a GAPS kitchen is not as scary as you might think. look how harmless mine looks! but it is busy, i will tell you that. as i'm getting ready to head up to bed there are lentils soaking by the sink, yogurt dripping in the fridge, and broth simmering on the stove. sometimes there's even stuff culturing on my counter. if that gives you the heebs, don't worry. it grows on you. fermenting is fun! and super good for you. a major part of gaps is filling your body with probiotics, and believe me, we want all of those probiotics! (especially if you've had antibiotics recently) so far i've made yogurt, pickles, beet kvass, and a monster batch of sauerkraut. and i have a kombucha starter on my christmas list! have you ever had a sip of kombucha? yummy stuff, guys.
i know, i am a nerd. a couple months ago i would've been one of you guys clicking away from this post.
but don't leave yet, there's still plenty of normal food to go around! and guys, once you start eating this way, it really (very quickly) becomes normal and super uncomplicated. i cut out grains and sugar months ago, even before i had found gaps, and things got really, really basic for food around here. that's the nice thing about being a bit limited in the kitchen, it simplifies dinner. i'm being honest. i think i enjoy making and eating my food more now than ever! here's our grocery list and typical menu.
you'll notice i don't have any nuts, fruit, or honey listed, which are all gaps-friendly. that's because nuts are crazy expensive, especially if you buy the kind that are recommended and easily digested (soaked). and i haven't been doing fruit or honey yet, so we haven't needed those. hopefully soon!
i'm pretty sure everything listed is gaps-legal (the parmesan "flatbread" is grain free), but maybe not for everyone. gaps is done in stages, and is a very individual thing. it all depends on what your body tolerates. hopefully this gives you an idea of a real life gaps diet. i am always finding new recipes and gaining more meal options, so this list isn't complete. i already forgot to mention crustless spinach quiche! and i promise to share some of those recipes soon! any requests?
19 comments:
i'm intrigued! sounds basic but not boring. you've piqued my interest with the grain free pizza!? :) oh, and pumpkin bars sound dreamy!
I second those requests!:)
My husband has crohns and I try to cook grain free or fermented grain (sourdough), so I'm really interested in your pizza crust and pumpkin bread recipes.
i love kombucha! looking forward to learning some of your recipes. and, i have to ask-- what about christmas baking??
My major question is why would I do GAPS if no one in my family has any issues that are mentioned as why people do GAPS then what is the benefit?
We are moving towards a more clean eating friendly household. We have dairy delivered weekly and I can buy eggs from the farm as well. We bought grassfed beef and pork in bulk and have it in our freezer.
I am all for less processed food and do like the idea of your recipes but a full blown GAPS diet in our household is something I don't know of a benefit in.
I really would like for someone to explain GAPS versus clean eating.
Hope you can help!!
I was wondering if you are saving any money doing this or if it is costing more? My husband doesnt really support "organic" eating because it costs to much. But if he can still eat meat and it is inexpensive then he might do it.
It actually doesn't sound as weird as I was expecting. I do second both Kelly's and Emily's questions though. It seems the healthier we eat, the less variety there is and the higher our grocery bill goes. Do you ever get bored or crave the foods you gave up? Also, how do you have pizza without cheese (my favorite food group, lol)?
Summer, I would love to hear more about the rustic lentil soup and the parm flat-bread. Both sound phenomenal. I am loving all these posts about GAPS. Thank you for making me feel less overwhelmed about the whole process. You make it sound SO easy!
Thank you so much for this post!
@ashley maureen i think Christmas baking will be a bit different this year! :) but i am still planning on having a few treats, definitely. they just might not be as sweet.
@kelly GAPS is for healing. it seems like "clean eating" (whatever that means to you) would be good for maintaining an already healthy body. so if healing is not what your concern is, then you don't need to be concerned about gaps.
also, there is more to the GAPS protocol than the little bit i shared in my lists! this post was written for those who have been curious about the kind of stuff i eat while i'm on this adventure, not to convince anyone that they should eat this way too.
@emily i'm sorry, i wish i could tell you that it's less expensive:) grains and sweets and processed food are the cheap things at the grocery store. because grant and i view our food as a major part of our "healthcare", and especially now that i am feeding Hadley, we are willing to spend what we need to on it, within reason for our modest budget. here is what we do to make it work: we pick and choose what we buy organic, we stock up when something is on sale, we shop at walmart:), we buy seasonally, we eat a lot of lentils and eggs because they are affordable, and we don't waste anything. we don't eat out much or have many luxuries in our entire budget, we just love our food! it is a priority for us, so sometimes we splurge:)
@emily we also love trader joe's! but we can only shop there when we are in the big city:)
Summer, did you buy a Kefir starter online or know someone. Just wondering because I know no one who has it and nervous about the whole ordering of the grains online. I order everything online - everything but food and I am so scared to do it.
So in addition to the other requests I would like to add the yogurt and kefir.
@katherine yes, it's sad but true: the quality foods cost more. i know we definitely can't afford to buy ALL the healthy stuff i want! but we do what we can:)
about the pizza, there IS cheese on it! sorry. i forgot to list cheese on my grocery list. there are quite a few cheeses that are gaps friendly after the first stages. i love parmesan.
yes, in the beginning it was SO hard. i missed a lot of food and was so jealous of people on commercials eating stuff i wasn't eating! but that was actually when i was doing a candida type diet- not GAPS. when i started gaps i felt liberated and excited! no, i never feel bored with my food. i really love it. i do still miss fruit, though:) i think i will bring that back soon!
Hey, avocado is a fruit. : ) When I lived in Brazil, I learned to love eating it mashed with a little sugar (honey would work too).
All of this sounds so delicious! Will you please share the recipe for white chicken chili? And I was wondering, is Grant following the GAPS diet too?
@amanda yes, i sure will! that one is my fave. grant is not doing it, but we eat the same thing for dinner every night and he always likes it:)
We love parmesan too! I'd love to see the omelet recipe.
And the parmesan flatbread.
Thanks for sharing your journey with us!
I'd love any and all recipes! I was so scared to do GAPS - I contemplated it for over a year. Amazingly, once you get the hang of it things become very easy. I can't imagine eating any differently any time soon, thanks for sharing your journey!