I’ve been following a modified GAPS diet since 2015. Starting with the GAPS Introduction protocol in January 2015, and then living the GAPS Full Diet until 2018, when I then began to test the boundaries a little bit. I kept away from gluten and dairy, but did add some rice and organic corn. I was just saying to myself I wanted to add in more of the anti-inflamatory foods I used to focus on. The ones that made me feel so good. Bone broths, homemade soups, ginger tea with coconut oil and honey, fermented foods. Well, I really need to be careful of what I ask for…
It is crazy season for us right now. Our two, (non-driving), girls are playing on different sports teams that travel all over the West coast and working as soccer referees. If there’s not one thing going on, then it’s two or three, every night. On top of that, my husband has had to travel more than usual in the last few weeks. We haven’t been home for dinner before 8pm in weeks! (gasp!)
Weekends are busy, but also a time when I really value the rest and prep time I do have. This last weekend I decided to go with my youngest daughter and my husband out of town to a soccer tournament. I didn’t want to miss out being a part of the community that my daughter is in, to make connections with the parents. Above all I wanted to cheer her on in her glory.
I had been feeling a bit off the week leading up to the weekend but kept pressing on to get through. Well, by Saturday, my stomach was a mess. It didn’t matter what I ate, my gut was mad. Here I was in a hotel room with no options but eating out for every meal.
I tried to eat what I thought wouldn’t hurt, but it didn’t matter. ALL solid food hurt.
The thoughts going through my head at this point were not nice.
“CRAP! How am I going to do this? I don’t have time to be sick. DAMNIT! When am I going to be able to prep all my food? I have a full week this week and then next weekend is a family event in NYC, I HAVE TO BE BETTER NOW. I have been doing so good with exercise and I have been eating like a ‘normal’ person. What the hell happened?” There might have been a few more choice words floated around in there.
But I know what happened. I got too busy. I got off track and ate (albeit well by most standards), it wasn’t well for me. I didn’t prep my food, I didn’t eat slowly or on a chair vs. a moving car, I didn’t eat at times that are conducive for my circadian rhythm, and I didn’t sleep as well.
Again, the thoughts of, “Ok now what? I still have three trips planned, I am in a new educational program, soccer season is still in full swing and my business is growing and important to me.
It’s time for a reset… pick one thing I can change and do it right.
So, I came home late Sunday night and immediately put a chicken carcass in the Instapot. By morning I had bone broth, I made a soup, and some vegetable puree (cauliflower and carrot). I switched out my coffee with hemp milk for dandelion root tea. I sipped on my soup all day and made it through work. I did not work out Monday morning. I made ginger tea and sipped it. I felt much better until I tried a cherry, nope not ready yet. Back to the soup and poached eggs. I felt pretty good all day. Tried a sweet potato, not quite yet, still not reset. But I am grateful I know what to do. I have done this before. That’s what a reset is about- back to basics. I got too far off the course. It may take time to correct but I know I have done this before and if I was able to do it once I most certainly can do it again.
- 3 cups Chicken bone broth
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2 beet boiled and pealed
- ½ large yellow onion
- 1 leak
- 2 cup baby carrots peeled
- approximately 1.5 inches Ginger root
- 2 TBS Coconut oil
- Pink Himalayan salt to taste ( I used a few turns of the grinder)
- Pepper to taste
Peel and coarsely chop everything put into pot bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 min- 1 hour. Carefully pour or use ladle into high speed blender blend until pureed.
Lettuce Soup
(adapted from thepaleomom because I didn’t have all the ingredients.)
https://www.thepaleomom.com/lettuce-soup/
- 2 leeks chopped
- Ginger root peeled
- 4 mushrooms
- 2-3 handful of spring mix lettuce
- 2 tbs coconut oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 3 cups of bone broth
- 1 cup of water
Pour the water and broth into the pot put everything except the lettuce and bring to a boil. Let it simmer until everything is soft. Then add the lettuce cook until wilted ( a few minutes)
Carefully transfer to a Vitamix or high-speed blender. Blend until pureed.
I have in the past added a bit of cauliflower mash as a topping, to make a bit more creamy and it looks pretty 😊
