Preparing for the GAPS Diet

I'm getting inspired...


 Prep to do list:

Get items from GAPS Supplementation Protocol
Find YES foods list

learn how to use my juicer

Find farmer's market


Make: 
ghee

snacks

farmer's market

ketchup, etc

more stock


 From  http://www.keeperofthehome.org :

Freeze Squash

3 large buttercup squash, 4 butternut squash, and 4 spaghetti squash (the cashier looked at me and said, "wow, you must really like squash!").
With the buttercup squash, I baked it in the oven, and when it was cool I scooped out all the soft flesh into a bowl, then divided it up into bags of about 1 cup each. This is perfect for making meatballs, squash "pancakes", adding to soup, etc.
With the butternut squash, I peeled it all and then chopped it into french fry shaped pieces large ziploc bags, and they will make lunches and dinners so much easier with our beloved squash fries. The spaghetti squash we like to eat with a tomato and meat sauce

 Find recipes that look appealing, or ones from my current stash that will work or could be altered.

Grab a scrap piece of paper and write down every possible meal idea or recipe you can come up with (seriously, everything). Scour some websites or blogs for ideas (a few favorites with GAPS friendly recipes include Nourishing Days, Health, Home and Happiness, Pecan Bread and GAPS Guide, and see this post with some of my own ideas and recipes we used).

 Plan out at least one week (two is even better) with all breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and even snacks.

I don't always plan breakfasts and lunches when we're eating our usual diet (I go back and forth, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't). But, when we're embarking on any sort of special diet, I make a point of doing it, at least until the diet begins to feel more natural.  ....Egg variations for breakfast: fried, scrambled with sauerkraut the next, make a veggie omelet.

Stock your freezer with bone broth.

I spent a day making 3 huge stock pots of beef bone broth (yes, 3!) and then the next day when it was cool, removed the beef tallow and stored all the broth in glass mason jars in my freezer. A few days later, I made a whole bunch of chicken broth and did the same. I think I made about 30 quarts of broth. You might think that's excessive, but for a family of 5 on GAPS, it's not at all.

Peel and freeze apples

One of the first foods that we start eating on the diet (after the initial soups) is cooked apples. I fry them in a pan with no oil, and just a few tablespoons of water, with a lid over them. They take about 3-6 minutes to soften nicely. I sprinkle just a touch of cinnamon on them towards the end. They're our favorite treat in the beginning when we can eat nothing else, and they're nice for breakfast with eggs.

Soak and dehydrate nuts and seeds.

 

 

  Learn from : 

How We are Surviving GAPS Intro

http://www.nourishingdays.com/2011/05/how-we-are-surviving-gaps-intro/

Don’t just make soup. It’s the most logical conclusion of the diet, but soup three times per day every day is enough to make most people go mad. So we do soup once per day, he eats the boiled chicken with boiled vegetables and herbs for lunch, and then boiled squash with coconut oil and egg yolk for breakfast. He has stock in a cup with meals and loves it.

Go really, really slow. He doesn’t have any major health concerns, but he wants to be sure that his gut is in good health. So he hasn’t had major die-off or transitional symptoms. That being said, we are going really slow… doing the sensitivity test before each new food, eating a couple of spoonfuls of the food, waiting a couple of days, and then introducing more of the food to be sure of no reaction.

Use fresh herbs and tons of fat. I think this is the only thing that makes the food interesting. The recommended diet is truly nourishing, but can get a bit tedious. Using lots of fresh herbs and animal fats makes it tasty and helps you heal faster.

GAPS Guide :: This book is small and expensive, but so helpful. I am currently borrowing it from a sweet friend, but because of the fact that I look at this book just about every day I may purchase it soon.

 

Also Read:

Recipes and Ideas for What to Eat on the GAPS Introduction Diet

GAPS Intro: For Gut Healing and Sealing