This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn on qualifying purchases. Please see our disclaimer for more information.

“All disease begins in the gut” Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine.

Today is Day 1 of GAPS Introduction at my house. The GAPS diet is from the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride.

Introduction is a 6 Stage diet that starts with very limited foods and gradually adds in additional items.  Day 1 will be Stage 1 of the Introduction Diet. On this stage we can have boiled meats, well boiled (limited types) vegetables, broth, animal fats, ginger, lemon, mint, chamomile, honey, and probiotic foods.

Boiled meats do not sound overly appealing but they are easier to digest than meats that are fried or grilled.  Well boiled vegetables also don’t sound very appealing but again are easier to digest. Starchy vegetable (potatoes and such) are not allowed on GAPS and at this stage neither are fibrous veggies. I picked up butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, and carrots. In the early stages of GAPS Intro we’ll use meat broths as opposed to bone broth.  Meat broth is a little more gentle on the system than a broth made from bones (however, I prefer bone broth since it feels so much more ‘frugal’ than meat broth).  We had one last package of chicken fat hanging out in the freezer from last falls processing that I turned into schmaltz. We’ll use that liberally as often as possible. Dr. McBride says that using a liberal amount of animal fats will speed healing.  Ginger, lemon, mint, chamomile and honey will both be added to water (think tea) to help with the time between meals and cravings. Plus these will be helpful if we are getting into a low energy state.  For the probiotic additions to our diet we’ve decided to follow Dr. McBride’s suggestion to add whey and sour cream along with kraut/pickle juice from the beginning.  Because Joe, Christopher and I tend toward diarrhea we’ve decided to add whey and sour cream from the beginning.  Dr. McBride says (1)”Adding whey, sour cream, yoghurt and kefir does miracles for those who are prone to diarrhoea.” I suspect that Kiki and Lulu also have diarrhea issues they are not overly eager to answer that question when I ask them. Instead I get “Aw mom, I don’t want to talk about that.”  So….

Our Day 1 Menu Plan

Breakfast- Water with lemon juice, Beef broth, beef, onion and broccoli soup, 1 teaspoon kraut juice

Lunch- Butternut squash soup with chicken and 1- 2 T sour cream

Dinner- leftover soups, boiled onions, boiled broccoli– 1 t kraut juice

Snacks- meat, broth, boiled veggies,  ginger tea with honey, warm lemon water with honey

 

While I do list ‘standard’ meals I’m not sure how it will actually play out. When Joe and I did GAPS did last October, on day 1 we were not very hungry. After Day 1 I would find myself almost starving.  My goal is to have allowed foods available as needed. I worry a little about how this will go with Christopher. He loves ‘meat’ but also love his P Bread (sourdough toast with peanut butter) so I anticipate him refusing meat and begging for P Bread.

Our Day 2 Menu Plan

Breakfast- Water with lemon juice, beef broth, Meatball soup with sour cream

Lunch- Leftover meats, onions, broccoli, summer squash soup, 1 teaspoon kraut juice

Dinner- Meat Strips, mashed carrots, creamy cauliflower (set aside Joe’s lunch tomorrow), 1 teaspoon kraut juice

Snacks- meat, broth, ginger tea with honey, warm lemon water with honey

When we did Intro previously, Day 2 was super hard for me. I had a very emotional day plus alternated between not wanting food to starving.  My hope is that the children (and me) will not have the same experience this day.  Detox baths are something we will focus on to help. Lulu doesn’t like baths so for her she can do a foot soak.  From what I read, it is important to alternate between detox baths. We have Epsom salts, sea weed, apple cider vinegar, baking soda and sea salt all on hand for detox baths.  A person can take as many baths as needed each day so perhaps I will live in the bath tub (haha).

Our Day 3 Menu Plan

PACK FOOD FOR JOE— meats, broth, soup, sour cream to top, mashed carrots, creamy cauliflower

Breakfast- Water with lemon juice, broth, chicken wing soup

Lunch- leftover breakfast soup,

Dinner-  lamb soup plus whatever veggies are still on hand

Snacks- meat, broth, ginger tea with honey, warm lemon water with honey

RESTOCK PRODUCE

Joe goes back to work on this day so the plan is to pre-pack his lunch and snacks on Sunday, plus have a crock pot soup ready for him to dish up for breakfast before leaving. I don’t want to sound like a ‘bad wife’ but during the summer months he gets up and leaves before I even wake up. He is used to preparing his own (simple) breakfast before leaving.  However, doing GAPS adds a challenge to this so the crock pot is (hopefully) the answer.  We’ll also need to restock produce on this day. I don’t want to buy too much since our farmers market is on Tuesday evenings (and Saturday mornings) and I hope to find some local, organic produce at the market. But I really do suspect that we will be out of our produce on hand by this point. I have to admit, I’m a little worried about this day. Joe will be back at work, I’ll be working (I work from home but it is still close to 40 hours per week) and I wonder how the children will be at this point. I wonder how I will be.

I haven’t really planned much past this day. I’m thinking that we will finish Stage 1 by this point but don’t know for sure. If we finish with Stage 1 and move on to Stage 2 then the next thing we will add in will be raw egg yolk. We’ll see how it goes.

I found this great series of videos on Youtube that I think is worth mentioning. Melissa Washburn is the presenter and it is a 7 part series. Another very helpful source is this post from The Nourishing Gourmet.  My plan is to let you know how GAPS is going for us every so often. I know that my posting has been rather sporadic over the summer (I guess that is what happens when one is never home) and I really appreciate you sticking with me.  I hope you enjoy these GAPS posts in addition to several other things that I’ve had on my mind. There are many things going on in the world of food lately!

 

Do you have Stage 1 GAPS Introduction Tips? If so, please share in the comments.

 

(1) Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, MMedSci (neurology, MMedSci (nutrition) 2010 page 147

Disclosures

Photo credit

Pin It on Pinterest