Cheat Day

Today is the eighteenth day of our GAPS diet journey. And, considering that we took a cheat day yesterday, things haven't been too bad. I'm extra tired, probably from the sugar I consumed (gummy bears and some delicious Ben and Jerry's ice cream) as well as the detox resulting from the probiotics killing off the unhealthy bacteria that got a boost yesterday. Of course, the restlessness of my two youngest children contributed to my low energy as well. But, I digress. What, you may be asking, is a "cheat day?" Well, let me explain.

A "cheat day" is when you choose to cheat on the GAPS diet. It is definitely not recommended, because whatever cheating you do slows the process of healing your gut, prolongs the time you need to be on the diet, and can have some pretty painful consequences, depending on where you are in the healing process and what you choose to eat.

Because yesterday was the birthday of our country, we intended to celebrate with my family, at a local park with river access. We planned and prepared diligently, trying to make sure we had what we needed for the adventure, and realizing that time was of the essence, because we couldn't bring enough snacks to keep kids sustained for too long. Having done so well with the process, and having been at this effort for so short a time, we really didn't want to loose momentum. Until, that is, we arrived at the park and discovered the plethora of forbidden foods at every turn. My sister isn't on the diet. She wanted goodies. My niece isn't on the diet, and she also wanted goodies. My parents aren't on the diet, and they wanted goodies. Even being very discreet and as supportive as they are for our journey, it was almost impossible not to notice the potato chips, cookies, candy, and fresh fruit.

So, we decided to cheat. We gave the kids special permission to eat goodies, in moderation (a concept that is, I've discovered, completely incomprehensible to a six year old boy, lol. He ate like he was starving. Then again; he always eats like he's starving!) fully aware that we'd deal with consequences later. I just thought it would be several hours later, like eighteen, or twenty-four, not six or eight. Anxiety and tummy aches were the worst consequences, and the fatigue I mentioned earlier. All things considered, I'm very glad we made the decision we did. We will not, however, be cheating again any time soon. And other than ice cream, I don't really want to!

Actually, I'm surprised by how my tastes have changed in such a short amount of time. Instead of eating carelessly and with abandon yesterday, I ate a few bites of various things, but didn't long for any of it. And, instead of being put off by the smell of broth, I realized it smelled really good; my husband said the same thing; the broth smelled good. How different from just a few days ago. 

Day Sixteen - Adventures in the Heat

Yesterday was a sweltering 105 degrees where I live. Even with the most enticing aroma, no one in my house wanted to eat bone broth. As a (sometimes) compassionate mama who tries to (almost) never make my kids eat anything I don't like, we decided to forgo the GAPS Intro essential, and "go rogue." 

Instead of bone broth, we pushed the envelope a little and added frozen bananas to the fresh juice we were already drinking, for smoothies. Another wise mama suggested I freeze some of my yogurt into ice cubes, so those went into the blender, too. The result was both refreshing and delicious. After lunch, we hard boiled eggs, instead of scrambling them, and headed to the river to play in non-chlorinated water, as Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends. It was wonderful. And the kids played for almost two hours without any melt-down issues. 

For dinner, we again steered away from the bone broth, though it had cooled to around 95 by that time. Instead, a luxurious salad, with fresh lettuce from our garden, avocados, home-toasted almonds, and (a very few) delicious pieces of fresh, peeled cucumber. For a dressing, I blended some cold-pressed olive oil into homemade yogurt, then added a touch of sour cream and some of my home-dried herbs. It was amazing.

My husband grew up with garlic salt on his salad, so I took some dried minced garlic I'd picked up from the local  public market (dried by the elderly gentleman who grew the garlic) and pulverized it, along with some sea salt, with my mortar and pestle. That worked fabulously, too.

When it was time to go to bed, since it was still close to 90 degrees in our house, I used our shaved ice maker to shave ice, then added fresh juice to make healthy slushies. It worked!! And it made the juice go much farther.

In the end, I was pretty proud of myself. We were able to mostly stick with the diet in spite of the record-breaking heat, and it was downright enjoyable! And, time for true confessions: I seriously considered giving up on the whole thing yesterday. It was just too overwhelming, for a variety of reasons. My husband, who wasn't that enthusiastic about beginning this adventure, was the one to point out all the reasons he thought we should continue!! His encouragement, along with some great suggestions, turned the tide on my despair, and helped give us a delightful day.

Day Thirteen

GAPS is tremendous amount of work. But, after twelve full days on the diet, we're starting to fall into a bit of a routine. The planned meals and snacks have been a huge plus, giving kids a boundary for when they can eat and when they have to wait, and helping me be more intentional with my time and energy, both of which are at a premium right now.

If all goes well, we'll be able to move through the last three stages fairly quickly; the goal is to be done by next week. Once we are doing the full GAPS diet, life will become much more pleasant, indeed. Last night we were looking through the GAPS cookbook I bought, dreaming about the yummy treats we can have. The first thing we're going to try is key lime pie, then pumpkin pie with a coconut crust, and some cappuccino cupcakes. It will be a real treat after all we've been doing without!!

The days are still long, and the adults are ready to collapse into bed long before the day is over, but I think as we adjust to full GAPS and settle into more of a routine, it will be much easier. Also, if die-off is adding to our fatigue (that can be a symptom), it will improve over time. Eventually, I'm hoping the benefits of the diet will give us much more energy, and these days of exhaustion will fade into memory.

Until then, we just keep plugging along. Our kids are learning perseverance in addition to healthy eating, and that is a very good thing.

Day Ten

The day is over, kids are (finally) asleep, and I'm ready to crash once this is posted. The menu worked, though we veered from it a little, and the day went more smoothly. The issues we started the diet for are definitely getting more pronounced  (hopefully a good sign), so we're staying put on Level 3 for now. That will give me time to get even more creative about incorporating bone broth into meals. At least they are enjoying the yogurt and sauerkraut.

GAPS friendly store bought sauerkraut is EXPENSIVE, though!! So, my next adventure will be attempting to make sauerkraut. It is a little intimidating, because I know it can go wrong and be messy and probably stinky. But, when I can buy a cabbage for about a third of what a jar of sauerkraut costs, it doesn't make sense not to try!! The process takes five to seven days, so I won't know if I've done it right until next week. Wish me luck. Depending on how my phone is behaving, I will share photos.

One aspect of this diet that is quite surprising to me is how quickly my taste buds are changing. I love sugar. Actually, I love it so much, I really try to keep it out of my house (especially in the form of candy) because it is so difficult for me to resist.

So, I expected major cravings when we started this journey. Amazingly enough, I haven't really had any?! Once in a while I really long for a sweet treat (like a coffee with syrup and real cream), but it hasn't been nearly as bad as other experiences I've had.

Instead of craving sugar, like I expected to, I'm beginning to enjoy healthy foods much more than ever, foods I've never enjoyed in my whole life!! Foods like squash and avocado. I've never liked squash. But, it sure smelled good simmering in my stew the other night. And the creamy squash soup I made (by blending cooked squash and bone broth in my Vitamix and adding yogurt) was devoured; a feat made even more amazing when you consider that my family was turning their nose up at squash as I was making the soup. In the past, I'd eat guacamole with nachos (a hint to my Spanish heritage, maybe), but not plain avocados. Knowing we needed to add more avocado to our diet, I intentionally hesitantly took a bite of a piece of freshly opened avocado; it was delicious!!

One side note - it is important to pick ripe avocados, but not too ripe. Dr. Campbell-McBride explains why you need to eat ripe fruit in her book, so I very carefully picked very soft squishy avocados from the local fresh fruit stand. They were too ripe, and had a funny yucky taste to them. My husband didn't notice, but the rest of us did. I won't make that mistake again, lol.

So ends Day Ten on my GAPS diet journey. Good night.

Day Nine

Here I am, posting about the day before, again. By the time everyone is ready for bed, meals are prepped for tomorrow, and fermenting and/or culturing foods are done, I'm totally tuckered. It doesn't take very long for my energy to be tanked completely. Thankfully, mornings are getting better, and my youngest is sleeping on his own, for short periods, so I'm getting a better start to the day.

Yesterday did not start well. It was pretty miserable, to be quite frank. My son's diaper leaked, and he had a panic attack when I took it off. Then, before I could get another one on him, he started to go on the floor, and that also freaked him out. Consequently, breakfast was late, prompting several other kids to have meltdowns. Then, the kicker was, as I was preparing to blend pancakes in my beloved Vita-mix (amazing blenders, if you've never seen or heard about them), my youngest son (the difficulties of yesterday seem to center around him. Hmmm) turned it on and lifted the container off the base, damaging the teeth on both the base and the container, as well as (from the sound of things) the motor. Ugh. After spending an inordinate amount of time making grain-free pancakes (with nut butter, squash and fresh eggs - quite yummy), it was time to clean up and start all over again.

My husband was a huge help, but the morning completely exhausted me and the rest of the day was a drain.

On a positive note, I did capture some photos, and the yogurt I made actually thickened (we've enjoyed "yogurt smoothies" several times). Yeah! So, here are photos, some from earlier in the journey, and some from my adventures yesterday. 

And, obviously, today has gone much better. I think the biggest difference (besides not beginning my day with a leaky diaper) was writing out a plan for meals and figuring out my priorities for the day, so that even with interruptions, I can get back on track quickly. It is a habit I got away from with my son's challenges, but it can be a lifeline, especially while on GAPS. I'd be happy to share my menu, but my phone is on the fritz (that same boy who broke my Vita-mix dropped my phone in his soup - guess we know what he thinks of the soup, lol).

Pecans, drying in my oven after soaking all night.

 Sour cream and kefir "in process" on my fridge

Yogurt, culturing in my oven, with the light on to maintain a temperature of about 100 degrees. 

Day Six

Experience is such a good teacher, but gives very little grace. So, we've been learning SO much!! Thankfully, we've learned many lessons that should make the rest of the journey much more pleasant.

So, if you are considering the GAPS diet journey, let me give you a few words of friendly advice. First, make LOTS of broth; you will use it. And, buy the resource Cara put together. Whether you use the menus or not, the information is invaluable. I'm not following the menu exactly, but we are using the tips and recommendations for different days. It makes thinking ahead much easier, especially if you are like me and need to experience something first to be able to anticipate how to prepare.

Second, be prepared to spend a tremendous amount of time prepping veggies. We finally bought frozen broccoli and cauliflower. It was about the same price per pound, is probably fresher than buying "fresh" from the store, and is much easier to use. Honestly, though, I am really thankful I listened to the advice of other bloggers and friends who have been through the diet, and cleared my schedule for a while. It has been much less stressful to know nothing else had to be done.

Third, don't start with only bone broth!! I misunderstood the diet and gave my family only bone broth, which is, to a large degree, responsible for the issues we continue to have with little ones refusing to eat the broth. One more reason to buy Cara's e-book, lol. Like I said, it is a life saver.

Finally, reading as much as you can about other people's experiences, and going through the Q & A section on the GAPS website, is invaluable. Reading Dr. Campbell-McBride's book is definitely essential. But, the benefit of shared experiences makes the journey much easier. Case in point - some of my kids are having more issues with their issues than before we started the diet. But, honestly, I'm encouraged. From what I've read, worsening symptoms can be an indication of die-off, which I take to mean that as the gut environment gets healthier, symptoms will improve. Time will tell.

The learning curve has definitely been steep, but not so steep that I'm not willing to continue on this crazy adventure.

Day Eight

Yeah!! We have survived our first full week of GAPS. And, I am completely exhausted, lol. This is a very labor intensive process. But, we made it through the first week, and things are going much better than I expected.

The biggest blessing is, other than my four year old, the first day, we haven't been plagued by cravings. Oh sure, we'd love a candy bar, and Dairy Queen calls my name every time I drive by (who doesn't love their blizzards?) but it hasn't been as difficult/overpowering as I suspected it would be. That is a huge blessing.

Kids still aren't real excited about bone broth, but since we're starting Stage Four tomorrow, that is ok; our repertoire of foods has expanded greatly from a week ago. They love sauerkraut, are drinking whey like it is going out of style, and are thrilled with a snack of cooked carrots - just promise not to tell them the carrots are cooked in bone broth.

I have learned how to make homemade yogurt, sour cream, and kefir. Tomorrow, I'm going to try my hand at sauerkraut; it is insanely easy to make (according to all the instructions I've read) and it is expensive to buy. Nuts are soaking in preparation for grain-free pancakes - a new favorite treat, and I'm feeling much more confident with the path we've chosen.

My husband has been a champ, too. Honestly, if he wasn't on board, I'm not sure we could have continued. It has been that hard. Admittedly, I'm not the best with planning ahead; I don't have my menu all figured out, I'm not ready to feed my kids as often as they are hungry, and I easily forget that we need to take snacks with us when we do need to leave the house (which I'm trying to do as little as possible). He has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. 

Since I know blogs are much more interesting with photos, I'm hoping to post some tomorrow. Kids have documented our progress, and I am so completely amazed at them drinking the whey that I have to document it with a photograph, lol. So, stay tuned. And, if you are considering starting GAPS, let me know. I'd love to encourage you in the process. After all...misery loves company.

Day One

This is my personal journey with the Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet. This diet, also known as the GAPS diet, was developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, to treat her son's Autism. You can check out her website here.

You can order a copy of her book here or on Amazon. I didn't find a copy at my local library, or through any of the discount book sellers, but if you decide you want to buy a copy, check all your favorite book shops.

The reason I started this diet, with my family, is kind of a long story. If you want to learn more about my personal adventure and how I got here, check out my other blog and our challenges over the last two years. Briefly, my youngest son was born in March 2011, and for reasons that were not immediately apparent, he cried, constantly, almost from birth. Eventually, he was diagnosed with reflux, swallowing difficulties, developmental delays, and ultimately "static encephalopathy" Cerebral Palsy. 

 
Because of the Cerebral Palsy, my son has low muscle tone and hemiparesis, or right-sided weakness. He also struggles with Sensory Processing Disorder, has had multiple upper respiratory infections (with fourteen different rounds of antibiotics - before he was two!), pneumonia twice (once requiring hospitalization), had a significant speech delay (both receptive and expressive), and major issues with separation anxiety. His big sister, though a much easier baby, also struggles with anxiety (she has a diagnosed anxiety disorder), a speech delay (initially it was an expressive delay, but she also had major issues with intelligibility), and Sensory Processing Disorder. 


 
 Of our eight children, five of them are struggling with some sort of "psychological" issue, including dyslexia and Autism, in addition to the diagnoses above. Not only was life overwhelming, but we were desperate for answers and help.

After reading about the dramatic improvement parents were seeing with the Gluten-free/Casein-free diets, we were gearing up for that when someone mentioned Dr. Campbell-McBride's book. I devoured it, quickly. But, the GAPS diet is pretty intense (you can look over the outline here, here, and here). It took a few months to get ready to actually take that step. This page has been very helpful.

Today, we took the plunge. Last week, we bought several pounds of all natural beef bones from a local butcher; I dropped several into a crock pot yesterday, to begin the process of cooking. I also bought a whole chicken, and will be picking up some fish carcasses from our local public market when it opens on Thursday. I bought some commercial yogurt, for the cultures, so I could make my own at home, with raw milk, for probiotics, and put teaspoons of sauerkraut juice in our bowls of soup tonight. A friend (who started the GAPS diet over a year ago) gave me kefir grains, so making some fresh kefir is on the list of things to do, too.

My kids do not like this diet, to put it mildly. Our four year old (mentioned above) was screaming "I want C.A.N.D.Y.!!" very loudly earlier, and sobbed over eating the bone broth. My two year old, who is still nursing because of his swallowing issues, has been much "hungrier" for Mama today. Honestly, it was a bit of a challenge to drink the bone broth for breakfast this morning. And I won't lie; this isn't something I'd choose just for fun.

But, it has been, surprisingly, very filling. The little ones enjoyed their well-cooked bones (with lots of healing connective tissue) at dinner, and no one is struggling (too badly) with withdrawls, yet. I have a feeling that is coming. But, we have boxed up almost everything that will be a temptation, so we should make it through. I'll let you know how I'm feeling tomorrow.

We are NOT doing this diet to lose weight, though a few of us can definitely stand to lose a few pounds. The reasons for embarking on this quest...journey...thing...is for the health and well-being of our children, and our sanity. If you don't know anything about the GAPS diet, definitely check out the links above; do your own research. And, if you are thinking about embarking on your own journey but aren't quite sure you can do it on your own, contact me. I'd love to share the journey with you!! I have certainly appreciated the people who have shared mine with me.