Hey guys! So, I regularly receive emails with questions about digestion, diet, going gluten free, and gut health.. which I love. (Add in Jesus, husbands and wives, babies, homelife, etc, and you guys know practically all my favorite subjects!) By the emails, it's apparent that these topics are weighing heavily on a lot of our minds lately. And we all just love to talk to someone who will get it; someone who's been there, done that, right? I thought a new series of posts with some of the food-related FAQ's I've received might be a good idea. Hopefully this will help start beneficial conversations, spread some answers around, and share the digestive love. Thanks for even considering me as someone to ask about these things, because I know I'm just learning along with you guys. 

A bit of my history and some gut groundwork before we hit the questions--- The biggest food changes in my life happened in the first year after Hadley was born, when I was helping my own body heal from antibiotics, birth, and the toll of growing and nourishing another human being. I didn't feel like myself for months after Hadley was born, and I could tell that Hadley had some digestive issues. So, I started reading. And not caring how weird my food got. I was desperate to feel better and help my baby, and I feel like in our culture, that's what it takes. It takes really feeling bad or really being concerned about your baby to embrace the gravity of gut health and make any real sacrifices/changes when it comes to food.

Basically, to squeeze a whole lot of research into one tiny nutshell, here's what I learned and what guides my thinking today: Gut health = Whole health.  Once I understood the concept of the gut being the "second brain" of the body, everything made so much sense. The gut (the 25 feet of intestinal tract inside you) plays a gigantic role in your overall well being. The 3 main jobs of your gut are: a) digestion of foods and conversion into vitamins b) absorption of nutrients and c) prevention of toxins from entering the bloodstream. The gut is at the heart of whole health and, as Hippocrates (Greek scientist and father of Western medicine) said, "all disease begins in the gut." Knowing that, here's how I approach the pursuit of gut health:
1. Eating real, whole, nutrient-dense foods, prepared in a way that your body can digest them.
2. Healing any damage in the lining of the gut to prevent toxic substances from leaking out into the blood stream, and also to enable your body to absorb and use nutrients properly.
3. Establishing and then maintaining a good balance of bacteria in the gut, which enables proper digestion and allows your body's immune system to function correctly.

Now on to some email questions from readers and friends.

1. What is the GAPS diet? GAPS stands for "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" and it is a temporary healing protocol that you can follow anywhere from a couple months to 2 years in order to heal chronic disease, severe allergies, mental illness, digestive problems, yeast overgrowth, depression, constipation, eczema, bloating, and countless other symptoms and disorders. The diet is free of grains, starches, and refined sugars, and rich in healing bone broth, fermented foods/drinks, healthy fats, proteins, veggies, and fruit.*
*fruit- some of you may remember reading that for a few months I didn't eat any fruit. I'll explain why in the next post in this series!

2. When did you start the GAPS diet? I didn't start GAPS until after Hadley was born. She was a couple months old when I started cutting out dairy, gluten, sugar, and other yeast-feeding foods. Then, about a month into eating that way, I read about the GAPS diet and decided that was what I needed. The idea of taking stress off my body by way of what I eat and healing it with real, nourishing food was immediately appealing to me. I was breastfeeding, so I completely skipped the Intro Diet. I found a helpful, simple list of recommended foods and foods to avoid while on the Full GAPS diet, and basically just jumped on board and based all of my meals around that.

3. Did you have a particular health issue that motivated you to try GAPS or was it simply to get healthy? I was motivated to do the GAPS diet because after Hadley was born I took an antibiotic and I could tell that it had thrown my body out of whack. I was not recovering well and struggling with all sorts of symptoms related to a yeast overgrowth. So, a yeast imbalance was one of the main reasons, as well as Hadley's digestion issues (gas, colic, thrush, cradle cap). Also, bloating and constipation were both an underlying, lingering thing for me for years. I knew my gut needed repleinshing with good bacteria and healing as well. And yes, I did see major success by changing my diet! There were huge improvements (practically immediately) for both Hadley and myself.

4. Did either you or Grant do the Intro Diet? I did not, because it's not recommended while nursing. The limitations of the Intro diet make it difficult to take in enough calories for you and a growing baby. Grant did his own modified version of the Intro Diet, I would say. He really focused on lots and lots of healing bone broth. But his situation was such that there were many things that, according to the GAPS protocol, were "OK" for him to start incorporating, but in reality they didn't sit well with him at all. So he experimented on his own to find foods that worked for his system and continued to tailor things as needed. The nice thing about the GAPS diet is that it encourages you to pay attention to your own symptoms and modify things to suit your own body- and you can still see results even if you don't follow it legalistically. 

5. I'm about to order the book, but before I do, do you think it is absolutely essential to read the book, with so much info available on the internet? The book. Great question! For me, the book wasn't essential. I'm sure I could have followed the diet protocol more accurately and precisely with the book by my side, and I know I would enjoy learning all that it has to offer, but at that time in my life (nursing a newborn and feeling completely overwhelmed), I had no time or energy to read a book. I felt like I was barely hanging on, and I was desperate to just start making changes. I started looking around for helpful blogs and googling tons of stuff, and was able to (in my opinion) glean enough to go on. :) I'm sure I did things "wrong" all along the way, but the basic principles made sense to me and I felt like I could follow the idea of Full GAPS diet to the best of my ability without reading the book, and I wanted to see where that got me. The outcome was that I was seeing results, feeling better overall, feeling great about what I was eating, and I had peace that the Lord would bring insight to me as I needed it. If you are interested in seeing some of the blogs that were (super, super) helpful to me, here are 4 of my favorites! 



Anyone interested in these foodie topics like me? Yay! I thought so. And some people are understandably skeptical. I get that, too. Are you thinking this whole gluten-free thing is a trend? Or you're wondering why everyone claims to have food allergies today? For a really, really awesome read, you should check out Chrystal's Love Your Guts post. Her family's story is incredible (and so is she). I love what she says right here:

"When you consider how connected our gut is to the function of every part of our body, it makes sense that you’d want it to be in tip top shape. And trading in some of our comfort foods for less inflammatory, more nutrient-dense versions seems like a small price to pay for a lifetime of feeling WELL."

Disclaimer: As you guys can probably guess, I'm super interested in foodie stuff and do quite a bit of reading about nourishing and caring for our bodies. I wish I blogged about health & nutrition more, and will probably start doing some posts on these topics soon, because I usually get a few emails a week with questions about gut health, digestion, food issues, etc. But I struggle with how I want this information to be perceived via a blog post. I don't like to play doctor. I'm not an expert. I just like to learn. I don't want it to seem like I'm presenting my experience as the standard or my views as the ideal. I'd rather just feel free to share things here that have been helpful for me, with the hope that they may be helpful to someone else. Like we're chatting across the kitchen table. 

With that being said, here are a few supplements that have been beneficial in my life, in my family, in my body. And I'm willing to share them with you because I know you'll accept them as just that! 







1. Organic 3 Gut Pro probiotic powder. I like to eat fermented foods/drinks because they tend to have a wider spectrum and larger volume of probiotic strains, but I do take this supplement as well. It's a convenient way to pack in an extra punch of beneficial bacteria. And, with another human being inside me, I can't get too much of those good guys right now. I like this probiotic in particular because it doesn't have any fillers, allergens, additives- no unnecessary ingredients. I've seen it's effectiveness in everyone in my family, and over time it ends up being one of the least expensive probiotics on the market. I take this first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

2. New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Multivitamin. Last time I was pregnant, I just took the prenatal vitamin someone handed me at a clinic. I had no idea what was in it. This time, I was excited to pick out my own, because I knew what I wanted. I chose this one because it's made from whole, cultured foods, it's non-GMO, and it even has a blend of sprouted seeds in it- so it's extra digestible. Plus, it's available on Amazon Prime and it never bothers my stomach a bit. I take one tablet with each meal.

3. Ancient Minerals Magnesium Oil. After Hadley was born, I learned that I was very deficient in magnesium. For a great, great read on how crucial magnesium is, why it's so common to not get enough of it through our food and water, and what symptoms are related to magnesium deficiency, read this post by Cheeseslave. I love it. And I'm in love with magnesium!! I supplement with this magnesium oil, instead of a pill, because it's much more easily and efficiently absorbed via the skin (our largest organ) than the digestive system. Also, digestion changes a lot during pregnancy, which can make it even tougher to absorb magnesium from your food, multivitamins, etc. I use the oil almost daily, as I'm trying to correct my magnesium deficiency as much as I can before the baby comes, but I know that my pregnant body is currently using the bulk of nutrients I put in it and isn't able to store up much. I will still continue supplementing with magnesium oil after the baby is born. I chose this Ancient Minerals brand of magnesium oil because it's completely free of mercury, lead, arsenic, and fluoride. It works great and makes my skin so soft! There was a tingly-itchy feeling the first few times I used it, but that has gone away now. I spray it on my torso, arms, and thighs after I take a shower, leave it on for 20 minutes while I put in my contacts, dry my hair, etc, and then wipe it off with a warm cloth and put on some lotion. Make sure you moisturize the areas you put it on, because that will help with any dryness/itchiness.

On another- possibly hugely helpful- note, vitamin D and magnesium really helped tame my morning sickness! If you're interested in reading more about how morning sickness and magnesium are connected, check out this post by Wellness Mama or this post by Mommypotamus.

4. Green Pasture's Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Because I believe in healthy fats!! And I think cod liver oil is a healing superfood! I take this one because it's a fermented, raw, live food- it has not been heated. So, the life-giving nutrients (vitamins A and D, EFA/DHA, omegas) have not been destroyed by the manufacturing process. Along with magnesium, I was also deficient in vitamin D after Hadley's birth and throughout the first year of nursing, and cod liver oil is one of the best sources (after the sun- which I took full advantage of while pregnant this summer) for real, bioavailable vitamin D.

5. Naturally fermented sauerkraut -- not actually a supplement, but I think of it as something to "take" every day because it is such a nutrient-dense, probiotic and enzyme-rich, healing food. We make ours homemade, but I like this store-bought brand, too, because it's inexpensive and made using traditional methods, with only cabbage, water, and sea salt. We also like to make a sauerkraut salsa sometimes, which is a blend of cultured veggies and peppers that tastes really great with eggs for breakfast. Sauerkraut is high in B vitamins, also vitamins C and K, calcium, magnesium, fiber, folate, iron, potassium, copper, and manganese. (The fermentation process increases the bioavailability of nutrients making it more nutritious and digestible than plain cabbage.) Honestly, I care the most about the live probiotic strains that are present in sauerkraut. These will help me give the baby a good start in life- a healthy and balanced gut, strong digestion, and a tough immune system. I shoot for having a spoonful (if not more) of kraut with each meal.

Whew! There you have it: all the supplements I eat/take. And if you made it through all that- you are incredible and awesome. Thanks for reading! I hope some little tidbit somewhere in there will be helpful to someone. If you have questions, please feel free to ask or write me an email! Not that I know a lot, but I'd be happy to try to answer them from my experience.


Blogged 1 year ago: Pecan Crusted Pies-- for gluten-free holiday baking
Blogged 2 years ago: Homemade Mayonnaise

• kombucha is a fizzy tea-based beverage. it's tangy and bright and sparkling. 
• if you like the taste of cider vinegar, you will love kombucha tea.
• you drink kombucha for fun, for your health, or both. read about all the awesome benefits! (it's detoxifying, cancer-preventing, probiotic rich, digestion improving, anxiety reducing..)
• you'll see it at Whole Foods by the cold bottled fruit drinks (please buy the strawberry kind of G.T.'s kombucha sometime. uhhmazing), but you'll have to shell out $4 a bottle.
• you can make it at home for super cheap! 
• kombucha is made by fermenting tea (just regular old tea) with a scoby. 
• a kombucha scoby looks like a wet pancake. don't be too scared of it. 
• SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. in other words, the good stuff we want in our gut.
• making kombucha is easy. drinking your homemade kombucha is fun. buy some swing-top bottles and it's like having a teeny tiny brewery in your kitchen. 

so, candy is about 100x better from your own kitchen. this peanut butter filling is scandalous. i can't remember the last time i really felt i needed to lick the spatula clean, but there was a sense of need here. that spatula was done licked clean. the taste isn't authentic factory-made reese's, but it's powerful. superior, even. somehow reminiscent of a peanut butter pie, minus the overload of vanilla pudding. i've been toying with the idea of giving these to grant for so long, and now it's done. and will be repeated again soon. because these are just insane.



Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
adapted from the nourishing gourmet

peanut butter core:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup finely ground nuts (i actually used sunflower kernels, which were great)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 T. honey
pinch of salt

chocolate coating: 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 2 T. honey

In a small bowl combine all peanut buttery ingredients and mix well. Spoon into a muffin tray (lined or unlined is fine) and place in freezer. While that's chilling, combine chocolate sauce ingredients in a 2-cup measuring glass and place in a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring, until everything is just melted and remove from heat. Spoon chocolate sauce over the chilled peanut butter mixture and place back in freezer. Freeze for 20 minutes, remove from pan immediately, using a butter knife to pop them out. Store in fridge or freezer. Makes 10 big peanut butter cups.



this chocolate coating is rather deep and dark, which i loved. if you like more of a milky mellow chocolate, feel free to cut back on cocoa or add more butter and honey.

by the way, i am making these next Halloween. they're so easy! don't let me forget.
enjoy!!

Coconut Flour Banana Bread
adapted from Nourished and Nurtured
GAPS friendly, grain and gluten free

2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
6 eggs
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Melt butter or coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly. Add the honey to the warm butter (or oil) and stir to combine. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk eggs until frothy with a hand mixer, about 1 minute. To the eggs, add salt, vanilla, and butter-honey mixture and mix well. Measure out coconut flour and, while holding a strainer over the bowl, add it to the wet ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps. (while I normally skip sifting, coconut flour likes to clump, so I do take an extra minute to do it here.) Add mashed banana and cinnamon and mix well.

Pour batter into a generously greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes to an hour. Let cool for 10 minutes before sneaking a piece, if you can stand the wait. Enjoy warm from the oven with lots of butter. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.


  coconut flour banana bread, in my favorite loaf pan

and i haven't forgotten about all of you lovely wheat-eaters! here's a link to my favorite banana bread recipe with regular wheat flour :) it's delisch.

Hi guys. If you read my probiotic post the other day, I wanted to mention one more thing. You don't have to be somebody to try fermenting. I used to see the term "lacto-fermented" and immediately thought, okay, that's over my head, that's not me. I was scared. But now I know how easy it is..

1) put something in a jar.  2) let it sit. It's way easier than canning! Do you have some glass jars in your house? great. You're ready to go. I only started fermenting things in November, so I'm no expert, but you can see I already love it. It really is a cinch. Right off the bat, as soon as my first batch of 'kraut was finished, I started eating something probiotic at every meal, and filling my cupboards and countertops with more ferments. It's totally a normal thing now. It's totally my hobby.

If you want to try your hand at it, here's a very simple recipe to start with: pickled carrots. these are completely amazing. crunchy, garlicky, dilly, perfectly pickle-y.. but in a carrot stick. We always keep carrots on hand so it's easy to whip up a new batch, because they go fast.





If you're curious, "lacto-fermented" simply means it is fermented with lactic acid, or whey.

Without realizing it, I have a 2012 resolution. I'm going to eat some kind of probiotic food every day.

You've been hearing about probiotics lately, haven't you? New commercials are popping up every day advertising some kind of balance your digestion probiotic formula. Just watch for them! The world is realizing what our aching tummies and weak immune systems have been missing... probiotics to the rescue! right? Only probiotic supplements can be expensive, and some of them may not be very effective. Did you know that you can get those extremely good for you probiotics in your food? That's what I've been doing!

So what do I mean by "probiotic food"? I mean fermented food. When you ferment something, you saturate it with beneficial bacteria, creating your own blend of probiotic magic. It's easy, inexpensive, and a streamlined (easily digestible) way to send those friendly little bacteria straight to your gut. These foods usually have a tart, sour, or pickled taste... but have no fear. Once you catch on to the flavor, you won't want a meal without some on the side. Take it from someone who throws a little sauerkraut or a pickle on everything these days.

Fermented foods sound old-fashioned... (ahem, sauerkraut) because they are! The idea is old. Tried and true. We used to ferment foods to preserve them through the winter before we had deep freezers, and, well, preservatives. We lost a valuable medicinal food when we abandoned the idea of fermenting stuff we wanted to keep. But it's not so very lost, is it? You can ferment today! Why not have a homemade pickle instead of a vitamin? Or some homemade root beer?
Here's a great page to read on why fermented food is suuuuuper good for you and how to start.


Some of you have been asking what methods I use to make my yogurt, kombucha, and other fizzy fermented delights, so here's a guide to the probiotics in my kitchen, what it is, how I made it, and my favorite way to use it. (click on the name for a link to the recipe)

Sauerkraut
fermented, finely shredded cabbage. i love sauerkraut with grass-fed beef hotdogs, mustard, and caramelized onions. you should also try it on top of a burger, with sweet squash or potatoes, or with a picnic style meal like cold chicken, deviled eggs, and chunks of cheese. 

Yogurt
you know. creamy, tangy, it's made by culturing milk. i love to use yogurt to make thick yogurt cheese, which can then be used just like cream cheese. you'll also get whey when you make the cheese, which is so handy for other fermenting projects. (pictured at the top of this post, in the kerr jar)

Kefir
a fermented milk drink, basically drinkable yogurt. so easy to make! we use it in smoothies, in scrambled eggs to make them extra creamy, as a substitute for buttermilk, and we pour it into our chili instead of sour cream. 

Water Kefir/ Kefir Soda Pop
a fermented, fizzy drink made by placing water kefir grains in sugar water and flavoring with fruit. just like soda, but with probiotic benefits. we keep it in a pretty swing-top soda bottle and drink it at dinner.

Kombucha
naturally carbonated sweet and tangy tea. i like to have mine fruit-flavored. now that i bought a kombucha culture starter (called a "scoby" or "mushroom"), i don't have to buy those expensive bottles at whole foods. 

Dill Pickles
garlicky, fermented cucumbers. i love to eat them with a burger, egg salad, or straight out of the jar. and there's another kind of pickle i will be telling you about very soon- a new favorite of mine!

Probiotic Mayo
whey is added to homemade mayonnaise to make it even more zesty and healthy. use it on sandwiches, in dips, or on a burger. 

there are still more things that i've cultured on my countertops that i have yet to tell you about, so stay tuned! you can probably tell, but i'm pretty excited about bacteria. my body just loves it!

what about you guys? are there any sauerkraut lovers out there? or kombucha addicts? have you ever fermented anything in your kitchen? (on purpose or by accident?) 

hi guys! for those of you who are interested in growing some sprouts, here's my simple method.
it takes like 2 minutes. info on why sprouting is good for our tummies: why sprout?

1. pour a 1 lb. bag of dry lentils into two quart jars. rinse and drain, then fill jars with water and cover. (i do this before i go to bed.) let lentils soak 8-12 hours.
2. after the soak (in the morning), drain the water and rinse them again. set your drained jars at an angle in a loaf pan so air can flow. just let 'em sit all day (not soaking, just dry.)
3. in 8-12 hours, (before bed) you can rinse and drain again. place the jars back in the loaf pan. continue this process (rinsing every 8-12 hours) until you see sprouts! mine are usually ready at the next check point- which is on the second morning.



you can let the sprouts get as long as you like, but i stop when they are about 1/4 inch long. they're sweetest at that point. when you're done, just screw lids onto your jars and store in the fridge until you want to cook with them.

for easy covering/draining, you can get some fancy green sprouting lids like mine for cheap on amazon. or use a dish cloth to cover and colander for draining. or you can make some sprouting lids out of cheesecloth! super easy. just cut a square of cheesecloth and screw the mason jar band (not the whole top) over the cloth.



wondering what to do with your sprouted lentils? i know! i hadn't cooked a lentil in my life until recently. they may be humble (and not too pretty in pictures), but man, they are dirt cheap! you cook sprouted lentils just like dry lentils- toss them into a rustic lentil soup, or you can make my favorite chicken chili. also, rachel has a yummy recipe for them including caramelized onions. check out tastespotting for more good ideas!

i especially love this one for cooking lentils like baked beans.
and this one for lentils and fried eggs.

Here's what I know about today:

• Today I woke up on my own, without being summoned by miss Hadley, at about 6 am. (we went to bed at 10 last night! aren't we lucky?) 
• Today I tweezed my eyebrows and cleaned the bathroom instead of going back to bed. (finally. those 2 things get skipped a lot.) 
• Today I will read Mockingjay, but try not to go too fast. because then it's all over! 
• Today I will roast a chicken for dinner. We have to have "the chicken dinner" at least once a week. mm.
• Today pilates might be done. 
• Today I need to write down the recipe for the biscuits we had last night. 
• Today Grant will come home instead of coaching basketball. yaaaaay! 
• Today we will dvr/watch the presidential debate together. and make lots of comments about it. Does anyone else think the news is fun? I am so into it.
• Today there's a high of -1 degree. That's the high. I will be wearing a scarf and stocking cap in my house. Forget washing my hair.
• Today for lunch I am having green chicken chili. I definitely know that. 

I put my book down in order to make these muffins. Pretty big deal lately. It was snowing outside that day. and when it snows, something sparks in me- the impulse to bake.




Coconut Flour Blueberry Muffins
adapted from the wholesome home

3 eggs
3 T. melted coconut oil (or butter)
3 T. honey or crushed dates
1/8 tsp. almond extract (which is basically 1 drop)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup sifted coconut flour
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

These muffins are super simple. They're shorties as far as muffin tops go, but they taste so delicious. We had them with our Christmas breakfast and I couldn't wait too long to make them again.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend all ingredients, except the berries, in a blender or with a hand mixer until very smooth. Line a muffin pan with 6 paper liners and drop a few berries into each cup. Spoon batter evenly between the lined muffin cups (over the berries) and top each with more berries. Bake for 12-16 minutes and enjoy warm with a big pat of butter. **If you want more rise in your muffins and don't mind an extra step, you can separate the egg whites and beat until stiff, then fold them into the batter.**

I've really been enjoying coconut flour lately, as it makes such a nice grain free option. If you've never used it before, don't be afraid. It is more dense than wheat flour and requires a lot of eggs to accompany it, but it bakes up really nice and has a lovely naturally sweet flavor. I just keep it in a ziploc bag in my fridge and use a fork to "sift" before measuring it out. 

Today, given the choice between cooking and baking, what would you pick? I'm not sure which one I'd choose... I guess it depends if it's snowing. 

**disclaimer. this is an unsweetened treat. if you are not on a sugar/starch restricted diet, i have no idea if it will taste good to you or not. try it to find out!**

so, i made it through thanksgiving on the gaps diet. it was actually awesome! i had a full plate, seconds, leftovers, … and dessert. naturally sweet pumpkin bars made a perfect substitute for traditional pumpkin pie. in fact, i think i like them better than pie. i've always preferred cookies or bars. i bet i'm not alone on that. anyway, they smell as yummy as pumpkin pie in the oven.

these squares remind me a little of custard. if you choose to make them with the coconut flour they will be a little more dense like a traditional cake-bar. i like them both ways. they're great hot out of the oven (as they are in the photos here), but i really love them iced down good and cold. store them in the fridge for sure, and maybe even pop one in the freezer for a few minutes before eating. mmm. when they're chilled, you can smear coconut oil all over and pretend it's icing. i always do. but make sure you also sprinkle heavily with cinnamon and sea salt- this finishing touch really gives life to these treats.

i know we are all more familiar with pumpkin bars rather than butternut, but i recommend trying them with the butternut. it is sweeter than pumpkin, really rich and mellow and lovely.



pumpkin and butternut bars 
grain-free, gaps friendly, unsweetened
adapted from finding my niche

2 cups butternut or pumpkin puree, or a mix (keep in mind that butternut is sweeter)
¼ cup coconut flour (optional)
1-2 T. cinnamon (can add other pumpkin pie spices such as nutmeg and cloves)
1 T. pure vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
2 T. plain yogurt (butter or coconut oil also work well, room temp)
8 eggs, separated

crack egg whites into a medium size bowl and set aside. in a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients (including egg yolks) and blend until smooth. whip egg whites until light and foamy, then fold into cake mixture. pour into a parchment-lined and greased 9x13 pan. bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

serve warm, cold, or toasted. with lots of butter! or my "icing." store in the fridge.

salted cinnamon "icing"
(too simple to be a real recipe, but)

coconut oil
cinnamon
sea salt

layer each piece of cake with coconut oil, dust with cinnamon, and finish with a sprinkle of sea salt.

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?

so... maybe you've noticed a trend in my recipes lately. what's with the grain free food? and squash? why are some labeled "gaps friendly"? allow me to explain! i am currently eating a certain way to heal my gut (gut = the intestinal tract), and i am using GAPS as my guide. you heard right! i am willingly giving up grains and sugar. (don't worry, it's temporary!) i am making yogurt and sauerkraut and bone broth. i spend my day dreaming of fermented foods to try. do i sound like a weirdo yet? ok. just wait. it gets even better! but first, i better explain some stuff.

GAPS stands for "Gut and Psychology Syndrome" and is a healing protocol that you can follow anywhere from a few months to 2 years in order to heal chronic disease, severe allergies, or mental illness. (paraphrased from Kendahl of our nourishing roots) it was created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a neurologist and neurosurgeon who sought an answer for her son who was diagnosed as severely autistic. thanks to her research, he is now cured.

basically, the idea behind the GAPS diet is that gut health = whole health. i was completely floored when i encountered this concept. our digestion affects our whole system, even our brain chemistry! duh! it makes sense that what we put in our bodies would affect how they run. those little bacteria (flora) in your intestine? they are hugely, so hugely important! they make sure we digest our food, absorb nutrients, and eliminate toxins. if the good bacteria aren't healthy and thriving and outweighing the bad, we have trouble, my friends. poor digestion. toxic build up. a compromised immune system. a perfect setting for health problems. i like to think of it this way: "All diseases begin in the gut" (Hippocrates said that. i just quoted Hippocrates! who am i?!) once i understood the concept of the gut being the "second brain" of the body, everything made so much sense!


how did i get started with GAPS? oh wow. after so many hours and hours of research on a thousand subjects! once you start pouring your life -and food- into a tiny baby, you really think differently (extra carefully) about your health. you pay attention to stuff. i had to take an antibiotic this summer, and for me, it only took that one antibiotic to realize how important gut flora is. i just knew something was off inside me. looking back, i now know that i have not had a healthy gut (a proper bacterial balance) for years. (here's a list of symptoms involved with yeast imbalance.) i had heard of GAPS through some of my favorite blogs, but i believe it was this post on the nourishing gourmet that gave me the push to do it.

so, what do you guys think? do you think i am completely mad? i don't even know how weird i sound anymore. i am so into all this stuff. i just talk about it like it's normal. you know, guts and stuff. i could talk about it all day! it is absolutely fascinating to me. are you bored? are you still here?! are you sick of me talking about health nut stuff? who wants to come over to my house and make kefir?! 

but seriously, i think i will come back later and tell you some of my thoughts on how GAPS is going and what i actually eat. if that's okay. (i know it's okay, because it's my little blog and you guys are so nice!) 

so i made these pancakes at 2:30 in the afternoon. yes, i was flipping pancakes at such an hour. it felt strange. pancakes for breakfast? sweet! like on snow days and stuff? yes. pancakes for dinner? of course. like all the time! pancakes at 2:30? ...weird. but let's face it, the batter was sitting in the fridge, i was hungry, my husband wouldn't be home for another 7 hours, my baby was content outside my arms, umm.. i already knew how good they were, and therefore: i was having pancakes! strike while the cast iron is hot, guys. (and please do cook these in a cast iron. mmm.)

so would you like to play a game?
if you circled "f" in your imagination, you are correct!



butternut pancakes (grain free!)

2 cups cooked butternut squash*
8 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

combine all ingredients in a blender or mixing bowl with a hand mixer. grease a cast iron pan with coconut oil and bring to low-ish medium heat. not too hot, now. use a large spoon to pour small dollops of batter (not much bigger than coin-size) in the pan. wait to try to flip until bubbles appear on top and pancake is clearly a cohesive cake :) enjoy immediately or place on a cookie sheet in a 200-degree oven until ready to eat. or toast them when ready! i call them "toasty butternut" for a reason. i toast mine. so good.

makes about 16 small pancakes.
top with butter, maple syrup, and a sprinkle of sea salt.
these taste sweet enough to me, but if you have a sweet tooth you may want a tablespoon or two of honey in the batter.