So I am officially done with GAPS Intro! I have been for about a week or so, but I haven’t gotten time to sit down and gather my thoughts about the whole thing. I have actually sat down to write this post a bunch of times and just can’t get into it. I think it’s because I had a tiny breakdown about GAPS, and then I relaxed a little about Stages 5 & 6. Let me explain.

I wrote a little about my episode here, but basically what happened was that I had my first reaction to a newly introduced food and I got discouraged. I thought I would have to be stuck at Stage 4 forever if I couldn’t eat every single food on the list. Then I realized that I am the one in charge of this plan, and that I could make the executive decision to move onto the next stage and try that food again later when I felt ready. That really took the pressure off and allowed me to start trying more new foods and eat more like a normal person (not that people on GAPS Intro aren’t normal.. well, maybe we aren’t, but you get what I mean).

Let me be clear, though- I didn’t cheat or go off the diet, I just moved on and skipped some of the raw vegetables, which I plan on reintroducing eventually.

What did I eat on Stage 5 & 6?

With Stage 5 came raw veggies, applesauce, honey and fruit for juicing. Stage 6 adds whole fruits.

• Scrambled Eggs in Ghee with Avocado and Sauerkraut (my typical breakfast.)
• Eggs with Ham and Asparagus
• Sausage Patties
• Pulled Pork with GAPS Barbecue Sauce (I skipped ahead again and added spices to the barbecue sauce.)
• Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
• Squash and Almond Flour Bread (Yellow Squash and Zucchini)
• New Cooked Vegetables- spaghetti squash, tomatoes, green peppers
• Raw Cucumber, Carrot, Celery
• Homemade applesauce (pictured above, small batch recipe here)
• Fresh Juice in lots of different combinations
• Crispy Nuts
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut and Olive Oil
• Other things I can’t remember because I stopped writing my meals down in such detail!

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

I had some trouble with introducing raw cucumber and butter lettuce at the beginning of Stage 5 (that was the problem food from my episode). Then I remembered that raw vegetables have often been a problem food for me, and like I said- I stopped freaking out about it. I have seen a few symptoms come back here or there, but nothing like the pain I used to experience. Plus, my supplements are really helping to reduce pain.

Any practical advice from Stage 5 & 6?

Don’t go crazy with the whole fruits and honey and baked goods- it can send you into a downward spiral really fast! Take advantage of juicing as a way to get in some tasty fruits (with your veggies, too, of course). Also, watch it with the nuts. It can be tempting to eat them for every snack and with every meal in your baked goods/bread; but they shouldn’t be the main part of your diet- that should still be meat and vegetables.

Also- keep up the broth and soup, don’t quit!!

Any encouragement for people in Stage 5 & 6?

Let the bumps in the road be okay. Let the little mistakes be okay. I’m not giving you carte blanche to start cheating (GAPS is not a diet you want to cheat on, since you would have to start from the beginning again to get your desired results), but do give yourself some grace. This is a hard journey and you’ve almost made it to the full diet. Keep up the good work and take your healing seriously- you are worth it.

I am feeling a little bit stuck with the GAPS Intro diet this week. I need to vent about it. Just a little, if that’s okay.

I was making great progress until a few days ago. I had no trouble introducing new foods and my symptoms were mostly gone. I was feeling good, feeling ready to add back some of my problem foods (raw veg being an issue for me in the past.)

Enter the humble, unassuming (jerk of a) cucumber. (Don’t misunderstand, I really do love cucumbers.. I guess it’s my stomach that is actually the jerk.) It was the first raw vegetable I tried, and I got sick that day. I tried the cucumber again the next day with just a little butter lettuce, thinking that maybe it was something else I had eaten the day before, but I got sick again. And then I started planning my mental pity party, because, you know, it’s summer. And in summer, there’s fresh, delicious raw produce for salads and snacking and oh, what a joy it would be to eat salad again! How I miss the satisfying crunch of a salad! And other pitiful thoughts.

Then I continued to feel sorry for myself when we were headed to a friend’s house and we picked up pizza on the way. I had to roll down the windows because the scent of fresh dough and hot cheese was suffocating me (so dramatic). You guys, I really wanted some of that pizza. BAD. The pity party reached its peak when I had to feed the kids their pizza OUT OF MY HAND, which meant holding a pizza slice for about half an hour without stuffing it in my face. Yeah.

I don’t know why I am still bothered by this a few days later. I really have no reason to feel sorry for myself, because A) I have so much more than I deserve in this life and B) I am truly feeling better than I was before and C) it is not the end of the world because D) sticking to the plan means I will (probably and hopefully) be able to eat these foods again some day.

Enough feeling sorry for my little old self! Gotta keep the Gospel first in my mind. Less of me, more of Christ. He went through much, much worse on my behalf AND He is praying for me daily. I am blessed.

I hope all of you have a great weekend full of cucumbers and pizza. Here are some links for you, my darlings:

• this paleo banana cream pie. can’t get it out of my brain.
• coconut tres leches pancakes, i am coming for you.
• these rustic place settings have me ready to cut down the nearest tree.
• the J.Crew Factory sale – 30% off everything. lovely and dangerous.
• a basil creamsicle sounds so refreshing.
• these adorable shoes for baby girl. and these in gold.. and of course, these.
• mini button name tags– what would mine say?
• these bow ties are killin’ it.

What did I eat on Stage 4?

With Stage 4, I added olive oil, fresh juice, bread made with almond flour and roasted/grilled meats.

• Scrambled Eggs in Tallow with Avocado and Sauerkraut (my typical breakfast.)
• Poached Salmon and Chicken
• Carrot and Squash Soup with poached eggs and avocado (you might have seen this one on Instagram)
• Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
• Squash and Almond Flour Bread (you can see one of the muffins in the photo above)
• New Cooked Vegetables- spaghetti squash, tomatoes, green peppers
• Fresh Juice- plain carrot or a mixture of carrot/apple/celery
• Chicken Vegetable Soup with Turnips
• Butternut Squash Fries (so good to have roasted squash again!)
• High Protein Chili (pictured above, recipe below)
• Avocado Chicken Salad (just mashed avocado mixed with garlic, salt and cooked chicken)
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut and Olive Oil

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

For the most part, this stage went much better than expected. I have been fearful about trying new vegetables, but it seems to be going well. I did see a bit of a flare-up with my symptoms when I tried the almond flour bread. I tried a little bit at the beginning of the day and it went well, so then I had more later on.. but I think I overdid it. I’ll have to be careful about how much almond flour I take in.

I also feel like I am getting some real energy back- I actually thought about going out and exercising, which I haven’t felt like doing in quite some time. I’m looking forward to some exercise again after Intro is done- I don’t want to push it and start before my body is ready, since working out puts your body in fight-or-flight mode which interferes with proper digestion. And ya’ll know I don’t have time for that.

Any practical advice from Stage 4?

Don’t assume that your body can handle any amount of new food, even if it tolerates a little bit. This was my lesson from the almond flour bread. It is just not worth it to overdo it and experience your symptoms again. Really try to savor the little bits of these foods that you do get to try, even if you end up deciding to leave it out of your diet for a while. You can always try it again later.

I wanted to note here that I did take some liberties with spices in Stage 4. In the recipe for chili posted below, I added some chili powder and paprika, which are not legal until Full GAPS. I was so excited to make chili with tomatoes that I couldn’t resist throwing the spices in. My advice here is that you know your body best. If you get to this point in the diet and you feel you can add in a few ingredients here or there that are allowed on Full GAPS, try it out. But use your judgement- if you have any symptoms, slow down.

Also, don’t quit your detox baths. They are worth doing! (I have been slacking a big- this is mainly a reminder for me.)

Any encouragement for people in Stage 4?

Don’t stop observing and listening to your body. Now that you are adding new foods so often, you want to be careful about recording your symptoms, looking for patterns and making changes accordingly. Hopefully you’ve gotten into a groove with the GAPS lifestyle and you’re making it work for you. But remember, this is a process. Every day will not be better than the last. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. Sometimes we mess up. Keep trying and don’t despair! You are on your way to better health and learning self-discipline along the way. (And don’t quit now- you’ll be able to eat fruit and honey in Stage 5!)

High Protein Chili

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

 

This is called “high protein” because it’s got three types of meat and is very nutrient dense.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: GAPS legal, Main, Soup

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 pound grass-fed beef liver (pre-soaked the night before in the juice of one lemon and then covered with filtered water; cover and keep in the fridge)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground venison, ground pork or other ground meat/sausage
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups crushed tomatoes (preferably homemade or not from a can with BPA)
• water or beef broth to cover
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (optional)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (optional)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 4 cups winter squash (optional)

Instructions

1. Drain the beef liver.
2. In a blender or food processor, process the liver until it’s broken down (I like it pretty broken down, right before it reaches a paste. If you like it chopped, you can do that, too. I find it’s practically undetectable if you break it down in the blender first.)
3. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, cook the liver and ground meats until they are browned.
4. Add onion, garlic, crushed tomatoes and mix. Add spices, if using. Cover with beef broth or water if necessary, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. If you are adding the squash (or any other uncooked vegetable), you can add it to the chili about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it.

3.1.09

What did I eat on Stage 3?

Hooray for Stage 3! Eggs and avocado are back!!

• Scrambled Eggs in Tallow (so glad to have my whole eggs back!)
• More meatballs.
• Cauliflower Soup, Squash Soup
• Beef and Broccoli Soup
• Beef Vegetable Soup
• Swirly Crustless Quiche (pictured above, recipe via Practical Paleo)
• Crockpot Cilantro Chicken with Onions, Green Beans and Avocado (pictured below, recipe below)
• Pancakes (made with squash, eggs and homemade walnut butter)
• Poached Salmon with Celery Roots/Cauliflower/Onion Mash
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

I started taking some supplements this week for support. I was already taking my pre/probiotic and fermented cod liver oil, but I added some digestive enzymes, some hydrochloric acid and some Gastrazyme for extra support. I have seen a difference and I’m hoping the trend continues! I really think my gut lining needs help healing before the pain will disappear, but I was only ready to tackle all of the supplements after I had a few weeks of solid foundation on the diet.

Any practical advice from Stage 3?

Take your time adding in the new foods. It is really exciting that in Stage 3 you get to add whole eggs, pancakes made with nut butter and avocado- but you don’t want to go overboard or try them all on the same day. Slow and steady is best- try scrambling 1-2 eggs or mashing just 1-2 tablespoons of avocado and eating it with your soup; or try just adding one pancake until you’re sure you can tolerate them.

Also, don’t forget to keep up your bone broth! I have gone a little slack with it since I’ve been adding foods. Make sure it stays a central part of every meal!

Any encouragement for people in Stage 3?

You are strong, you can do this! Don’t be discouraged if this stage takes a little longer as you work to introduce new foods to your diet. It may be the first time that you try a food that doesn’t work for you- that is okay! Every person is different- what you are trying to do is find out what works best for your body. Keep at it, day by day.

Crockpot Cilantro Chicken with Onions, Green Beans and Avocado

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

6 hours

Total time

6 hours 10 mins

 

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish, Crockpot

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 large onions, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• a handful of cilantro, chopped
• 8-10 chicken bone-in chicken pieces (I used thighs, but bone-in breast and drumsticks would be great, too)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb green beans, trimmed
• 1-2 avocados, mashed or pureed
• more cilantro, for serving

Instructions

1. Combine onions, garlic and cilantro in a slow cooker and top with the chicken pieces. Pour broth over top and add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or until chicken is tender and onions are soft.
3. About 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, cook the green beans- if the liquid in the crockpot is boiling, you can add them to the crockpot. If not, steam them or boil them in broth and then add to the plate afterwards.
4. To serve, spoon the onions and chicken into a shallow bowl, add the green beans and top with the avocado and more fresh cilantro.

3.1.09

What did I eat on Stage 2?

Stage 2 didn’t differ too much from Stage 1. I was able to add egg yolks to my soup, fresh herbs (this really made a difference to me!), fermented cod liver oil in the mornings, whole sauerkraut in addition to sauerkraut juice and GAPS “casseroles.”

• Carrot and Winter Squash Soup
• Winter Squash and Meatball Casserole with Herb Salt (pictured above; I guess all I’ve been photographing are dishes with meatballs!)
• Pulled Chicken, plain or mixed into soup (I liked it in my smooth soups like Broccoli or Carrot/Squash)
• Chicken Soup with Carrots, Onions and Peas
• Garlic and Parsley Meatballs
• “Mashed” Cauliflower and Cauliflower Soup (this was new and surprisingly tolerable)
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and Sauerkraut

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

My pain has decreased quite a bit, as well as a few other “normal” (for me) symptoms. I feel like I wasn’t as irritable, but that could be because I was away from my kids for three days. I still experienced some blood sugar symptoms when I hadn’t eaten in a while- dizziness, fogginess, tired.

I’m actually starting to see a pattern with my digestion and my stress/busy-ness level. Usually things go much smoother and there are less issues on down days. I saw a lot of the same symptoms on busy days, days that we were driving in the car or days I had a reason to be nervous. I never actually feel nervous or stressed.. but I guess my body is telling me I am just good at hiding it.

Any practical advice from Stage 2?

I would say don’t get too excited about moving on to this stage. Don’t get me wrong, it is exciting to move along through the Intro diet- VERY exciting. But there actually isn’t much that changes with the food, especially the preparation.  In Stage 2, you’re allowed to have “casseroles,” but it was not what I was expecting. I was hoping to have roasted meat and vegetables again, but you actually can’t have those until Stage 4. The Stage 2 “casseroles” are similar to what you’d make in a crockpot, since you must still cook everything in broth or water.

Any encouragement for people in Stage 2?

Keep at it! Hopefully you have started to see results, little by little. There is a real foundation being laid in the first few stages of the Intro diet. Even the smallest cheat will make a big difference. Your body needs time to heal- a lot more time than we want to give in our modern, super-busy world. Give it time and continue to plug away. Take it day by day, meal by meal.

Also- I’ve found the SCD Lifestyle page on Facebook to be extremely encouraging. They are always posting little encouraging status updates and links. I also like @healingfoods on Instagram.

Winter Squash and Meatball Casserole with Herb Salt

 

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GAPS Legal from Stage 2

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb grass-fed ground meat (beef, buffalo, lamb, etc)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 medium to large winter squash; peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1-2 cups bone broth
• fresh herbs- I used parsley and rosemary, but any fresh herbs will do
• sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix the ground meat and garlic and form into small meatballs.
3. In a 8×8 dish, spread out winter squash pieces. Pour enough broth over top to just cover the squash. Top with the raw meatballs. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until squash is soft and meatballs are brown.
4. While the casserole is cooking, combine some freshly minced herbs and sea salt and rub together with your fingers. Top the casserole with the herb salt when it comes out of the oven and serve immediately with the broth.

#version#

What did I eat on Stage 1?

(Soup, soup and more soup.)

• Carrot Soup (I made a huge batch and fear I may soon turn orange.)
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Onion Soup with Meatballs (pictured above and my favorite- almost like French Onion Soup, recipe below)
• Boiled Hamburgers (not as terrible as they sound)
• Chicken Soup with Squash and Carrots
• Boiled Chicken or Beef with Vegetables
• Lots of Bone Broth and Tallow and Salt and Garlic and a little Sauerkraut Juice

Did I see any changes or patterns in my symptoms?

My stomach pain was still present at times, but a lot less than normal. I was actually more concerned about my blood sugar than the pain this week because I experience a lot of tiredness, irritability (especially before meal time), and some fogginess. I think (I hope!) my body is normalizing its blood sugar after relying on carbohydrates like potatoes, sweet potatoes and rice to keep me going the past few months. Despite being worn out, I didn’t sleep too well this week; so I’ve started supplementing with Magnesium in the evenings to help me sleep.

Any practical advice from Stage 1?

Be prepared to do a ton of dishes- try to get in the habit of rinsing out your most-used pots and pans and putting them right back on the stove instead of letting them pile up in the sink. You’ll need them to heat up everything since microwaves are a no-no. My most used items were mugs, bowls, small saucepans, small spatula, spoons, garlic press/microplane (I like the microplane better because you can easily rinse it), large Mason jars and my crockpot.

Also, just a note: the seaweed powder detox bath is strange and messy. It was my least favorite (I am partial to Epsom salts). The smell reminded me of fish food/an aquarium and the powder never really dissolves like the other bath items. Make sure you are able to easily rinse your tub (and yourself) after that bath.

Any encouragement for people in Stage 1?

Try to reach out for support daily during this first stage. I contemplated quitting (i.e. spending the afternoon in the local frozen yogurt shop) multiple times during my irritable moods, but I am blessed to have great support from my family and friends and lots of people who are just a text away. You’ll need those people to talk you off the ledge when you go crazy for a minute and convince yourself that you are ruining the whole diet by eating too many carrots.

I spent most of my detox bath time in prayer, which was a great encouragement to my spirit. I also had a comforting old hymn stuck in my head for most of the week; Before the Throne of God Above. I was singing this verse over and over again:

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Crockpot Onion and Meatball Soup

 

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Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Soup, GAPS Intro Stage 1

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 cups beef broth
• 6 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 lb ground beef, formed into meatballs
• sea salt
• fresh garlic
• tallow, grass-fed butter/ghee or coconut oil

Instructions

1. Combine the beef broth and onions in the crockpot and simmer on low for 4-6 hours or until onions are soft.
2. About 30 minutes before you’d like to serve, add the meatballs gently into the simmering soup. Cover and let simmer until the meatballs are cooked through.
3. Add sea salt, fresh grated garlic and a bit of fat to each bowl and serve warm.

#version#

Top Left: Tallow, Top Right: My GAPS Notebook. Bottom Left: Grass-Fed Beef. Bottom Right: Beef Broth.

I wanted to say a few words about why I am starting this GAPS journey, because I kind of feel like a crazy person. I mean, this is crazy, right? To restrict my diet in so many ways, not knowing if the outcome will even be positive. Going ahead without any guarantee that my stomach pains will go away. Sounds crazy.

I am really writing this post to my friends and family, so they might understand my motives a little better. (And not worry about me.. Mom. :)) I know when I first researched GAPS I thought it was so out-there that I would never be sick enough to have to do it.. and now here we are. So I understand where you’re at if you don’t see the appeal.

If you’ve been following my tummy troubles, you know that I have struggled for quite some time. When I last talked about it in detail, I hadn’t had any diagnostic testing or seen a specialist yet. Since then, I’ve worked with a nutritionist, seen a Gastroenterologist, had tons of blood work, an abdominal ultrasound, and an endoscopy with no conclusive results. My doctor and I didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye: he told me that “some people just have sensitive stomachs.” If you know me, you know that I don’t buy into that kind of medical conclusion. So I set out on my own to see what kind of healing could be done through diet.

My motive in going forward with GAPS is to heal and repair my stomach. I am not doing the GAPS Diet to lose weight. I am not doing the GAPS Diet as just a quick cleanse.  I am not going to starve myself while on the diet. I pray I will not cheat on the diet or sabotage myself when I start to feel a little better. GAPS is a temporary, healing diet and I hope it will be just that for me- short term and successful. I know it is not a guarantee that I will get better, but it is my prayer that God will heal me or reduce the daily pain in some way.

As I’ve been preparing, God is revealing to me that this trial might not really be about my health at all. I think what He is really trying to teach me is discipline, self-control and obedience- perhaps illness is just the way He has chosen to do that. He certainly doesn’t promise us perfect health in this life- in fact, He tells us that won’t happen until we get to Heaven. I have been comforted by this sermon by Charles Spurgeon on the topic of sickness and suffering. Particularly this quote:

“Affliction of some sort is one of the marks of the true-born child of God, and it frequently happens that the trial takes the form of illness. Shall we therefore wonder that we have to take our turn in the sick chamber? If Job, and David, and Hezekiah must each one smart, who are we that we should be amazed because we are in ill-health?”

I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I do know that while I have been ill, I have felt His nearness. And that has been a sweet, sweet gift to me. I pray that as I document this journey here, that it will be helpful to others who are struggling in the same way. Thank you for all of your kind words of encouragement as I head down this path. We will see what the Lord has in store!

I’m gonna be straight with you. Preparing for GAPS Intro has taken a lot of time and brain power for me. If anyone out there is overwhelmed by the idea of starting this diet, you are not alone! I think I finally have a handle on things, but for a while I felt like I was never going to be ready to actually do this diet (as opposed to just thinking about doing it).

I have been preparing for at least a month (maybe two?), and I’ve been reading and thinking about GAPS for even longer. Do not be discouraged if you don’t have everything you need to start right away. Some folks suggest doing the Full GAPS Diet or working backwards into Intro while you prepare (cut gluten, then grains, then sugar, etc. until you’ve removed all the major food groups) so your body isn’t totally shocked by starting Intro.

I am sharing what worked for me in my preparations. Keep in mind that I have not started the diet yet- I will come back and adjust this post if I have any more recommendations along the way. My hope is that this will be helpful for others who are thinking about taking on GAPS Intro. This is what my on-going checklist looked like as I prepared.

1. Read about GAPS.

• The original GAPS book- Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is a must-read before starting the diet. It is long and scientific at times (not exactly my favorite type of reading) but it’s important to know why and how this healing diet works.
• Read The GAPS Guide if you can get your hands on it. I hear it’s good, but I haven’t been able to find a copy myself.
• Purchase What Can I Eat Now? by Cara from Health, Home and Happiness. This E-Book is a real life-saver. You definitely need this. There is a detailed 30-day meal plan for GAPS Intro in there- go get it now!! I would also recommend subscribing to her helpful emails.
• Know that the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is closely related to the GAPS diet, so many of the SCD-legal recipes you find will work for GAPS as well.
• Find GAPS-friendly blogs and websites like Health, Home and Happiness, The GAPS Guide blog, Loving Our Guts, Pecanbread.com (although I think her recipes go by the SCD diet stages), Nourishing Days, Deliciously Organic, Yummy Inspirations, Keeper of the Home, Gutsy, The Liberated Kitchen, Whole Natural Life, The Urban Hearth, Nourished and Nurtured, Butter Believer, Yolks, Kefir and Gristle, and Too Many Jars In My Kitchen.

2. Evaluate Water Supply.

• Filtered water is recommended on GAPS to reduce toxins in your environment. We purchased a Berkey water filter for our drinking water, a filtered showerhead and a dechlorinating filter for our bathtub (for detox baths). I felt these choices were sufficient for our family’s needs. Other options might be installing a whole-house water filter, using a filtered water pitcher or sink attachment (Brita, PUR and Bobble are popular brands) or using a filtered water bottle (I like the look of Bobble bottles, but I’ve never used one).

3. Locate Quality Food Sources.

• This one is a top priority and can take some time. Start stocking up as soon as you decide you want to take on the Intro diet.
• Protein- GAPS Intro allows beef, lamb, chicken, fish, game and eggs. You will want to look for ground meat, steaks and roasts, wholechicken and fish; but also soup bones (for making bone broth), marrow bones, and organ meats (liver is most “popular”). Find grass-fed, pastured animals locally if you can (EatWild is a good resource). If you can’t find anything in your local area, try US Wellness Meats for quality proteins. (And if you’re up for it, keeping backyard chickens makes the egg-finding really simple.)
• Fats- Only animal fats are legal in GAPS Intro, starting with beef or lamb tallow. Beef and lamb fat comes two ways- as suet (which is animal fat that has not been rendered) and tallow, which is rendered fat (similar to lard/duck fat, etc). Be sure to ask how your fat is coming, you may need to render the fat on your own. The Prairie Homestead has a good tutorial on rendering tallow. US Wellness Meats also sells suet and tallow. Ghee (clarified butter) is allowed in Stage 3 of the Intro, so you can also stock up on grass-fed, pastured butter (like Kerrygold) and make ghee ahead of time as well.
• Produce- Stock up on Stage 1/Stage 2 friendly veggies like onions, carrots, squash (all kinds), cauliflower and broccoli. You will add more produce as you go, so be sure to find a local source of organic vegetables. Consult Local Harvest to find farmers’ markets, co-ops and CSAs in your area. Having a small backyard garden can be helpful and rewarding during this time. I especially recommend planting a few fresh herbs- they will be a welcomed addition to the Intro diet.
• Sea Salt- High quality sea salt is a must for adding to your food and ferments. Try Real Salt, Celtic Sea Salt or any other unrefined salts.
• Other- You will eventually add honey and nut flour to the diet. Raw, local honey is best for healing purposes- check out Honey Locator to find some in your area. I buy blanched almond flour in bulk from Honeyville, but it’s also available in stores (Bob’s Red Mill) or at Trader Joe’s. You may also find it helpful to have some grass-fed gelatin on hand (like Great Lakes), as gelatin is known to assist in healing the lining of the gut.

4. Start Fermenting Veggies.

• Fermented foods are huge on GAPS Intro. You’ll want to start about two weeks before you begin the diet so the liquid is ready to use right away. Cara includes simple recipes for sauerkraut and kimchi in her E-Book to get you started.
• Starting to make fermented foods can seem daunting at first. We are all hoping for great results when we take on the GAPS diet, so we want our ferments to be great, too. There’s a great post on Loving Your Guts about anaerobic fermentation and why it might take your healing to the next level. I am still doing my own research on this; I will keep you updated on my findings.
• At the very least, you’ll need vegetables, salt and mason jars to make ferments. You may also want to look into Pickl-It jars and Harsch crocks as well.

5. Pre-Chop and Freeze Veggies.

• This is purely for convenience, since you will be spending a lot of time in the kitchen and eating a lot of veggies in the first stages of the diet. I filled my freezer with butternut squash (some chopped, some sliced like fries), chopped acorn squash, chopped butterCUP squash (looks similar to acorn squash) and cauliflower and broccoli separated into florets. I chose not to freeze onions or carrots, but feel free to freeze those, too.
• The amount of veggies that you freeze is up to you- based on how many people are doing the diet, how much you think you’ll eat and how long you think you’ll be doing the Intro (the ol’ unpredictable GAPS answer, sorry).
• You can freeze grated garlic (for soups) and ginger (for tea) if that would be helpful to you.

6. Evaluate Toiletries and Cleaning Supplies.

• Since reducing your toxins is important during Intro, you’ll want to take a look at your personal items to see if you need to make any changes. Check out your shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, makeup, lip balm, cleanser and moisturizer. You want to keep it as natural as possible. I highly recommend the E-Book The Holistic Mama’s Guide to Homemade Skincare– my cleanser and moisturizer are both recipes from this book.
• Haircare- the no ‘poo’ method with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, castile soap, 8 homemade shampoos (including dry shampoo).
• Hand Soap- castile soap, homemade or natural soap with minimal ingredients.
• Deodorant- homemade or a trusted brand.
• Toothpaste- flouride or not is your choice, but you can make homemade toothpaste or buy a trusted brand.
• Makeup- Make the switch to natural brands or simply minimize your makeup routine. I like the looks of RMS beauty, though I haven’t tried it yet.
• Don’t forget to check out your seasonal items like sunscreen and bug spray.
• There are tons of recipes out there for homemade cleaning supplies. You can find a replacement for just about anything with a quick search on Google or Pinterest. The most common ingredients are already in your arsenal- baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, etc. If you’d rather buy your cleaning products, check out Honest Company or Branch Basics.

7. Plan For Detox Baths/Showers.

• Detox Baths- These are recommended every day during GAPS Intro. You want to rotate between epsom salts, raw apple cider vinegar, baking soda and seaweed powder. And again, you’ll want to dechlorinate your water for these baths to be most effective (see Water Supply section above).
• Detox Showers- If you are short on time and you have a shower/tub combo (as opposed to a shower that doesn’t hold water), you can take a shower while letting the water collect in the tub, then add your detox item and sit down in the collected water for a few minutes. Even a bit of detox can do you good (and your shower water gets a second life!).
• Visit the GAPS Guide blog’s Detox Bath FAQ to learn more.

8. Purchase Supplements. (GAPS Supplement Guidelines)

• Prescription Strength Probiotic- BioKult is often recommended; I use Prescript Assist (as suggested by my nutritionist).
• Fermented Cod Liver Oil- Green Pasture is the way to go for FCLO. I will introduce the FCLO in Stage 2 when “fermented fish” is allowed. I personally use the blend with High Vitamin Butter Oil in Cinnamon Tingle. If you are clueless about FCLO, check out Green Pasture’s FAQs or Balanced Bites. (You might read this, too- a family who stopped taking FCLO. Interesting thoughts.)
• Digestive Enzymes- these are not essential, but often recommended. See Digestive Enzymes 101.

9. Evaluate Your Kitchen Tools.

• You will be doing things a little differently in the kitchen on GAPS Intro. You may need to put some of your oft-used appliances in storage and make room for other items.
• Things you’ll definitely need- large stock pot, non-toxic pots and pans (no aluminum- try stainless steel, cast iron, enamel, stoneware), slow cooker, immersion blender or stand blender (if you like creamy soups), good quality knives, mason jars of various sizes and some plastic lids, thermoses for soup and bone broth, a juicer (unless you plan to skip out on that part. you can also “juice” with a blender by blending fruit/veg and pressing it through a strainer), strainers, skinny spatulas (for scraping out jars).
• Things you might need- dehydrator (for nuts, you can also do this in an oven), food processor (if you don’t like chopping veggies), garlic press (if you don’t want to chop garlic at every meal), spiral vegetable cutter (if you want to make vegetable ‘noodles’).

10. Prepare to Travel.

• Most of us cannot afford to hibernate in our houses for 4-6 weeks while we work through the Intro diet. You’re going to need to prepare to take your GAPS food out of the house.
• Essentials for GAPS on-the-go include an insulated thermos for broth (I like Kleen Kanteen), an insulated soup container, some dish towels (for inevitable soup spills), an insulated lunch bag (I have a thermal tote from ThirtyOne). For cold or room temperature items, look for glass containers with tight-fitting lids (Pyrex is a readily available brand).
• If you’re heading out for more than a day, you’ll want to make food ahead and be sure to have extra storage containers. Find a hotel with a mini-kitchen if you can or stay in a home so meal prep is easier. Remember to pack your bathtub filter and any detox items, supplements, filtered drinking water, all your food and plenty of broth.
• For more tips on traveling during the GAPS diet, visit Loving Our Guts.

11. Make Some Broth Ahead.

• You’ll be drinking a ton of bone broth on GAPS Intro (and full GAPS), so you want to make a batch or two (or more) ahead of time and freeze them. You can then thaw them in the refrigerator as needed for soups or drinking. You can find my thoughts and tips on bone broth here.

12. Organize Your Information.

• This has been one of the most helpful preparations I’ve made (I have to keep things organized to keep my head above water). I took an old binder and filled it with all of the GAPS Intro information I’ve been compiling. There is a tab for each stage that includes the list of legal foods, the daily menus from What Can I Eat Now?, a place to take notes and document my symptoms and extra recipe ideas.
• I also find it helpful to keep a GAPS board on Pinterest to collect recipes and helpful posts. You can see it here.

If you’ve made it to the end of this post, you must be really interested in starting the GAPS diet- I hope this has been helpful to you! Doing research and getting organized gets you one step closer to healing your body and achieving your goals. You can do it!

*Please feel free to comment with questions or additions to this list.