feeding.

You’ll also learn The 5-S...