Cacao nibs. YUM!

Well, while it's not quite like eating a handful of chocolate chips, my verdict is that cacao nibs are quite the tasty, and versatile treat!

Recently I had watched a couple food documentaries (nerd, I know), and there were two food items in particular that caught my attention based on their (claimed) health benefits: cacao and chia seeds. As super foods, both cacao and chia seeds pack quite a nutritional punch, and are especially good for digestion. Chia seeds, when mixed with liquid, become very gelatinous and, from what I hear, can help pull out the toxins in the body and digestive track, aiding the body's ability to detox. Cacao nibs, among other things, are high in antioxidants and fiber, as well as essential minerals and fat. With my on-going journey towards perfect gut health, I had to at least give these a try, especially since starting the GAPS diet I've been without chocolate. Fortunately I haven't been missing it, but this gave me the perfect excuse to be a little indulgent.

The hubby had a really good description for these: cacao nibs are to chocolate as raw espresso beans are to coffee. They definitely smell like chocolate as espresso beans smell of coffee, but the taste is far more bitter, much more like coffee. Not that I find this to be a bad thing necessarily, since much like coffee, the bitter-sweet flavor can be a little addicting. Combine the chocolatey, coffee flavor with an incredibly satisfying crunch, and cacao nibs prove to be quite the tasty treat.

Despite the more bitter, coffee-like flavor,  I actually find cacao nibs to be rather enjoyable on their own. I do admit though, that they work especially well when sprinkled over yogurt with a large piece of juice pulp bread! My next step is to start adding them to more recipes. In addition to the bread, I think they would make a fantastic addition to these almond butter, coconut treats (modified recipe to come) as I think they will not only broaden the flavors, but add some much needed crunch!

All in all, I would highly recommend giving cacao nibs a try.

At long last: Pulp Chips!

Sometimes, there's just nothing like a good crispy chip! As a life-long carb addict, after switching to the GAPS diet, I found myself sorely missing that crispy texture I'd grown to love by way of crackers, cereal (LOTS of cereal), toast, etc. I needed something to satisfy that crunch without over doing it on the good stuff like almonds and other nuts and seeds.

Fortunately, with GAPS, especially the intro, we started doing more juicing, which left us with an abundance of a food product that we didn't quite know what to do with, but also didn't want going to waste. I just couldn't justify disposing all that pulp, so I started perusing the interwebs for ideas on how to use it. There were some interesting recipes, many of which I still need to try, but one in particular stood out as it seemed to be rather GAPS friendly: the Detoxinista's Italian Meat(less) balls. With a couple modifications for GAPS, these veggie balls worked quite well. The hubby and I used them on our 50(+) mile bike-ride as a take-along snack. Without a good sauce though, for us at least, the veggie balls seemed to be a little dry and flat tasting. We both really liked the concept though, which got me thinking: what if we just flattened these out and make them into chips?

I'd seen enough recipes online for juice pulp chips, and since we already had a pretty tasty recipe that just seemed to be missing that little extra something, we went for it! I adjusted some of the quantities to make it work better on the flat baking sheet, and after some trial and error with bake-time, ended up with a dang tasty chip recipe! This has become another one of our go-tos. Since we're juicing on a daily basis, we rarely have a shortage of pulp, so the chips are on a pretty heavy rotation throughout the week. Besides the fact that they are a great snack, the pulp seems less likely to go bad when it's all crisped up. One day I will give this a try in a food dehydrator for a more "raw" version and do more of a side-by-side comparison. Now I just need to get the dehydrator!

As for serving, they are of course great on their own, but they go particularly well with guacamole (especially our go-to, extra garlicky, extra oniony guac), cheese, dip, nut butter, just about anything! And the pulp does not need to be strictly vegetable base, as ours consistently has some type of fruit in it, and still works well with the more savory seasoning. With that, I'm hoping to try making a more pumpkin spice-like recipe soon, so stay tuned for those results!

Pro tip: start with the egg. I use an immersion blender with a whisk attachment.

Once the eggs are scrambled, everything else gets added, in no particular order.

Flatten everything out on the pan. I find parchment paper is almost critical for non-stick results.

After a good night in the oven, break apart and enjoy!

The Recipe (makes two baking sheets):

• 5 Cups Juice Pulp (very rough measurement)
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp Onion powder
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• 2 tsp Oregano (dried)
• 2 tsp Basil (dried)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbs Parmesan Cheese
• 1 oz Olive Oil

The Process:

• In a large bowl, mix eggs until well blended.
• Add pulp, seasoning (onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, salt), cheese and olive oil. 
• Mix ingredients by hand start dividing between the two prepared baking sheet (I use parchment paper and it works fabulously!).
• Flatten the mixture out so that it fills the full baking sheet.
• Place in the over on a low temperature setting (for my oven, 200 degrees is ideal) and let sit for at least 8 hours (overnight or during the day while at work). 

As the pulp mixture dries it will detach from the parchment paper making it easy to break into bite-size pieces. 

Zughetti and squash sauce with a side of veggie balls.

The hubby and I were on the lookout for some quickie meal ideas, and since we had just gone to the market, we had a few extra ingredients on hand, one of which being zucchini. We wanted something simple, yet comforting, and what is more comforting than spaghetti and meatballs...? Zughetti and veggie balls of course! I've always had an interest in using zucchini in place of traditional spaghetti noodles, and now that we're on the GAPS diet, it seemed like the perfect time. I thought it was a fun idea, and since I was planning to quickly and lightly stir-fry the noodles, thought it would be just the thing to star in our quickie dinner.

It was also a bit of a leftover meal, using up some of the older ingredients that had been lingering about the kitchen, in particular these two acorn squashes that had been threatening to become permanent fixtures if they weren't used sooner than later. So it was decided, squash sauce to top the zughetti noddles! The recipe for the sauce comes from MarthaStewart.com, and with only minor modifications, primarily the use of coconut milk in place of half-and-half, the dish was rather GAPS/paleo friendly. I was also quite liberal in my use of garlic (as always), caramelizing the cloves**, and adjusting the rest of the ingredients accordingly to accommodate the large amount of squash we had. Sticking with the theme of simplicity, instead of pealing and cubing the squash as the recipe suggested, I simply cut the squashes in half and sprinkled in my seasoning and oil, letting them cook open side up. Overall it worked out quite well. The sauce was delicious, and went amazingly well with our second attempt at the Detoxinista's Meat(less) Balls. What pulled it all together though, was how we topped everything off with the amazing leftover slow-cooker chicken we had made earlier in the week.

It turned out to be quite an amazing meal. Not necessarily the quickest, but considering what was all made, the effort was fairly minimal. And as a bonus, we finished off the last of our fouxtatoes/cauliflower hummus, which made for another great serving idea for the veggie balls. Definitely need to try doing the veggie balls falafel style!

I LOVE garlic, and really, is there anything roasted garlic doesn't go with?

While zucchini noodles are great on their own, a quick stir-fry can really make the flavor shine!

Delicious.

The Recipe

• 1 large zucchini (for the noodles)

• 1 medium butternut squash, about 1 1/2 pounds (I used acorn squash)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic*
• 5 cloves garlic (very rough estimate)
• 1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil (or desired fat for caramelizing)
• 1 cup coconut milk (original recipe calls for half-and-half)

The Process

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Using a large, sharp knife, trim ends; halve squash crosswise to separate bulb from neck. Peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut both pieces in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds; discard. (To simplify, cut squash in half, remove seeds and prep each open half. Bake open side up. and proceed to step 4.)
3. Cut squash into 2-inch chunks; transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil and sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic around squash. (*If cooking as whole halves, sprinkle minced garlic on each half.)
4. Roast until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Remove and discard skin from garlic.
5. *While squash is cooking, begin cooking garlic cloves on a low setting, stirring occasionally. (The goal is to slightly caramelize.)
6. Transfer squash and garlic and onion mixture to a food processor; puree. With motor running, add coconut milk through the feed tube; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups water (I did not add water as I like a thicker sauce); continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Season again generously with salt.

Serve over zughetti, veggie balls, or anything else you're looking to spice up, and enjoy!

**I have grown to love Sam's Club's Fresh Peeled Garlic. It's a huge bag of garlic already prepped for cooking. What more could you ask for?!

Another juice pulp recipe: Bread

The homestead has had a bit of a juice pulp surplus as of late, mainly because I've been holding off on the chip making to look for more ways of putting the pulp to good use. As I've scoured the net for more juice pulp recipes, I've come across quite a few bread recipes, and so was curious to give it a try myself. I found this recipe from the Milk From The Morning Cake blog. All in all it was a pretty painless process, and was ready to enjoy in about an hour. Since I've been avoiding sugar, I left out the honey/sweetener, and did not find it to be lacking in the slightest. I love the spice flavor with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and in many ways it reminds me of my mom's zucchini bread. Quite delicious, it may be one of those recipes we need to add into the regular rotation. The biggest takeaway for me though, was the prep tip of lining the bread pan with parchment paper. A simple thing I know, but made all the difference in the world when it came to removal. I had tried using various types of fat to grease the pan in the past like butter, coconut oil, olive oil, but the parchment paper definitely wins out.

One thing I'll be interested in trying in the future is a more savory version of the bread, something more akin to the pulp chip recipe I love so much. Perhaps mingling it with the wonderful savory waffle recipe. I could imagine this turning out to be some pretty awesome sandwich bread, or perhaps it would work best as a dipping bread (I love olive oil!)! Hmmm....sounds like a new recipe experiment!

I again found that mixing the eggs first and adding everything else to them worked VERY well!

Getting my hands dirty.

Success!

A little quick cinnamon butter and we're all good.

The Recipe

• 8oz juice pulp
• 6oz ground almonds (or ground cashews, hazels or sunflower seeds or coconut flour, I happened to use almonds)
• 2oz melted butter
• 2-4tsp honey (or maple syrup for non SCD and low fructose diets, can also be omitted if avoiding sugar all together)
• 4 large free range eggs
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Juice of half a lime or a third of a lemon (I used a tablespoon of lemon juice)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Half tsp fresh grated nutmeg (I used dried, powdered)
• 3 tsp cider vinegar
• small handful of chopped walnuts, pecans or raisins (This is entirely optional, though I found the walnuts to be a wonderful addition. Leave out raisins for low fructose diets)

The Process

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 1lb loaf tin with parchment paper, letting it hang well over the edges.
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together carrot pulp, ground almonds, melted butter, spices, bicarb and eggs.
3. In a small bowl or cup stir together, lime juice, vinegar and honey. Pour over the rest of the ingredients (adding the option extras if wished) and stir till well mixed in. Pile into the tin and smooth the top.
4. Bake for 50 - 70 minutes (mine was done in about an hour), until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and then gently loosen with a knife and lift out using the paper strips. Leave paper attached until completely cool and then remove carefully so as not to detach the crust. Slice and toast or keep in an airtight container for up to three days. Otherwise, slice and open freeze, storing in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three weeks.

A savory update to the Civilized Waffles

I just wanted to post a quick update to the Savory Waffles post.

After the delicious results from the modified waffle recipe, I wanted more. The hubby was in agreement as well, but wanted to do the waffles properly, most closely following the recipe with benedict and all! And so it was, and it was once again amazing! The bacon and chives not only add another degree of flavor to the waffles, but texture. The fresh waffles are so crunchy, and while they have a wonderfully light, airy middle, the bacon adds an additional savory crunch to every bite. In many ways it reminds me of chop block bread, but even more awesome! I'm excited to experiment with these more, perhaps adding in some sun-dried tomatoes and herbs, maybe even a cheese. Sounds like a modified breakfast pizza will be in the near future....

The second part of the recipe, the Hollandaise sauce, was interesting. Not quite as sauce-like was we were anticipating, though that may have been chef error (guess we'll just have to try making it again), it still had an amazing flavor that only got better as it mingled in with the egg yolk and started soaking into the waffle.

All in all this was another amazing brunch. Eating out on the porch I felt like we were at our own little bistro complete with exceptional food and the best company (thank you honey!). Can't wait till next weekend to experiment some more!


The Recipe(s):

WAFFLES

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup raw cashew butter
• 3 tablespoons almond milk
• 2 teaspoons bacon fat, melted
• 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 piece of bacon and chopped rough
• 2 chives chopped

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

• 2 eggs yolks
• 1/4 cup melted grassfed butter or ghee, unsalted (for dairy-free, follow my recipe for Coconut Oil Hollandaise)
• 2 Tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/8 Tsp Paprika or Cayenne if you want some heat

TO SERVE

• 4 Savory Waffles
• 4 Slices cooked ham
• 4 Eggs poached
• 1/4 Cup Hollandaise Sauce, recipe follows
• Chives to garnish

The Process (Waffles and Benedict):

• Preheat your waffle iron
• In a stand mixer, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs with the cashew butter, almond milk, bacon fat, and garlic.
• Mix the salt, baking soda and coconut flour in a small bowl, then pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
• Beat for 30 seconds until the batter is fully incorporated, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure you get all of the sticky cashew butter.
• Fold the chopped bacon and chives into the batter by hand.
• Cook your waffles according to the instructions on your waffle iron, then keep them in a warm oven until you’re ready to assemble the benedict.

***Every machine is different, so watch the waffles really carefully to ensure they don’t burn. This batter will not take as long to cook as a regular waffles and will probably be done before your indicator light turns green. Once the steam stops, they are likely done. Mine takes about 30-45 seconds for each batch.***

The Process (Hollandaise Sauce):

• Pour boiling water into a blender, then cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Dump out the water and dry the container thoroughly.
• Blend the egg yolks with the lemon juice, salt, and paprika.
• With the blender running on low, slowly pour in the hot melted butter.
• Blend for about 30 seconds until the sauce has thickened and the butter is well incorporated. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

***If it gets too thick, warm it over very low heat until it becomes runny again (about 10 seconds in a microwave and a minute on a low burner). Be careful not to use too high of heat or your eggs will scramble and your butter will curdle.***


Layer each waffle with a slice of ham, poached egg, drizzle of hollandaise, and a few chives.

The best whole chicken in a crock-pot, really!

This recipe has really become the go-to for the hubby and I, and I can't tell you enough just how amazing it really is! The recipe comes from the 100 Days of Real Food blog, and besides being incredibly easy, as most slow-cooker recipes are, the resulting chicken tastes fantastic, so juicy and flavorful! We generally double up on the recipe, somehow squishing in two whole chickens into one (large) crock-pot, and reserving the remaining juices and bones to start the next batch of bone broth.

I love the set-it-and-forget-it style recipes, especially when they yield such awesome leftovers, and as we continue to go more GAPS/paleo, having a good meat recipe on hand is an essential. This slow-cooker chicken has made an awesome addition to dishes like our zughetti with squash sauce and salads, is a great topper for juice pulp chips, and is pretty darn good all on it's own. I can't say enough about this recipe, so try it and let us know in the comments what you think, and if there are any fun variations you've come up with!

The Recipe

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 large chicken

The Process

1. Combine the dried spices in a small bowl.*
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Remove any giblets** from the chicken and then rub the spice mixture all over. You can even put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts.
4. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover it, and turn it on to high. There is no need to add any liquid.
5. Cook for 4 – 5 hours on high*** (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Don’t forget to make your homemade stock with the leftover bones!

*I just sprinkle all the ingredients over the chicken(s) once they are in the crock-pot, which has worked just fine.

**When possible (or when provided) we use the entire chicken, giblets and all!

***I generally let it cook on a low setting for at least 8 hours or more, till it's falling off the bone, or when I can get around to processing it.

More Civilized ideas: German Apple Pancakes

Ah breakfast. My husband and I have made the most important meal of the day into a bit of an art. We love breakfast foods, so when we came across this delicious looking German Apple Pancake recipe from the Civilized Caveman, we had to try it. The photos made them look more like apple fritters than pancakes, which was especially intriguing to me (who doesn't like apple fritters?!). They just looked like a whole lot of awesome, and based on the ingredients (with one minor modification) would be GAPS friendly. The hubby and I were definitely in the mood for a whole lot of awesome!

The overall process was pretty painless, and cook times were pretty accurate as well, which was only somewhat surprising since we used jumbo muffin tins instead of the suggested Ramekins. The results were amazing. In the end, they turned out looking a little more like pineapple upsidedown cake, but the (not too overpowering) sweetness of the apple, along with the spiciness of cinnamon and nutmeg gave these German Apple Pancakes an incredibly rich flavor. Serving suggestion: place in the middle of a large bowl of (plain, full-fat) yogurt - amazing!

The Recipe:
(the batter)

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup almond milk (coconut works too)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp pure maple syrup (sub honey for GAPS)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg

(the filling)

• 2 apples, cored and diced
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• juice of 1/2 lemon (I used 2TBS lemon juice)
• handful of crushed pecans

The Process

1. Preheat Oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, almond milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and maple syrup
3. In a small bowl, stir coconut flour, nutmeg, and baking soda
4. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat well to combine, set aside while you prepare the apples
5. In a small frying pan, heat 2 tbsp coconut oil and raw organic honey
6. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg and juice of 1/2 Lemon and cook for 1 minute
7. Add in your apples and sauté until all your apples are nicely coated
8. Evenly divide your apple mixture between 8 ramekins greased with coconut oil and then evenly divide your egg mixture on top of the apples between the 8 Ramekins
9. Place your Ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees and then reduce heat to 375 and cook for an additional 20 minutes
10. Sprinkle with pecans when removed from the oven
11. Enjoy

The Civilized approach to food: Savory Waffles

This past weekend involved the hubby and I experimenting with some new recipes, which culminated into some pretty amazing meals! As we continue to adhere to the GAPS diet, We've also been getting more into Paleo, which is quite GAPS friendly minus the sweet potatoes and bacon (though lets face it, exceptions need to be made for bacon!). I admit, most of my Pinterest time is spent salivating over the awesome looking Paleo recipes, especially those in the dessert category. Even with my diminished sweet-tooth (thank you GAPS!), desserts always look so darn good, and tend to fill most of my Pin boards. Which is why I was so excited to see this delightfully savory waffle recipe courtesy of the Civilized Caveman. I don't recall ever having savory waffles prior to this, but they were amazing, and that is even with the minor modifications we were (sort of) forced to make due to lack of ingredients...

As you can see from the Civilized Caveman, this is part of a larger Eggs Benedict style recipe. We were more interested in trying the waffles themselves since we already had another recipe started (German Apple Pancakes, again from the Civilized Caveman). With that, we served these waffles sans the eggs and ham, and instead used some leftover broth/stock meat and our homemade guacamole. The savory, garlicy-ness of these waffles (I did not skimp on the garlic) really make them a great pairing for almost anything, so feel free to experiment with your own toppings and post your results in the comments!

The few substitution we made due to our missing ingredients were coconut milk for almond milk, butter for the bacon fat, and simply left out the bacon (tragic I know) and chives. By not skimping on the garlic (using more like a heaping tablespoon rather than the 1/4 listed), the waffles maintained a rich, savory flavor even without the bacon and chives.

The results: Amazing!

breakfast out on the porch, by Phillip Fischer

The Recipe:

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup raw cashew butter (or your preferred nut butter)
• 3 tablespoons almond milk (coconut works fine too)
• 2 teaspoons bacon fat, melted (or butter)
• 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic (I chose to be more generous here with 1 heaping tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 piece of bacon and chopped rough
• 2 chives chopped

The Process:

1. Preheat your waffle iron
2. In stand mixer, or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs with the cashew butter, almond milk, bacon fat, and garlic.
3. Mix the salt, baking soda and coconut flour in a small bowl, then pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
4. Beat for 30 seconds until the batter is fully incorporated, scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure you get all of the sticky cashew butter.
5. Fold the chopped bacon and chives into the batter by hand.
6. Cook your waffles according to the instructions on your waffle iron, then keep them in a warm oven until you’re ready to assemble the benedict.

***Every machine is different, so watch the waffles really carefully to ensure they don’t burn. This batter will not take as long to cook as a regular waffles and will probably be done before your indicator light turns green. Once the steam stops, they are likely done. Mine takes about 30-45 seconds for each batch.***

A GAPS follwup

It's been just over a month since the hubby and I have been full-blown GAPS, and there have definitely been some interesting changes since leaving the intro diet.

First and foremost, I seem to be putting on a bit of extra fat (or is it bloating?) around the mid section. With the more calorie dense foods and me still trying to figure out that happy medium between content and FULL (erroring on the side of full a little too often...), it's not too big a surprise that the body began storing the excess calories as fat. I haven't been super happy about that, obviously, so I've been working on recalibrating my general intake of food with some intermittent fasting (more on that to come), and figuring out how much is truly needed for satiety. It's a work in progress.

Another interesting development has been a reappearance of my period. It's been a little MIA since getting back from Cancun in March (2013). I do have a birth control implant, which explains in the fine print that periods may become very light or stop all together the longer it's in, so I didn't think too much of the irregularity. With leaning out a bit at the start of the GAPS diet, perhaps the development of extra fat has actually made the body happy enough to menstruate again and is actually a healthy change. I could almost be convinced of this, but since it's primarily centered around my mid-section, which is supposedly the least healthy place to be storing fat (and signs of potential/continued gut distress), I find it difficult to believe this is a healthy change.

Along with the period acne has also seems to have come back. Perhaps not as intense as pre-GAPS, but definitely more than I've had with the intro diet. The hubby has also started to see some more flakey skin, eczema-like patches again as well. This was another issue that seemed to have cleared up with the intro, and again while not as intense as pre-GAPS, is slightly disturbing that it's come back at all.......

Aside from those issues, digestion seems to be MUCH better for the two of us. For myself, I'm much more regular, far less gassy, and have generally just felt much better overall. It feels as though the body is finally able to digest all those nutritious foods we've been consuming! Energy levels are generally stable, though sleep is something I can always use more of...perhaps something to work on (starting with eliminating some of the many activities we're involved in....).

Issues or not, we continue pressing onward and upward! The food we've continued to try with this new diet has been amazing! With introducing new foods with the full GAPS, it's almost like color has been brought back into life again. Each new recipe is more awesome than the next, and we're getting to be quite the little cooks if I do say so myself! It's an exciting change, and I'm looking forward to sharing more about the different recipes and health changes here on the blog!

Leaving the (GAPS) intro behind.

Not sure if my body is officially ready for this yet, but it's happening. The past week or so I've been slowly adding more food to get my diet back to something that resembles normality. The impetus? The continued UTI....

Almost two weeks ago now, I somehow contracted a UTI, which I don't recall ever having before (and based on this experience, I'm sure I would have remembered....). It was less than fun, and lingered on far longer than it should have. After a couple rounds of antibiotics (which I was non too plussed about taking), things seem to be back to normal, whatever that is. Throughout the process I tried to listen to my body closely, eating what it seemed to need whether it was part of the scheduled GAPS intro diet or not. As things continue to get better, I continue to add more variety of food, especially fresh/raw food. It's been a much needed change in texture, flavor, and variety. The hubby is still taking it slow, going a little more by the book, but seems to have made some good progress (not that he had any obvious issues to begin with.....).

So where do we go from here? More food! I'm very much looking forward to adding more to the diet while continuing to take what we've learned from the intro diet and applying it to our daily lives. Biggest thing I've taken out of this has been that quite a few of my issues seem to stem from gluten and sugar, not surprisingly. My face has continued to stay pretty darn clear, especially in comparison to before the diet. It's also been interesting to pair this experience with some of the concepts of Paul Chek's book How To Eat Move And Be Healthy. Overall, I've gained a much better perspective on what and how to eat, though the how seems to be in an ever "in-progress" state. I'm always learning how much fat is too much, is it the leaner protein that sits better with me, or would something heavier be a little more satisfying? What veggies cause me more issues, and how do I feel when I have a particular food? Ever evolving, but I do seem to have a much better grasp on what my body needs, and more importantly what it doesn't.

And before I forget, my most awesome discovery has been the use of juice pulp for crackers! I came across this recipe here, but find that these "meatless meatballs" actually work the best (updated recipe to come soon)! They are awesome to munch, a great way to use up the leftover juice pulp, and a much healthier substitute for traditional grain crackers. Can't wait to try it as a thin and crispy pizza crust! I also can't forget the awesome meatball recipe we tried. So tasty, so delicious, and again, the simplest of ingredients making the most awesomely flavored food. I'm a big spice person, so simplifying has been an interesting and wonderful experience for our cooking, and another big takeaway from this diet.

What I've learned:
Keep it simple.
Quality of ingredients does make a difference.
home made is safest and often tastiest!

Still filling in the GAPS as we take a few steps back.

This past weekend was the big Memorial Day weekend, so of course my hubby and I had our first experience with a party situation on the GAPS (intro) diet. Since it was grilled food, and we were progressing rather well, we proceeded to eat the meat along with this veggie, soupie mix we brought along just in case there weren't enough GAPS friendly options. Good thing we did because just about everything served (minus a beat salad that used Balsamic Vinaigrette - another thing to avoid on GAPS) was made up of grains or corn. In addition to the grilled food, we also enjoyed our own contribution of an avocado dip, which we may have indulged in a little too much (I wonder if I have some minor sensitivities to avocado based on previous experiences......). I also may have (definitely) over done it on the grilled food to the point that I ended up with a gut bustingly full belly. Probably not the best idea with the still sensitive digestive track, especially since I believe the grilled chicken had a not-so-GAPS-friendly marinade, possibly contributing to the following digestive issues......which lingered on to Monday.....during which I foolishly tried to introduce a new food: almond(/nut) flour bread. While quite delicious, I don't think my body was quite ready for it yet.

That brings me to where we are currently, once again making my way through the early parts of the intro diet. Tuesday I went back to stage one and continued with that until Wednesday. Today, Thursday, I added in some raw egg yolk in hopes of getting myself back to where I was previously. I have continued to increase the probiotic throughout the day, primarily dairy based. Not sure if this is helping or hindering yet. The gas and bloating, among other digestive issues of which I will spare you the details, have continued throughout this entire process. One of the hopes I had in getting back to the first stage was to help alleviate those symptoms as well. So far I have yet to feel any significant benefits. Perhaps it's the detox. Either way, I am planning/hoping to progress through this intro stage with a little more gusto to get myself eating more "normally" again, whatever that means at this point.....I'm continuing to hope that the process will, in the end, be a success.

Continuing through week three of the GAPS intro

Some interesting developments over this last week, especially over the last couple of days, as the hubby and I continue through the GAPS intro diet.

Last week I was concerned that I was perhaps having some issues with night shades. I removed those from the diet and things seemed to have progressed on fairly well. I seemed less gassy and had fewer issues with overall digestion. I will try adding those in again, but a little more gently this time....(they were introduced with the GAPS beef stew recipe which is comprised mostly of tomatoes and meat....)

We had big plans for the weekend's breakfast. We had looked ahead to the next steps in the intro diet, and were excited at the prospect of introducing some pancakes and avocado. I was a little nervous since I was still seeing how things went without the night shades, but didn't want to disappoint the other half (or myself as I was also anxiously awaiting the new foods!). We looked up a recipe for the pancakes and had mixed success with them. They are definitely as people claim: very difficult to work with, and would never be mistaken for real pancakes (update to this recipe to follow). That being said, they were quite tasty, and it took lots of will power to not over do it with the new food. With the seeming success on Saturday, we continued with the pancakes and avocado on Sunday. We probably had a little more than we should have......but it was once again quite yummy! Noting some of my own digestion distress however, mild as it was, I decided to pay careful attention on Monday, and tried eliminating them on Tuesday. Today is now Wednesday, and while things did not start off the greatest with digestion, I'm once again avoiding the pancakes in hopes of allowing things to settle down again. Avocado is still on the menu, but will continue to be monitored.

One thing I forgot was that we both have seen a slight increase in gas. The hubby believe his to be the sauerkraut juice, I was uncertain. Regardless, we both have been avoiding it for a bit, myself trying to gradually wean off it to see if I couldn't find a better balance with the whey/dairy probiotic. I'm not sure if the increase in sour cream has been all that beneficial though....Just one of the many things I'm continuing to monitor.

So once again, very mixed results as we continue to work our way through the diet. Both the hubby and I feel a little like we're just fumbling in the dark at times, despite having the book as a guide. Hopefully as we continue to research and fine-tune the diet, we'll start seeing and feeling something more positive in our results.

side note: I've always had acne, and lately I've been noticing, especially on my face, quite a bit of healing. Not sure if it can be attributed to the diet, or the change in temperature here from winter to summer (less dry for the skin). I've also noticed my sweet cravings have almost completely disappeared. That's been the case, aside from the first few days, since the beginning. I use to live for sweets with a scheduled dessert EVERY night (as mentioned in an earlier post), and now I'm much more inclined to enjoy the savory foods. Hopefully these small changes will lead to more sweeping changes down the road. I'm still waiting for that awesome surge of energy, feeling less tired upon waking and more energized for the day ahead. Keeping my fingers crossed!

On the GAPS journey: finding the culprit.

Starting the second week of GAPS has left me feeling less than optimal in the digestive area...Today starts the process of figuring out what food seems to be the culprit. By not adhering strictly to the protocol in how new foods are introduced, it's a little more difficult to determine what's causing the problems, but I think I have a good idea.

Prior to starting the GAPS diet, I was trying to increase my fresh vegetable intake as much as possible with as much variety as I could get. Tomatos and bell peppers were some of those foods I heard are especially good for the body, and of course add a good amount of color to the plate which is another indicator of a healthy meal. I noticed that I had some major digestive issues with this, but since I was adding these in conjunction with so many different foods it was difficult to pinpoint which was specifically causing the problem. With the limited GAPS diet, I haven't had much that would be causing any blatant digestive distress, until this last weekend when we tried making stew.

At this point, I feel comfortable making the hypothesis that it is in fact the nightshades causing the digestive issues, though further experimentation is required. So for the next few days, no tomatos or peppers. 

Continuing to bump along on GAPS....

Some rough times on the GAPS diet so far. Sticking with mostly soups and well cooked veggies (maybe cheating a bit with roasted vs. boiled), I'm still having some digestion issues. Could be the early introduction of yogurt, which is really the one probiotic we've had in the house.....It was also store-bought, all be it good quality, full fat yogurt, that could be the source of some of the issues. To help try and alleviate any issues with the commercial yogurt, we started work on our own homemade yogurt right away, which we've been using now instead, but the issues tend to persist. The Sauerkraut we started over the weekend will be finishing up soon, so perhaps that will be safer for the tummy, I also want to make me up some ghee as well, to see if that may not be a little gentler than using what we have which is butter, coconut and olive oil. We also started some whey from the home made yogurt, which again, may be better?

While I continue to fumble through various changes with my diet, I do tend to get rather frustrated at not seeing the awesome changes I've heard so much about from others. I know each individual body is different, and I have heard it gets worse before it gets better, so here's hoping!

Another GAPS type of day, still not quite perfect.

This GAPS diet has definitely been an experiment for me. I'm not normally the type of person to just jump into things. It took me a good five years to buy a new camera, three for a new bike, two for a laptop, the list goes on. I strategize everything, trying to find the most efficient and economical way to achieve my objective. Unfortunately, perfectionism ultimately leads to procrastination and not getting things done as quickly as I would ultimately like. Based on these prior experiences, I wasted no time with the GAPS diet and took the leap immediately, bringing my husband along for the ride (thank you hon!).

So things have been far from perfect with regards to the GAPS protocol. Non-GAPS approved foods "sneak" in every now and again (mmmm....bacon!), we've been hovering between stages one and two for the last couple weeks, never really following each step as it's laid out in the book. And now we are slowly starting to move on to stage three. With the imprecise nature of our approach, while we've seen some areas of improvement, every other day seems to alternate between really good and not so great. Today for example, not as super awesome for myself.

Regardless of the approach, we continue on, knowing (hoping) things can only get better. And honestly, there are things that are starting to make a lot of sense to me with the very limited diet. Night shades for example may not be something my digestive system is ready to handle yet....May need to avoid those a little longer and see what progresses.

As usual, biggest short-term concern is what else can we eat? I wouldn't say I'm bored with the diet, but the distinct lack of snacks makes things rather difficult.....so much easier to grab some fresh fruit or veggies to nom versus warming up some broth or making up some new soups. Fortunately I love soup, but it does lack a convenience factor, at least when trying to avoid microwaves. We also have a 50 mile bike ride coming up in a few weeks (probably not the best timing for this diet, but again, was not the most premeditated plan...), and I'm a little concerned about food on the road. I know there are plenty of great trail mixes and snacks I could pack/make, but only if my/our internal system is ready for them (those types of snacks are reserved more for the full GAPS diet). Perhaps we'll get lucky and brease through the rest of the steps. Here's to wishful thinking!

Starting the GAPS with some backstory.

Feeling pretty whipped today. How does this GAPS (intro) diet fit in with an already full-time life?

Keeping up with the need for more soups, broths, and acceptable veggies (which is rather limited with stage one of the intro diet), has left me feeling pretty drained. Don't get me wrong, I have been thoroughly enjoying these dishes, which in some ways surprise me since they are just so simple (I love playing with spices), but it can be tough to get the same enjoyment at work as I do at home since the use of microwaves is prohibited on the diet.....Cold soups just don't sit with me in the same way.

So why am I doing this whole GAPS thing in the first place? Here's a bit of the backstory in a nutshell (a large nutshell):

In recent months, I've been getting into nutrition and wellness hard-core, soaking in as much information as I can get with podcasts and my own independent study. I've always been interested in health. My dream is to be this super fit, 80 year old lady who you'll still see out on the bike, trails, water, you name it! Lofty goals I know, especially when you consider the diet I've maintained until now: Low fat, high-carb. Bread was the love of my life, with fruit and veggies a necessary evil. Meat was good, but not too much for it contains far too much saturated fat. It's what I grew up with, and if a little (or more than a little) extra weight was gained, the mantra of the day was to cut calories and ramp-up the exercise to burn it off. Insert lots of jogging and weight training here, with some interesting dietary maneuvering to keep the calories down (I can swap a proper meal for some dessert right?).

Health and wellness is an ever-evolving process, and while I looked rather healthy, I didn't always feel super healthy (perhaps it was all the dessert?). I knew I had to bite the bullet and start to (gradually) introduce more of the "healthy stuff" (AKA fruits and veggies). It was definitely a process, but eventually I was able to successfully convert a larger portion of my meals to fruits and veggies. So much so in fact, that I was (and continue to be) seen as a vegetarian by certain crowds.......I also moved away from more typical white breads (minus the delicious artisanal breads) to the healthier whole grains, all while continuing to limit my saturated fat intake (gotta keep my heart healthy right?). I started consuming more milk and yogurt for calcium and vitamin D, and as for exercise, more strength training, yoga and pilates continued to play a greater role. Weekends were definitely a little more loose, and I (almost) never skipped dessert (low fat of course), but overall I felt like I had a very well-rounded diet. 

Enter the podcasts.

Starting with Jillian Michaels. I love(d) listening to her show. She sounds so genuine, and I could relate to so many of the call-ins. I heard more about calories in, calories out, and started tracking my diet and calorie intake. I also started taking some of the food recommendations to heart, and began paying closer attention to organic and local foods vs. conventional. It was a fantastic start, but soon enough I caught up with the available episodes, and was hungry for more, when I stumbled across the Dude Where's My Health podcast. That's when things really started to get interesting.

Clark Danger and his guests blew my mind, so to speak. While not everything I heard was entirely new to me, the guests helped put a lot of the concepts I had heard in passing into context. From there I found Underground Wellness and the Fat Burning Man Abel James.

Exercise less and eat more, I like this concept. Remove refined grains and processed dairy. Eat good quality food. Sounds reasonable, and with my ever evolving, on-going goals to be healthy, I thought why not try implementing some of these ideas. I mean really, if this many people are in consensus about how to eat, move an be healthy, AND can speak from experience, what harm could it do? Unfortunately for me, my body was not quite ready for some of these more sweeping changes. I was not feeling all that awesome eating what is suppose to be pretty awesome food. My digestion was not right, I was feeling super fatigued though I wasn't over exerting myself, in fact I had been making efforts to simplify my life in hopes of relieving stress. I was super irritable, hangry made it's way into my vocabulary (and occurred far too often)...All this leading to my feeling more frustrated and lost with the overall wellness process.

Fortunately, as I continued to listen to Underground Wellness I eventually heard an episode with the author of the GAPS diet, and having had enough of the digestive distress, decided I'd give it a go. There seemed to be very little harm, as much of the food is good, whole, nutritious food designed to heal. Cutting out the potential irritants and giving the digestive track a break. Sounded quite brilliant to me, and with my growing frustration with my situation, decided to precede full steam ahead.

So now, after only a few days on the INTRO part of the GAPS diet, I'm feeling pretty whipped out. I've heard the detox can get pretty extreme, so this is not necessarily a surprise, but it definitely creates a challenge for keeping up with the food prep. It's amazing how much soup and broth can be gone through in a couple of days, but not especially surprising when that's the ONLY food on the menu. I know I'll get the hang of it soon enough, but until then, balance in life will be key, which I'm hoping will come sooner than later. Stay tuned for more updates!