GAPS | Stage 2

Posted on January 20, 2013

jar1The second stage of the GAPS intro diet allows raw or soft boiled egg yolk to be introduced to your diet.

In the past, both my husband and I have shown sensitivity to eggs on food allergy tests so I tried the suggested sensitivity test from in GAPS book. I was a bit skeptical, but followed the directions as placing a drop of the food in question on the inside of your wrist let it dry and leave it there overnight. If you wake up the next day and the area is red and irritated, then do not attempt to introduce that particular food at that time, if there is no reaction, however, you are free to introduce that food.

I had no reaction and happily had my very first raw egg yolk this morning. I mixed it into a warm cup of broth & topped it off with a splash of sauerkraut juice. Not too bad!

Starting week 2 and we feel pretty good. My husbands bloating has dramatically decreased and his skin is clearing up from the dry flakiness he had been experiencing before we started. I, on the other hand, have had some minor skin break outs, which I think are due to the detoxification process my body is going through. I also feel a bit ‘greasy’ from all the broth and meat I have been consuming as these beginning stages have been quite a switch from my normal diet.

Looking forward to the week ahead!

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Simple Bone Broth

Posted on January 19, 2013

simple bone broth

During the intro portion of the GAPS diet your main sustenance is bone broth, and lots of it!

Though there are many ways of preparing bone broth, this is the technique that I have been using and it works quite well. I am not home during the day to watch over a pot on the stove, this method allows me to set it up in the morning, returning home from work to perfectly soft cooked meat and the beginnings of broth.

Simple Bone Broth:

Place a whole chicken (or other meat on the bone) in a large crock pot, season with sea salt & pepper. You can add other seasonings as you progress through the stages of the intro diet. Pour a cup of water over the meat and cook on low for about 8 hours. Remove the cooked meat from the pot and serve as a part of your evening meal along with well cooked vegetables of your choice. Return any and all bones, skin and other joint bits to the dense broth at the bottom and fill the remainder of the crock pot with water. Continue cooking on low for another 24 hours or so. The nutrients from the bones will be extracted into the broth. If the bones are large (like a turkey leg) chop the bones up a bit to release the marrow. Finally, remove the bones from the broth and it is ready to use or to store in jars, frozen or refrigerated. Add salt & pepper to taste.

We have been using up our broth so quickly in the way of making soups and drinking it between meals that I have not had a chance to store any of it. I have had an alternating pot of meat and broth going constantly.

So far I have made chicken, lamb, beef and turkey broth this way and they have all turned out really well.

* thermoses have become a new essential, as we are gone most of the day. We are able to bring broth and soup with us to work without the need to reheat.

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GAPS | Stage 1

Posted on January 15, 2013

jar4Stage 1 of the GAPS intro diet pairs your food options down to simple, easily digested foods that are essential to the health of your gut. Including homemade meat & bone stock for it’s healing properties, soft cooked meats and vegetables. You are also encouraged to consume additional pro-biotic foods such as sauerkraut juice and homemade yogurt as well as a good quality pro-biotic supplement.

You can find a comprehensive list of foods allowed at this stage here.

We are attempting to spend one week on each stage.

In preparation, I made my usual yogurt (very pleased that I was able to keep something familiar in my daily diet). A large pitcher of ginger tea. Lamb broth out of lamb leg bones. A large pot of Chicken soup, with chicken broth I had made in advance. I also started my first batch of sauerkraut! Tonight I am slow roasting a spaghetti squash whole… it seemed like a good versatile soft veggie option. I have plans for a breakfasty style squash porridge.

Day one was a bit rough for my husband as he only brought the lamb broth with him to work in a thermos, not realizing that I had prepared a whole pot of chicken soup the night before. The lamb broth was very rich and fatty, easier to eat as a soup or stew, tough to get down as broth alone. This left him feeling tired and a nauseous most of the day.

I am not much of a meat eater and am already missing my fresh veggies! But it’s only a matter of time until I can reintroduce them. Other than that, I feel pretty normal.

Day 1 & 2 down!

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