GAPS Prep, Day 7

Things are trodding along. I'm eating more fast food than I'd like because a lot of the food I have on hand requires preparation. I am trying to take advantage of free time or time while I'm already making a meal to work on something extra. Today I managed to package the zucchini chips, banana chips and dehydrated apples, then sliced 2 lbs of strawberries to go into the dehydrator. I made nutty blueberry protein balls and after dinner was cooked I made carrot mousse cake. Today I made Christie Eggies for breakfast with 1/4 avocado mashed in and it was tasty.

It looks like, since I'm nursing, we are not going to do GAPS Intro. Instead we will start with full GAPS and then, at a later date, do the intro. The question now becomes when to add in cod liver oil and probiotics. I'm thinking my plan should be to get us onto a full GAPS meal plan and then start in with the supplements, one at a time.

If I keep a regular rotation of soup in the fridge that should help a lot. I need to regularly keep an eye on what is in my fridge and see if I'll be running out in the next 24 hours and, if so, make whatever it is that I need.

For dinner tonight we had a whole chicken (which is now in the process of becoming stock on the stove) and corn on the cob, because we needed to use it up. I still have some flour, corn starch, frozen corn, corn meal and rice that needs to be used up. I may need to pass along the flour, corn meal and quite possibly the rice because we're just not using it up fast enough and I'm just anxious to get moving on this. The last thing to go will be my coffee and with that actual sugar. Dessert was Carrot Mousse Cake which I made with 1/2 as much honey as last time (1/8 cup) and it was still quite tasty.

DH worked with me on meal planning. I need to have a regular schedule. We agreed on two fish nights, two chicken nights, and 2 beef nights. I can use whole fish one time that can go into the bag of fish parts for fish stock. I will use ground or shreddable beef one night (primal tacos, chili with navy beans, etc) and we will grill steak or make a roast another night. I need to keep things interesting and I have to try out new recipes regularly to make this work. Just some thoughts. If any of you out there reading this have any suggestions I am open to it. We aren't eating grains (corn, wheat, rice, etc) or starches (potatoes, sweet potatoes) and not a whole lot of dairy though cultured dairy is allowed.

GAPS Prep, Day 3

Yesterday was a very busy day with a farm food pickup, work, and a grocery store run! However, I still managed to bake two whole porgies then turn them into stock (which I have going right now). I also made Girl Gone Primal's Nice & Naughty Nightshade dip and Sunflower Seed Crackers. Except I somehow ran out of the enormous bag of sesame seeds I had and subbed ground crispy almonds. I may have cooked them a bit too long as they tasted just a teensy tangy/burnt. Still edible, though. Today I'll be making GGP's prawn pate as well. And maybe more Nutty Blueberry Protein Balls (the original recipe calls for dates instead of prunes and blueberries instead of strawberries). And maybe another carrot mousse cake. I also have apples that will start going soft soon to dehydrate as well as more strawberries and bananas. Those went *fast*. I also plan on dehydrating some zucchini slices to be chips.

Today I am going to a GAPS information session. My husband took the day off because I've got a dentist appointment this morning so I'm dragging him along, too. Even if his job ends up being Child Entertainer, it would be nice if he got some exposure to this. ;)

GAPS Prep, Day 1

I'm going to say we're on Day 1 of GAPS preparation, since it's June 1 and I haven't been tracking up until now. I had all the intentions of posting yesterday until our power went out!

I've been following through the GAPS Guide, which if you're unfamiliar with is a book written by a mom following the GAPS protocol. She lists all kinds of troubleshooting tips, FAQs, and a progression to follow in order to ease yourself onto the diet. I was able to skip through several steps. We've cooked with coconut oil for a couple of years, I have a source for grassfed meats and eggs, and I regularly make chicken bone broth however we always use it before I can freeze it! In the guide she recommends that you continue eating your normal diet, and phasing out things as you run out of them, and add in GAPS meals as you go until you're on a full time GAPS diet before starting the intro.

My farmer was having a sale on chicken carcasses. That is, the chicken leftover from cutting up legs/thighs/breasts/wings. I get two per bag which is perfect for a batch of bone broth (almost 3 lbs). Yesterday I picked apart 5 carcasses. I have an amazing amount of broth and only 2 1/2 cups worth of little silicone freezer ready cups available. I will need to clean out the other 1 1/2 cups this morning so I can continue freezing stock. I pureed all the soft parts and put them into 2 cup servings in bags.

I made Carrot Mousse Cake yesterday and, I must say, it's pretty delicious. I even had some friends (who are gfdf) try it and they agreed it was tasty. DD was not a fan. I put 1/4 cup honey in it which was enough sweet for me but apparently not for her.

I've been perusing http://www.marksdailyapple.com longer than I have known about GAPS and we will likely be transitioning to this after GAPS (they're very similar). I've been looking up recipes there that are safe, and while the nuts aren't soaked, I made Nutty Blueberry Protein Balls (walnuts, macadamia nuts, dates, shredded coconut and fresh blueberries). Though a quick read in the GAPS book I see soaking isn't required unless you feel like you need to. That's a relief that if I don't have the time to soak and we have no other food options that I can use them raw, straight.

I'm placing my order this week for delivery in 1 1/2 weeks (so long as the routes match up) for walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds and frozen butternut squash. I still have quite the stock of almonds, both raw and soaked/dehydrated. My farm delivery this week will have my beef bones for my first batch of beef bone broth.

When I wasn't working yesterday (read: when I was nursing my baby and needed to sit ;)) I was reading through the GAPSters blog. This mom detailed their intro and it was SO helpful and kind of the catalyst for me starting this blog up again.

Food Plan:

For breakfast today I am making Christie Eggies which is the GAPS alternative to scrambled eggs. It looks so tasty. My aunt taught me once, at an IHOP, the beauty of ordering over-easy or over-medium eggs then mashing them up with a fork to get the more solid whites mixed with the runny yolk and it was so good.

Lunch will likely be fast food as I did not plan ahead for my day. We'll be at a ballet class before work and only have 30 minutes between locations so it'll have to be something fast.

Provided I am not too exhausted (my first day at a family friendly job starts today) then I will be making a grocery store run and tonight I will be making Girl Gone Primal's Naughty Nightshade Dip and Sunflower Seed Crackers. I'll have to pick up something easy for dinner so I am considering getting a whole fish in order to make fish stock later.

For snacks today I have a fresh banana for DS and various dried fruits I did myself (strawberries, bananas and apples) and pecans.