GAPS Intro Diet - Day 12 (Stage 2)

Guess what came in the mail today?!  My Excalibur food dehydrator!  I am such a dork, I know.  I am pretty excited about it because although I am much more satisfied with the soup than I thought I would be (considering I have had it basically for three meals every day for the last 12 days) I really could go for something crunchy... i.e. nuts.  Since all nuts have to be raw/organic nuts and then soaked for 24 hours and then dehydrated for 24 hours (nothing is that simple on GAPS) I am planning to make up a bunch and keep them in the fridge until I can eat them - which is sooner than you might think (late Stage 3).  Plus I can also eventually make yogurt either out of goat milk or cow milk, if I end up being able to tolerate it, which would be exciting. Pre-GAPS diet I was buying this goat milk kefir from a company called Redwood Hill Farm (Whole Foods carries it) and I loved it, and even better, had no problems with digestion.

I also must share the best soup trick I have discovered so far on the diet (maybe you will have better luck with getting the girls to eat it this way Kathryn). The trick I have found to making all of the soups taste better is to add in 'gravy.'  What I do is when I cook chicken in the crock pot I layer the bottom of the pot with onions, garlic, and fresh herbs - I have tried both basil and sage, but you could omit herbs for stage one and just do onions.  When the chicken is cooked, I take it out and use my immersion blender to blend up the onions and juices in the bottom of the pot. Once chilled it becomes solid, like gravy, with a rich delicious flavor.  Then I just add a few spoons to each pot of soup. I have also been adding fresh herbs to the soups which has helped a lot to change up the flavor, especially considering I am either eating zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, or a mixture of all three soups, so not a lot of variety.

I have just taken out my last two mason jars of soup out of the fridge to thaw for Thursday... looks like I have a bunch of cooking to do this weekend to restock the freezer.  Thank goodness I am only feeding myself on this diet (sorry K), I don't think I could cook enough for more people - I already feel like I am cooking/washing dishes all the time.

I realize that I never really indicated what 'Stage One' allows you to eat versus 'Stage Two' so for clarification, Stage One allows you to have:

• meat or fish stock
• well cooked (boiled) broccoli, cauliflower, squash (summer and winter), onions, carrots and leeks
• boiled meat (I always slow cooked my meat, which is probably a cheat, but boiled meat is a waste of money because all the flavor goes away...)
• sea salt (I cheated here with pepper and organic dried sage)
• 1-2 teaspoons of sauerkraut juice

Stage Two is all of the above plus:

• fresh herbs
• fermented vegetables (kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut)
• fermented fish (I haven't even entertained the idea of making this!)
• egg yolk
• ghee
• stews and casseroles made with meat and vegetables

Today's Menu

Breakfast: Zucchini and broccoli soup with hamburger
(zuch, onions, broccoli, basil/onion gravy, hamburger, egg yolk, fresh basil on top)

Lunch: Same as breakfast

Dinner: Celery root puree mixed with leftover soup, egg yolk, chicken, sauerkraut juice and sauerkraut.
(celery root is tolerable when mixed with copious amounts of gravy or into soup)

Feelings/Reactions: I was feeling fine until I ate dinner and now I am feeling loopy and slightly nauseous sick. If this post is reflective of that, I apologize.  I am wondering could it have been the raw egg yolk, which I thought at least got partially cooked in the hot soup? Could it be the chicken stock from the fridge I used to thin the puree - I threw it away out of fear.  Is it a GAPS reaction? I do not know.

Also, I discovered while quietly typing here that a little mouse has decided to take up residence in our apartment and is sauntering ever so carelessly across our checkered kitchen floor.  Do you think if I leave him a recipe for some soup he could restock my freezer? You know- like that movie Ratatouille??  Oh wait, that was about a rat wasn't it.