Tom's report

Tom sat down a few moments ago to tell me how good he is feeling - without my asking.  He says he feels more alert and "different", that his eyes don't feel like they are closing at the end of the day.  He has not been falling asleep on the couch every evening like he had been regularly.  He has lost 10# and the best part?  His joints are not hurting!  :-)

Day 7 Intro Update

Things are looking much better here a week later.  :-)  We ate lots of great broth, meat and soft cooked veggies for 4 days and then were able to add coconut milk kefir on Wednesday last week, then egg yolk to the soups on Friday and today we have added egg whites - hooray!  We are eating casseroles and meats cooked in broths, lots of veggies and now the eggs too.

After the initial "die-off" symptoms, we've mainly had just a few days of whiny / grouchy / runny noses here and there but nothing too bad.  Faces are becoming more cheerful and dark circles are disappearing from around eyes.  Tom has had  a couple days with headaches, but nothing more than that.  He has been having more energy and has lost 3 pants sizes so far!  He has been bragging to everyone about the yummy food and how good he is feeling.  :-)

We are currently on stage 2 of intro, we plan to introduce ghee on Thursday and then move on to stage 3 over the weekend if all is going well.  I am allowing 3 days between new foods and keeping careful track on a paper chart of everyone's foods, symptoms, moods, and bowels / digestion.  We are faithfully taking our cod liver oil and probiotics.

Intro Stage 1 "Die Off"

Feeling pretty crummy here today.  I started feeling "off" yesterday and was pretty tired and had a bit of a sore throat.  By the time I got to bed, I had a drippy nose too.  This morning I woke with a headache, sinus pain, swollen glands, runny nose, sneezing and tired and achey.  I have been having regular bowel movements.

Tom is feeling good.  He has been taking regular salt baths for his yeast rash and I think that may be helping him (if these symptoms are all die-off).  He is enjoying the soups, especially the creamy beef soup in the evening.  He has been having regular bowel movements.

Heather is feeling better than the rest of us so far.  She has said a couple times that she felt a little weak and had a bit of a sore throat but she has been acting fine and has not complained about her tummy.  She has been having regular bowel movements.

Rose woke up this morning feeling pretty bad.  Yesterday she said that her legs were weak and she felt dizzy.  Today, her tummy hurt and she ended up vomiting around noon.  She felt better afterwards and did not get a fever or look sick, so I am thinking this is die-off.  She is the only one who didn't have a bowel movement yesterday and has not yet today either, so we may need to do something about that.  She got a salt bath last night, I will make sure she takes another one this evening.

Will woke up also feeling tired and with weak legs and acheys.  He carried a bowl around for a bit during parts of the day but did not need to use it.  He actually fell asleep on the floor in the dining room - just was crawling around and then zonked out for about half an hour!  He got a salt bath this afternoon and it seemed to perk him up a bit.

We will stay put with the yummy soups and adding 3 tsp fermented beet kvass, sauerkraut juice, or whey to the bowls at dinner.  We are taking the probiotic and cod liver oil at dinner also.  We had planned to add coconut milk kefir today but decided to wait since everyone was feeling poorly.  I will decide tomorrow if we add the kefir in.

Beginning Intro

Tom and I have been dealing with some yeast issues and Heather has some eczema patches that I would like to see if are diet/gut related.  So, Tom and I talked about it and decided to go for starting intro on Monday.  Tom sat us down for a "family meeting" and told the kids what he had decided and why and what to expect and that they weren't to give me a hard time about it.  I so appreciate having his support!  :-)

Here is a link with more information on the GAPS intro diet.

We are starting Stage 1 on Monday, this could last from 3 days - a week or two, depending on reactions.  Here are the details:

• Eat meat and fish stock, which are healing and nourishing to the gut.
• Add soup from the stock with the addition of meat and non-fibrous veggies which have been peeled and de-seeded (no cabbage, celery, cauliflower or broccoli stalks).
• Add whey, juice from sauerkraut, beet kvass to soup - start with 3-4 tsp per cup.
• Add kefir and yogurt.
• Can drink water and tea (ginger, chamomile or mint).

We will also be taking a high-potency probiotic and fermented cod liver oil.  I will be stopping other supplements for a short while, adding them back in slowly to figure out what is truly helping and what is hindering or just a waste of $$$.

There are 6 stages to the Intro diet, how long it takes depends on each person.  We will likely experience die-off / detox reactions which will be helped by lots of salt baths.  I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Birthday cake!

Tom and I had a birthday yesterday, so we made the GAPS - legal homemade pizza and I found a carrot cake recipe that with a bit of tweaking was also mostly GAPS-legal (-baking powder).  We liked it, so I am including the recipe below!

Carrot Cake
1 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (or could use ghee)
1/2 cup coconut cream / milk
12 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

Combine melted oil (or ghee), coconut cream, eggs and vanilla.  Add honey and mix again.  Combine coconut flour with baking powder, salt and spices.  Whisk into batter until there are no lumps.  Fold in carrots and nuts.  Pour batter equally into 2 greased 8 or 9 inch layer cake pans (I used a flower-shaped 12" round pan).  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool for a few minutes, remove from pan (this cake holds together well and slipped right out of the pan for me - no sticking).  Allow to cool completely, then frost.

Frosting
1 quart whole milk plain yogurt
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla

Fasten cheesecloth over the mouth of a jar with a rubber band, allowing some to hang into the jar to make a "pouch" for the yogurt to be poured into.  Pour yogurt into jar and allow to sit for a day - this will cause the whey to drip into the jar (save for fermenting foods!), and the yogurt left in the cheesecloth pouch is a cream cheese like substance.  You may have to do this a few times to get the whole quart through and have enough "cheese" for frosting the cake.

Spoon out the cream cheese into a small mixing bowl, add honey and vanilla and stir.  Frost cooled cake.

I also sprinkled some coconut over the top and decorated with a few pecans.  Enjoy!

Chicken curry soup

Had this for dinner a couple weeks ago, we loved it!

One 14-oz can coconut milk
2 Tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp lemon zest (or lime)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely minced
3-4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 quart chicken stock
16 oz canned tomato puree
2 tsp salt
3 carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup coarsley chopped cilantro (I didn't have this)

In large pot, combine coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger and lime zest, simmer for 10 minutes.  In a separate pan, saute onions in coconut oil until soft, stir-fry chicken cubes until cooked fully.  Add garlic, then remove from heat. Puree onions and garlic with curry powder, chicken stock and tomato sauce.  Add blended mixture, salt, carrots, celery, tomatoes and red pepper to simmer coconut milk, stir to combine.  Simmer until vegetables are tender, 8 minutes or so.  Stir in curry paste, lime juice, cilantro and serve.

Pizza!!!

Crust

1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds

1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds

1 cup flax seeds

Grind all seeds in a coffee grinder, measure into bowl *after* grinding.  Add 3 tsp olive oil, 3 med eggs and 2 tsp salt.  I also added some oregano, sage and garlic salt at this point.  Mix well.  Grease pan (I spray olive oil or smear coconut oil).  Spread "dough" on pan evenly.  Will make a large 12"x16" or 2 smaller round pizzas.  Don't make too thick or it won't bake well, this is for a thin/crispy crust.  Place crust in oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Toppings

While the crust bakes, chop your selected veggies.  We used spinach, red onion, green pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, chunks of baked chicken... I would have like to add black olives and pineapple too, but didn't have any.

When the crust is done baking, remove it from oven and turn oven down to 350.  I spread a couple handfuls of baby spinach leaves on first, then topped with spoonfuls of canned tomato puree (only ingredient is tomatoes), then the chicken and chopped veggies, followed by another can of tomato puree and a sprinkling of minced garlic.  Bake in the oven until veggies are warmed and your kitchen smells wonderful!

Cut immediately with pizza cutter and serve!  We topped with mashed avocado and yogurt "cheese" (plain yogurt drained through cheesecloth to remove liquid whey - leaves a sour cream type substance, be sure to save the whey for fermenting other foods!)

Soooo very yummy and wholesome, the whole family loved it and we will definitely be making this again and again.  It is very filling too, so one large rectangle pizza was enough for my family of 5.

Gained 3# from one stinkin' meal!

Took hubby to Olive Garden (had a gift card) and to see Avatar 3D.  Gained 3# from that one meal.... uggh!!!!  Also constipated and hubby had lots of gas.  Won't be doing that again anytime soon!