And that was the meal. Sure, usually a dish here is more involved -but often not much! Just because GAPS meals have the potential to be fancy and beautiful, doesn’t mean they have to be. Give yourself a break -not just once in awhile, but regularly. Get some basic nutrition in then go play!

Often, we start out in GAPS wanting to prove to our kids and to the people around us that GAPS can be every bit as layered and delicious as non-GAPS foods. Once that’s out of the way, we can sit back and breathe, aiming simply for nutrition and relaxation -which is all that’s actually needed for health.

Note: The first step to this week’s simplicity was to buy the chicken from Whole Foods already roasted. This is a new-to-me luxury, giving this working, homeschooling, single parent much needed respite once a week or so. We first used some of it in a stew, and when my small caveman was done with the second half of its meat, I threw the little that remained -bones, joints, etc- into a small pot with a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar, plus water to cover it, and set it to simmer. So much nutrition, so little effort! Also of note is that for his bedtime snack, my son chose a medley of veggies -both cooked and raw. The body will balance the day’s need over the course of a day or so.

1. Doing so forces us to rely on quality meats, broths, eggs, vegetable-based ferments, and fats from the insides of animals. These are very healing foods, yet many bodies in a compromised state veer away from these and again and again toward old stand-bys instead. This leaning -this permission to ourselves to still rely so much on our previous approach- can keep us in a perpetual state of compromised health.

2. Letting dairy go forces us to get creative. Here in Canada, a dairy advertisement relying on reverse-psychology screeches, “Can’t get your [adult] kids to leave home? Stop cooking with cheese!” Implied is that cheese makes everything taste great, while nothing absent of cheese can. Pre-GAPS, I lived that philosophy: cheese on toast, cheese on broccoli, cheese as an entire meal, cheese to top an already protein-rich salmon loaf…  It wasn’t until I gave up dairy and became forced to find other sources of “delish” that I finally came to appreciate the flavour of dairy-free dishes and also became able to invent them ad hoc. That is, I learned how to bring other ingredients together for equally satisfying results. As a result, I created a new habit of relying on meats, veggies, vegetable ferments and fats which has served me well long term, including long after I finally reintroduced dairy into our diets.

3. Dairy -even fermented dairy- is hard for some people to digest. I like to see a person’s healing programs open with the lightest, easiest, gentlest, fastest, most effective approach to healing. I believe that for most (though not necessarily all) people, temporarily excluding dairy is one aspect of this.

Now, it’s not just dairy I have this perspective in relation to. Much of the above goes for other GAPS foods that many of us tend to rely on over meats, fats, ferments and broths: nuts, fruits, etc. With rare exception, I like to see a 4-6 week intro free of our common cravings, frequently used ingredients, etc.

So, how long is it really necessary to exclude dairy for? As I say again and again, every person is different, and every decision you make about your program is your own. If your intuition, body or practitioner say to include dairy earlier than six weeks, and it works for you, I celebrate this! For those wondering about my personal opinion on how generally to approach dairy, this posts -in conjunction with this one- sums it up.

Note: My son and I used no dairy for the first weeks of GAPS, then just ghee for about six months. We then introduced yogurt, then kefir, then cheese. Because it benefits us to do so, we still regularly cycle dairy, nuts and/or fruit out of our personal programs.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had two conversations with senior correspondent Christof, one which also involved his producer Brian. I believe these folks to be sincere in their quest to present on how nutrition impacts mental health. Note that this documentary will not be specific to GAPS alone: It will cover nutrition (including the GAPS approach) and mental health, as well as the background of today’s food and how it has changed over the years. In my conversations so far, I have found these folks to be warm, knowledgeable, genuinely curious, open and professional. In a lengthy conversation with Christof, I felt very at ease. Christof understands that our stories are profoundly personal and often deeply emotional for us.

If you’re willing to consider being interviewed, please contact Christof and Brian, as listed below.

As we have only two days to let them know there are enough people willing to be interviewed, please post on your blog and email lists a link to this page ASAP. Please consider having the subject line express the urgency and importance. Folks doing SCD and other dietary programs are just as encouraged to make contact, so do post everywhere with an interest in this topic!

The Project:

Current TV’s award-winning documentary series Vanguard is producing a program about the impact of diet on neurological disorders. We are the research stages for this documentary and interested in speaking to individuals who have had success with carb-specific, high fat, non-processed food diets in recovering from neurological disorders such as biopolar disorders, schizophrenia, ADHD, and autism.  We are conducting television interviews at the present time and particularly interested in patients who have before/after evidence of their progress (home video, pictures, medical records, etc from before going on the diet).

If you are potentially interested in sharing your story with our audience, please email Christof Putzel, cputzel@current.com and his producer, Brian Davison bmdavison@gmail.com to set up a time to talk over the phone. For more details about the project or questions, please feel free to contact us at the aforementioned email address. Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you.

Background:

Current TV is an international cable and satellite network founded by Al Gore in 2005. Current broadcasts to over 70 million households in the US, UK, and Italy. We are presently researching a one-hour documentary for our award-winning investigative series “Vanguard”, which looks at important issues around the world that have been largely overlooked by the mainstream media. To learn more about our show, please visit: www.current.com/vanguard

Correspondent Bio:

Christof Putzel
Christof is a senior correspondent for Current TV and been producing documentaries for over a decade. In the last two years, he has won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award (the Pulitzer Prize of TV), a Livingston Award, a National Headliner Award, and been nominated for three Emmys.  In addition to Current TV, his work has appeared on ABC’s Nightline, Good Morning America, CBC, and the Sundance Channel.

With too much grain in its diet, its gut flora- the good bacteria in its intestines, needed to properly digest food -were damaged.

I couldn’t believe reading this in a mainstream, local paper! Is the writer on GAPS?!

Also of note was the following:

…it died of a relatively rare, but known condition…It begins with a diet high in grains, rather than leafy greens…The giraffes were fed a mixture of grains and roughage. It appears the adult giraffe that died may have been selectively eating more grains and fewer leaves.

As I wrote about in the bear post, it intrigues me that, like humans, animals are susceptible to choosing a diet unnatural for them, which they shortly become addicted to, even to their own demise.

Note: The items listed here are based on the analysis of NuTriVene or myself. Please feel free to check out the ratios of any other brand as well, and to post it to the comments section below, for potential incorporation into the list.

a. A good seed/nut oil blend in the ratio of 2:1 of omega-3:omega-6 fatty acids.

I have so far not been able to find a supplement offering the 2:1 ratio.

Renew Life’s OilSmart EFA Blend offers approximately 4:1, as does Yes Organic Ultimate EFAs, which is offered by gapsdiet.com to residents of the USA and Canada and by nutrivene.com to all other countries.

b. Cod liver oil to supply EPA, DHA, vitamin A and vitamin D.

Most GAPSters use Green Pastures’Blue Ice Fermented CLO (most preferring plain), which is offered by gapsdiet.com to residents of the USA and Canada and by nutrivene.com to all other countries.

In the November 2010 edition of her book, Dr Natasha recommends on page 284:

• if available to you, use a fermented cod liver oil;
• dose according to manufacturer recommendations (varying for adult, child, pregnant, lactating)
• doubling this dose for (only) the first few weeks of taking it

If fermented CLO is not available to you, then looking for any with a ratio of 10 units Vit A to 1 unit Vit D, dosing according to manufacturer’s directions.

c. Fish oil with higher ratio of EPA to DHA, as more EPA seems to be beneficial for GAPS patients. There are no toxic levels for these oils.

Nordic Naturals ProEFA is offered by gapsdiet.com to residents of the USA and Canada and by nutrivene.com to all other countries.

Health First’s Omega-First Triple Fish Oil and Acenta NutraSea are another two that meet the criteria.

While there, my heart beat faster and faster in wonder and amazement.

“Do you by chance know which chicken parts produce the most gelatin?”

Yes, the legs. Here.

Oh! That was easy.

“Hmmm…How often do you have bones available?”

All day, every day. Here’s buffalo, lamb, goat, beef, chicken…

Well, be still my heart! And then the fellow starts telling me how he prepares them to draw the marrow out. Am I in heaven? Am I having a real, live GAPS conversation?? He mentions smashing the bones.

“Oh?! Can you by chance smash these ones for me?”

Of course!

Well, blow me away…

Figuring I’m about to push my luck, I ask: “By any chance do you carry animal fat?”

Of course. From which animal?

Any animal.

“Well, we have beef, duck…”

I thought I was going to faint on the spot.

For a year and a half on GAPS, I have not been able to find animal fat, whole fish, or smashed bones. For the last month, I haven’t even been able to find bones, period, which has made my heart ache (we’ve seen the effects of being broth-less).

On our way out, bags of goods in hand, I said to my friend, “It’s like falling in love and Christmas all rolled into one. Heck, it’s like falling in love *on* Christmas.”

I feel weepy with gratitude. I know how lucky I am.

Our new source? Organic World’s Specialty Meats. Based in Maple Ridge, BC, Canada, this processor, distributor and wholesaler supplies Nature’s Fare and several other retail shops in BC. Besides the items mentioned, they have heart, livers, etc. The fellow helping me seemed passionate about getting additive-free meat to children. He was tuned in. They are so friendly and I bet they would do what they can to help you source these kinds of items. Folks in BC (and possibly worthwhile from elsewhere, too) can call 604-476-0717.

Banana Ice Cream or Milkshake

Use less egg for ice cream consistency and more for a milkshake.

(Who would know how repulsed I was by bananas pre-GAPS?)

• 1-1.5 well-ripened then frozen banana
• 1-3 eggs
• pure vanilla extract (not sure how much I put in; start with 1/2 tsp)

Blend.
Optional: Add any combination of walnuts, shredded coconut, pecans, strawberries, etc. Those doing GAPS + cocoa can add that, too.
Eat.

Update: My most amazing combos to date are: banana/walnuts/shredded coconut and banana/a few frozen strawberries/loads of walnuts.

Whipped Cashew Cream

The recipe is not mine to share, but is offered by Jordan Maerin in her book ‘Raw Foods for Busy People’. The book, which offers several awesome GAPS-friendly recipes -including a replacement for refried beans (actually raw almonds)- is only $13 US and is available here.

Jordan offers four flavour options for the Whipped Cashew Cream.

This ice cream, which doesn’t melt so is awesome for picnics, is also a great cake icing!

For a similar approach to Jordan’s basic recipe, click here. SCDers will replace the agave with dates or honey.

Everyone’s seen Mary Poppins, yes? No? Okay, in the original, it’s sugar that helps the medicine go down. But on GAPS, we need neither.

Sauerkraut is my favourite new thing. (I know, I know – I was supposed to have been using it from the beginning of GAPS.) Recently I suddenly “got it” about how easy it is to ferment veggies, and about how simple a deeply flavourful recipe is to make. When the first taste touched my tongue, I was smitten: Sauerkraut is lively, sparkly and delicious – great on its own and actually enhancing dishes like cabbage rolls! Bonus? My body and my son’s body responded to it with glee.

Presumably because I was more nourished, I found I suddenly needed less food overall.  The “live” aspect also led me to more uncooked options, like salads and grated beets. Finally, my son’s digestion, especially of almond flour, improved noticeably when a tablespoon of kraut was offered alongside.

Do not underestimate the healing powers of this food. Remember, though, wait until any initial die-off symptoms have eased up, then start with just a teaspoon of its juice, working up slowly from there. For recipes, click here.