Avocado Mayonnaise

This is a current favorite!  We have had it with meatloaf, on top of burgers, and even in tuna salad.  I think it would be good on a lettuce salad too and plan to make another batch and try it soon.

This is from the GAPShelp e-mail list.

Avocado Mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
around a Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 egg yolk
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 ripe avocado
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

I used a stick blender (immersion) in it's mixer cup.  I put all ingredients in the cup, inserted blender and blended until emulsified, smooth and creamy - it was very easy and fast!  Tom especially really loves this mayonnaise.

A nutritious snack

The kids really enjoyed this snack, full of good stuff but fun - kinda like pudding...

Green Banana pudding
1 whipped egg yolk
1/2 banana
1/2 avocado
a little ghee
Whip together the above (makes 1).  Top with chopped nuts, sprouted seeds, or dried coconut as desired.

Breakfast meatloaf

We made this recently and enjoyed it.

Breakfast meatloaf

2 pounds ground pork (beef or turkey would work too)
6 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste
3 med carrots and 2 med onions, shredded or pureed
sausage seasoning mix

Mix well and bake at 350 for about an hour.

We also made these in cupcake tins and added an egg on top at the end.

Overdue update

We are doing quite well here.  Still doing GAPs, have added back in most items and considering ourselves done with intro for now.  I have yet to add in peanuts, but have done almonds and sunflower seeds and will be doing more this week.  We are only eating soaked and oven-dried nuts.  We are looking forward to our pizza recipe this week!

I did discover that egg whites are what causes my itchy face.  HUGE bummer as eggs are a large part of our diet.  I plan to not eat them for a while, then try adding just our home-grown egg whites to see if that makes a difference or not.  Need to do some research on what causes that allergy and how I can strengthen my body and digestion to be able to eat them.

I am also adding yogurt later this week as our first dairy since intro.  I hope to find some raw milk to make my own yogurt, cheese and kefir... need to make some calls this week.

Everyone is looking so good, less bloating and roundness, better complexions.  I am pleased, and they are all noticing and are happy about the improvements.  I feel some energy increasing and am having many more good days.

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.