Kristen Kish Shares the Gut-Healthy Foods She Eats While Traveling

Kristen Kish wants you to take care of your gut.

That’s why the Top Chef host recently partnered with Iberogast to help spread awareness about the need for gut-healthy ingredients to be incorporated into a standard eating pattern. Due to this partnership, I was invited to interview Kish in-person at Dante West Village in New York, where I devoured a gut health-friendly lunch (including sourdough and marinated olives from Kish’s Austin restaurant, Arlo Grey!) and spoke with the chef about how she prioritizes her gut in her own routine.

Read on for more about Kish’s go-to fermented foods, the hydrating drink she has every morning and the surprising way she prepares her favorite vegetable in this exclusive.

EatingWell: Is there anything that you do in your daily routine for your gut health?

Kish: All of it. I’m working out for my gut health, muscle health and cardiovascular health every morning. And every morning, I drink water and lemon, it’s really hydrating. Anything from getting enough sleep when I travel to incorporating some more nutrition back into my routine when I’m on the road.

EatingWell: What are your go-to travel foods that help you feel your best?

Kish: Honestly, sauerkraut and kimchi. No matter where you travel in the world, fermented food across all cultures are very much apparent and available. And to me that’s what I like to do because sometimes you can’t control all the things that you want to eat. Sometimes you just want to eat really delicious things! So it’s fermented food for me.

EatingWell: Why partner with Iberogast?

Kish: My gut health wellness journey goes beyond my own gut. It’s taking care of myself as I get older as I have someone else that I live my life for. I am all for incorporating anything that can be of benefit, willing to try anything and I’m willing to research and understand more. Anything that is powered by plants is always going to win for me because I used to take name-brand stomach tablets that didn’t work for me, so anytime that I can lean into something more natural is ideal.

EatingWell: Favorite vegetable and favorite way to prepare it?

Kish: OK, honestly, you’re going to be like, “Are you sure you’re a professional chef?” I’m not even joking, it comes from my childhood: my favorite vegetable is broccoli, but I like it slightly overcooked. I like it a little bit mushy. And then I put butter and soy sauce on it. I think it’s because it’s how my mom used to make it. I eat bowls and bowls on its own, or just with white rice or any kind of vegetable. A perfectly cooked piece of broccoli is overcooked, quote me on that.

EatingWell: Any summer plans? 

Kish: It’s the second year of having our own garden. So we’re growing all of our own lettuce, potatoes, carrots. Our sugar snap peas are [abundant], and you just eat them right off the vine. Oh my gosh, they’re so sweet and so crunchy and delicious. Raw tomatoes are just coming in. So our garden is like the focus at the moment, and then we’ll start filming season 22 of Top Chef.

EatingWell: What has been the hardest thing to grow?

Kish: When you’re first starting out, everything. Everything is hard. My wife does the gardening, I do the cooking of the items in our garden. Our potatoes are a little short this year, we didn’t get as many as we wanted. I think it was a little underwater, but it’s something to learn for next year.