With Love, From Stage 2 of the GAPS Intro Diet ((GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

                                           

By Kristen

Most of you fellow GAPSters are relaxing into a summer of delectable grilled fresh produce and sipping on iced cold glasses of bone broth (ha ha). Not my father or my sister. No, these brave souls are embarking on the GAPS intro diet just days before the summer solstice. This recipe is especially for them. I promise to support them as much as I can and I will do my best not to eat my juicy watermelon in front of them as they sweat over boiling cauldrons of soup.

This soup contains the following:

1 pound grass fed stew beef

2 quarts bone broth
2-4 tablespoons of your fave saturated fat

1 1/2 onions, chopped

3-4 medium carrots cut into circles or half moons

1 whole bulb garlic, minced

3-4 smallish tomatoes, quartered

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 small bunch fresh basil, bonus points if you grew it yourself

Combine beef, fat, broth, onions, carrots,  garlic, and tomatoes in a pot. Boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the beef is tender.  Skim any meat foam and the tomato skins off the top. Stir in peas until they are heated, about 3-5 minutes. Finish by adding in the basil.

Pizza! (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

 

By Kristen

Eager as I am to shed the standard American diet and tout myself as reformed Primal/Paleo/GAPS foodie snob with highly developed taste buds (while sometimes secretly wishing I could just eat some mac and cheese) I just can't seem to quit pizza.  I made this almond flour crust that is sure to fulfill the pizza deficiency that resides within us all. While you cannot order this to be delivered to your house, you can coerce your partner/significant other to dress as a delivery person and knock on your front door, GAPS legal pizza in hand.

Make it with: 

Almond Flour Crust

2 + 1/4 cups of almond flour (the type you use wil make a difference in the amount you need. I prefer Honeyville, with which you will need less, more with Bob's Red Mill)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter or melted palm shortening
1/4 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Simple Sauce

1 7 oz jar tomato paste
1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning, or not
salt, if you wish

Toppings

Dream away my friend. This pizza was made with our favorite toppings; green pepper, onion, black olive, and browned hot link sausage. Don't get hung up on mozzarella being GAPS illegal, I used 1 block of grated Organic Valley raw cheddar and it was delish.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Mix 2 cups of almond flour, salt, and garlic powder. add the melted butter and stir. Scramble the eggs and then blend them in.

Blend the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

Sadly this is not the kind of pizza you can throw up into the air whilst singing "That's Amore" and end up with a perfect crust. You will need to cover a 16"x14" cookie sheet or pizza stone covered with parchment paper. Plop your dough ball on . Now you can either press it down with your hands or place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll it out. If dough is sticky sprinkle almond flour  on top until every part is covered, then continue pressing or rolling. Add more almond flour as needed if it continues to stick. Make the crust quite thin. Bake in the oven for 10-15 min, or until barely golden brown. Add your sauce and your toppings and heat again in the oven until they are melted into delicious goodness.

Note: My husband says this is better than pizza you can get at a restaurant. He also loves me and really isn't all that hung up on gluteny goodness even though he can eat whatever he wants. You decide.

Chicken Bonus (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free)

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By Margaux

I will not insult you by attempting to pass this off as an appetizing photo. We both know it isn’t.  The good news is that this chicken recipe is the opposite of the photo. It’s juicy, flavorful, and comes with two bonuses- jus and stock.

Get it:

·      1 happy chicken

·      a couple of celery stalks (chopped)

·      1 large onion (diced)

·      bacon grease

·      salt & pepper

·      spices- we usually use oregano and thyme and then add things like sumac, or chili powder, or cayenne. Herbs de Provence are a no brainer. Whatever suits your fancy!

Make it:

·      Pre-heat oven to 350 (you can lower temp and roast longer as well)

·      Season your bird with spices of choice

·      Heat a heavy dutch oven type pan (large enough to fit your chicken) over medium high heat. When your pan is good and warm add a scoop of bacon grease, let it melt and then place the chicken breast down in the pan. It should sizzle like the dickens, that’s good!  At this time add the diced onion, and let it caramelize while the breast side is searing.  Stir the onions on occasion.

·      Sear the bird for several minutes until it is a fancy golden brown.

·      Flip over and sear other side.  Once you flip the breast side up, stir the onions some more and add the celery

·      After both sides are seared to your satisfaction and the vegetables are cooked down, place the lid securely on the pan and place in the oven (leaving breast side up).  If you don’t have a pan with a tight fitting lid, first cover the pan with foil and then put the lid on.

·      Bake for approximately 60-90 minutes. It’s done when your meat thermometer says it’s done (measure in the deepest part of the thigh near the bone)

·      When the chicken is done you’ll find the most magnificent pool of juice at the bottom of the pan. Pour through a strainer, mashing the vegetables into the strainer with a spoon, allow to sit for a couple of minutes, then skim the fat off the top or use a fat separator.  Keep the veggies you’ve strained out of the jus for use in the the bonus stock.

·      Serve chicken with jus on the side for dipping. Yum!

Bonus

Don’t throw that carcass away, make it into stock! Keep all bones, skin and the giblets and throw back into your dutch oven with the strained veggies, any stray carrot stumps, celery heads and onion bits you have lying around. Fill with water and simmer on very very low for at least 12 hours. Strain the chunks out and refrigerate. Once cool skim fat off the top. Use the stock now or freeze it for later. 

P.S. This recipe is attributable entirely to my hangry husband who does a whole lot of delicious cooking, especially while I’m in school.

Coconut Butter (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

By Kristen

Coconuts are clearly a gift from tiny tropical loincloth wearing leprechauns to all Primal/Gaps people. How can something so sweet have so few carbs? How can there be so much nutritional goodness and culinary possibility encased within such an odd hairy shell?

The coconut is classified as a true nut, but has few features in common with its crunch botheren. To start with it does not contain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Fat in the human body is made up of roughly 50% monounsaturated fat, 45% saturated fat, and 5% polyunsaturated fat. So while your body does need some PUFAs, it is easy to go nuts with the nuts and ingest too many, which has been shown to lead to weight gain in women. Coconut oil, on the other hand, is choc full of supurb saturated fat. One key aspect of the fat in coconut oil is that it contains saturated fat that is primarily medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which means your skin will love it if you don't mind smelling like a tropical drink all day.

Coconut oil has a zillion other health benefits. It is associated with weight loss, heart disease, healthy thyroid, and cholesterol. Additionally it is antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and antifungal. If you are just beginning the GAPS diet you should go easy on it as it can accelerate die off. Seriously I could go on about the mighty coconuts virtues for ages. Instead I will give you the recipe for the most uncomplicated deliciousness you have ever encountered.

Ingredients:

1 pound dried coconut, shredded (large or small shreds)
1/4 cup coconut oil (I like Dr. Bronner's)

Put the 1/2 dried coconut in your food processor using the regular blade. Process for 2-5 minutes until there is room. Scrape the sides with a spatula and add the rest. Process until the coconut is smooth like  melted butter. You may have to scrape the sides a couple more times. Add coconut oil and stir (sometimes I just swirl it all little, not mixing completely). Store in a pint sized jar.

Coconut oil will solidify at room temperature. It tastes delicious either way.

Permutations:
-If you want chunky butter add some coconut flakes at the end.
-Mix some fruit in and enjoy right away.
-Add some cocoa powder.
-Stir in some chocolate chips.

THE GAPS INTRO DIET (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free, dairy free)

 By Kristen

The title is in all capitals for a reason my friends, the GAPS intro diet is a doozie. Oh people will tell you all sorts of things, like how you will feel so great! and, how there is so many delicious things to eat! Well I am here to tell you the truth. If you have the iron clad willpower to stay with it eventually you will feel fantastic. You may even find yourself dancing to "Walking on Sunshine" in your kitchen, but that, dear reader, is after THE DIE OFF. The die off is not a thing of science fiction. It happens and it is not fun. The first time I did the intro I had 10 days of lethargy and headaches. There is a whole storm of other symptoms that can occur as you switch from a fat burner to a sugar burner and begin to starve out the antagonistic gut flora.

However, the truth is that it IS worth it. You will discover what foods you are sensitive to and heal these sensitivities, as well as sealing your gut. Honestly you should do it, but it is not easy to be sure.

My biggest problem is that I love food, moreover I love a variety of food that tastes delicious, and particularly in the initial phases of the diet your choices or extremely limited and tastes like baby food.

Case in point: Here is what is allowed in phase 1 of the GAPS intro diet:

- Meat or fish stock  
-Well boiled broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, leeks, garlic
-Squash, winter and summer  
-Boiled meat  
-Sea salt 
-1-2 teaspoons a day of sauerkraut juice  

There are 20,000 edible plants alone on our planet, and on the intro you can have 8/20,000. The odds of deliciousness are not in our favor.

To remedy the bland baby food flavor profile I put a whole bulb of garlic in this soup to bring it back into tasty town. Even though the soup sort of looks like it was regurgitated it actually tastes pretty darn good.

In closing here is my advice: Do the GAPS intro, just be prepared mentally. The Yahoo GAPS group is full of supportive people, and just tell yourself that it is not forever, and you will feel much better having done it. For more information on the intro diet visit the GAPS diet website.

Ingredients:

1 bulb garlic, minced
1 pound grass fed beef
1 head broccoli
5 chopped carrots
1 small butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into chunks
1 1/2-2 quarts chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
celtic sea salt to taste

Process:

This is the best part, it is so easy. Just throw it all in a pot and boil until the meat is cooked and the veggies are soft. I am to lazy to form the beef into meatballs so I chop it into chunks with a wooden spoon while it cooks. Also there is a meat foam that bubbles up to the top that I skim off and feed to the dogs. Mmm, meat foam.

Bake Me Home Tonight: Honey Almond Flour Cookies (GAPS, Paleo, Primal, gluten Free, grain free)

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By Kristen

I don't just have a sweet tooth, I have a sweet mouth, that's right all 32 teeth are sweet including my wisdom teeth. Likely this is borne from haywire gut flora and loco insulin that have gone unchecked for most of my life, and I do my best to not overindulge. Therefore this lil mini batch of cookies with only 3 tablespoons honey fit the bill perfectly. I created the recipe while I was in a cabin in the mountains with limited ingredients. It is a bit like a sugar cookie, only lacking the nefarious sugar.

Ingredients:

1/2 a stick butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Celtic salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the honey. Hint: if you grease your tablespoon the honey slides right out. Remove from heat. In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla to the butter mixture. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Drop overflowing tablespoons of batter on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on your altitude and the actual internal temp of your oven, which can vary from what your dial says.
  
Read more about baking with almond flour here: http://urbanposer.blogspot.com/2012/05/baking-101-almond-flour-basics.html

On Being a Special Needs Eater

By Kristen

Listen, it is time you face it. You are high maintenance. That's right, by choosing to be healthy you have in turn chosen to be difficult. Even so, you have made a good choice, as the Weston A Price Foundation says, "The wise will thrive." As your health improves you will find this to be true. However, at times it will not be easy. Here are some guidelines to ease your journey.

1. Only complain a little. Though being on this diet may seem essential to you and an integral part of healing, to others you have made a choice. Therefore your whining will not endear them to you, in fact it will make you look like a masochist. Just grin and bear it as you sip your bone broth and sit through the work catered lunch, chocolate fountain celebration, Dean and Deluca catered wedding, or trip to Charlie's Chocolate factory.

2. Find some support. This is imperative, as you can actually complain to these people! And they can whine to you! Additionally they will help you stay committed and will be a good source to share information with. Ideally you will find a real live person you can meet up with. You may want to check out your local Weston A. Price chapter, or see if there is a primal or paleo meetup in your area.  Many forums are filled with like minded cyber people. You can find forums on: Mark's Daily Apple, Cave Man Forum, Jack Kruse and many other paleo forums. There is also a GAPS Yahoo group. Once you find some HLHs (healthy living homies) you can obsessively discuss fermented food, your fave CSA, and chat about how your your leptin is totally resetting.

3. Lay low and don't try to convert people. I know I know, once you embark on this journey you will likely want to announce your findings to the world. DON'T GIVE IN. I am here to tell you that exactly zero people in the world want to be aggressively converted. In fact, it will likely make them resist any change. Instead just live the vida low carb. If they are interested I guarantee they will ask you questions, and maybe they will want to follow your lead. Remember, you can always talk to your HLHs.

4. Be Prepared. Bring what you need and do your research. otherwise you will find yourself at the airport drooling over some processed street meat oozing its pink slime juices over the roaster. You can save yourself a lot of misery by looking at restaurant menus online ahead of time and traveling with a Lara bar.

5. Be the hostess (or host) with the mostess. Let's be frank here, you have a lot of needs around food. It is not just a measly shellfish allergy or aversion to gefilte fish, you have some serious food requirements, so many requirements that one practically requires an advanced degree in order to understand them all.  Do not saddle your friends and family with this, instead host gatherings at your house or opt for potlucks in hopes that no one will notice that you are only eating the food you brought and some fruit salad. If someone REALLY wants to cook for you just tell them all you eat is meat, vegetables and fruit. Make sure you ask about the salad dressing.

5. Keep Learning. The more you know the more likely you are to stay on the wagon and remember why you made this crazy choice.

7. Stay Positive. Pretend you are on Iron Chef for life. It's fun! It's a challenge! It's so crispy yet delicate!