Pureed Carrots

Breakfast is the most challenging meal for me to make right now. Joel tested very high in his sensitivity to eggs and that was a big go-to for us for breakfast. I am limiting him to one egg dish per week until we start the GAPS intro diet. We also used to eat oatmeal or buckwheat a couple of times a week. So when I first started trying to plan what we could eat on this diet I just didn't know what we could possibly eat for breakfasts!

Sausage and bacon seemed like simple solutions for some of our meals. But then what would we eat with that? I ended up trying out some different veggie purees. These can be made sweet treat with just a little bit of raw honey added. I made butternut squash puree last week and this week I tried out carrot puree. Here is what I did:

Pureed Carrots

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Tbsp coconut oil (I used lots, but you could easily do it with less)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1-2 lbs carrots sliced (I probably used a little less than 1 1/2 lb)
• 1/2 cup or more of broth
• dash of salt
• honey (optional) - I didn't use this as I found the carrots were sweet enough on their own.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put sliced carrots on cookie sheet or other pan. I used my ceramic Pampered Chef baking pan. Cook carrots until softened (maybe 15-20 minutes). Meanwhile heat the coconut oil in skillet or stainless steel pan. Add the onion and saute soft. Add onions, carrots, broth and salt to vitamix and use tamper to blend until smooth. Add more broth or water if needed.

I have also made this by steaming the carrots and onions together and then adding everything to the vitamix and blending. Bot times the kids have loved this! 

Yummy GAPS Tomato Sausage Stew

At the time I am writing this, we are about 3 weeks into the GAPS diet. Our stomachs seem to be doing great! Joel was having some tummy problems the first couple of weeks but they have improved this week. We have been dealing with sniffles for the past two weeks which is frustrating, but that might be an issue of us working out our probiotics since the colds appeared immediately after switching to a new brand. I don't think it is merely that we caught colds because it doesn't ever take us this long to get over colds. But who knows? I am praying we will get over this hump soon!

Anyway, I am continuing to experiment with lots of new recipes. Today for lunch we had a yummy sausage tomato stew which I also made a couple of weeks ago. This is very simple and easy to make, and for us it just hits the spot. Today I made the whole recipe for the sauce, but I decided to halve the sausage and freeze half of the sauce for a later time. I served the stew with snap peas on the side and some various leftovers we had in the fridge. The first time I made it I added peas to the stew and served it with a salad.

Tomato Sausage Stew (GAPS-friendly)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs sausage* (beef or other kind)
• 1 - 24 oz bottle strained tomatoes (I use this brand)
• 1/2 onion, quartered or coarsely chopped
• 2 medium zucchinis, cut up
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• additional spices (I just added a 1/2 tsp or so of basil)

Directions:

• Brown sausage in a medium skillet or stainless steel pan
• Meanwhile add the rest of the ingredients to a blender or vitamix
• Blend until you have a smooth puree
• Add the tomato sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Then simmer on low for 5-10 minutes. I just for 5 because we were in a hurry to eat and it turned out just fine.

*One note on the sausage - almost all store bought sausage has sugar added, which is NOT Gaps legal. Whole Foods does sell some sugar free sausage, but you have to be careful about the ingredients. I have opted just to make our own sausage, which is also a cheaper option, by adding a spice blend to ground beef or pork or lamb. I modified a recipe I found online and will post it at some point soon :). 

GAPS-friendly Carrot Ginger Soup

Carrots are a staple in our home. We used to eat a fair amount raw or sliced up in different dishes, but since starting the GAPS diet I have been using carrots in some more unique ways...veggie juice, carrot puree, carrot ginger soup. I had never had carrot soup before but as I am trying to get more and more soups into our meal plan I have been experimenting with a lot of different ideas and this one sounded good. No recipes I found worked 100% for the GAPS diet so I created my own, keeping to the basic routine I have been doing for soups: saute some onions and garlic in coconut oil or other GAPS allowed fat (tonight it was leftover beef fat from our sausage - and can I say YUM!), add in the main veggie, add some chicken stock, simmer until done and then add in some salt and pepper. This is very simple and so far has given some really tasty results.

I think I mentioned in one of my posts that our third child was boycotting the soups our first week on the diet. He is still hit or miss, but overall he is eating much more of the soups I make. Tonight he said he loved the carrot ginger soup we had and I think he finished it all with a very good attitude. We had this soup with some salmon and then cucumber slices on the side. Here is the recipe:

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/4 - 1/2 C coconut oil (we are using lots of fat right now to bulk up our calories)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 4 Cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1-2 inch chunk of ginger, finely chopped
• 2 lbs carrots
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 2 tsp salt
• pepper

Heat up the oil in a large stock pot and then add the onions and saute for several minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute a couple of minutes more. Then add in the carrots and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock, bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat until carrots are soft. Add the salt and pepper and then puree with a hand held blender or in batches in a blender. 

The first time I made this I took half of the soup and pureed it in the vitamix with about 1 lb of chicken. I served it to for lunch with avocado slices and a few more pieces of chicken on the side. Then we had the rest as a side dish the next day. 

GAPS week one menu

Here we are - week one on the GAPS diet. I guess we are jumping in in some ways and also easing into it in some other ways. I completely altered most of our meals, but Nik and I attended a wedding our first official night so that was a lost cause for me. And then the kids had regular snacks at Sunday School today. I need to figure out something for them for that. But otherwise we are doing it and it is going okay. Erik is striking the soups I am making, but am praying he will come around because he used to LOVE soups - any kind of soup!

I am writing out all of our meal plans ahead of time and then logging what we end up actually eating on here so I can track it for future meal/snack ideas. This should give you a good idea of what we are eating/not eating.

Week One Meal Plan

Saturday:

• Breakfast: Fried apples with leftover beef muffins
• Lunch: Mushroom soup, shredded turnips and celery root fried in coconut oil (this was really good!)
• Dinner: Grass-fed beef hot dogs, carrot fries, cucumber slices (This was for the kids while I indulged at the wedding).
• Snacks - bananas, homemade lemon gummy candies

Sunday:

• Breakfast: Coconut milk/berry smoothie; handful of raw almonds (soaked and deyhdrated)
• Lunch: Mushroom soup, homemade lamb sausage (this was yummy!), leftover carrot fries
• Dinner: Salmon, large green salad, mashed butternut squash
• Snacks: apples, bananas; butternut squash with honey and coconut oil

Monday:

• Breakfast: Butternut squash with honey and coconut oil, bacon, sliced green peppers
• Lunch: Homemade chicken lunch meat, avocado mayo, lettuce for wrapping, tomatoes and carrots
• Roast chicken with onions, carrots & parsnips (I have since discovered parsnips are not gaps legal :( ), large salad with dressing made of olive oil and ACV, leftover Mushroom Soup
• Snacks: almonds, fruit leather, apples, blueberries fried in coconut oil

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: "Hashbrowns" made of celery root and turnips fried in leftover bacon fat, home made beef sausage, carrot sticks and hemp milk. Erik was extra hungry and had an egg afterward. NOTE: I am not doing eggs for any of our meals b/c this is something we have to limit for Joel right now.
• Lunch: Onion Broccoli Soup w/meatballs
• Dinner: Roast chicken leftovers
• Snacks: apples/bananas, almond flour "butter" cookies

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: Blueberry-banana coconut milk smoothie, macadamia nuts
• Lunch: Carrot Ginger soup with chicken, avocado slices on the side
• Dinner: Curry chicken w/green peppers and mashed cauliflower (So gooood!)
• Snacks: bananas, pureed butternut squash with coconut oil and raw honey

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Sausage, butternut squash puree with coconut oil and honey
• Lunch: Leftover carrot soup with hot dogs
• Dinner: Spaghetti w/zucchini noodles and a large, but plain salad
• Snacks: Green smoothie, Fried bananas, more bananas

Friday:

• Breakfast: Pumpkin pancakes
• Lunch: Broccoli soup w/white bean hummus and veggies
• Dinner: Round roast, salad, artichoke hearts
• Snack: Berry chia seed smoothie; fruit; nuts

GAPS - here we go

I have debated about this for about a year now - whether or not to put my family on the GAPS diet. If you have never heard of this, here is a link that explains the gist of it. I will dumb down the basics even more to say that it is a diet that restricts certain foods that irritate the gut with the goal to HEAL. It is a short term diet, meaning that it is not meant to be lifelong. However, you have to faithfully live on this diet for about 1 1/2 - 3 years in order for it to really work. No cheating allowed :).

Since we began our journey to healing several years ago, I feel that just about everything we have tried health-wise has been about improving our symptoms by removing foods form our diet and adding in healthier or more well tolerated alternatives. This has been so valuable and I have learned things that will forever affect how we eat. I don't envision us ever going back to the way we once ate. At the same time, I also feel that everything we have done has been about maintaining our current level of health without much hope that at some point Joel could go to a birthday party and have one cupcake and not throw up a couple of days later. Do I ever plan to regularly give him unhealthy refined cupcakes? NO! But do I want him to be able to tolerate wheat and dairy and be able to indulge on a rare occasssion? Yes!

The GAPS diet is really the first diet I have ever heard of that talks about healing the gut so that you can once again enjoy foods that your body cannot currently tolerate. Is it crazy? Yes! Is it incredibly restrictive? YES! Will people probably think we are more crazy that they even thought in the past. Probably. And will it cost us an arm and a leg? Yes - that too. But I cannot resist the hope of that simple word - healing. If it delivers and Joel's and my bodies are healed and we can visit friends for dinner without having to list a slew of no no foods, it will have been worth it. And if it doesn't deliver I don't see that much will be lost. And we will have gone on a family adventure together, weathered the good and tough times through it, learned greater levels of discipline, and probably gained at least some greater level of health.

I have debated over whether or not to do this diet for so many reasons: cost, what other people will think of us, and fears over whether I can do this right or not. But God has been challenging me to take more risks and to step out in faith. I believe He will heal my baby boy. He can do it supernaturally but that hasn't happened yet, so I am stepping out in faith that He might do it through the GAPS diet.

So, we are starting to ease into the GAPS and will do the full diet until the summer. Then my plan is to do the intro diet, which is the really tough part where you go through an shorter more intense elimination diet. I plan to at least attempt to keep logs of our meal plans, recipes, etc. I don't want to do anything crazy like this if it can't possibly benefit someone else. So if you are interested in the diet stay tuned and you can get a bird's eye view through us!

The Best Cookbook Ever!!!

Do you have a go-to cookbook? I have had several through the years that I have enjoyed, but a few weeks ago I ordered and received a cookbook that seriously rocks my world unlike any other! I am so in love, I cannot even begin to tell you....okay, I guess I will tell you :)! But first the backstory:

Almost exactly 3 years ago I went to see a nutritionist. She gave me the cookbook The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook to aid me in my dietary goals. I have enjoyed this book thoroughly through the years as well as their blog. The authors, Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre, are a couple with 5 kiddos. They both have nutrition degrees from Bastyr University. And they work together so beautifully to come up with amazing recipes that are both delicious and healthy! On their blog (and also found in their new cookbook) is my favorite recipe which I talked about on here before. 

Through the years, my eating habits have continued to evolve. Though most of the information that has led to the changes I have made did not come directly through the Nourishing Meals website, I feel that their philosophy of eating now probably captures mine better than any other diet, cookbook or website. I have known for a while that they were coming out with a new cookbook, and when it came out it took everything in me not to jump and buy it right away. I didn't have the money to buy it at the time and thought I would wait patiently to get it for Christmas. But finally I couldn't wait any longer and I bought it!

In the short few weeks I have had the Nourishing Meals Cookbook I have made several recipes. And every single one is amazing!! Among them are:

• Mini Quiches with a Sweet Potato Crust (dairy free w/option to add cheese)
• Coconut Banana Breakfast Cake
• Breakfast Potatoes
• Sourdough Teff Bread (I will admit I am still working on this recipe - I think I am messing something up :) )
• Coconut Flour Biscuits
• Asian Chicken Salad
• Lean, Mean and Green Rice Salad
• Sloppy Joes
• Slow Cooked Beef Stew
• Chicken Pot Pies (w/Coconut Flour Biscuits for the grain-free option; pictured below - sorry the pics from my phone did not turn out well)
• Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese
• Avocado Mayonnaise
• Deep Dish Apple Pie filling (I didn't have time to make the crust, but the filling was yummy!)
• Chocolate Walnut Brownies (I used carob instead of chocolate and they were so great!)

Here are some of the things that I love about this book:

• It is whole food's based. No junk, and it includes plenty of veggies!
• They take a really healthy balance on grains. I have struggled between different views on grains and phytic acid. They address this issue in their book and recommend soaking to decrease phytic acid, as well as advise eating some meals grain-free, but they also recognize the benefits of phytic acid. They do offer several grain free recipes for those avoiding grains. 
• Speaking of their grain free recipes - they have a few recipes using coconut flour (and some with almond flour, but I don't use almonds much because I don't digest them well). And seriously they are so superior to any other recipes I have used for coconut-flour products. Wow! I use coconut flour quite a bit and I am thrilled to have some higher quality recipes.
• I feel they have a great balance between meat-based recipes and vegan/vegetarian recipes. They also emphasize eating pastured meats, which is great! I often feel torn between grain-free Paleo, the Weston A. Price philosophy of eating, and also raw vegan as I enjoy aspects of all of these diets. I feel that this cookbook includes the things I love about each of them and has recipes that fit into each category.
• Important for our family - all of their recipes are GF and dairy free (though a few include optional dairy additions). 
• They have a section on preserved foods which excites me because I am trying make more fermented vegetables. 
• They have a very large section full of healthy desserts! I am especially anxious to try their mint chip ice cream. 

Well I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the gist. If you are trying to live out healthy eating with your family, I really cannot recommend this cookbook enough. There are over 300 recipes, tons of helpful information on eating healthy and general nutrition and it includes some beautiful pictures of their recipes. Really my only complaint about this book is that I don't have enough time to make all the things I want to!

If you are interested, you can purchase it here on Amazon!

My Favorite Summer Meal, Plus Black Bean and Mango Salad Recipe

As the summer weather will be quickly passing us by, I am trying to enjoy the food of summer as much as possible while I still can! What can beat (food-wise) all of the wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables, the fresh salmon, and more. Speaking of salmon, I really can't think of a better summer meal than one including fresh, wild Alaskan salmon. I feel so good after I eat it. During the summer we eat it once a week, though we try to eat it regularly throughout the year as well. Trader Joe's has really good prices on frozen salmon and that is where we usually get it in seasons other than summer, but it doesn't nearly taste as amazing as the good stuff we can get in summer.

Last night we had what is probably my all-time favorite summer meal. Fresh wild salmon, rice and a black bean and mango salad. Yummy! Please excuse my photos as I am still a newbie to photography, but hopefully from them you can get the gist. You might notice we are eating white rice instead of brown. I am still looking into this more, but one of the diets I am very interested in (The Perfect Health Diet) advocates for white rice over brown because it has a lower natural toxicity level. Because my kids love white rice that is what we have been eating lately. I personally prefer brown but I am going to be buying the book for this diet and reading more on what they have to say on the topic. What I really like about the Perfect Health Diet is that it is a Paleo-style diet but also maintains that we have a need for some "safe" starches. They allow for white rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes and tapioca. I am not adhering to this diet completely, and I know for sure I don't agree with every element of it, but it has been helpful as a guide as we have sought to decrease our grains/starches yet not eliminate them completely.

Alrighty, now that I have successfully taken a major side track off of my subject, back to our meal from last night. Here is my black bean salad recipe. I have made many different variations on it through the past couple of years. You can do it with corn, avocado or any variety of veggie and or fruit you like. This also makes a great side dish for a potluck!


Black Bean and Mango Salad

• ~2 C black beans (or 1 can)
• ~2 C cut up mango 
• 1/2 C diced yellow pepper
• 1/8-1/4 C chopped green onion
• 1/4 C chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (we have citrus issues, but you could use lemon or lime juice instead)
• salt to taste
• Optional: 1 avocado cubed (sometimes I do this instead of the yellow pepper)

Mix up all of the ingredients and serve!