A Slow Death!

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been super long since I last posted, but something HUGE is coming up in the California ballot in November. People will get to vote whether food products in California will have to be labeled GMO or not. Genetically Modified Foods are soooooo dangerous to ourselves, our children, and our future generations. They are literally killing or causing a slow death among our population, and we don't even know it. If this passes in California, it is likely to pass in other states. This movie is only available to watch until October 17th, which happens to be my birthday, so please, make my birthday special by viewing the movie below, and letting me know what you think. If you're wondering why your kids, your parents, or yourself is sick, please go to the website below!!

http://geneticroulettemovie.com

One Year GAPS Anniversary!

(Waiting in line for the Toy Story ride at California Adventure.)

President's Day weekend was our ONE year anniversary on GAPS! I couldn't believe it had already been one year. It has flown by so quickly!

We decided to celebrate BIG, so we took the whole family over to California for a week. We told them we were going to Disneyland, but we also surprised them with Legoland when we got there.

I was a bit nervous to go, we hadn't been on a real vacation, since starting GAPS. We had been to our family's cabin a few times, but only for a few days, and this trip was going to be 7 days. Luckily we were able to book our time share, so I knew we would have a kitchen.

So the food planning began. The week before I decided to quadruple the meals we ate, so I could take double to California.  (Usually I double, so we can have leftovers for lunch the next day.) I made a spaghetti meat sauce, chicken alfredo, cauliflower sausage soup, moroccan beef, took meat over for hamburgers, some chicken and hot dogs. Wow, that was a lot of food that week. Then, I decided to make all snacks beforehand too. (50 sausages, 4 loaves of bread, 75 little pancakes, graham crackers, yogurt, sauerkraut, broth, trail mix, and of course, some chocolate). I just wanted to reheat when we got over there, instead of making the dishes once we got there. So, two ice chests later, we drove over to California.

It was a good thing most everything was prepared, because when we got over there, the kitchen had been the smallest kitchen I had ever seen in a time share. They had a 2 burner stove, no oven, a microwave and a refrigerator. (I'm glad it was a full size refrigerator!) I had to adjust a little, but it all worked out just fine! I bought all our veggies and fruits in California.

We took our food into Disneyland and Legoland. Both days were the same. I heated soup in the morning for our lunch w/ bread, and we had cold waffles, boiled eggs and avocados for dinner. It wasn't deluxe, but it worked!

We had so much fun, and it was nice not having to meal plan, shop, and fix from scratch 3 meals a day for a whole week. It felt like a true vacation!

It was a lot of work leading up to it, but it was worth it. It's harder to vacation as much as we used to, because the prep work is a lot, but it's fun and I think crucial to do it every once in a while!

LEGOLAND!

DISNEYLAND!

We were lucky to have my sis-n-law and neice Navy come with us too!

Keep Eatin' Fat!

Brittney

Silly Me!

You would think I would learn after my last episode with essential oils, to STAY AWAY, but it usually takes a few lickins' before I can get it in my head. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE essential oils, but for me, who is now incredibly cleaned out, they can have a strong effect.

If you start with the GAPS INTRO DIET, you heavily detox in the beginning, so your body becomes incredibly cleaned out. As you move along on the diet, you add detoxifying foods slowly, so your body can adjust, so not to become too overburdened by the toxins you are pulling from your body. For Example: Juicing is very detoxifying. We are suppose to start with 2 Tbl. a day, and slowly go up to a cup. If  you feel miserable, you can slow down a bit, or try again another time. Another example is sauerkraut and it's juices. My family is up to 6 tsp. of sauerkraut juice. This is a huge accomplishment for us. It took forever to be able to tolerate 2 tsp., so I am happy for our new number. Soon, we will start 1 tsp. of the actual sauerkraut, and move up to a 1/4 of a cup with every meal.

So back to ESSENTIAL OILS. Last weekend I went to my SIL's house, and she has a friend who can scan your body for the oils it needs at the present time. My highest oil was Lemon. Lemon is incredibly detoxifying, and a purifier. (Go figure!) So, I decided I would go slow, and only have one drop of the oil in my water a day. By day two, I looked 4 months pregnant. I was extremely bloated, had back and neck pain, and a headache to boot. Ok, so I went too fast on the oils. I know my body needs them, but here's the kicker. 1 drop of lemon oil, is as effective as 20 cups of lemon tea. So, since doing GAPS, and having to go slow with all of our detoxing foods, 20 cups of lemon tea was a slam to my body!!

Note to self: STOP PUSHING THE LIMITS. This diet is not a race, I will come out better in the end, so don't kill your body in the process, it is counterproductive. Go line upon line, precept upon precept, and quit trying to be tough!

Ok, I feel better now.

Note to everyone else: Essential Oils are fabulous! They are my new medicine cabinet. I haven't had to take my kids to the doctor in over two years, because the oils have taken care of the colds, flu, asthma, pink eye, need for stitches, burns, ring worm etc. They are very powerful, and work at the cellular level. I love them, just too powerful for me right now!

New plan: Continue the food course. When I am officially in the FULL GAPS DIET, and I haven't detoxed in a long time, start the lemon oil again, but dilute it, and use twice a week to start, and build up from there. Better plan!

Keep eatin' fat!

Brittney

Shrimp Scampi and a FUN story!

When I can find some WILD caught shrimp on sale, this is the recipe we make! My children lick their plates on this one.

(The picture doesn't do it justice. I didn't have my good camera. Bummer!)

 SHRIMP SCAMPI

2 lbs. of peeled and deveined shrimp

2 T. of Ghee or Butter

1/2 onion chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2-1 cup of chicken broth

2 medium spaghetti squash

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I generally cook my spaghetti squash whole. Place the spaghetti squash in a pan, and cook it for about 1 hour. Peel and devein your shrimp. In a medium skillet, melt  the butter and add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 10 min., until the mixture is soft and translucent. Add the broth and stir til gently simmering. Add the shrimp, and cook for about 5-8 min., stirring til the mixture has thickened and the shrimp have turned pink. Salt and pepper to taste. Shred the spaghetti squash with a fork, and use as your noodles for the shrimp scampi. Butter and salt your spaghetti squash, and then top with the shrimp mixture. It's a yummy buttery, garlicky mixture in your mouth. YUM!

This weekend, I went to visit my sister-n-law. She took me over to one of her friend's houses. When we walked into her family room, there was a big CAT climbing all over the couches we were about to sit on, and weaving in and out of the curtains by the window above the couch. I knew I was going to sit on that couch, and I knew I would be in trouble. I have always been allergic to cats. Usually before I see a cat at someones home, I can TELL a cat lives there. My throat and eyes start to get itchy, I get stuffy, and start sneezing. I try not to touch the cats, or I'm in real trouble. I went and sat on the couch, and hoped that I wouldn't be too bad off. I think we were there for longer than an hour, and guess what! Not one sniffle, no itchy throat, and no watery eyes. I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe it! There's a theory out there that allergies do not really need to exist. Allergies just mean you need to work on your digestive and immune system. Once you get those working properly, no allergies. I'm hoping this is a sign, that things are starting to work properly in my body. Now I didn't exactly touch the cat, or roll around in the "cat-hair" couch, but I'll have to experiment with that next time! :)

Keep eatin' fat!

Brittney

Detox...it's a Love/Hate Relationship

I've been missing for a while. What have I been doing? Detoxing, and detoxing HARD! It's been a while since I have detoxed, and I almost forgot what it felt like for me.  The last two weeks, I have been incredibly fatigued, I've experienced intense back and neck pain, foggy brain, some insomnia and a new one, some major ANXIETY. The anxiety was the worst part about it. I felt so out of control, and I wasn't sure how to deal with it. I feel bad for people who have chronic anxiety, it's awful!

I started looking back at what I had eaten. The only connection was a new brand of coconut oil. (Coconut oil is incredibly detoxifying and has to be approached slowly when doing the GAPS diet). I thought maybe this coconut oil was more potent. So I stopped eating it.  2 1/2 weeks later, I was still detoxing hard, so I decided it couldn't be the oil.

I kept thinking, what else could it be? Then I realized, that I had started using Frankincense Essential Oil. I had been to an Essential Oils class recently, and I remember them saying, "Just start using the oils, start getting them into your body." Most of the oils I had, I used from time to time, but not frankincense, which is revered as the "gold" of all oils. So, I started about 2 1/2 weeks ago to apply it on my body or throw it in my bath every once in a while. That's when I started to get sick. The frankincense was detoxing my body. I didn't realize it at first, and kept using it sparingly. I forgot to use it for about three days, and noticed I felt much better. The next day, I remembered about the oil, and used more than normal, to catch up on the days I had missed. BAM! Another "no good" detoxing day. I finally made the connection. Thank goodness!

Frankincense can do so many things for the body (even fight against cancer), so I'm not exactly sure what it is trying to target in my body, but it was definitely powerful for me. I've liked the results of the frankincense (not the detoxing part), so I will continue using it, but maybe just twice a week, one drop, and work my way up to a higher dosage.

Detox, (or for GAPSTERS, we say die-off) has been very interesting for me. The first several months on GAPS, I experienced non-stop:

exhaustion
body aches
headaches
nausea
dizziness
heart palpations

I was trying to decide when it would ever end! Then we decided to back off a lot of the detoxifying protocols, and go slower. Things got better! Over the summer months, I experienced

A couple Kidney Stones
Pink Eye
Hair falling out
Major BO ( I know it's not very lady like to talk about your BO, but before gaps, I never sweat, I never smelled, I rarely had to wear deodorant.) Guess what, not good! We need to sweat, to get rid of junk in our bodies. I remember sitting one night, and actually my husband and I both stunk and he said, "In the 10 years of marriage, I've never smelled you before, and now you stink!" We both started laughing hard, because I did, and I showered like three times a day, with no avail. Luckily it went away!

(It was a mild summer, thank goodness!)

As I started upping my detoxing protocols, I started detoxing EMOTIONALLY. I had no idea I had crazy emotions locked up way down in my body reeking havoc. I've gone through a few emotional cleanses, and there kind of scary, because you don't really know what is going to come out, but I always feel so much lighter and better when they are over.

So now, lately, the detoxing is definitely more spread out. When I feel good, I feel REALLY good, like a brand new person. It's awesome!! That's why detoxing for me is a LOVE/HATE relationship. I love it, because I know it's helping me purge junk out of my body, but I hate it, because it's no fun going through it. I guess, NO PAIN, NO GAIN!

As I was really struggling through this last detox process, I stumbled upon a website that a lot of gapsters recommend, called healingnaturallybybee.com. I felt like this was a little "tender mercy" from the Lord. Her protocol is very similar to GAPS, but she has detailed papers written specifically about what detoxing/die-off is, what is considered a healing reaction, and how are body will retrace through old symptoms and emotions that have already occurred in our life. I felt a lot of comfort as I read through her pages, that I would not feel horrible forever, and that I need to push on...slowly. I do want to relate one story that was told, that painted a good picture in my mind, of what retracing is.
One doctor wrote that when your body is going through a deep detoxing protocol, it will retrace through past symptoms. If you think of a staircase, and Health is at the top, the next step down might be headaches, then the next step down might be fatigue, the next arthritis, the next an ulcer etc. As you start to heal your body, you start going back up the stairs, experiencing even more intense arthritis, then gone, you take another step up, and you go through fatigue, and so forth, until you are at the top again with good health! It's totally weird and crazy to me that this is happening to me, but it is, so I go with the flow as well as I can!

Although I'm getting good at seeing my kids reactions, it is easier to see my own healing. This gives me hope that my children's bodies are changing for the better as well, and that's all I can ask for! :)

Keep eatin' fat!

Brittney

I'm SOLD!

On the GAPS Diet, you're detoxing your body. Dr. NCM wants you to get rid of as many chemicals and toxins from your environment as possible. Since this diet takes so much work, I wanted to do it as correctly as possible. Although you can't eliminate every chemical from your life, reducing the burden on the body is very helpful.

So, it's been a year of experimenting! I've tried lots of natural products, I've made some homemade cleaning products, but NEVER have I found something as AWESOME as this!

E-Cloths 


In fact I usually don't recommend something to someone unless I have at least used it for a month, to make sure that I absolutely love it. Well, I've had this product for a total of 24 hours, and I would recommend this to everyone!

My sister-n-law was just talking about how great her microfiber cloths were. Last year a friend of mine had shown me her special microfiber cloths, and I couldn't believe how streak free her windows were with just water. I remember they were expensive, and I wasn't ready to do research on cleaning supplies. Now that these cloths are everywhere, I didn't want to invest in something that was expensive, but I also didn't want the so-called "cheap" ones either, because I heard they didn't clean as well.

Last night I was walking around HOME GOODS, and on the clearance table was a two-pack of these microfiber cloths. I thought, why not, $4 a piece, I'll give them a try, there on sale for heaven sakes! I had purchased the glass and polishing cloth, which could be used on mirrors, windows, stainless steel appliances, stove tops and granite counter tops.

I first tried it out my kids mirror upstairs in their bathroom. Toothpaste and all! (I hate the smell of Windex, and my natural cleaners clean the mirror, but leave a little leftover streak, and smell like vinegar.) I dampened one cloth, wiped down the mirror, and then went over it with my dry cloth. The mirror was soooo crystal clear. I couldn't believe it. I then tried my black granite counter top in my kitchen, that shows every smudge, fingerprint, sponge mark etc. Again, it cleaned up beautifully. ( I cant stop looking at it.) I then tried all my stainless steel appliances and my stove top. The thing that has impressed me the most, after it is clean, it's smudge-proof for a while. I have been opening and closing my fridge all day since cleaning it, and not a fingerprint or mark on it. I know it will start smudging in due time, but it keeps it clean longer. Weird!

I finally decided to look them up online. I saw a picture of a lady cleaning a bathtub with them. I thought if this could clean a bathtub, scum ring and all, without baking soda or some kind of scrubbing agent, I will be thoroughly impressed. So I went upstairs, and tried it in my kids bath. The ring around the tub cleaned up so quickly, without even breaking a sweat, with just WATER! Can you tell I'm a little excited about this?

They are allergy-friendly, they have the good housekeeping seal, you rinse them out with water, and throw them in your laundry every once in a while to get them cleaned, they save you money, there just awesome!

I'm getting a few more and arming all my kids with one wet cloth and one dry cloth, and I bet we can get the house cleaner a lot faster.  You can visit there website for more info. www.ecloth.com. I'm not getting paid to say any of this, I just think AWESOMENESS should be shared!

Brittney

Choclate Candy Bar

Tiffany Higgins, a fabulous nutritionist, gave this recipe out at a Relief Society Meeting a couple of nights ago. My husband has been making it now for a couple of months, and it is sooooo good! Tiffany calls it "candy bar", and we call it "chocolate". I'll post the basic recipe, and then let you know about some variations.

(We ran out of coconut oil, so I have not been able to take my own pic. of this. The one below is from Mark's Daily Apple, were they have a different version with macadamia nuts. I don't add nuts, so it looks a lot smoother then the pic. below.)

CHOCOLATE CANDY BAR:

3/4 c. of unrefined coconut oil
2/3 c. of unsweetened cocoa powder
3-4 T. of raw honey (if u don't have raw, regular works too.)
1/3 c. unsweetened shredded coconut (If you don't like coconut, you can always skip this.)
1 T. of cinnamon
2 tsp. of vanilla
pinch of salt
1-2 handfuls of chopped raisins (optional, but gives the chocolate a little chew. I love it!)
1-2 handfuls of nuts (optional)

If coconut oil is not melted, melt it on the stove. Remove from heat. Mix the cocoa powder into the coconut oil very well so the powder is fully incorporated. Add the honey and mix well. Add the next 4 ingredients, and incorporate well. Then add the nuts and raisins. Pour into a dish, or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place it in the freezer for 10-15 min. Once it is hard, break it into pieces and store it in a container in the freezer or refrigerator. If I pull it out of the freezer, I let it sit out for about 10 sec., until it softens just a bit. Enjoy!

If u have a food processor, melt your oil, throw all the ingredients in the food processor, and whirl away until it is all incorporated!

Variations:

Peanut butter chocolate: Instead of 3/4 c. of coconut oil, use 1/2 c. coconut oil, and 1/4 a cup of peanut butter. (Or more peanut butter, less oil for a more peanut buttery taste)

Peppermint Bark: Add one drop of peppermint essential oil, or a few drops of regular peppermint extract

Orange chocolate: Add one drop of orange essential oil

Nutty chocolate: Add some chopped walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts

Our favorite at our house is the regular chocolate bar, or the peppermint bar. My little indulgence, is spreading some homemade peanut butter on top of the regular chocolate bar! Yum!

I love this recipe, because it is RAW. All the enzymes and vitamins are intact. The coconut oil is a medium-chain fatty acid, so you burn it quickly for energy, and it helps to keep you full. It is also very anti-bacterial, ant-fungal, and anti-parasitic. The honey is not cooked, so you are getting some good live enzymes and minerals.  Cocoa is full of antioxidants and is loaded with magnesium which most of our bodies are lacking. (This is why we women crave chocolate around "that time of the month", magnesium relaxes our body...cramping, back pain, etc. and the little bit of caffeine helps boost our mood.) Cinnamon is incredibly healing and nuts add good fats, fiber and protein.

Enjoy!

Keep eatin' fat!

Brittney

FAT & SUGAR

Tiffany Higgins, a fabulous nutritionist, came to speak at our Relief Society Meeting tonight. She is so smart! She knows all about nutrition, and the body. I can seriously listen to her for hours. Here are some of her key points, and good reminders to myself;

If you can change one thing...change your fats.

Your cell wall is made up of fat. You want stable cells, that do not mutate, so you need a strong wall. You must eat plenty of good fats in order to keep those cells stable and strong.

Your brain in some areas are 90% fat. In order to have a healthy, functioning brain, eat good fats.

Good fats are: Butter, Coconut Oil, Animal fats, Olive oil, Ghee, Palm Oil

Childrens' diets should be made up of 30-80% fat. Their brains and bodies are still growing.

Eat about 3 Tbl. of coconut oil a day for weight loss.

Olive oil should be refrigerated after 10 -12 weeks (Yikes!)

Coconut oil is cheaper then butter, incorporate and ROTATE all good fats, they all have there importance!

Sugar is sooooo damaging to the body. It is so incredibly processed, it is foreign to the body.

It takes 32 molecules of calcium to breakdown 1 molecule of sugar, so sugar is depleting your body of minerals that it desperately needs.

Keep good/healthy sugars and treats on hand, so you don't make a quick Circle K run.

Natural sugars: Honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, stevia etc.

Eat natural sugar with fiber or fat to slow the digestion process of the sugar.

Shop at Azure Standard for better deals.

Add more minerals to your baths, water, and food.


So, the biggest key, eat MORE good fats, eat LESS sugar.

Tiffany shared her candy bar recipe with all of us. The first time I tasted it, my sister-n-law made it for us. It was soooo good!  We have it almost on a weekly basis, but I have to confess, I have actually never made it. My husband is the candy bar maker around here! Tomorrow I plan on posting it, and then you must try it!

If your interested in learning more about Tiffany and the classes she does, you can go to her website at healthorigins.org to get more info. She is a WEALTH of information, for better HEALTH!

Keep eating fat!

Brittney

If you only master two things....

If you only make two things from scratch, let them be BROTH, and some kind of FERMENTED FOOD, like pickles, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, etc.

Broth has been used for years medicinally, and for excellent health. Broth has all the major vitamins and minerals, except Vitamin C and Vitamin K. It seals and heals the stomach lining. It's a POWERHOUSE!

I already posted how to make sauerkraut, (which is a fabulous source of Vit. C). I will post other ferments in the future, but ferments are ALIVE foods. They are great detoxers, and are also a powerhouse of good bacteria, (which most Americans are seriously lacking.)

At the beginning of our diet, we had to drink broth or have soup at least three times a day, times that with 5 people, and that was a lot of broth. I started making broth a month earlier, and I stocked up on quite a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't care about making it taste all that good, because I just wanted to quickly make a ton, without a lot of the extra ingredients. (Basically just water and chicken.) Big Mistake! I learned quickly, that taste did matter, and that broth was quite yummy and comforting when you made it right. It was a little bit of a struggle to get my kids to drink it at first. We had a sticker chart, and if they drank all the broth that they needed in a week, then we did a fun family outing. My two older kids caught on, but my 2 yr. old just didn't get the concept. I first had to hold the cup in order for him to drink it, and then he wanted me to stand right by him when drinking it. He had the hardest time. I was always trying to convince him somehow. About 4 months in, one day my youngest asked for seconds on broth, I about fell out of my seat. Now, he asks for it all the time. :) Yeah!

Chicken Broth:

1 whole chicken
Just enough water to cover the chicken
a bunch of fresh parsley
2 carrots (or some peelings and tops)
2 celery
2 twigs of fresh rosemary
a few peppercorns
salt to taste


Put the whole chicken in a stock pot. Fill the pot with water, til' the chicken is covered. Bring the water to a boil. At this point, some scum will appear on top of your water. Turn the heat down to a very low simmer. Skim off the scum, and discard. Add the remaining ingredients, and put the lid on. Let it simmer on a very low heat for about 3-4 hours. Pull out the chicken. Strain the broth, add your salt, and viola, you have homemade broth you can add to soups, gravies, savory dishes, etc.

Enjoy...oh yeah, when you put the broth in the refrigerator, the fat will form a white crust on top. Do not skim it off! That is good animal fat. The kind that is good for the body and the brain. It will melt back into your broth when warmed up! Enjoy!

Keep eatin' fat!

Brittney

Graham Crackers and Detox

We survived the holidays! Wahoo, Gaps-style!

One of my kids favorite snacks, is homemade graham crackers. My sister-n-law gave me this recipe, and I tweeked it for GAPS. She said she even liked them better then the original, so gaps food can be GOOD!

Homemade Graham Crackers:

4 c. of almond flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
4 T. of coconut oil, butter or ghee

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the liquids. Stir together until well blended. Grease some parchment paper, and place on top of a jelly roll pan. Press out the mixture onto the pan until it covers the whole pan. Cut into 2 inch squares and poke them with a fork (so they look like Graham Crackers). Bake 10-15 min. at 350 degrees. They should be slightly brown when ready. Enjoy!

DETOX:

It's been a Major DETOX week, or more like a HEALING CRISIS for my older son. We started juicing, which is a gentle, natural way to detox the body. We also upped the fermented foods, which is another way to detoxify the body.

He had flu-like symptoms Saturday evening, that turned into a huge asthmatic coughing attack on Monday, and both nights, he had Night Terrors. A lot of his issues were coming forward all at the same time. Luckily I was ready to take on what we call, "die-off."

A couple ways to help with Detox or Die-off:

Epsom, Baking soda, Apple Cider Vinegar baths (alternating)
Drinking lots of water
Resting
Enemas
Activated Charcoal
Drinking Broth
Walking outside in fresh air

For my son, the baths and enemas seem to be very effective. So Monday, I started the baths with essential oils. The coughing seemed to die down a little, but it was very deep. He was seriously coughing every second, and it was soooo deep. I gave him plenty of broth and water, but he needed something more. I gave him an enema. His nose became very runny, as if something had finally unclogged. About an hour later he went to bed. He woke up once in the night coughing, (which was better than the night before). I gave him one more dose of eucalyptus essential oil. By morning, coughing was gone. I had a happy boy, with barely a whisper of a voice from all the coughing that was done the day before.

Two weeks earlier, I had started him on the Juicing. A lot of his symptoms were getting stronger and stronger as I was pulling toxins from his body. When I upped the fermented foods, it added just enough detoxifying to create this "Healing Crisis." There not fun to go through, but once they are over, he is so much more alert, and his stimming decreases too. People on the GAPS Yahoo forum say that the die-off will happen less and less as you move through the diet, and that his symptoms will hopefully become less and less until they disappear. We will see what happens with Crew, but I am seeing some good things!

I had some die-off too, but more on that in another post!

Eat more fat, it's how the tummy and brain heals!

Brittney Smith

What in the world do we eat?

I get asked this question ALL the time. Luckily, we started with the Intro Diet which is very restricted, and as we are moving into the Full Gaps Diet, it seems like there are TONS of things we can eat! Basically, we can eat:

Healthy fats (animal fats, butter, ghee, coconut oil, nut/seed oils and olive oil)
Meat (Chicken, Beef, Duck, Goose, Wild Game, Pork etc.)
Fish (Wild Caught)
Veggies (cooked with fat, raw or ferments)
Fruits
Nuts/Seeds
Some beans
Fermented Dairy (Yoghurt, Sour Cream, Kefir, Cheese)

We are not quite on the Full Diet yet, so some of the above is still restricted. A typical day would be:

A glass of lemon water first thing in the morning/ or freshly pressed juice (carrot/apple combo).

Breakfast:

Fried eggs with steamed carrots, broccoli, and tons of butter or Ghee.

Lunch: Dinner leftovers with a cup of broth and either 1 tsp. of sauerkraut juice, or one bite of sauerkraut. (We are all at different stages with this one.)

Dinner: Soup, stew, chicken legs, roast, hamburgers, tacos, mini-meatloafs, fish, chicken nuggets, spaghetti (Gaps-style), chicken alfredo (Gaps-style), etc.  Usually 2 veggies, and a cup of broth. The more fat, the merrier on these meals.

That's it! I keep it pretty simple. I plan one meal a day for dinner, re-heat leftovers for lunch, and we typically always have the same breakfast. It took me a while to get this routine down, and figured out, but it really works for us. On top of the three meals a day, I have a few food items that I typically make each week.

Snacks:

Butternut squash pancakes
Sausage patties
Graham crackers
Bread or muffins
Yoghurt
Sour Cream
Coconut Milk (new staple)
and...I'm usually always soaking or dehydrating some nuts to make nutbutter or nut flour for baking.

My Husband's weekly food items he makes are: (He makes the treats!)

Homemade chocolate (Super yum!)
Peanut Butter Bars
Smoothies

Present and Future Breakfast Ideas:

Fried Eggs w/ bacon
Scrambled eggs w/ sausage
Omelettes
Muffins with Yoghurt
Fruit with Yoghurt
Granola w/ Coconut milk
Almond Flour Waffles
Coconut Flour Crepes
Banana Pancakes
Banana Bread and Yogurt

Snack Ideas:

Butternut Squash Pancakes
Carrots or mini cucumbers with dip
boiled eggs
avacados and avacados with a little salsa in the middle
homemade jerky
chicken muffins
deviled eggs
apples with nut butter
applesauce with yogurt, raisons, cinnamon
yoghurt with blueberries
smoothies
juicing

Dinner and lunch Ideas:

Hamburgers
BBQ pork
Meatballs
Almond flour crusted chicken nuggets
Beef or chicken tacos, wrapped in lettuce
Cowboy stew
Roast w/ cauliflower potatoes
Salmon Croquettes
Fish
Salmon w/ Dill
Honey Chicken Drumsticks
Mini-meatloafs
Almond crusted chicken thighs
Cauliflower potatoe-sausage soup
Chicken Alfredo on Spaghetti Squash
Turkey Hash
Moraccan-stuffed acorn squash
Turkey green-chili stew
Pumpkin soup
Apple Cinnamon Pork Loin
Spaghetti w/ meatballs, red sauce on top of spaghetti squash

I know I need to be better at posting recipies, so that will be my goal for the next couple of posts!!

Hope this gives you some good ideas!

Keep eatin' fat!

Brittney

Get your D on!

I can't believe it's December tomorrow, and I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt outside today. What a beautiful day!

My oldest son is deficient in Vitamin D, along with over 60% of Americans! Vitamin D is soooo important for overall health! Why are we so deficient? Because we live inside. With the computer age, we all of a sudden didn't have to go anywhere. We can bank online, pay our bills online, shop online, and even grocery shop online. Most of us work inside, and if we do go outside, we slather ourselves and our kids with sunscreen. I used to do this as well, until I found out that skin cancer is really a weakening of our cells caused by toxins and chemicals that we ingest or that seep through our skin. Sunscreen is just adding to the total toxic burden.

When I really think about it, humans have lived outside for millions of years. We were meant to be outside. I don't think the sun would be so huge, cover the entire earth and shine brightly for many hours a day, if we were suppose to hide from it. I also think of other living things like plants. They need the basics; water, food, and sun in order to grow and live. I'm pretty sure we are the same.

This entire blog post was written for me, to rededicate myself to getting outside. We had done pretty good for a while, but preparing for birthdays and holidays the last couple of months have kept me inside for the majority of time. Today we got out, and it felt great!

For us, we will get out daily, at least 30min. to an hour. Work up slowly, so you don't burn. For me there are exceptions for sunscreen use. I would never go to the beach for 6 hours without it, but I would try and find a sunscreen with the most natural ingredients and take plenty of big umbrellas for shade.

So enjoy! Go outside, ride bikes, go for walks, play with your kids, and for those of you in cooler weather, go snowboarding, or have a snowball fight! Don't fear the sun, enjoy the sun!

...and I hear, that the more good fats you eat, the less you burn, so keep eating fats!


Brittney

Chronic Allergies

My oldest son had/has chronic allergies.  It was pretty sad and annoying at the same time. He would snort and sniff all day long. He was so used to it, he just thought it was apart of life. His teachers thought he was always sick with a cold, sneezing and stuffy. I had to tell them it was allergies and that he wouldn't get anyone else sick. His worse season was Sept-March, and then it would come and go. Summers were pretty good, but every September, it would creep in again like clock work.

Since starting the GAPS diet, his allergies came and went. The summer was pretty good, so I thought, YES, his allergies have been healed, but then, September came, and so did his allergies. It was the same time I was introducing egg whites, so it was hard to tell if it was his regular allergies coming back, or if it was a reaction to the egg whites. I finally stopped the egg whites, and with it, his allergies stopped. It's been about 8 weeks, and he has been allergy free. 8 weeks, it's crazy! He was so chronic, even on the GAPS diet, that I'm in awe that it's November, (when it's typically the worst), and he has been breathing clearly. I'm sure his allergies are not over, as there is still alot of healing to take place, but it's amazing to me that he has been this clear, for this long.

A lot of times, allergies occur because your body is overwhelmed by toxins, and the liver (which is your major detoxifying organ), may be too backed up, and not able to detoxify the body. So, inflammation occurs. A good way to clean out the liver, is with essential oils. I love essential oils, I can't say it enough about them. They can be used instead of medicine, to help with sickness.  For the liver cleanse, I use:

1 drop of lemon essential oil
1 drop of peppermint essential oil
in 1 Tbl. of lemon juice

I would take it in the morning about 15 min. before I ate anything. You should take it 3 weeks on, and one week off.

This can be pretty strong, and hot, so you can dilute it with water at first in order to get use to it. I added a little stevia (pre-gaps) in order to make it like a little lemonade for my kids.

My oldest son's liver must be getting stronger! I used the liver cleanse on him last year, and when he was on it for the three weeks, he did fabulously. When I would take him off for a week, all of his allergies would come rushing back. This year, I haven't had to use it. Yeah!!

It took about 2 months on the liver cleanse before I saw results in him last year. Everyone's body is different. I hope this helps!

Keep eatin' fat!

Britt

My Fav!

There have been a few recipies that have been my fav, since starting the GAPS Diet. I'm going to name a few in hopes to post them all at some point.

Homemade Chocolate Bar
Homemade PB (So Yummy!) (Spread a little PB on the chocolate bar, and Heaven has been made!)
Cauliflower Potatoe, Sausage Soup
Graham Crackers
Honey Sausages
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Brussel Sprouts w/ Bacon
Crepes
Butternut Squash/Spaghetti Squash (Ok, this isn't really a recipie, but my kids insisted I post this too!)


Since we are licking every drop of our bowls tonight, I thought I would post the Cauliflower Potatoe, Sausage Soup. (And for those of you who tried it on Halloween night, I made it with ground beef instead of sausage, and it was YUCK, in comparison to the sausage.) Tonight it has warmed my soul!

CAULIFLOWER POTATOE, SAUSAGE SOUP

2 T. Butter (plus a chunk of butter for later)
1 onion Chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
3 Lrg. heads of Cauliflower
4 C. of Chicken broth (Try to make some of your own if u can!)
3 T. salt
1 T. Pepper
6 carrots diced into smaller chunks
1 lb. of ground pork, seasoned with about 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper, sage, thyme and fennel

I feed 5 in this family, and always try to make double or triple of everything we eat, so we can have leftovers. So, when your done, this fills an 8 qt. Stock pot.

Ok, put about 2 T. of butter or Ghee in a stock pot on medium heat. Throw in the onion and minced garlic. Stir it around til' the onions become translucent. (About 5-10 min.) Chop up your cauliflower and add it to the pot. At this point I add more butter, (maybe another Tablespoon).  Stir til it's all mixed up a bit. Add your Chicken stock. Put the lid on, and bring it to a boil. Once it's at a boil, I turn it down to a medium heat, (still boiling). Let it cook til' the cauliflower is really soft. (About 20-25 min.) While that is going, I boil my chopped up carrots until soft, and I make up my ground sausage w/ seasonings in a medium skillet. Once the Cauliflower is soft, I take my immersion blender and blend the whole soup together til' it's all smooth. I then add the chopped carrots, sausage, salt and pepper, and a hunk of butter. (A hunk is usually about 2 T.) Enjoy!

On the Gaps Diet, we can't have any starches. Unfortunatly the bad bugs like them too much, so lucky enough, cauliflower can be steamed, blended up with butter, salt and pepper, and you have mashed potatoes. I was missing a creamy potatoe soup, and I thought, well why can't I make soup with cauliflower to mimic potatoes, luckily I had made some sausage that morning, and I thought that sounded good in it too. So, with a few carrots later, our Cauliflower Potatoe/Sausage Soup was born!

 I can't leave you hangin', so I wanted to post a treat too! The Carrot Cake Cupcakes are not my recipe, but you can search for it over at wellfedhomestead.com. There called "Coconut Flour Carrot Muffins". Super Delish!!

Keep Eatin' Fat!

Brittney

( I think it's more fun when pics. are posted. This is my now 6 year old daughter at 2 yrs. old. So cute, they grow so fast!)

Halloween can be TRICKY!

Our idea of Halloween pre-GAPS, was candy, candy, and more candy. Since we can't have sugar or processed foods, (and have learned the detrimental effects of both), I needed to come up with other ideas of how to spend Halloween.

Can I tell you how much I love Google?? Mom's all across the world post there ideas on having a healthier Halloween. Here are a few ideas we are going to adopt!

First, we will trick or treat for a little bit. My kids still enjoy dressing up and going out!

The "Switchy Witch" is coming to switch out there bag of candy, for some "GAPS-approved" treats and money.

Then, we have invited family and neighbors to come over for a hot dog roast (in our driveway) over our fire-pit, Coconut-Pumpkin soup, Cauliflower Potatoe-Sausage soup, and some carrot cake cupcakes and pumpkin cupcakes.

We will sit out on our front driveway and pass out "Halloween toys" while the kids play in my parents blow up haunted house.

I'm hoping for success!

Hope you all have a fun Halloween!!

Cody and I attended an Adult costume party. The theme was commercials. Cody was the "Orkin Man", and I was the cockroach. (Dippin' Skinny anyone??)

Ferments

Fermented foods are SUPER FOODS, and a BIG part of the GAPS Diet. Fermented foods are alive foods, full of enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and they help to detoxify the body. Most GAPS people have an imbalance of bacteria in there bodies.  The bad bacteria has taken over, and has caused many issues. In order to restore balance again, fermented foods are eaten to dump good bacteria back into the body.

Countries that have been around since the dawn of time, still eat fermented food with every meal. We do not see it much in the United States. The goal is to be able to eat about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a fermented food with every meal.  A popular ferment in the United States is Sauerkraut. But, essentially u can ferment almost anything. I am just testing my skills at this, but I have so far been successful with sauerkraut and pickles.

When we started the diet 9 months ago, we were struggling with way to much die-off, so we cut back the fermented foods. When you start adding the good bacteria to your body, the bad bacteria comes out of it's hiding place to fight, and so all your symptoms come to the surface, sometimes even times 10, and then are flushed out.

We started with just one tsp. of sauerkraut juice, a few weeks ago. Everyone seemed to be doing fine, so I rapidly upped our dosage to 3 tsp. or some of us were actually taking a bite of the sauerkraut. WOW, did we all have some die-off. My husbands allergies came back 10 fold. It sounded like he had a huge sinus infection. ( He stopped taking the juice, and 2 days later, his allergies were gone.)  I was exhausted and achy, my oldest son's allergies and stimming flared, and my two youngest kids got a red rash all over there face. What did all of this mean?? We definitely have some healing to do, but I need to introduce this much slower. So, I dropped everyone back down to 1 tsp. of the juice, and it got a lot better. Now, a few weeks later, and we are currently on two tsp. of juice, and everyone is managing quite well.  We have a long way to go to get to 1/2 a cup of the actual food per meal, but we will get there!

How to make Sauerkraut:

Shred or chop up a cabbage.
Shred up about 3 carrots.
Mix the two in a bowl with about a  Tb. of salt and some fresh cracked pepper.
Pound or squeeze the cabbage til' juice starts to come out of it.
Push it down into a glass jar until juice is covering the top of it.  (If there is not enough juice, you can add salt water to the top, just make sure the cabbage is submerged in the water, leaving two inches at the top of your glass jar for expansion.)
Put the lid on and leave on your counter for about two weeks covered with a towel.
When it's done, put it in your fridge. It will keep for months. ( If you haven't totally stripped your system down with the GAPS diet, you can probably eat a 1/4 of a cup and be fine. Just see how you feel!)

Fermented foods are more powerful then raw fruits and veggies, because it ups the amount of enzymes, vitamins and minerals!! It's a SUPER food! (Also, sauerkraut is packed with Vitamin C, so great during colds and flu season!)

Here are some pics: ( I usually just use green cabbage, but I added a couple purple ones this time. My kids thought that was fun. Very colorful!)

Shred your cabbage

Shred your carrots, add pepper, salt and pound the juices out!

Stuff the cabbage down in the jars. (I took a shot far away, so you could see the mess too!)

Viola! I should have left a little more room on top for expansion (note to self). 

Cover with a towel, and let it sit out for a couple of weeks.

You can google fermented foods too, there are so many success stories of healing with ferments!

Keep eatin' fat (and ferments)!

Britt

The Incredible Edible EGG

We just got Chickens! It's so exciting! On the GAPS diet, you eat a lot of eggs. We consume about 15 a day. They are a good source of natural fat and protein, and they are loaded with all the good stuff. I had no idea there was such a big difference between eggs. The egg on the left is an organic egg bought at the grocery store. The two yolks on the right are from free-ranging, organic chickens who get to eat bugs, grass, weeds, and who get plenty of sunshine in someone's own backyard. It's crazy the nutrients that are lost from the regular grocery store eggs. 

Eggs were a problem at our house. My oldest son was allergic to both the yolk and the egg white before we started the diet.  After about one month on the diet, we were successfully able to introduce the egg yolk back into his diet. Yeah! It was such an exciting day. Then, a few weeks later, we tried the egg white. Unfortunatly, he had a reaction. The egg white is typically harder to digest, because of the protein, so we took it back out. For the last 8 months, I think I tried to re-introduce it two more times. Both times, a reaction. Just last week, I slowly added a little more egg white to his morning yolks, and yesterday, he had two whole fried eggs without any reactions. I may be jumping the gun here, I will have to see how the next couple of days go, but so exciting! Eggs are really hard to substitute, and are so nourishing, so I am hoping this is a success! 

 I had thought I never had any problems with any foods prior to this diet. For 4 months after we started, I had some pretty bad die-off which included, nausea, back and neck pain, brain fog, headaches etc. I realized, that I was the sickest in the morning, and then it would go away during the day. (Yes, I even took a pregnancy test to rule that one out!) I realized all I was eating in the morning, were eggs and vegetables. Since I ate vegetables all day long, I thought, maybe it was the eggs. I took the eggs out one morning, and I was instantly better! I had energy, no pain, no headaches, I could think clearly etc. I was kind of shocked. Really? Am I sensitive to eggs? I kept them out for 3 days and felt fabulous! I then thought I would just try the yolk on the 4th morning. All the previous sickness came flooding back. Ugh! I did not want to feel that way at all, so I decided to be off of eggs for a while. I concentrated on eating a lot of fat and drinking a lot of broth, in order to heal and seal my gut lining, so I could handle eggs again. 2 months later, I gradually added the eggs back in, and viola, no more problems with eggs! Success!

When you are on this diet, your body gets a brand new clean start by eliminating foods, and slowly adding them back in. I may have been sensitive to eggs for a long time, but our bodies are so inundated with so many things (sugar, white flour, chocolate, stress, foods we are allergic to) etc., our bodies don't even know how to scream at us any more. Instead, you have headaches once in a while, you have trouble sleeping, your face breaks out, you have asthma, whatever your issues are. 

I am grateful for this mighty change with the eggs, and hope for many more successes! The chickens have been the BEST babysitters! My kids will hang out with them forever!:)

(One is named Red Rosie, and the rest are named Dinner.)

(Ye haw! Our first egg!)

SAD diet to Whole Foods

My brother watched the documentary Forks over Knives, and became instantly interested in the food he was eating off his plate. Where did IT come from? How did IT grow, how did IT eat, how did IT LIVE?? There have been a few documentaries showing how food is now produced in America. It's kind of revolting, and amazing how all of these foods are making us sick!

Before starting the GAPS Diet, and after I realized food was a HUGE contributor to my oldest sons ailments, I started discovering Whole Foods. I took an awesome "Real food for Rookies" class by Kelly the Kitchen Kop. (You can google her.) Kelly follows the Nourishing Traditions food plan by Sally Fallon. It is based on eating Traditional Foods that many countries have eaten since the dawn of time, before heart disease, obesity, diabetes, asthma etc. were developed. This class helped me step by step, clean out my SAD (Standard American Diet) pantry, and start filling it with whole foods.  So what did I replace?

Fats: I changed from canola oil, margarine, shortening etc., to coconut oil, real organic butter, Palm oil, Olive oil
Sugars: I changed from white sugar, to Stevia, raw honey, and Sucanat
Meats: I changed from regular corn-fed meat, to grass-fed beef, free-range chicken and Wild Caught seafood
Dairy: Regular pasteurized milk to Raw milk, full-fat yogurt and full-fat sr. cream
Eggs: Regular eggs, to free-range, Organic eggs
Veggies and fruits: I try to buy Organic when possible. There is a "Dirty Dozen" list and a "Clean 15" list. I buy the dirty dozen fruits and vegetables for sure Organic.
Herbs and Spices- I try to buy Organic when possible, and usually I buy each spice individually. It's kind of alarming whats in some of those BBQ spice, or taco seasoning mixes.
Condiments: Now, I make my own, but if u start reading labels, try to find some with just a few ingredients, and try to know what they are.

I noticed as I went along this journey, that a lot of processed food and store-bought food was filled with artificial colors, flavors, msg, and ingredients that could harm the body. So, the more I learned, the more I ended up buying whole foods, and making meals at home from fresh, whole ingredients.

One of the main issues I have with "Forks over Knives", is that it is based on a "plant-based diet" or code word for vegetarian. I love my fruits and vegetables, don't get me wrong, but I believe we need our meats and fats as well.

Fruits and Vegetables are cleansing. Protein and fats are building. New vegetarians, for the first few years, feel fabulous! Why? Because they are cleansing, cleansing, cleansing, and believe me, we Americans need a lot of cleansing! But, after a while, many vegetarians become too skinny, there faces start to look hollow, there hair starts thinning, many become pale and some report needing major dental work because of new cavities. Why? Because they are never building there body back up, with protein and fats. You know how u can eat an all veggie salad and never feel full? It's because veggies don't feed the body, they cleanse the body. Now, when u eat a salad with beans, chicken, eggs, avocado, and dressing, you get full. Why? Because the fats and proteins are actually feeding your body.  Your brain is 60% fat, and your cells are made up of fat too, so u need the good fats, to feed your brain and cells. The first thing I noticed when starting to eat a lot of fats, my brain-fog lifted, and my husband lost 10 pounds super quick!

Eating protein and fat will give you Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, all major vitamins except vit. C and Vit K1. They will help with muscle building, collagen for wrinkles, calcium for strong bones and teeth, energy, regulate hormones, memory etc.

What I loved about Forks and Knives? It showed what harm can be done if we continue to eat a processed food diet. So, let's change one food group in our pantry this week!

 Where do I see myself after GAPS? Probably somewhere between a Whole Foods Nourishing Traditions diet and a Paleo Diet. (You can google it, or more to come!)

Keep Eatin' fat!

Britt

Our Symptoms

Since starting GAPS 8 months ago, so much has happened. Each one of us have displayed symptoms, and have had some healing take place. Hmm... where to start?

My Oldest...(who we started the diet initially for)

Majorly colicky as a baby
Asthma-gone!
Eczema-gone!
Food allergies to eggs and dairy-he can now tolerate egg yolks, eggs cooked in things (like pancakes), and he can now have Ghee, or clarified butter (protein removed).
Focusing Issues- Better!
Stimming-been both better, then worse, then better
Chronic Allergies-better, but have recently gotten worse again because of the addition of
sauerkraut (good bacteria).
Constipation-gone!
Digestive Issues-better, but still working on it!

My Daughter.....

I thought she had perfect health! She did scream as a baby for 7 hours a day for about 6 months when she was a baby, and at 2 months, was pretty much classified as failure to thrive, but other then that, she grew up with just a few colds, and one time had the flu. Not bad! Since the diet, she struggled with blood sugar issues, (probably hypoglycemia), yeast infections, a couple of kidney stones, weird licking of the lips for months, and a stuffy nose for 3 months (til' I pulled dairy out).

She has recovered from all of these things, except, as of late, since starting sauerkraut (good bacteria), her face has broken out in a little rash. I have since learned, this is yeast coming out. Your skin is a major detoxifying organ, and this tends to happen a lot until all the junk is cleared out.

My youngest....

My easiest baby. My healthiest kid. He had some eczema as a baby, so I knew when starting this diet, he would do some healing. Weird thing happened. He woke up every night, sometimes two times a night before the diet started. I didn't think much of it, because he would just come into our room and fall back asleep on the floor. I was not very strict about putting him back in his bed, so I just thought it was habit. It was wearing on me though. The day we started the diet, he slept through the night. I thought it was a fluke, but he kept sleeping through night after night. He went to nursery 5 days later, and had the regular nursery snack of gold fish and pretzels. That night, he woke up. I totally saw a connection early on. Now he sleeps through the night all the time, unless he eats something that is too advanced for his tummy. I started nuts for three days, and he woke up every night. The day I stopped the nuts, he stopped waking up! Strange! His only other symptom is yeast rashes. Sometimes on his bum, and sometimes on his face.

My Husband...

Allergies- Much better, but reared there ugly head again when starting sauerkraut (good bacteria)!
Overweight-Lost 40 pounds, and has kept it off

He's pretty darn healthy!!

Me....

Where do I begin? I had always felt pretty healthy, was very active as a teenager, few ear infections as a kid, regular period, very little acne as a teenager, very stable moods, (even when it was that time of the month) and 28 day cycles to the T.

Then, I started having babies, and something happened. Each pregnancy, I got sicker and sicker. In between pregnancies, my joints felt achy, I started to get frequent headaches. About once a week, I would get incredible back pain on the lower right side to where I had to lay down at times. I was tired, I had Brain Fog, my periods became heavier, and longer, and were unpredictable. With the periods, came the mood swings. Sorry honey! I hated it, this was not me! I started sleeping horribly. It would take me over an hour to fall asleep, and most nights, I would wake up in the middle of the night, and not be able to fall back to sleep for 2-3 hours. Did I mention I was TIRED. Last but not least, after my third child, I began breaking out all the time. It would last about three weeks, clear up in a week, and start all over again. My face hurt, they were the big zits that would hide under your skin and reek havoc! Unfortunately, I thought this is just what came with being a mom, but I have learned different now.

When starting the diet, my die-off or detoxing lasted 4 months. I was dizzy, absolutely exhausted, I would have hot flashes all day, I was nauseated, headaches, excruciating back pain, weird aches and pains in different parts of my body, and I also passed a kidney stone (holy cow, that hurt!) But, all is better now!

The die-off was a combination of things. First switching from the SAD (Standard American Diet) to the GAPS diet. My body was so addicted to the old foods, I'm sure it was equal to being in rehab when u are trying to get off alcohol or drugs. Second, stored toxins being released too quickly, causing havoc, and some food intolerances I uncovered.

So, how is it going now??

My face is virtually clear. That took about 5 months. I still do get some acne when I am going through some die-off, but it is nothing like it was before!

My headaches are gone for now
Back pain-gone for now
Nausea-gone!
Brain fog-gone!
Sleep- Wow, has this changed! I typically fall asleep with in 5 minutes, and never wake up in the middle of the night. We moved to a new house in June, and u can hear a train come by at night. I woke up the first few nights, because I was not used to the sound, but fell back to sleep right away. YEAH!! This was huge!
Periods- 28 days, shorter, lighter, no cramps or recognition that they are coming. Another Yeah!
Ever since I've been married, I have worn socks to bed, my feet have always been cold. Summer, winter, it didn't matter. After about 1 month on the diet, no more socks, and I don't feel cold going to the movie theatre anymore. (Hormones more balanced)
Uncovered an egg allergy about 4 months in. I took out the eggs for 2 months, and can now tolerate them just fine with out my previous issues of nausea, back pain and brain fog. Wahoo!

Ok, I say gone for now on some of my issues above, because what happens with this diet, is that you are always healing. You can have some things heal right from the start, and other things can take a couple of years to heal. I have felt fabulous for a while, but then last week we started sauerkraut ( a healing food) it brought some of our old issues up because it is adding beneficial bacteria into the stomach, and all the bad bacteria come out to fight it, and you feel worse again. You are then removing those things from your body, so ultimately it is a good thing, but uncomfortable, so I am trying to control die-off slowly. (More on this in another post).

 With all this said, we have had huge gains, but are still working on some things. This diet has been a total life change, hard, but definitely worth it. I've always known in life the hardest things are ALWAYS the most worthwhile!

Britt

Don't be Afraid!

I know what your thinking! What in the world is up with your blog title?? Seems kind of scary huh? I mean, who eats fat these days? We do!

Several months ago, our family started the GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome), by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. Originally it was for our oldest son who had food allergies, bouts of eczema, chronic allergies, digestive issues, stimming, asthma and a plethora of other things going on in his little body. This diet was too tough to have him do on his own, so our family decided to join in. I thought I would let the other kids eat the diet at home, and then eat whatever at friends houses etc., but soon I found out we were all reacting in one way or another, and strict adherence needed to be followed.

This diet seals and heals the gut lining, while eliminating toxins from the body, and adding back in beneficial bacteria, in order to eliminate the above conditions.

It's been quite a learning curve for this SAD (Standard American Diet) family, but we're giving it a go, and seeing where it takes us! So....what do we eat??

Lots of fat! Not just any old fat, the good fat! Butter (from grass-fed cows), Ghee, tallow(beef fat), bacon, coconut oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, full-fat yogurt, sour cream, kefir and plenty of homemade meat broth. These fats are what heal and seal the gut lining, so foods can be properly digested again. And, did u know your brain is 60% fat? If u dont feed it the good fats, it can't thrive. Soooo many people have reversed Alzheimers, by changing there diet to a high fat diet. Your cells are made up of fat too, so if u want your cells working properly, eat plenty of the good fats too! There are so many benefits to eating good fats, that I will touch on in later posts.

We eat lots of protein
Lots of veggies
Lots of fermented foods (these add back the good bacteria)
Some fruit, nuts and honey
No grains, starches or sugars

We've been doing the diet for 7 months now. We have had some great improvements, lots of die-off (or detoxing), and some minor set backs. This blog is to document our journey, allow me a place to vent once in a while, and maybe help someone along the way!

Happy reading, and eating (butter of course!)

Britt