Why and How to Start the GAPS Diet

We started GAPS yesterday! This is our family’s second year doing the GAPS diet in January to jump-start our year with better health.

Why GAPS??

The GAPS diet is a grain-free diet that focuses on easy-to-digest meats, broths, and veggies in an effort to ‘heal and seal’ the intestines. GAPS stands for ‘Gut and Physcology Syndrome” and is based on the book by the same name by Natasha Campbell-McBride and has been used to effectively heal Autism, ADD, ADHD, Depression, Schizophrenia, Chrone’s Disease, Candida, and more.

We do the diet as a gentle cleanse for the whole family. You may be interested in the diet if you have digestive issues, allergies, or grain, gluten or milk intolerances. The great news about GAPS is that you don’t have to be on it forever–once you’ve healed and sealed your gut, you can enjoy foods that you were previously allergic to!

GAPS How-To:

The GAPS diet has 6 stages which are increasing less restrictive until you reach “Full GAPS”. Last year we went on Full GAPS as a family for 3 weeks, and I worked through the 6 stages of more intense GAPS on my own. If you’re doing GAPS for the first time, I recommend starting with Full GAPS, and when you get into that rhythm, you can try the GAPS Intro.

Here I shared my favorite resources for learning about GAPS and finding yummy recipes my family would eat. You can also read what we ate, how we felt, and why we quit our grain free experiment!

OK, now to this year! Let me just say, this is so much easier the second time around! Mainly because I saved my menu plans from last year and we’re just reusing them. I checked my menu, went shopping, checked my menu, made dinner, checked my menu, made breakfast….and so on. No brain power needed. Instead, I’m using my brain power to walk you through taking your family on a GAPS journey!

1. Menu Plan

This is THE #1 secret to a successful diet. Plan ahead what you’re gonna eat so you’re not stuck trying to figure out what’s for dinner when you’ve got Detox Brain Fog and mac and cheese is no longer an option. Here’s the menu I’m working from this week:

Tuesday:
B: Smoothies and Omelets
L: Supermuffins and steamed carrots
D: Taco Salad, minus chips
Snacks: Nutbutter brownies, Apples

Wednesday:
B: Pumpkin Nutbutter Pancakes with Honeybutter
L: Leftovers
D: Meatzza, Squash Fries, Salad
S: Leftover Pancakes, Apples

Thursday:
B: French Toast Souffle and Smoothies
L: Leftovers
D: Roast Chicken, Mashed Cauliflower, Steamed Carrots, Gravy
S: Grapes, Cheese

Friday:
B: Omelets
L: Leftovers
D: Beef stew
S: Pumpkin Pie Souffle, Apples

Saturday:
B: Yogurt with blueberries, scrambled eggs
L: Leftovers
D: Meatloaf, squash fries, Broccoli with cheese, sauerkraut
S: Apple nut balls, grapes

Sunday:
B: Apple nut balls, omelets
L: Leftovers
D: Spaghetti Squash with meatballs and sauce
S: Nut bars

Monday:
B: Banana Pancakes
L: Spaghetti Pie
D: Shepard’s Pie
S: Apples and peanut butter

Again, you can check out this post for where I found our family’s favorite GAPS recipes. It’s helpful to have a complete list of Recommended Foods and Foods to Avoid as you craft your menu–if you are interested in a printable of these, let me know.

2. Take time to prepare.

Although we started GAPS just yesterday, I’ve been preparing in little ways for weeks. My freezer is stocked with butter I made when I was getting a lot of cream from my milk supplier, as well as storebought I grabbed when it was on sale. I also have lots of chicken and turkey broth put up. I made a half gallon of yogurt last week, and I already had three jars of sauerkraut in my fridge (leftover from last year, actually. Yeah, it’s still good!!). So, make your

• yogurt
• kefir
• stock,
• sauerkraut
• and stock up on whatever freezes well.

Check out my favorite sauerkraut recipes here.

3. Go Shopping!

(Don’t you love when I tell you to do that?)

Once you’ve got your menu planned and your advanced prep done, you’re ready to go shopping for all those veggies!

This is what shopping for GAPS looks like. Nothing too weird, right?

And just look at these yummies you can have on Full GAPS: Steak, cheese, fruits, and coconut milk!

4. Be Smart in the Kitchen

Everything I talk about in my book about Menu planning, bulk food prep, and freezer cooking applies to GAPS diet. You need to make every minute in your kitchen count, or you will get burnt out. I’ve gotten into the habit of making two meals each time I make dinner. Meatbals and meatloaf use almost all the same ingredients, right? So make them both, and freeze the one for later in the week.

On Tuesday I mixed up meatloaf and Supermuffins while I was making the taco salad. Three meals at one time–score!

There’s freedom in leftovers, people! My family won’t eat this many squash fries in one setting, but that’s the whole idea. Planning for Leftovers means I don’t have to make lunch the next day, just reheat!

My Final Tip:

Buy Paper Plates. You need to simplify wherever you can if you’re gonna be trying a whole new style of cooking. Go ahead and eat off paper plates if it makes things easier. That’s what I do!

What do you think? Doesn’t sound too crazy, does it? Got questions? Fire away! I’m no expert but I’d love to help if I can!

I’m posting regularly to the Real Fast Food facebook page again with all our GAPS meals. Head over there if you want minute-by-minute updates on our journey!