Getting Started

Menu Planning for Week 1- 2  Intro - we need a good variety of foods, Master 11 and I will soon tire of the same breakfast and snacks every day so I have been looking online at what other people have done.

Inspiration gathered at at many places on a google led stroll through the internet, some highlights-

The Nourishing Gourmet shares some inspiration in her post  12 Tips and Recipes for stage 1 of GAPS Intro

There are also a few supporting recipe books available out there as ebooks- I find I don't really use ebooks so I am not going to get them at this stage, I am however considering The GAPS GUIDE by Baden Laskov- his blog is well worth reading as well.

From Trina Holden's blog, her family have taken what they need from this family and use it to maintain their health  Why and How to Start GAPS

 The GAPS diet is a grain-free diet that focuses on easy-to-digest meats, broths, and veggies in an effort to ‘heal and seal’ the intestines. GAPS stands for ‘Gut and Physcology Syndrome” and is based on the book by the same name by Natasha Campbell-McBride and has been used to effectively heal Autism, ADD, ADHD, Depression, Schizophrenia, Chrone’s Disease, Candida, and more.

We do the diet as a gentle cleanse for the whole family. You may be interested in the diet if you have digestive issues, allergies, or grain, gluten or milk intolerances. The great news about GAPS is that you don’t have to be on it forever–once you’ve healed and sealed your gut, you can enjoy foods that you were previously allergic to!

This is what I am most excited about with GAPS, I really want healing for my family, I don't want us to have live a lesser life than we have the potential for and I dont want to have restricted eating regimes for life. I am actually hoping it will work a few miracles for us - Master 11 first and foremost, he needs to be able to eat and that is what really prompted me to keep looking for answers and now I have found GAPS I am hoping for healing in lots of areas- for Master 11 I want him to be more resilient, to feel better about himself, I am hoping it will aid his focus and concentration and improve his teeth and help him be an all round happier and healthier beautiful boy. For my fit and healthy gorgeous Master 15 who has no obvious needs for GAPS I want him to see that it is entirely possible to take control of your own health and that our amazing bodies can heal, in fact it is our responsibility to do so, him mum has taken a back seat with her own health but once Master 11 got sick her inner mama bear reared and did what she should have done for herself years ago- Why do mums put themselves last? For myself, I have been unwell for years - undergone so many tests to tell me I am well or I might have chronic fatigue or I might have a blood borne virus they don't know yet. I need to heal my poor digestive system that has not been right for more years than I can remember, I want my skin and hair to regain suppleness and shine, my skin is so dry and papery now. To increase my energy and focus would be a huge blessing as would weight loss and gaining back some of the strength I once had.

This is what we will be eating Stage 1 - 2 - 3

We live out of town and have been carless for almost 5 weeks so I need to be well prepared as I don't know how fast we will get through each stage and I dont know how long until I get my car back.

Organic Beef Bone Broth
Organic Beef Stock
Free Range Chicken Stock
Free Range Chicken Bone Broth

Organic Beef mince, steaks and osso bucco and liver
Free Range Chicken meat

Veggies onions, garlic, carrots, swede, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, celery

Pepper and Himalayan salt

Ferments- sauerkraut, ginger carrots ( grated)  We already use, tolerate well and enjoy sauerkraut and kim chi and milk kefir and water kefir I am still researching if we need to go back to reintroduce them or if we can just maintain our usage- I am hoping for answers in Dr Natasha's book when it arrives.

Water
Ginger tea with raw honey.
Peppermint tea.

Stage 2 - Once we are ok with this stage, we will move into stage 2 and  I will add in eggs (poached or boiled)  and if we have eliminated the kefirs I will add them. We will also add fish and fish stock, casseroles and stews and ghee.

Stage 3 - When we are ready to move onto stage 3 we will be continuing on with all we have been having but adding our fermented veggies if we have only been having the juice so far. Also in this stage we will be starting our GAPS supplements, I will be adding ripe avocado, fried and scrambled eggs