"Soft" Start: GAPS Dinner

Today was supposed to be Day 1 on Intro for us. I opted to push it out a day due to having a midwife appointment that I had to take both children to... hungry kids in a small room for an hour would have been a disaster!

Because I am absolutely anxious to get started...we began with dinner.

The recipe:
Shredded chicken from whole chicken used to make broth
2-4 cups of bone broth
2 delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 huge carrot, sliced
2 onions, sliced
1 salmon filet (for pregnant mama)
Salt and pepper
A few pinches of fresh thyme and oregano
1/4 lemon squeezed (big mistake!)

I just baked it all with the veggies completely on top of the salmon. I added an extra ladle of broth and the pre-cooked shredded chicken for the last few minutes to warm that up.

I strained some broth into fancy handled soup bowls for the girls (they chose their own colors). The chicken was served separated from the veggies. I included a steel straw for both to use if they preferred. I also offered a bribe- a tiny gummy and a regular sized gummy if you drink all the broth. I only filled the cup 1/4 full to make this an easy challenge.

The broth was pretty tangy due to the lemon. This was my mistake. DD3 said she didn't like it but slurped it up entirely. She even tried the delicata squash (I called it yellow pumpkin). Chicken is never hard for her to eat.

The Results: 
DD5 seemed adventurous and set out to drink her broth, but stopped. She started dipping chicken in the broth, but stopped. She even tasted the delicata, but stopped after it caused her to dry heave. She hardly ate.

DD3 got her tiny and regular sized gummy made with lime juice, raw honey and Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin, Kosher, 16-Ounce Can (Single) I cut the raw honey down by 1/3 and added a little water. I didn't want them to be too sour with extra juice. They turned out great! We have two sizes of silicon trays. The smaller ones allow for more of a true gummy bear taste and texture like these Freshware 30-Cavity Silicone Chocolate, Jelly and Candy Mold or I just cover the bottom on this size Wilton 2105-4889 Easy Flex Silicone 24-Cavity Bite Daisy Pan  The kids do not seem to care which size, but I prefer the smaller size...it makes the gelatin flavor less obvious. This may not be noticeable to others but I have a serious addiction to the old-fashioned gummy bears...so I notice even subtle differences in the healthier ones!

Dinner was over. Bed time started with an Epsom and vitamin C detox bath....pjs on and that is when all hell broke loose. Both children were in shambles asking for snacks. I had nothing- so I heated up some of the shredded chicken in a pan with broth. They both ate a good amount of that and finally went to bed. DD3 was asking for a dozen other things--cashews, apples, almond butter, STEAK! Ha ha.

We shall see how breakfast goes--we are having the intro butternut squash soup from Healthy, Home & Happiness. 

Preparation for Tomorrow: 
Full Circle arrives in the morning. I finished peeling every piece of garlic I could find in my cupboard and froze them. My garlic press will crush frozen garlic so it shouldn't change anything to freeze them. I need to start making my kraut and pickles as soon as the delivery arrives. I filled the crock pot with a roast, half my sliced onions, 2 butternut squashes cubed/sliced and some chicken broth. I am thawing ground beef, another small tenderloin steak cut and beef bones. I can see why GAPS bloggers all say they have to have endless broth! We only did dinner and no one really drank much of it and we are already low! I had 2 Ball Mason Jars 1/2 Gal. full to start!

Preparing for GAPS

So far I have read the book once and am working on it again.

I purchased this 30 day guide which, to be honest, makes the first few weeks seem totally feasible. Now the length of each phase in this 30 day guide is short- like 5 days. So that may not work for everyone but my plan is to have the food for the 30 days prepared or at least on my grocery list for the future so we are ready to move up a phase at any time. If we need to stay on one phase longer, I will have to start looking for more resources at that point. I will update this post with more GAPS prep links as I find them. Obviously you can Google and find tons, but most are not detailed enough (in my opinion). I want to take as much brain work out of this as possible but not cheat/hack the program.

So far I have done these things:

1. Printed the 30 day guide, specifically pages 11-13, 17-37. I made multiple copies of page 57 for each person in my family (this is the symptom log...it is helpful because it has a list of things that we may not attribute to food but are quite possibly related to our GAP syndrome). I honestly think this is a *must have* unless you like re-inventing the wheel. It is on sale for $20 right now too.

2. I ordered 2 weeks worth of food per the 30 day guide. I want to be sure we have TOO MUCH food the first week so that I am not scrambling if we need more boiled cauliflower or something. (List of what I ordered below).

3. Made gummies to use as bribes for my children (GASP!) This is the third recipe I have tried and so far the best- small batch though so I'm making 3 batches to be fully prepared.

4. Sliced up all the veggies I have on hand that are Intro approved. This means: Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and several varieties of squash and pumpkin. I have placed them all in the freezer until the day before we start.

5. Made 2 gallons of beef broth.

6. Working on 2 whole chickens (for meat and for broth).

7. Eaten or given away anything that is not GAPS legal that I feel we might be tempted to eat in a pinch.

8. Started a batch of pickles.

9. Will start kimchi and sauerkraut on Wed when our produce delivery arrives.

10. Purchased handled soup bowls in colors my girls picked out (another bribe!)

11. Rounded up detox bath supplies- Epsom Salts, kelp, baking soda and dulce flakes. I plan to order more of these items in 2 weeks from Mountain Rose Herbs.

That is basically it for now. I will be getting a soup container for the husband that he can insert a spoon into

12. Because I am pregnant I am starting to soak and dehydrate nuts to make nut milks and to have nuts to snack on. More later about how I might add in foods for myself due to my condition.

My grocery order looks like this:
3 broccoli
3 cauliflower
2 whole chickens
4 bone in skin on chicken breasts
4 lbs of ground beef
4 packs of beef bones
Cabbage
Radishes
Jalapeño peppers
Cucumbers
Full Circle $69.93
Tacoma Food Co-op $22.74
Pride and Joy (Beef) $45

Things I already have on hand:
Carrots
Onions
Leeks
Roasts (several varieties)
Salt
Garlic
Grassfed butter to make Ghee for Stage 2
Veggies from Zestful CSA- approximately $200 worth on hand (wont all be used this week)
Pride and Joy (roasts) $75 (amount left on hand, wont all be used this week)
Azure Butter order $8.00 (amount left on hand)

Why the GAPS diet?

I'm not a popular blogger and have no aspirations of being one. I'm simply cataloging our journey in case it might be helpful to another family...and to keep a "journal" of sorts.

The short answer to "Why are you doing GAPS?" is: because I want to heal my child's gut so she can choose all or most all of the foods on earth and eat them without having negative consequences. She recently had a series of tests done with our naturopath that suggest she is highly reactive to the 5 main foods she eats every day. I found this to be suspicious. We could do the generic elimination diet he suggested--but I have a feeling she would no longer be reactive to the eliminated foods and will then be reactive to 5 new foods. The US Biotech tests aren't exactly cheap so instead of proving my theory with one more test in 30 days- I'd rather do something (more labor intensive) to heal those suspected intolerances.

After reading Gut and Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, Dyspraxia, A.D.D., Dyslexia, A.D.H.D., Depression, Schizophrenia I can trace DD5's history and see where a true healing diet may benefit her.

I heavily debated a raw vegan diet vs. GAPS. There are many people who heal by going grain free, vegan/gluten free, raw vegan etc. While I personally would choose raw vegan for myself--I don't feel it is my right to choose raw vegan for my daughter. I want to heal her gut so she can make her own choices about food for the rest of her life. GAPS promises to do this... at the "end" she should be able to eat just about any properly raised/prepared food that God put on this earth (key point here, food God put on earth, not a box of cereal). She may still maintain a few intolerances at the end but at least we can be certain they are real and not an immune miscommunication.

Anyway, our family stats are below for people looking for someone similar to them. In the next post I will detail our preparation steps as we are starting "Intro" in the next 3-5 days depending on when everything we have purchased gets into the house.

DD5- Known Symptoms: dark eye circles, fidgety ticks like chronic nose rubbing and partial yawning, red eyes, itchy eyes, excess mucus, significant mood swings, supreme pickiness and major texture aversion. Will not eat foods mixed together. Low B12 and low D.

DD3- No real symptoms. Of the 4 of us, she is the healthiest. She rarely holds onto a cold. She will eat any real food. She is currently begging for sugar post adenoid/tongue and lip tie surgery. But this is new for her.

Me- 31 y/o pregnant mama. I'm irritable (situational or food related--only GAPS will tell, right?), sluggish digestion (again, could be pregnancy related), some suspected nutrient deficiencies including D and B12...possibly iron since last check 12 months ago.

DH-33-Trouble sleeping, confirmed issues with sugar and milk (raw milk is more tolerable), trouble maintaining blood sugar levels between meals, weakened teeth enamel, chronic sinus problems, excess mucus and excessive fatigue (some combo of work and food related in my opinion).

Well that is us and the short version of why we are doing GAPS. I was really excited to learn more by reading the full book and will work in some of the things I learned throughout the posts. I don't want to bore you too much...go read that book!

Tog+Porter Box #6

After a few months of CrossFit at Tacoma Strength I decided to get back in touch with my stylist, Emily at Tog+Porter. I really enjoyed my monthly boxes but our cross country travels left us without a solid address up until recently...and we are moving yet again! Oy! If you have no idea what I am talking about- you can read my original write-up on Tog+Porter here.

Anyway- CrossFit has changed my body shape...he he he. Sorta. So don't make any rude comments about how much larger I am these days...it is only going to get worse. Again (he he he).

Despite my change in shape- I know that come sometime next summer, I will be back to normal. Some of these clothes I may actually be able to wear while I maintain my hibernation layers...he he he. (if you have no idea why I am he he he-ing...sorry...top secret, classified).

So here are the photos and items. I will update with prices and brands later.

Outfit #1 I almost liked the lace skirt and was going to keep it but my husband said no way- he didn't like how wide it made me look. I can't really tell how wide it makes me in the photo but I will trust him since he has way better fashion sense than I do. The belt and shirt seem like good staples so I will keep them.

Lace skirt, tan belt, denim shirt. 

Blue blouse Skirt from previous box

 Outfit #2- a blue blouse that would look nice if I were wearing a bra and ironed it. I am not entirely sure what to wear it with just yet but I will figure it out. Seems like a nice staple shirt. The skirt came from box #4.

Item #3- striped sweater. This is a really super duper comfy sweater. It is light but warm and I want to keep it...but Stephen wasn't a fan. I do kind of look like my dad in the photo...not that this is a bad thing but we'll see. I need to think about it. What do you think? It may actually be a sweater I can wear through the winter despite any changes in shape I may experience. (wink wink).

Striped sweater

Navy dress, tan belt. 

Item #4- navy dress, thin tan/mustard belt. I love this dress and am keeping it. It has some fun strap stuff going on in the back. I am wearing a super tight bandeau that is definitely not flattering in this photo...not the dress' fault. 

Alternative Apparel tank

Item #5 Alternative Apparel tank- you know I am keeping this one. I love this brand. I would probably buy everything they made if it weren't exceptionally thin and easy to snag...but this one matches my favorite flowy brown skirt so I'm keeping it.

Item #6 and #7 (two photos) a simple white shirt. I think it is a wee bit tight in the armpits-but maybe I can have it let out. I really like the material and the overall fit...especially since it does not have a collar. Thinking I'm keeping that. And that really colorful scarf is so cute! I still have no idea how to wear a scarf. If I keep this one- it will mean I have two and I have got to start wearing them!

Meal Planning Services Part 2: Nourished Kitchen and Holistic Squid

Why did I continue trying different meal planning services after falling in love with TheFresh20? Just to see if something better exists...and because I was intrigued by a few friends who "swear" by the Weston A. Price based "traditional" style of eating. Trying to figure out that "diet" was extremely overwhelming. I'm not really one to do things half-way. I did buy the book Nourishing Traditions and found it helpful but to come up with "approved" meals on my own with my limited "traditional" eating experience wasn't appealing. Enter: Nourished Kitchen and Holistic Squid.

Contender A: Nourished Kitchen 

Pros: This is a really good plan. It fits the traditional way of life quite well and is well laid out. It offers tips on how to save time (make ahead, freeze and store options).
Best Feature: The substitutions for people on GAPS or with other dietary sensitivities.
Cons: Pretty time-consuming to make even with it laid out so well. If you are new to this style of eating--you may hate the menu. (See Family Approval Rating). There's no easing into it...and for me, it was really hard to make a complimentary vegetarian meal along with it when I wasn't feeling up to choking down some weird meats.
Affordability: The plan is a little more expensive than others but it is really well laid out. If you are currently a WAPF fanatic...this plan will save you serious time and brain power.
Family Approval Rating: Eh...too traditional for us. Some things like Italian wedding soup, bison and far too many meatloaf/meatball recipes for our taste...not enough vegetables either! We felt like we were just eating meat with broth...more similar to GAPS.
Conclusion: Great for the WAPF lover. Not the place to start for the "new to WAPF" family.

Contender B: Holistic Squid

Pros: Similar to Nourished Kitchen, this plan is based on the WAPF/traditional way of eating. This lady has her kitchen routine down. You will not waste time following this plan yet you will render lard, make tons of yogurt, culture your own cheese and many other traditional things that may be new to you. And no, you will not spend all your life in the kitchen...  Oh and the recipes are AMAZING...some of the best food I have ever cooked in my own kitchen came from this meal plan...my husband agrees!

Best Feature: Time saving tips--this meal plan comes with fairy dust because you will truly feel proud at the end of the week when you serve your family everything from scratch in fewer than 4 hours per week.

Cons: There are some errors in the instructions and missing ingredients here and there. They could stand to be copy edited. The recipes do produce large amounts of food...too much for our family of 4.

Affordability: The year is only $72...so still very affordable. The food per week is a bit pricey but I don't think it would be more than a normal weekly bill for a family following this plan.

Family Approval Rating: Overall my husband and I really enjoyed the plan but only one of our children consistently finished her dinner. It was really hard to make a complimentary meal for my oldest daughter who prefers to eat her food completely separated from other foods.

Conclusion: Totally worth trying...you wont be sorry!

While I have enjoyed using Holistic Squid's meal plans for over 30 days...I have experienced some undesirable side effects of following a traditional diet. I can't blame the meal plan as much as I blame the diet. I'll cover this topic in greater detail in another post.

Meal Planning Services Part 1: Relish!Relish!, Nourished Network and TheFresh20

How did I ever survive without a meal planning service before? It has been over 3 years now that I have been trying various meal planning services across the web. Even the ones that have room for improvement make my life easier than "winging it" or making up my own meal plan. For the sake of brevity I will break the reviews up into multiple posts (yep, I have tried *that* many plans!). 

My meal planning service started in 2010 with Relish!Relish. 

Pros: Hands down, the best use of technology of all the services I have tried. Drag and drop, phone app for grocery list, create your very own meal plan with more than 5 meals per week. 

Best Feature: Freezer meals each month! 

Cons: Uses some processed foods, you purchase a LOT of groceries because none of the meals compliment each other. 

Affordability: The service is totally affordable but we spent the most using this plan out of any others...even the ones focused on whole chickens, bone broth and making everything from scratch--including raw milk yogurt! 

Family Approval Rating: Some meals were excellent (usually the ethnic ones) but many were bland. Desserts were amazing. 

Conclusion: Ehh- it has a lot of room to grow. If I could, I would mesh their technology with any of the other meal planning services I have tried. The freezer meals are hard to beat though... 

The next one Nourish Network 

Pros: Beautiful menu plan. Well laid out and fewer pages to print. Gourmet tasting meals. 

Best Feature: Beauty! 

Cons: Used less common meats (mussels, lamb, etc) without offering a complimentary substitution. Very restricted--5 meals so you either make them or you don't. She stopped offering new meal plans over a year ago and never came back it seems? I had just gotten started and it quit. 

Affordability: Rather pricey--the  recipes were gourmet-ish but still affordable. 

Family Approval Rating: I skipped at least 1 meal per week because I knew my family wouldn't like it. 

Conclusion: It is better for a 1-2 person adult only household...fun to try with a spouse or a boyfriend/girlfriend to woo them with stellar cooking. Unfortunately, it seems like you can't even sign up anymore. 

Third trial: TheFresh20

Pros: Seasonal, nothing is canned, focused on 20 ingredients per week, easy to substitute gluten free and make it vegetarian (you can choose the vegetarian meal plan too but I found them bland), uses very few grains--I can hardly recall using any grains actually!

Best Feature: Continuity of planning! Love that it uses up 20 ingredients each week. Huge cost savings with that and you can shop at the local farmers market and know that the ingredients you find will match your shopping list for the week. 

Cons: Hard to find a con here- sometimes the portions are really small. This works for my family but I am sure it wouldn't if I had a husband who ate more than I do! 

Affordability: Extremely affordable plan pricing and we save a ton of money following this plan. We use their 4 week lunch plan and rotate it. We can buy entirely organic/local produce and ingredients and still not break our food budget. 

Family Approval Rating: Very rarely did we find a recipe we didn't like. A few were just "meh" and we wouldn't make them again but overall, this one is a keeper!

Conclusion: Probably my top pick. It is really hard to beat. 

In the next post I will cover two "traditional" eating style services!

48 days....

Holy ravioli- living in a hotel has made me crazy...and both my children too!

Last night I started labeling the polka dots on the ugly couch as things we have done since leaving our house Jan 30...technically we started sleeping in a strange bed on Jan 25.

Here's my list:
Jan 25-Jan 29 we slept at a friend's house while emptying out our house and attempting to maintain our normal routine of school and dance.

Jan 30 we entered the vessel that would contain us for 102 hours and 4308 miles.

Day 1 Blog Post
Day 2 Post
Day 3-5 Post
Day 6 & 7 Post

Fell off the grid...teething Ainsley returned!

Day 11 Post
Day 16 Post

And here we are at day 48...

Thank God Washington is so freaking amazing! You would think that after having seen Big Sur, Point Mugu, staying on the Monterey Peninsula, lunching at a beautiful creek in San Luis Obispo and viewing numerous other places from a van with a screaming child, that hanging out in a regular place like Washington would not be so cool. But it is! And that is the only thing keeping me going. I'm setting my mind to taking the rest of our hotel time to explore the nooks and crannies of this area so that when we move in we can just LIVE. Just...set down the couch, hang up some curtains and LIVE. I have drawn a diagram of the house and have penciled in where the movers can put our stuff. I have also drawn a picture of our homeschool room. I pick up garden boxes next week from a local Boy Scout group who is making them for a fundraiser. We planted our starter seeds according to SproutRobot.com.

This is the Ainsley we picked up somewhere in Oklahoma

Making our own path at Point Defiance near red tape

Since arriving in Washington these are the things we have done: hiked at Point Defiance park, joined the zoo, joined the children's museum, drove to the Olympic Peninsula, took a ferry to south Seattle, walked Lincoln park in Seattle, visited downtown Seattle including the Pike Place Market and have managed to visit most of the popular kid places in town!

Do I sound crazy yet? I feel it. Both of my kids are crazy now too...which makes me crazier. I can't decide if sitting in the hotel for a few days and letting everyone cry is better than go-go-going all over the place. I tried a little of both this week and the results were terrible in both instances. Here's to 16 more nights in the hotel!