Day 21, Stage 4 (day 5)

I had a minor setback.  Well, not really a set back.  My husband wanted to start GAPS.  So for the past two days I had been getting him on track as much as possible.  Yesterday, day 2, he informed me that he was done.  He needed food options.  Really...day 2?  He wanted to start GAPS for weight loss and overall health...but he wasn't that invested in it.  So, he's off GAPS and I'm back on track. 

Benefits of having both parents on GAPS - only feeling compelled to make one meal instead of two or three.  The children, who have protested soups and deemed me at the worst mom and cook ever, have now fallen in love with the ground beef and broccoli soup.  My middle son, who is 4, said, "Thank you mom, for making a soup that we like.  I just love you!"  I smiled, hugged him and said, "You're welcome, sweetie."  I was thinking, however, "This is the same stinkin' soup I've been making every two days for the past 3 weeks!"

Yesterday morning I had this breakfast:


avocado, scrambled eggs with onion in coconut oil


This morning I had this breakfast:

Two scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil.  Sauteed onions in pork fat and coconut oil. 
Homemade sausage patties:

1 lb ground pork
1-2 tbs sage
1 tbs thyme
some sea salt, freshly ground pepper
some cayenne pepper - I think I did about 6-7 shakes of the bottle.  I was afraid of it being too spicy for the kids.

Mix well, form into patties, bake at 350 until done.  If I can smell them, they're done. 

Day 18, Stage 4 (day 2)

Today was pretty boring as far as food goes.  I was out a lot, so I made my ol' standby - broccoli and ground beef soup with onions and garlic.  I made a big pot and brought it from place to place, stopping at home to fill up as needed. 

My cravings are disappearing.  People can eat bread and sweets in front of me and I don't feel like taking them down like a crazed hyena only to rip away their sacred treat. 

I start the day off with a glass of water and my probiotics. 

A half hour to an hour later (depending on how the morning is going) I have my juiced carrots, celery, beet and ginger along with my cod liver oil supplements. 

I just think it's so pretty, don't you?

I do mix it before drinking. 

While I'm drinking the juice, I'm cooking either pancakes, eggs or soup. 

There is plenty of time to allow for my body to digest the probiotics, juice and cod liver oil.  I simmer the soup for 25 minutes.  And then it needs to cool.  If I'm making pancakes, it takes that long, too. 

I made soured cream the other day.  I poured a gallon of raw milk into a pitcher.  I waited 24 hours.  I took it out of the fridge and carefully scooped the cream off the top.  Use a pitcher you can see through.  There will be a definitive line separating the cream from the milk.  I put the cream into a 32oz glass jar.  I added 3 heaping tablespoons of greek yogurt.  I wrapped it in a towel, put it next to my crockpot and left it there for 24 hours.  It went into the fridge until I needed it. 
It definitely smelled soured.  But not bad...just sour.  And it was thick.  I mean thick. 

I was able to incorporate it into soups very nicely.  It went into yesterday's asparagus soup.  Yum.  It doesn't taste sour in the soups.  It was pretty yummy on it's own, too.  It'll be nice when I can have a little honey with it.  *drool*

Day 17, Stage 4 (day 1)

Non-boiled food.  *heavenly sigh*
Tonight I had a pork chop.  Baked w/sage, salt and pepper sprinkled on it.  I had wanted to brine it overnight but I just plum forgot.  I read a awhile ago that pork negatively affects your red blood cells.  When you eat it, it's makes them all go crazy.  That is, unless it is marinated for 8+ hours in apple cider vinegar, or some acv concoction - like bbq sauce.  Also, bacon does not have this same effect because it's salted and smoked.  So, I try to soak my pork before I eat it.  I can imagine what the pork chop I just ate is doing to my precious little blood cells right now. 
The following pictures are from the Weston A. Price Foundation site.


FIGURE 1. Microphotograph of blood of male, 52, before consuming the unmarinated cooked pork chop. RBCs are seen as round cells, and small white patches of platelet aggregates are seen. This is the picture of normal, healthy blood.




FIGURE 3. Microphotograph of blood of male, 52, five hours after consuming the unmarinated cooked pork chop. RBCs are entirely stuck together in rouleaux (stacks of coins) formations, and a high level of fibrin, white threads, means that early blood clotting has transpired.


I didn't have time to take a picture of anything tonight...dinner was rushed and I was starving.

I made a delicious creamy asparagus soup:

1 bunch of asparagus cut into chunks
1/2 sweet onion
1 clove garlic
3 cups of chicken broth
sea salt
pepper
4 tbs. coconut oil/butter or both

1 cup soured cream

Saute the onion and garlic on medium in the fat until translucent.  I used 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter to appease my family's tastes.
Add in asparagus, salt and pepper.  Saute a little longer...maybe 5 minutes.
Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
Puree in blender or using an immersion blender.  Puree well - the asparagus is stringy and if you don't puree enough you'll end up with thread-like stringy pieces that compromise the overall enjoyment of the soup.  My kids can attest to that. 
Stir in 1 cup soured cream until throroughly mixed in.  Yum.

It was a beautiful light green and super creamy.  It was good even after it was room temperature.  I'll be making this one again. 

I've also been doing well with the soured cream.  I have not been gassy at all.  Hopefully my blood cells will settle down and stop clotting for no good reason.

Day 15, Stage 3, Day 6

I made the pancakes again.  This time I used raw sunflower seeds.  I blended all the ingredients in the food processor.  They were not smooth and thin like the other ones.  They were puffier and had bits of sunflower seed in them, giving them texture.  I liked them much better. 


Add caption

New pancake recipe:  2 eggs (we have chickens, so our eggs are super fresh), 1 cup cooked butternut squash, 1 cup sunflower seeds. 

Mix everything up until it's all blended.  It won't be totally smooth, or at least my very old food processor didn't let it get smooth, but that's okay. 

See how much fluffier they are?  Well, maybe not fluffy, but they're thicker and dense and nuttier...or seedier.  Nuttier sounds more delicious than seedier.  Seedier just sounds...suspect. 

I also scrambled an egg, with leftover egg whites from all those egg yolks I had been eating, with some coconut oil.  I have not made any ghee yet. 

Combined with half an avocado and I was totally content with my breakfast.  My husband even enjoyed some and actually had another serving.  I think aliens might have taken over his body.

Day 14, Stage 3 (day 5)

Bubbies Sauerkraut and dill pickles.  I love their pickles!  And they are naturally fermented.  Perfection.
I had never had sauerkraut until today.  I have to be honest.  Off the fork to the mouth...it was terrible.  Well, maybe not terrible.  But it wasn't good.  Mixed in my soup, well, that's another story.  It added a wonderful flavor.

Today's Soup:

1lb ground beef
2 small tomatoes
1 sweet onion
1 small head broccoli
3 cloves garlic
1 turnip
1/8 orange pepper
sea salt
pepper
basil
1 poached egg
2 tbs Bubbies sauerkraut

I've been eating it all day.  It's super yummy. 
My husband has decided to try GAPS for heartburn, crankiness and general overall well-being.  He'll start at the end of the week.  This is going to get interesting!

Day 13, Stage 3 (day 4)

I used a fork today.  It's the little things that make me happy.  I made pancakes today.  My 2-year-old, who is carb happy, ate them and wanted more.  I drizzled a little honey on them for him.  He was in love.

Sunbutter Pancakes

1/2 cup sunbutter
2 cups butternut squash, cooked
3 eggs

Mix all together in blender.  Pour in hot skillet and cook for until bubbles appear, like with "regular" pancakes.  Then flip and cook through...about 1 minute.

I ate them for breakfast.  I also took some along on our family night outing.  Those and a bowl of soup.  The rest of the family had pizza and ice cream.  Fortunately, the owner of the restaurant we went to was kind enough to let me bring in my soup and eat it there.  I was fully prepared to eat it in the car. 

What I've noticed so far - I wake up better.  Prior to GAPS intro, I would go to sleep and sack out.  When presented with my husband waking up and trying to get me up, I was super resistant and cranky.  I would roll over and tell him to go away. 
Now, I actually go to sleep at the same time, sack out, and wake up moments before I need to get up and I'm okay with it. 

I've also noticed that my menstruation is a lot different.  I used to get a migraine a few days before it would start.  I'd get medium cramping at the start and would get painful constipation.  I would be gassy, too.  I've been on GAPS for almost 2 weeks.  My "migraine" came and went with only a glimmer of a headache.  It started and I thought, "Oh, here it comes." I went to bed and woke up without a headache.  It came back for a couple of hours the other day, but wasn't nearly as blinding...nothing even close.  I haven't had any cramping or pain. 

The last difference I've noticed is that I have no body odor.  Now, this is huge.  I mean HUGE.  I have been using coconut oil mixed with a wee bit of baking soda as my deodorant.  It's been a blessing.  But since I've had psoriasis I've only been using coconut oil as the baking soda aggravated the dry spots.  I'm not stinky.  It's pretty amazing stuff. 

How has GAPS benefited your life?

Day 12, Stage 3 (day 3)

Today is Thursday again.  I managed very well today while not being at home.  I remembered food.  I actually brought too much.  I was going to attempt making pancakes with sunbutter (we're allergic to nuts), eggs and winter squash.  I couldn't find the time.  No.  That's not really it.  There isn't a concrete recipe in the GAPS book, so I think I was a bit intimidated by the thought of winging it.  I found a recipe for squash pancakes on Health, Home & Happiness, so I'll try those tomorrow. 

This is day number two with avocado incorporated into my soups.  No adverse reactions. 
I'm still eating kimchi.  I'll be heading out to find Bubbies pickles tomorrow.  And probably sauerkraut.  I'll give it another go. 

Tonight I had another soup.  For me, soups are easy meals.  The less dishes I need to clean, the better, especially since I'm cooking a completely other meal for the rest of my family.

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 sweet onion
1 small zucchini
2 plum tomatoes
handful of dried eggplant (from last summer's harvest)
3 cloves garlic
sea salt
pepper
2 tsp. dried basil (from last summer's garden)

boil 25 minutes.

I ate my kimchi on the side.  There's a poached egg at the bottom of the soup somewhere.  I'm skipping the avocado with this meal.  I ate a whole avocado between breakfast and lunch. 

I also juiced a lot today. 
6 carrots
2 celery stalks
1/2 inch slice of ginger (about an inch and a half diameter)

Day 11, Stage 3 (day 2)

This morning I upped my juicing.  I added in a celery rib and some ginger.  I overdid the ginger, so then I upped the carrots.  I ended up with a super large glass of juice.  It was yummy and I think it helped with constipation a bit. 

Tonight I added in avocado.  I love avocado.  I've missed avocado.  Avocado is just so creamy and delicious.  *sigh*

It was so nice to have a favorite food back in rotation.  It added a very nice dimension to my soup. 

I thought if I added the egg into my soup after it was done boiling it would cook enough.  It didn't.  Note to self:  Just poach the egg. 
Soft-boiled eggs don't peel well for me.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know. 

Also, no gas or constipation today.  Three cheers!

2 chicken breast halves
1 small zucchini
1 head of broccoli
1 sweet onion
sea salt
rosemary
pepper

Added in after cooking:
1/4 cup kimchi
1 egg
1/4 avocado

Day 10, Stage 3

Today I added in egg whites.  I became gassy a few hours later, but I'm not sure if that's from the egg whites or from being constipated.  Oh, the things I share on the Internet!

1/2 lb stew beef
1/2 sweet onion
2 handfuls of cauliflower
handful of peas.  Oh, yeah, I added in peas today.
1/2 cup of carrot pulp
boil for 25 minutes
Added in after cooking:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 soft-boiled egg
1/4 cup kimchi

Day 7 & 8 - Stage 2 (day 4,5)

I am in love with carrot juice.  Who knew?!

I bought a GE Juice Extractor from Walmart.  It has a 2-year warranty.  There are five parts to clean.  The screen/filter on the inside isn't too tough or too easy.  The little carrot pits get stuck a bit.  But it's not horrendous to clean. 

I juiced 4 carrots yesterday and 10 today.  It breaks down to about an ounce of juice per carrot. 

I drank 4oz of juice yesterday.  I probably drank another 4oz today.  My husband and one of my boys drank some too.  I am pleased to say that my constipation issues got resolved.  Yay!

Type 1 has spent the longest time in the colon and type 7 has spent the least.  Stools at the lumpy end of the scale are hard to pass and often require a lot of straining.  Stools at the loose or liquid end of the spectrum can be too easy to pass - the need to pass them is urgent and accidents can happen.  The ideal stools are types 3 and 4, especially type 4, as they are most likely to glide out without any fuss.

I made a pretty yummy broccoli soup yesterday.  I'll add more of each veggie next time to increase the flavor.  It was a little overrun by the chicken broth.  Or perhaps do half broth and half water. 

3 chunks of broccoli (thick stems with several florets)

1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 sm. zucchini

sea salt

broth

boil 25 minutes and then puree. 

This soup is good for on-the-go.  I am used to bringing smoothies wherever I go.  Pureed soups are a nice substitute for that.  You don't need a spoon and you can just pour it into a mason jar.  

Today I made another pureed soup for my traveling needs.  Being a homeschooling mom, we're in the car a lot.  I need snacks.

I made a big batch of this to keep for the week.  You could probably freeze portions and take out when needed.  I know I'll need these within the next couple of days, so I just threw them in the refrigerator. 

1 butternut squash, peeled

1 bag organic carrots

1 sweet onion - large

6 cloves of garlic

5 cups of broth

4 cups of water

ginger - 1" x 4"

Peel and cut all veggies into chunks.  Boil everything for 30 minutes and puree. 

I had a bowl and left a bowl for my husbands lunch tomorrow.  There was enough left to fill three 32oz jars.

They are all the same color, they just look different due to the lighting. 

I didn't know what to do with the pulp so I enlisted the help from some friends.  Throw it in soups or casseroles or cookies or crackers.  They pretty much said to put it wherever you can fit it.  I found a recipe for a raw basil cracker, which I will attempt once I get to that stage. It sounds absolutely divine.



Day 6 - Stage 2 (day 3)

I'm feeling pretty good so far.  I haven't had any negative reactions to the diet or introduction of foods.  Yesterday I introduced Brussel sprouts into my soup.  Today I'm trying to introduce a little homemade yogurt. I also made a large batch of soup so I won't have to spend time cooking and letting it cool.  I'm hoping this feeds me all day.  I'm actually thinking it'll be good for two meals. 


Breasts of 1 small chicken
10 Brussel sprouts
3 carrots
1 sweet onion
sea salt
broth to cover




Soup with egg yolk and 1 tsp of raw homemade cow's milk yogurt




All mixed up

I'll add some kimchi once it cools down. 

I have a date with my oldest son tonight.  A little one-on-one time.  We're going to the movies and out to eat.  I'll probably watch him eat while I drink some tea and broth.  Unless there's something I can eat, which I doubt, at Whole Foods Market.