I didn't write what we did yesterday so this is my best guess at remembering.
Breakfast
Eggs, fruit
(Stage 3 for eggs, Stage 5/6 for fruit)
Lunch
On the road - we had two dentist appointments then two eye doctor appointments - what was I thinking?
Soaked and dried nuts, bananas, almond bread
(Full for nuts, Stage 6 for bananas, Stage 4 for almond bread)
Dinner
Cod, pumpkin pie carrots, sauerkraut
(Stage 4 for baked cod, Stage 5 for carrots due to spices, Stage 3 for sauerkraut)
Showing posts with label intro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intro. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Day 15
Breakfast
Smoothie and Russian Custard over sliced apples and bananas
(Full for smoothie and custard)
The smoothie had bananas, strawberries, blueberries, coconut oil, flax seed oil, and raw egg yolks. I halved the recipe for the Custard because I didn't know how it would go over. Three of them loved it and would have eaten much more, the fourth said it was "disgusting".
Lunch
Fish patties, sauerkraut, raw carrots, sliced avocado
(Stage 4 for fish patties, Stage 3 for sauerkraut and avocado, Stage 6 for raw carrots)
I loosely based the fish patties on this recipe.
I used about
1/3 cup leftover cod from last night
some salmon
1/2 an onion
1 zucchini
7 or 8 baby carrots
2 cloves garlic
about 1/3 to 1/2 cup ground nuts (almonds and pecans)
3 eggs
salt
Pureed all the veggies and added it to the fish with the eggs and nuts then mixed it all together. Cooked it in my cast iron skillet until browned on both sides.
I bought a case of Bubbie's sauerkraut from our local food co-op and two of my boys are eating it like crazy. It is some seriously tasty stuff. My homemade stuff doesn't even come close. We can only order once a month and I'm not sure it will last that long. I may have to buy a mini-fridge just for a monthly sauerkraut supply.
Dinner
Roast Chicken, green beans, butternut squash pudding
(Stage 4 for chicken, Stage 1 for green beans, Stage 4 or so for pudding unless you're avoiding honey)
The boys loved the pudding...mostly because of the pecans on top, but they did eat the squash underneath so I consider it a success. I came home from a meeting and found my 7-year-old at the table eating the cold pudding right out of the pan.
Reactions:
Nothing really to report here.
Thoughts:
I need to do another meal plan and go shopping. I'm trying to keep up with all the soaking and dehydrating of nuts. At this point I consider us in Full, but I'm trying to remember to eat lots of soups and such still. Our olive oil finally came so I'm going to try some mayonnaise sometime this weekend.
Smoothie and Russian Custard over sliced apples and bananas
(Full for smoothie and custard)
The smoothie had bananas, strawberries, blueberries, coconut oil, flax seed oil, and raw egg yolks. I halved the recipe for the Custard because I didn't know how it would go over. Three of them loved it and would have eaten much more, the fourth said it was "disgusting".
Lunch
Fish patties, sauerkraut, raw carrots, sliced avocado
(Stage 4 for fish patties, Stage 3 for sauerkraut and avocado, Stage 6 for raw carrots)
I loosely based the fish patties on this recipe.
I used about
1/3 cup leftover cod from last night
some salmon
1/2 an onion
1 zucchini
7 or 8 baby carrots
2 cloves garlic
about 1/3 to 1/2 cup ground nuts (almonds and pecans)
3 eggs
salt
Pureed all the veggies and added it to the fish with the eggs and nuts then mixed it all together. Cooked it in my cast iron skillet until browned on both sides.
I bought a case of Bubbie's sauerkraut from our local food co-op and two of my boys are eating it like crazy. It is some seriously tasty stuff. My homemade stuff doesn't even come close. We can only order once a month and I'm not sure it will last that long. I may have to buy a mini-fridge just for a monthly sauerkraut supply.
Dinner
Roast Chicken, green beans, butternut squash pudding
(Stage 4 for chicken, Stage 1 for green beans, Stage 4 or so for pudding unless you're avoiding honey)
The boys loved the pudding...mostly because of the pecans on top, but they did eat the squash underneath so I consider it a success. I came home from a meeting and found my 7-year-old at the table eating the cold pudding right out of the pan.
Reactions:
Nothing really to report here.
Thoughts:
I need to do another meal plan and go shopping. I'm trying to keep up with all the soaking and dehydrating of nuts. At this point I consider us in Full, but I'm trying to remember to eat lots of soups and such still. Our olive oil finally came so I'm going to try some mayonnaise sometime this weekend.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Day 12
Breakfast
Juice, smoothie, nuts
(Stage 5/6 for fruit juices, Full for smoothie, Full for nuts)
We did two different juices this morning, apple and orange. For the smoothie we used bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, some raw egg yolks and coconut oil. The kids also had a small handful of soaked and dried nuts.
Lunch
Leftovers - Olive Garden soup and Meatballs...served on top of pureed butternut squash
(Stage 5 for Olive Garden soup if using sausage due to spices, Stage 1 for meatballs and gravy, same with squash)
Dinner
Sprouted lentil patties, guacamole, pumpkin pie carrots, peas, cortido
(Full for lentil patties, Stage 4 for guacamole, Stage 5 for carrots, Stage 1 for peas, Stage 3 for cortido)
The lentil patties were a huge hit. I only wish that I had made more. As written the recipe made 12 patties or two per person. I didn't use the horseradish because I couldn't find any at the store. I will try some different seasonings as well....I bet you could make them taste chicken-y and then they'd be like chicken nuggets. The kids picked them up and dunked them in our homemade ketchup, just like a nugget. Husband and I ate ours with guacamole.
Another huge hit was the pumpkin pie carrots. My 7-yr-old ate 4 helpings! And he hates cooked carrots.
We were full from the meal, but really should have had some broth/soup with it.
Dessert
(Stage 5 unless you're avoiding honey)
Every Monday night we have Family Night with a lesson, game and treat. Tonight we made these cookies. Mine weren't nice and puffy like the picture, they spread out some. Cooking with nut flours is a big learning curve for me! The kids liked them though. I preferred the Cashew Cookies from Sunday, however.
Reactions:
Nothing new to report. The 5-yr-old used the bathroom this morning and asked, "Did I poop too much?" I think he's still struggling a bit to get regular again.
Thoughts:
I can't seem to keep enough soup on hand. We're also still waiting on the olive oil and probiotics. We're towards the end of the cortido so I need to make some new veggie ferments.
I hate dishes.
Juice, smoothie, nuts
(Stage 5/6 for fruit juices, Full for smoothie, Full for nuts)
We did two different juices this morning, apple and orange. For the smoothie we used bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, some raw egg yolks and coconut oil. The kids also had a small handful of soaked and dried nuts.
Lunch
Leftovers - Olive Garden soup and Meatballs...served on top of pureed butternut squash
(Stage 5 for Olive Garden soup if using sausage due to spices, Stage 1 for meatballs and gravy, same with squash)
Dinner
Sprouted lentil patties, guacamole, pumpkin pie carrots, peas, cortido
(Full for lentil patties, Stage 4 for guacamole, Stage 5 for carrots, Stage 1 for peas, Stage 3 for cortido)
The lentil patties were a huge hit. I only wish that I had made more. As written the recipe made 12 patties or two per person. I didn't use the horseradish because I couldn't find any at the store. I will try some different seasonings as well....I bet you could make them taste chicken-y and then they'd be like chicken nuggets. The kids picked them up and dunked them in our homemade ketchup, just like a nugget. Husband and I ate ours with guacamole.
Another huge hit was the pumpkin pie carrots. My 7-yr-old ate 4 helpings! And he hates cooked carrots.
We were full from the meal, but really should have had some broth/soup with it.
Dessert
(Stage 5 unless you're avoiding honey)
Every Monday night we have Family Night with a lesson, game and treat. Tonight we made these cookies. Mine weren't nice and puffy like the picture, they spread out some. Cooking with nut flours is a big learning curve for me! The kids liked them though. I preferred the Cashew Cookies from Sunday, however.
Reactions:
Nothing new to report. The 5-yr-old used the bathroom this morning and asked, "Did I poop too much?" I think he's still struggling a bit to get regular again.
Thoughts:
I can't seem to keep enough soup on hand. We're also still waiting on the olive oil and probiotics. We're towards the end of the cortido so I need to make some new veggie ferments.
I hate dishes.
Easy Intro Beef Soup
Consisting of:
beef broth
beef chunks picked from the soup bones
1 onion, diced super small
1 turnip, diced
several handfuls of baby carrots, cut to bite size
I added a clove of garlic to my bowl, but not the kids'. Also, I made the soup the night before and put it in the crockpot on low. It was ready when we woke up!
beef broth
beef chunks picked from the soup bones
1 onion, diced super small
1 turnip, diced
several handfuls of baby carrots, cut to bite size
I added a clove of garlic to my bowl, but not the kids'. Also, I made the soup the night before and put it in the crockpot on low. It was ready when we woke up!
Cashew Cookies
We tried these yesterday and they were a huge hit.
3 c finely ground cashews/cashew butter
2 eggs
1/2 c honey
Blend cashews in a food processor as long as you can stand. The smoother they are, the better the cookies. Transfer to a bowl and mix in eggs and honey. Batter will be soupy/gloppy. A little time in the fridge helps. Drop in gloppy spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes. They will spread, fluff up, and finally turn golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan before transfering to a cooling rack. Or your mouth. Makes 2 dozen large cookies, or 3 dozen smaller ones.
Mine did not spread out like hers, they stayed in the shape of balls. Perhaps I used too many nuts - I measured out 3 cups of cashews (soaked and dehydrated) then turned those into nut butter. I mixed the eggs and honey in the food processor which may have also made a difference because it was THICK, not soupy/gloppy. I didn't use the full 1/2 cup of honey, just a few drizzles.
I had an idea for making nut butter in the future though....my kids love a spoonful of nut butter for a snack so if I know they will be eating it right away I'm going to add a few raw egg yolks while processing the nuts. It doesn't change the taste or texture but adds important fat and vitamins/minerals.
3 c finely ground cashews/cashew butter
2 eggs
1/2 c honey
Blend cashews in a food processor as long as you can stand. The smoother they are, the better the cookies. Transfer to a bowl and mix in eggs and honey. Batter will be soupy/gloppy. A little time in the fridge helps. Drop in gloppy spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes. They will spread, fluff up, and finally turn golden brown. Allow to cool on the pan before transfering to a cooling rack. Or your mouth. Makes 2 dozen large cookies, or 3 dozen smaller ones.
Mine did not spread out like hers, they stayed in the shape of balls. Perhaps I used too many nuts - I measured out 3 cups of cashews (soaked and dehydrated) then turned those into nut butter. I mixed the eggs and honey in the food processor which may have also made a difference because it was THICK, not soupy/gloppy. I didn't use the full 1/2 cup of honey, just a few drizzles.
I had an idea for making nut butter in the future though....my kids love a spoonful of nut butter for a snack so if I know they will be eating it right away I'm going to add a few raw egg yolks while processing the nuts. It doesn't change the taste or texture but adds important fat and vitamins/minerals.
Day 11
Breakfast
Eggs, snack bars
(Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 4+ for snack bars)
I added avocado and cortido to mine, both Stage 3
Lunch
We get home from church around 2:30, 3:00 so we usually just have a BIG snack, not a full meal to tide us over until dinner time
Cashew Cookies
Smoothie
(Stage 3is for cookies unless avoiding honey, Full for smoothie)
I used this recipe for the cashew cookies. Mine did not look like that at all. But they were still tasty and felt like a warm cookie in your mouth! The smoothie had bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, coconut oil and raw egg yolks. But I didn't tell my kids that.
Dinner
Meatballs with gravy, mashed fauxtatoes, creamy avocado salad...and cortido for some of us
(Stage 1 for meatballs, Stage 2 for fauxtatoes, Stage 6/full for avocado salad, Stage 3 for cortido)
For the meatballs I pureed half a huge onion, 1 giant carrot and a big leaf of kale. Added that to 2 pounds of ground beef with some salt and pepper. Formed meatballs to fill a 13x9 pan and smothered them with gravy. Baked at 375 degrees for 30 minutes then turned up the oven to 400 for about 10 minutes to help reduce the amount of liquid.
Gravy was made by simmering beef broth with 3 large, sliced onions until soft. Pureed them and let it simmer for an hour or so until it thickened. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
Fauxtatoes were made from steamed cauliflower then pureed and salted. Added a touch of ghee as well.
I used this recipe for the avocado salad, but left out the green onions and the hemp oil. Olive oil would have worked as would flax oil since it's not heated.
Reactions:
5-yr-old told me his stomach hurt all day and that he needed to poop but his stomach wouldn't let him poop. I'm not sure if it was a reaction to food or that he was a bit constipated. He ate a fair bit of soaked and dehydrated nuts today so maybe that caused some back-up in the plumbing. Late in the afternoon he did two big poops and said he felt fine after that.
10-yr-old is not eating, or else eating very little by choice. And he's super grumpy.
7-yr-old started sneezing Saturday and had a faucet nose for some of Sunday. Not sure if it's a reaction to walnuts he tried Saturday afternoon or if it's a cold or hayfever. I got a runny nose on Sunday as well so maybe it's a cold he shared with me.
Thoughts:
I'm trying to figure out how to get fermented foods into my kids and how to keep up on the soup. I've really slacked off on that which is a huge part of the diet, but the kids are refusing to eat it and I'm too exhausted from all the cooking and dishes to fight them every time. Plus, we need more soup recipes because it's getting old to eat the same things. I'm in plan/organize mode trying to collect some recipes and make meal plans and then we'll backtrack a bit or at least have a once-a-day soup requirement.
Eggs, snack bars
(Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 4+ for snack bars)
I added avocado and cortido to mine, both Stage 3
Lunch
We get home from church around 2:30, 3:00 so we usually just have a BIG snack, not a full meal to tide us over until dinner time
Cashew Cookies
Smoothie
(Stage 3is for cookies unless avoiding honey, Full for smoothie)
I used this recipe for the cashew cookies. Mine did not look like that at all. But they were still tasty and felt like a warm cookie in your mouth! The smoothie had bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, coconut oil and raw egg yolks. But I didn't tell my kids that.
Dinner
Meatballs with gravy, mashed fauxtatoes, creamy avocado salad...and cortido for some of us
(Stage 1 for meatballs, Stage 2 for fauxtatoes, Stage 6/full for avocado salad, Stage 3 for cortido)
For the meatballs I pureed half a huge onion, 1 giant carrot and a big leaf of kale. Added that to 2 pounds of ground beef with some salt and pepper. Formed meatballs to fill a 13x9 pan and smothered them with gravy. Baked at 375 degrees for 30 minutes then turned up the oven to 400 for about 10 minutes to help reduce the amount of liquid.
Gravy was made by simmering beef broth with 3 large, sliced onions until soft. Pureed them and let it simmer for an hour or so until it thickened. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
Fauxtatoes were made from steamed cauliflower then pureed and salted. Added a touch of ghee as well.
I used this recipe for the avocado salad, but left out the green onions and the hemp oil. Olive oil would have worked as would flax oil since it's not heated.
Reactions:
5-yr-old told me his stomach hurt all day and that he needed to poop but his stomach wouldn't let him poop. I'm not sure if it was a reaction to food or that he was a bit constipated. He ate a fair bit of soaked and dehydrated nuts today so maybe that caused some back-up in the plumbing. Late in the afternoon he did two big poops and said he felt fine after that.
10-yr-old is not eating, or else eating very little by choice. And he's super grumpy.
7-yr-old started sneezing Saturday and had a faucet nose for some of Sunday. Not sure if it's a reaction to walnuts he tried Saturday afternoon or if it's a cold or hayfever. I got a runny nose on Sunday as well so maybe it's a cold he shared with me.
Thoughts:
I'm trying to figure out how to get fermented foods into my kids and how to keep up on the soup. I've really slacked off on that which is a huge part of the diet, but the kids are refusing to eat it and I'm too exhausted from all the cooking and dishes to fight them every time. Plus, we need more soup recipes because it's getting old to eat the same things. I'm in plan/organize mode trying to collect some recipes and make meal plans and then we'll backtrack a bit or at least have a once-a-day soup requirement.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Meat and Veggie Sausages aka Snack Bars
I made these little guys yesterday....and they are all gone. I plan on making mega batches in the future. I'd classify them as Stage 5 if you use seasonings like cumin, but you could eat them at Stage 3 or 4 if you only used salt and pepper, and whenever you tolerate nuts well.
I love that you can vary it so greatly. I used:
pulp from juicing 7 to 9 big carrots
Then pureed:
3/4 an onion
a head of broccoli
1 clove of garlic
Plopped that in with the carrot pulp and pureed some meat gunk - all the fat and connecting tissue along with a few bits of meat. Then I pureed a few handfuls of soaked, but not dehydrated almonds and walnuts. I also added a huge spoonful of coconut oil and another of red palm oil, salt, pepper and maybe 1/2 tsp. cumin. I shaped them in granola bar type shapes and baked them at 300 degrees for 30 minutes then turned them over and baked another 20-25 minutes.
You can eat them cold, but we preferred them warm. They tasted a bit like stuffing. The kids ate them for snacks and for breakfast this morning. I put two under my runny eggs and they soaked up the gooey yolk. Lovely.
I love that you can vary it so greatly. I used:
pulp from juicing 7 to 9 big carrots
Then pureed:
3/4 an onion
a head of broccoli
1 clove of garlic
Plopped that in with the carrot pulp and pureed some meat gunk - all the fat and connecting tissue along with a few bits of meat. Then I pureed a few handfuls of soaked, but not dehydrated almonds and walnuts. I also added a huge spoonful of coconut oil and another of red palm oil, salt, pepper and maybe 1/2 tsp. cumin. I shaped them in granola bar type shapes and baked them at 300 degrees for 30 minutes then turned them over and baked another 20-25 minutes.
You can eat them cold, but we preferred them warm. They tasted a bit like stuffing. The kids ate them for snacks and for breakfast this morning. I put two under my runny eggs and they soaked up the gooey yolk. Lovely.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Day 10
All my new gadgets are out of their boxes so we had some fun today! I'm still waiting on my cod liver oil, probiotics and special olive oil.
Breakfast
Smoothies, peaches, strawberries and baby carrots and fresh pressed juice
(Full)
Nobody had any tummy issues this morning so we went ahead with fruit. It's my thought that we'll try to make breakfast a fruit breakfast since we're not supposed to eat fruit with other foods/meals now. And I want something fast and easy so we can get our homeschool day started quickly.
I hit the farmers market this morning and got the most delicious peaches. We only have one left. The man selling them gave me 2 free ones because they were bruised. One went into the smoothie (with frozen strawberries, blueberries and a banana) and the other went into the juice (carrots, apples and one peach). The baby carrots were hand-picked by a cute little four-year-old so of course I had to buy them.
My, but that juice was delicious! I'm trying to ferment the leftovers so we'll see what happens.
Lunch
Chicken nuggets, steamed veggies, homemade ketchup, cortido and avocado
(Stage 4 for chicken nuggets, Stage 1 for veggies, Stage 3 for cortido and avocado)
The nuggets were breaded with a bit of almond flour (I shook the chicken and flour in a Ziploc gallon baggy) then baked them in the oven (beef tallow to coat the pan) until done.
We made the ketchup recipe from the GAPS book, which my kids enjoyed, but it was a bit runny. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough. One of my sons is now eating the cortido!
Snack
Meat and Veggie Sausages
(Stage 4??? I place it here because it's baked and you can't 'bake' until Stage 4...plus you're using spices which is Stage 5 unless you use fresh)
These were fantastic! I made a small batch because I wasn't sure if they'd like them. I used the following today, but you can vary it with almost anything:
1/2 an onion
1 head broccoli, a little bit of the stalks left on
1 clove garlic
Pureed in the food processor. Added it to the pulp from the carrot juice we made last night (about 6 large carrots).
Then I pureed some "meat junk" - fat, connecting tissue, etc from beef soup bones, plus a bit of meat. I also added a huge spoonful of coconut oil. Added all that to the big bowl.
Next I threw a few handfuls of soaked (but not dehydrated yet) walnuts and almonds into the processor and chopped them to heck. Added it to the bowl and sprinkled with salt and maybe 1/2 tsp. cumin. I also blobbed in a big spoonful of red palm oil.
I stirred it all together until well mixed, then formed them into granola bar shapes and placed on baking sheets. Baked at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes then turned them over and baked another 20 or so. They were a bit soft so could have used a longer bake time, but they were getting pretty brown. I didn't grease the pans so the stuck a bit.
Dinner
Olive Garden Soup
(Stage 5 because of the spices in the sausage...if you made your own and used fresh herbs you could do this in Stage 3)
I subbed cauliflower for potatoes and didn't add the cream because we're not there on dairy yet. I also didn't add the bacon and of course I used homemade broth. This was very well received, even though it was 'different' than our normal soup. One son had thirds.
Reactions:
The poo problems from yesterday seem to have resolved themselves. The 7-yr-old started sneezing like crazy before dinner and now has a runny nose. I'll have to see if it turns into a cold or is a reaction to something he ate.
Thoughts:
I'm working on creating charts and lists to help me stay more organized and to help me remember things I keep forgetting! I'm also trying to figure out how to cut costs and make this work on a smaller budget. Grocery bills are getting crazy. We live in an area where it's very hard to find certain things so either we drive a long way and pay a lot or have it shipped in, which is also expensive. While I want to 'do the diet the right way', I also need to not bankrupt the family. Any suggestions on how to keep costs lower?
Breakfast
Smoothies, peaches, strawberries and baby carrots and fresh pressed juice
(Full)
Nobody had any tummy issues this morning so we went ahead with fruit. It's my thought that we'll try to make breakfast a fruit breakfast since we're not supposed to eat fruit with other foods/meals now. And I want something fast and easy so we can get our homeschool day started quickly.
I hit the farmers market this morning and got the most delicious peaches. We only have one left. The man selling them gave me 2 free ones because they were bruised. One went into the smoothie (with frozen strawberries, blueberries and a banana) and the other went into the juice (carrots, apples and one peach). The baby carrots were hand-picked by a cute little four-year-old so of course I had to buy them.
My, but that juice was delicious! I'm trying to ferment the leftovers so we'll see what happens.
Lunch
Chicken nuggets, steamed veggies, homemade ketchup, cortido and avocado
(Stage 4 for chicken nuggets, Stage 1 for veggies, Stage 3 for cortido and avocado)
The nuggets were breaded with a bit of almond flour (I shook the chicken and flour in a Ziploc gallon baggy) then baked them in the oven (beef tallow to coat the pan) until done.
We made the ketchup recipe from the GAPS book, which my kids enjoyed, but it was a bit runny. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough. One of my sons is now eating the cortido!
Snack
Meat and Veggie Sausages
(Stage 4??? I place it here because it's baked and you can't 'bake' until Stage 4...plus you're using spices which is Stage 5 unless you use fresh)
These were fantastic! I made a small batch because I wasn't sure if they'd like them. I used the following today, but you can vary it with almost anything:
1/2 an onion
1 head broccoli, a little bit of the stalks left on
1 clove garlic
Pureed in the food processor. Added it to the pulp from the carrot juice we made last night (about 6 large carrots).
Then I pureed some "meat junk" - fat, connecting tissue, etc from beef soup bones, plus a bit of meat. I also added a huge spoonful of coconut oil. Added all that to the big bowl.
Next I threw a few handfuls of soaked (but not dehydrated yet) walnuts and almonds into the processor and chopped them to heck. Added it to the bowl and sprinkled with salt and maybe 1/2 tsp. cumin. I also blobbed in a big spoonful of red palm oil.
I stirred it all together until well mixed, then formed them into granola bar shapes and placed on baking sheets. Baked at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes then turned them over and baked another 20 or so. They were a bit soft so could have used a longer bake time, but they were getting pretty brown. I didn't grease the pans so the stuck a bit.
Dinner
Olive Garden Soup
(Stage 5 because of the spices in the sausage...if you made your own and used fresh herbs you could do this in Stage 3)
I subbed cauliflower for potatoes and didn't add the cream because we're not there on dairy yet. I also didn't add the bacon and of course I used homemade broth. This was very well received, even though it was 'different' than our normal soup. One son had thirds.
Reactions:
The poo problems from yesterday seem to have resolved themselves. The 7-yr-old started sneezing like crazy before dinner and now has a runny nose. I'll have to see if it turns into a cold or is a reaction to something he ate.
Thoughts:
I'm working on creating charts and lists to help me stay more organized and to help me remember things I keep forgetting! I'm also trying to figure out how to cut costs and make this work on a smaller budget. Grocery bills are getting crazy. We live in an area where it's very hard to find certain things so either we drive a long way and pay a lot or have it shipped in, which is also expensive. While I want to 'do the diet the right way', I also need to not bankrupt the family. Any suggestions on how to keep costs lower?
Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 9
Have you heard the Simon and Garfunkel song that goes, "Slow down, you move too fast, gotta make the moment last"? Well, we're going too fast because nobody wants to make it last. I'm pulling the brakes though. We had our first bit of diarrhea today...I think mostly because the youngest two are eating lots of fresh fruit. Their poop was pretty much undigested apple chunks. Nice image, I know, but it tells me we need to slow it down. I think we'll head back towards Stage 4 and hang out there for a few days.
Breakfast
Apples
(Stage 6)
Yep, that's it. I was out of EVERYTHING so we grabbed apples and ran out the door to the grocery store.
Lunch
Smoothies, Squash pancakes
(Full for smoothies with mixed fruit, Stage 3 for pancakes)
They've been dying for more fruit so I made a banana/strawberry/blueberry/apple/pear smoothie which they gulped down. I'm not sure if we're going to repeat this again or wait a bit longer.
Squash pancakes are like I've described in previous posts (and as written in the GAPS book). They were humming when they ate them and the 7-yr-old licked the bowl clean (no eggs were used so I was okay with it).
Dinner
San Antonio Tacos, leftover soup from Wednesday
(Stage 6 for tacos, Stage 1 for soup)
I used both beef chunks (pulled off my soup bones) and chicken breasts. I served it with cortido, and we skipped the cheese and tomatoes (allergy to tomatoes, not to cheese yet in Intro)
The 'tacos' were delicious. One of my sons had thirds. The younger boys just ate the meat. A few of us had soup. I don't think we were quite ready for as much 'raw' as we had. I felt very full, very fast. Not painful, but definitely "stop now". Maybe my hunger thermometer is working again! It's been broken for years. I'll see how we react over the next few days to see if we can handle salads yet or not. It sure felt nice in our 114 degree weather to have something fresh and cold though!
Snacks
The younger boys (ages 7 and 5) had several spoonfuls of almond butter spread out over the day. The nice delivery person brought our new juicer so a few hours after dinner we made carrot juice and each had about 1/4 a glass. I was surprised at how sweet it was - too sweet even. I guess my taste buds are adjusting to no sugar!
Reactions:
We did have the diarrhea with the younger boys this afternoon. It may be that they ate too many apples (sometimes they eat them when I'm off doing other things and I'm unaware of how many are going down the hatch). I was very firm tonight that they can't have more for another day or two. If it clears up I'll let them have one a day for a while then bump it up.
10-yr-olds eczema is still there. Some spots are almost gone and some are now looking crusty as opposed to bright red and almost weeping. We're trying to decide if we go off ghee for a while (6 weeks) to see if that makes a difference. He has an allergy to milk and tomatoes - not life threatening - but it causes eczema and who knows what else.
I'm still feeling rather overwhelmed by all this. My husband would say I'm in panic mode. And I am. I'm very disorganized and it drives me crazy. Things I ordered weeks ago are still not here so I haven't been able to juice or dehydrate the nuts or process them for flour. No cod liver oil or olive oil. Fermented foods didn't work the first time so had to re-do them which delayed their introduction. ARGH!!! I'm also not used to needing the meat to be defrosted for each and every meal. I made a menu last night for the upcoming week with prep prompts which tell me when to take things out of the freezer or when to make bread the night before, etc.
We'll have eggs again tomorrow afternoon. I can't believe how much I've come to rely on them. I'm also learning that every night I need to have something in the crockpot making broth for the next day. I had a shelf of broth made in the freezer before we started and we whipped through it in no time. It's so much easier to throw a soup together if I have the broth already made. Learning curves....oh the learning curves.
Breakfast
Apples
(Stage 6)
Yep, that's it. I was out of EVERYTHING so we grabbed apples and ran out the door to the grocery store.
Lunch
Smoothies, Squash pancakes
(Full for smoothies with mixed fruit, Stage 3 for pancakes)
They've been dying for more fruit so I made a banana/strawberry/blueberry/apple/pear smoothie which they gulped down. I'm not sure if we're going to repeat this again or wait a bit longer.
Squash pancakes are like I've described in previous posts (and as written in the GAPS book). They were humming when they ate them and the 7-yr-old licked the bowl clean (no eggs were used so I was okay with it).
Dinner
San Antonio Tacos, leftover soup from Wednesday
(Stage 6 for tacos, Stage 1 for soup)
I used both beef chunks (pulled off my soup bones) and chicken breasts. I served it with cortido, and we skipped the cheese and tomatoes (allergy to tomatoes, not to cheese yet in Intro)
The 'tacos' were delicious. One of my sons had thirds. The younger boys just ate the meat. A few of us had soup. I don't think we were quite ready for as much 'raw' as we had. I felt very full, very fast. Not painful, but definitely "stop now". Maybe my hunger thermometer is working again! It's been broken for years. I'll see how we react over the next few days to see if we can handle salads yet or not. It sure felt nice in our 114 degree weather to have something fresh and cold though!
Snacks
The younger boys (ages 7 and 5) had several spoonfuls of almond butter spread out over the day. The nice delivery person brought our new juicer so a few hours after dinner we made carrot juice and each had about 1/4 a glass. I was surprised at how sweet it was - too sweet even. I guess my taste buds are adjusting to no sugar!
Reactions:
We did have the diarrhea with the younger boys this afternoon. It may be that they ate too many apples (sometimes they eat them when I'm off doing other things and I'm unaware of how many are going down the hatch). I was very firm tonight that they can't have more for another day or two. If it clears up I'll let them have one a day for a while then bump it up.
10-yr-olds eczema is still there. Some spots are almost gone and some are now looking crusty as opposed to bright red and almost weeping. We're trying to decide if we go off ghee for a while (6 weeks) to see if that makes a difference. He has an allergy to milk and tomatoes - not life threatening - but it causes eczema and who knows what else.
I'm still feeling rather overwhelmed by all this. My husband would say I'm in panic mode. And I am. I'm very disorganized and it drives me crazy. Things I ordered weeks ago are still not here so I haven't been able to juice or dehydrate the nuts or process them for flour. No cod liver oil or olive oil. Fermented foods didn't work the first time so had to re-do them which delayed their introduction. ARGH!!! I'm also not used to needing the meat to be defrosted for each and every meal. I made a menu last night for the upcoming week with prep prompts which tell me when to take things out of the freezer or when to make bread the night before, etc.
We'll have eggs again tomorrow afternoon. I can't believe how much I've come to rely on them. I'm also learning that every night I need to have something in the crockpot making broth for the next day. I had a shelf of broth made in the freezer before we started and we whipped through it in no time. It's so much easier to throw a soup together if I have the broth already made. Learning curves....oh the learning curves.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Day 8
Today was not a good day for eating as well as we should because things were hectic and crazy and I haven't been to the grocery store.
Breakfast
Eggs with steak, banana
(Stage 4 for eggs & steak, Stage 6 for banana)
I sliced a steak very thinly then cooked it in the cast-iron skillet. When it was just barely done I added 6 eggs and a bit of water and scrambled them.
I know I'm not supposed to give them fruit with meals, but I was short on eggs and they were still hungry. The bananas did have brown spots though!
I had leftover chicken nuggets (from yesterday), some avocado and cortido. (Stage 4 for nuggets, Stage 3 for the rest)
Lunch
Chicken patties, 3 raw carrots each
(Stage 4 for the chicken patties, Stage 5/6 for carrots)
I pureed half a zucchini (peeled so they couldn't see green specks) and 1/4 and onion and added it to a pound of ground chicken with salt. Mixed and cooked them in the cast-iron skillet. Two of the boys ate these with gusto...and then ate what their brothers didn't finish.
Dinner
Beef stir-fry, cortido, avocado, bowl of beef broth on the side
(Stage 4/5 for stir fry, Stage 3 for cortido & avocado, Stage 1 for broth)
beef, almost 2 pounds - cut bite-sized
a few handfuls of baby carrots, sliced into long 'sticks'
broccoli - stalks removed
zucchini - cut in fourths the long way then sliced
Simmered the beef in broth until almost cooked through then added the veggies and cooked until soft but not mushy. It was delicious, but two of the boys wouldn't touch it. Punks. And I was the only one to drink the broth.
Reactions:
Everyone is doing well aside from some complaining. I had a headache most of the morning which I think is due to the increase in fermented foods that I'm eating.
Breakfast
Eggs with steak, banana
(Stage 4 for eggs & steak, Stage 6 for banana)
I sliced a steak very thinly then cooked it in the cast-iron skillet. When it was just barely done I added 6 eggs and a bit of water and scrambled them.
I know I'm not supposed to give them fruit with meals, but I was short on eggs and they were still hungry. The bananas did have brown spots though!
I had leftover chicken nuggets (from yesterday), some avocado and cortido. (Stage 4 for nuggets, Stage 3 for the rest)
Lunch
Chicken patties, 3 raw carrots each
(Stage 4 for the chicken patties, Stage 5/6 for carrots)
I pureed half a zucchini (peeled so they couldn't see green specks) and 1/4 and onion and added it to a pound of ground chicken with salt. Mixed and cooked them in the cast-iron skillet. Two of the boys ate these with gusto...and then ate what their brothers didn't finish.
Dinner
Beef stir-fry, cortido, avocado, bowl of beef broth on the side
(Stage 4/5 for stir fry, Stage 3 for cortido & avocado, Stage 1 for broth)
beef, almost 2 pounds - cut bite-sized
a few handfuls of baby carrots, sliced into long 'sticks'
broccoli - stalks removed
zucchini - cut in fourths the long way then sliced
Simmered the beef in broth until almost cooked through then added the veggies and cooked until soft but not mushy. It was delicious, but two of the boys wouldn't touch it. Punks. And I was the only one to drink the broth.
Reactions:
Everyone is doing well aside from some complaining. I had a headache most of the morning which I think is due to the increase in fermented foods that I'm eating.
Day 7
We've made it through one week!
Breakfast
Eggs, sausage, almond bread
(Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 5 for sausage due to spices, Stage 4 for bread)
Everyone had scrambled eggs today. I found some sausage with no sugar added so they each had 3 links of that. I made the Intro Almond bread listed for Stage 4. Two of the four boys really liked it, one picked at his and the fourth said it was 'not good'. I really need to work on serving a vegetable with breakfast too....it's just so foreign to me!
To make the bread I used:
2 1/2 cup almond flour
1 zucchini, peeled and pureed, but not cooked
6 eggs
2 tbsp. beef tallow, melted
Mixed together in a bowl then poured it into a loaf pan, oiled with tallow. Baked at 350 degrees for 40 or so minutes. I forgot to add the salt (1/2 to 1 tsp) which I think would have helped significantly. The bottom stayed stuck in the pan so I'll have to figure out how to grease it better.
Lunch
Baked chicken nuggets and cooked carrots for kids
(Stage 4 for chicken nuggets, Stage 1 for carrots)
Baked chicken nuggets, carrots, cortido and avocado for mom (Stage 3 for cortido and avocado) - I had a bowl of lamb broth to drink but it was so gross (I hate the smell of lamb broth) that I couldn't choke it down.
I breaded the chicken in two different things - one batch of almond flour and one of crushed pecans (soaked and dried) with a bit of sea salt mixed in. I used beef tallow and ghee at the bottom of the pans to prevent sticking.
Carrots were cooked on the stove until soft.
Dinner
Chicken and veggie soup
(Stage 1)
a few quarts of chicken broth
a few handfuls baby carrots, sliced
3/4 a big onion, diced
zucchini - cut into small pieces
broccoli - stalks removed
ground chicken - 1 pound
salt and pepper to taste
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until veggies are soft. I actually added them in two bunches. I cooked the carrots and onions first, then once they were almost soft added the broccoli and zucchini. Bring soup back to a boil and drop in small pieces of ground chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked through.
Everyone said this was good. I would have prepared something else to go with it but I was running late and had to go to a meeting.
Reactions:
We let the 5-year-old eat some fresh fruits between meals - blueberries, strawberries and apples. He was a much happier child today.
The 10-yr-old woke up sick and started dry-heaving. I put him in a detox bath and gave him some juice and he started feeling better right away. After breakfast he said he was much better. I think he was just hungry and his blood sugar was low.
Everyone else seems to be progressing well.
We've now used all our lovely pastured, free-range eggs and I can't make the 90 minute drive to get more until Saturday. Because of the expense and time involved we're probably going to start using "store eggs" for baking and "farm" eggs for eating when we're eating 'just eggs' or putting the raw yolks in soups/broth. Not the ideal, but I don't have a local source here and we went through 8 dozen eggs in a week and a half!!!!! One day I'll live in a place where I can raise my own chickens and then it won't be so much of a problem. Except that each chicken will need to lay 5 to 6 eggs a day!
Breakfast
Eggs, sausage, almond bread
(Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 5 for sausage due to spices, Stage 4 for bread)
Everyone had scrambled eggs today. I found some sausage with no sugar added so they each had 3 links of that. I made the Intro Almond bread listed for Stage 4. Two of the four boys really liked it, one picked at his and the fourth said it was 'not good'. I really need to work on serving a vegetable with breakfast too....it's just so foreign to me!
To make the bread I used:
2 1/2 cup almond flour
1 zucchini, peeled and pureed, but not cooked
6 eggs
2 tbsp. beef tallow, melted
Mixed together in a bowl then poured it into a loaf pan, oiled with tallow. Baked at 350 degrees for 40 or so minutes. I forgot to add the salt (1/2 to 1 tsp) which I think would have helped significantly. The bottom stayed stuck in the pan so I'll have to figure out how to grease it better.
Lunch
Baked chicken nuggets and cooked carrots for kids
(Stage 4 for chicken nuggets, Stage 1 for carrots)
Baked chicken nuggets, carrots, cortido and avocado for mom (Stage 3 for cortido and avocado) - I had a bowl of lamb broth to drink but it was so gross (I hate the smell of lamb broth) that I couldn't choke it down.
I breaded the chicken in two different things - one batch of almond flour and one of crushed pecans (soaked and dried) with a bit of sea salt mixed in. I used beef tallow and ghee at the bottom of the pans to prevent sticking.
Carrots were cooked on the stove until soft.
Dinner
Chicken and veggie soup
(Stage 1)
a few quarts of chicken broth
a few handfuls baby carrots, sliced
3/4 a big onion, diced
zucchini - cut into small pieces
broccoli - stalks removed
ground chicken - 1 pound
salt and pepper to taste
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until veggies are soft. I actually added them in two bunches. I cooked the carrots and onions first, then once they were almost soft added the broccoli and zucchini. Bring soup back to a boil and drop in small pieces of ground chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked through.
Everyone said this was good. I would have prepared something else to go with it but I was running late and had to go to a meeting.
Reactions:
We let the 5-year-old eat some fresh fruits between meals - blueberries, strawberries and apples. He was a much happier child today.
The 10-yr-old woke up sick and started dry-heaving. I put him in a detox bath and gave him some juice and he started feeling better right away. After breakfast he said he was much better. I think he was just hungry and his blood sugar was low.
Everyone else seems to be progressing well.
We've now used all our lovely pastured, free-range eggs and I can't make the 90 minute drive to get more until Saturday. Because of the expense and time involved we're probably going to start using "store eggs" for baking and "farm" eggs for eating when we're eating 'just eggs' or putting the raw yolks in soups/broth. Not the ideal, but I don't have a local source here and we went through 8 dozen eggs in a week and a half!!!!! One day I'll live in a place where I can raise my own chickens and then it won't be so much of a problem. Except that each chicken will need to lay 5 to 6 eggs a day!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Day 6
Let's see if I can remember how yesterday went.
Breakfast (Stage 1 for soup, Stage 2/3 for eggs and sausage, Stage 3 for pancakes)
Almost Borscht (leftover from Day 5), eggs, beef sausage, chicken pancakes
Each person had a small bowl of soup.
Some had scrambled eggs, some had over easy. I used lots of ghee.
I tried to re-create sausage using fresh thyme, rosemary, sage and ground beef and boiled the patties in water for a bit. The meat was tough and it didn't taste very sausagey. One son loved it, the rest only ate a few bites. I'll have to work on that.
I used this chicken pancake recipe. Instead of a banana I used a yellow crookneck squash (cooked). They tasted a bit chickeny to me, but the kids ate them. They said they preferred the pancakes from the night before though.
Lunch (Stage 4 for salmon (baked) and fries, Stage 5 for applesauce, Stage 3 for pancakes)
Baked salmon, butternut squash fries, applesauce, more pancakes
We're starting to bake some of the meats (Stage 4) and veggies instead of boiling them. I kept the salmon simple and just baked it without anything. At the table some added salt and/or ghee.
The butternut squash fries were not a hit. I melted some beef tallow to coat the baking sheet and then salted them partway through baking. They never got hard/crispy-ish like potato fries, they just stayed sort of mushy. Good for our digestion, I guess, but not for the taste and texture. I'll work on these in the future.
For the applesauce - peeled, cored and sliced 2 large apples and simmered them in water until soft. I blended them with some ghee then stuck it in the freezer to help it cool. I thought it was super delicious, but nobody else ate it. One son said the 'ghee was too much'. I couldn't really taste it, it was just the barest hint and added a pleasing 'fat' taste. I guess I'll keep working on that too. The kids are dying to have fruits so we're trying to transition them into that Stage soon. Also, according to NCM we're not supposed to eat fruit with our meals, only as a snack in-between. I need to pound that into my head because it's very different from how we've been doing things.
They also ate some leftover pancakes from breakfast and dinner the night before.
Dinner (Stage 1 for soup, Stage 3 for cilantro and avocado)
Mexican Chicken and Cauliflower soup
I made this pretty much as written, but didn't use as much onion or garlic. And my stinking garlic press broke after the second clove! We added the cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.
My husband and I really enjoyed this and I will most likely make it again...I'd like to try it with avocado as well. My 11-yr-old had 2 big bowls, the 10-yr-old finished his but had to really work at it and the other two wouldn't even touch it.
Reactions
So far I've lost 9 pounds!!! Aside from a few aches and pains now and then I feel good. I'm sleeping much better than I have in a long time, but maybe it's because I'm exercising more as well.
My husband and I are getting pretty worried about our youngest, who is 5. He just isn't eating much. We decided to transition him to Full and are letting him eat raw fruits (his favorite) and some veggies right now. I don't have the emotional strength to coax/cajole/bribe/threaten four kids every meal, every day to eat foods they aren't used to and don't like as well as cook these marathon meals, homeschool, do laundry and dishes and a million other things. We've had no reactions that indicate they need to stay on any particular Stage for weeks at a time so we're going to move through the next 2/3 stages quickly. If, once we've been on Full for a while, we feel that additional healing is necessary, we'll go back down to Intro (all or just the ones that need it). This will also (hopefully) help me get me feet under me as this way of cooking is a bit more labor intensive and time-consuming.
Breakfast (Stage 1 for soup, Stage 2/3 for eggs and sausage, Stage 3 for pancakes)
Almost Borscht (leftover from Day 5), eggs, beef sausage, chicken pancakes
Each person had a small bowl of soup.
Some had scrambled eggs, some had over easy. I used lots of ghee.
I tried to re-create sausage using fresh thyme, rosemary, sage and ground beef and boiled the patties in water for a bit. The meat was tough and it didn't taste very sausagey. One son loved it, the rest only ate a few bites. I'll have to work on that.
I used this chicken pancake recipe. Instead of a banana I used a yellow crookneck squash (cooked). They tasted a bit chickeny to me, but the kids ate them. They said they preferred the pancakes from the night before though.
Lunch (Stage 4 for salmon (baked) and fries, Stage 5 for applesauce, Stage 3 for pancakes)
Baked salmon, butternut squash fries, applesauce, more pancakes
We're starting to bake some of the meats (Stage 4) and veggies instead of boiling them. I kept the salmon simple and just baked it without anything. At the table some added salt and/or ghee.
The butternut squash fries were not a hit. I melted some beef tallow to coat the baking sheet and then salted them partway through baking. They never got hard/crispy-ish like potato fries, they just stayed sort of mushy. Good for our digestion, I guess, but not for the taste and texture. I'll work on these in the future.
For the applesauce - peeled, cored and sliced 2 large apples and simmered them in water until soft. I blended them with some ghee then stuck it in the freezer to help it cool. I thought it was super delicious, but nobody else ate it. One son said the 'ghee was too much'. I couldn't really taste it, it was just the barest hint and added a pleasing 'fat' taste. I guess I'll keep working on that too. The kids are dying to have fruits so we're trying to transition them into that Stage soon. Also, according to NCM we're not supposed to eat fruit with our meals, only as a snack in-between. I need to pound that into my head because it's very different from how we've been doing things.
They also ate some leftover pancakes from breakfast and dinner the night before.
Dinner (Stage 1 for soup, Stage 3 for cilantro and avocado)
Mexican Chicken and Cauliflower soup
I made this pretty much as written, but didn't use as much onion or garlic. And my stinking garlic press broke after the second clove! We added the cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.
My husband and I really enjoyed this and I will most likely make it again...I'd like to try it with avocado as well. My 11-yr-old had 2 big bowls, the 10-yr-old finished his but had to really work at it and the other two wouldn't even touch it.
Reactions
So far I've lost 9 pounds!!! Aside from a few aches and pains now and then I feel good. I'm sleeping much better than I have in a long time, but maybe it's because I'm exercising more as well.
My husband and I are getting pretty worried about our youngest, who is 5. He just isn't eating much. We decided to transition him to Full and are letting him eat raw fruits (his favorite) and some veggies right now. I don't have the emotional strength to coax/cajole/bribe/threaten four kids every meal, every day to eat foods they aren't used to and don't like as well as cook these marathon meals, homeschool, do laundry and dishes and a million other things. We've had no reactions that indicate they need to stay on any particular Stage for weeks at a time so we're going to move through the next 2/3 stages quickly. If, once we've been on Full for a while, we feel that additional healing is necessary, we'll go back down to Intro (all or just the ones that need it). This will also (hopefully) help me get me feet under me as this way of cooking is a bit more labor intensive and time-consuming.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Day 5
Breakfast (Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 1 for soup)
Eggs and meat soup
Some had their eggs scrambled, some had it with cooked whites and runny yolks. We had a simple meat soup on the side - just beef broth and pieces of beef. It came from a super fatty, full-of-marrow broth so I blended all the 'chunks' before adding the beef to heat through. My husband raved about the flavor and had three bowls...then asked if there would be more later. We ate 19 eggs between the 6 of us.
Lunch (Stage 1 for lamb patties and carrots, Stage 2 for fauxtatoes)
Lamb patties, fauxtatoes and cooked carrots
We don't normally eat lamb but it was on clearance at the grocery store today and I thought it would be good to add a bit of variety, not only to our taste buds but to the vitamin/mineral/fat content.
To one pound of ground lamb I added salt and pepper and some minced fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme and sage). I only used a bit because I wasn't sure how strong they'd be. I formed them into small patties and boiled them in about an inch and a half of water. I also added a sprig of thyme and rosemary to the water, then covered and let simmer for 30 minutes or so. These were a huge hit.
I used this recipe for the fauxtatoes, with ghee. I only used one head because my kids aren't big fans of it yet. And I boiled it since I don't have a steamer. They ended up a bit more liquidy than I'd like, but I'm guessing that steaming would solve that.
Boiled carrots in a bit of water until soft. Added salt at the table.
Dinner (Stage 1 for Almost Borscht, Stage 3 for pancakes)
Almost Borscht with pancakes
I have a borscht recipe that I love but we aren't eating cabbage or celery yet and we're avoiding tomatoes so I improvised with this.
Almost Borscht
Beef broth - 2 or 3 quarts (about half the soup pot)
Veal stew meat, cut into bite-size - I used almost 2 pounds
a few handfuls baby carrots, sliced
3/4 an onion, diced
2 beets, peeled and grated
The beef broth was full of fat and marrow so I heated it until the huge chunks were melted then blended the heck out of it. Added the rest of the stuff and brought it back to a boil then lowered the heat and let it simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. This was so delicious. All but one kid ate this cheerfully. We don't normally eat veal, but it too was on clearance so I scooped up a few packages.
Pancakes
I think the instructions for all Intro Pancakes stink...and I'm not sure I can do any better.
3/4 of a medium-sized butternut squash, cooked
about 2 cups almonds, soaked overnight but not dehydrated
4 eggs
Blended everything in my trusty Blendtec until it resembled pudding (it was thickish, not runny). Heated the cast iron skillet on medium low and added enough coconut oil to make the bottom shiny (I was out of ghee or I would have used that). I tried making them bigger at first but they were really hard to turn because they didn't hold together well. The next few batches were smaller, maybe the size of a golf ball. I had to add a touch of coconut oil after each batch or they'd stick like crazy. They take a bit longer to cook than regular pancakes.
It made quite a bit so we have leftovers for tomorrow. They should have only had one, but once again I caved and let the desperate, hungry children have three each. We're pretty sure that nobody has issues with nuts, eggs or squash though. They said they were "good, but not normal".
Reactions:
Everyone had meltdowns today. There was a lot of screaming and crying and wanting to quit. Physical symptoms seem to be okay, it's the emotional that's getting them.
I am completely exhausted. It hit me late in the afternoon, about an hour after lunch when I took some probiotics. Not sure if it's that or that I didn't get much sleep last night, or that I woke up early to go running, or that everyone was mad at me all day today.
Eggs and meat soup
Some had their eggs scrambled, some had it with cooked whites and runny yolks. We had a simple meat soup on the side - just beef broth and pieces of beef. It came from a super fatty, full-of-marrow broth so I blended all the 'chunks' before adding the beef to heat through. My husband raved about the flavor and had three bowls...then asked if there would be more later. We ate 19 eggs between the 6 of us.
Lunch (Stage 1 for lamb patties and carrots, Stage 2 for fauxtatoes)
Lamb patties, fauxtatoes and cooked carrots
We don't normally eat lamb but it was on clearance at the grocery store today and I thought it would be good to add a bit of variety, not only to our taste buds but to the vitamin/mineral/fat content.
To one pound of ground lamb I added salt and pepper and some minced fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme and sage). I only used a bit because I wasn't sure how strong they'd be. I formed them into small patties and boiled them in about an inch and a half of water. I also added a sprig of thyme and rosemary to the water, then covered and let simmer for 30 minutes or so. These were a huge hit.
I used this recipe for the fauxtatoes, with ghee. I only used one head because my kids aren't big fans of it yet. And I boiled it since I don't have a steamer. They ended up a bit more liquidy than I'd like, but I'm guessing that steaming would solve that.
Boiled carrots in a bit of water until soft. Added salt at the table.
Dinner (Stage 1 for Almost Borscht, Stage 3 for pancakes)
Almost Borscht with pancakes
I have a borscht recipe that I love but we aren't eating cabbage or celery yet and we're avoiding tomatoes so I improvised with this.
Almost Borscht
Beef broth - 2 or 3 quarts (about half the soup pot)
Veal stew meat, cut into bite-size - I used almost 2 pounds
a few handfuls baby carrots, sliced
3/4 an onion, diced
2 beets, peeled and grated
The beef broth was full of fat and marrow so I heated it until the huge chunks were melted then blended the heck out of it. Added the rest of the stuff and brought it back to a boil then lowered the heat and let it simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. This was so delicious. All but one kid ate this cheerfully. We don't normally eat veal, but it too was on clearance so I scooped up a few packages.
Pancakes
I think the instructions for all Intro Pancakes stink...and I'm not sure I can do any better.
3/4 of a medium-sized butternut squash, cooked
about 2 cups almonds, soaked overnight but not dehydrated
4 eggs
Blended everything in my trusty Blendtec until it resembled pudding (it was thickish, not runny). Heated the cast iron skillet on medium low and added enough coconut oil to make the bottom shiny (I was out of ghee or I would have used that). I tried making them bigger at first but they were really hard to turn because they didn't hold together well. The next few batches were smaller, maybe the size of a golf ball. I had to add a touch of coconut oil after each batch or they'd stick like crazy. They take a bit longer to cook than regular pancakes.
It made quite a bit so we have leftovers for tomorrow. They should have only had one, but once again I caved and let the desperate, hungry children have three each. We're pretty sure that nobody has issues with nuts, eggs or squash though. They said they were "good, but not normal".
Reactions:
Everyone had meltdowns today. There was a lot of screaming and crying and wanting to quit. Physical symptoms seem to be okay, it's the emotional that's getting them.
I am completely exhausted. It hit me late in the afternoon, about an hour after lunch when I took some probiotics. Not sure if it's that or that I didn't get much sleep last night, or that I woke up early to go running, or that everyone was mad at me all day today.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Day 4
It already seems like we've been doing this forever - not because it's easier, but because everyone is ready for it to end...and I don't think the dishes ever will.
Breakfast (Stage 2/3)
Eggs with cooked carrots on the side
Some had it scrambled in ghee, others had it over-easy with the yolks just barely cooked through. They SHOULD be eating them raw or soft-boiled, but they won't and right now I just need to get some food in them. Between my four boys they ate 15 eggs for breakfast. It makes me want to cry. We drive an hour and a half each way to get free-range, organic, pastured eggs at $4 something a dozen. I just might be driving up more than once a month to stock my fridge.
I forgot to include broth with this meal. We were rushed to get out the door for church.
Lunch (Stage 1)
Meat patties, green beans and spaghetti squash
I had some leftover meatball meat so I formed small patties and boiled them in broth. After 20 minutes or so I added some frozen green beans and cooked until they were soft.
Baked spaghetti squash (cut in half) in the oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so. We served it with a bit of ghee and salt.
The meat patties were a huge hit and they wanted more than I had prepared. Green beans were okay (I loved them) and they ate most of them. One son had seconds. Spaghetti squash was a bust. They'd probably like it better with some sort of sauce on top. The meat patties and green beans had some of the broth left which we added to the plate, but it wasn't the "one cup per meal" it should have been.
Dinner (Stage 1 except for the eggs which are Stage 2/3)
Boiled steak strips, broccoli, butternut squash soup and a fried egg
I cut up a few small steaks and boiled them in salted water (with half a sliced onion) for 25-30 minutes, covered. Broccoli was boiled in salted water until fully cooked, but not mega mushy. One of the things I learned while living in Brasil was to cook eggs until the white were firm and yolk was pretty runny, then place it on top of rice or meat or whatever to create a sort of 'egg sauce'. My 5-yr-old said, "It's kind of gross but kinda yummy."
For the soup:
2 or 3 quarts of beef broth
3 to 4 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 huge carrot, sliced
1/2 onion
Boiled until soft then pureed with immersion blender and salted to taste. I'll be honest, the only reason I'm giving this recipe was because it was GROSS and I don't want to you ever think this is a good combination. Maybe it was because I used beef broth instead of chicken?
I had sauerkraut juice and garlic with my dinner. I had garlic 3 times the first day and had a massive headache so I decided to do 1 garlic-in-soup a day for the first few days, then 2, then 3. My sauerkraut just barely finished which is why I didn't have it earlier. I'm having a HARD time getting sauerkraut to work. The kids won't touch it so I need to find a different way to get probiotic food into them.
Reactions:
The 5-yr-old is basically on a hunger strike. He'll eat the eggs, sometimes. He used to eat meat without a problem and now he won't. He "hates" soup and "all squash is gross". He loves carrots but not if they are cooked. It's getting hard to find anything he'll eat and he cries a lot. Most likely we'll move him to Stage 3 or 4 tomorrow or the next day. While I understand that moving too quickly isn't the best idea, I have to balance that with him getting enough to eat and his emotional well-being. He's also the child with the least problems so we're not very worried about speeding him up.
The 10-yr-old has told me for 2 nights that he's really tired. I can't tell if it's because he's not getting enough to eat, or that he's having a healing crisis, or that he's eating something that is bothering him, or that his body is adjusting to good food and now he is actually sleeping. He always has a hard time falling asleep, but not lately. Good thing, bad thing? His eczema, which is horrid, is starting to clear up in some areas, other areas look just as bad as before. He has A LOT of it though so it may take a while.
All of the kids want to know when we'll move on, what they can eat next, etc. We never really talked about food before and now they talk about it all the time. It's getting really hard to get them to drink broth. They're starting to look at soup as one of the most evil things on the planet. Energy levels are good though. BMs are good. No real reactions that we can see (other than above).
I'm cranky but I think that's because I've never seen so many dirty dishes in my life. It's like Thanksgiving every meal. Every pot/pan I own gets used every meal. I have to wash them constantly. I also didn't anticipate how long it would take to cook all the foods. I bake/cook from scratch all the time, but this is a whole new level. The emotional aspect is something I didn't expect either. Having the kids cry and complain and talk non-stop about when it will end is very trying. But we will keep forging ahead. I know it will be worth it in the long run.
Breakfast (Stage 2/3)
Eggs with cooked carrots on the side
Some had it scrambled in ghee, others had it over-easy with the yolks just barely cooked through. They SHOULD be eating them raw or soft-boiled, but they won't and right now I just need to get some food in them. Between my four boys they ate 15 eggs for breakfast. It makes me want to cry. We drive an hour and a half each way to get free-range, organic, pastured eggs at $4 something a dozen. I just might be driving up more than once a month to stock my fridge.
I forgot to include broth with this meal. We were rushed to get out the door for church.
Lunch (Stage 1)
Meat patties, green beans and spaghetti squash
I had some leftover meatball meat so I formed small patties and boiled them in broth. After 20 minutes or so I added some frozen green beans and cooked until they were soft.
Baked spaghetti squash (cut in half) in the oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so. We served it with a bit of ghee and salt.
The meat patties were a huge hit and they wanted more than I had prepared. Green beans were okay (I loved them) and they ate most of them. One son had seconds. Spaghetti squash was a bust. They'd probably like it better with some sort of sauce on top. The meat patties and green beans had some of the broth left which we added to the plate, but it wasn't the "one cup per meal" it should have been.
Dinner (Stage 1 except for the eggs which are Stage 2/3)
Boiled steak strips, broccoli, butternut squash soup and a fried egg
I cut up a few small steaks and boiled them in salted water (with half a sliced onion) for 25-30 minutes, covered. Broccoli was boiled in salted water until fully cooked, but not mega mushy. One of the things I learned while living in Brasil was to cook eggs until the white were firm and yolk was pretty runny, then place it on top of rice or meat or whatever to create a sort of 'egg sauce'. My 5-yr-old said, "It's kind of gross but kinda yummy."
For the soup:
2 or 3 quarts of beef broth
3 to 4 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 huge carrot, sliced
1/2 onion
Boiled until soft then pureed with immersion blender and salted to taste. I'll be honest, the only reason I'm giving this recipe was because it was GROSS and I don't want to you ever think this is a good combination. Maybe it was because I used beef broth instead of chicken?
I had sauerkraut juice and garlic with my dinner. I had garlic 3 times the first day and had a massive headache so I decided to do 1 garlic-in-soup a day for the first few days, then 2, then 3. My sauerkraut just barely finished which is why I didn't have it earlier. I'm having a HARD time getting sauerkraut to work. The kids won't touch it so I need to find a different way to get probiotic food into them.
Reactions:
The 5-yr-old is basically on a hunger strike. He'll eat the eggs, sometimes. He used to eat meat without a problem and now he won't. He "hates" soup and "all squash is gross". He loves carrots but not if they are cooked. It's getting hard to find anything he'll eat and he cries a lot. Most likely we'll move him to Stage 3 or 4 tomorrow or the next day. While I understand that moving too quickly isn't the best idea, I have to balance that with him getting enough to eat and his emotional well-being. He's also the child with the least problems so we're not very worried about speeding him up.
The 10-yr-old has told me for 2 nights that he's really tired. I can't tell if it's because he's not getting enough to eat, or that he's having a healing crisis, or that he's eating something that is bothering him, or that his body is adjusting to good food and now he is actually sleeping. He always has a hard time falling asleep, but not lately. Good thing, bad thing? His eczema, which is horrid, is starting to clear up in some areas, other areas look just as bad as before. He has A LOT of it though so it may take a while.
All of the kids want to know when we'll move on, what they can eat next, etc. We never really talked about food before and now they talk about it all the time. It's getting really hard to get them to drink broth. They're starting to look at soup as one of the most evil things on the planet. Energy levels are good though. BMs are good. No real reactions that we can see (other than above).
I'm cranky but I think that's because I've never seen so many dirty dishes in my life. It's like Thanksgiving every meal. Every pot/pan I own gets used every meal. I have to wash them constantly. I also didn't anticipate how long it would take to cook all the foods. I bake/cook from scratch all the time, but this is a whole new level. The emotional aspect is something I didn't expect either. Having the kids cry and complain and talk non-stop about when it will end is very trying. But we will keep forging ahead. I know it will be worth it in the long run.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Day 3
We decided to tiptoe into Stage 2 today. Everyone is feeling well, no bowel issues and the littlest guys are really struggling with soup, soup, soup so we thought we'd try some eggs. I did a sensitivity test on everyone's wrists last night - ghee on one, egg yolk on the other. All clear in the morning!
Breakfast (late Stage 2)
Soft-boiled eggs mashed with ghee
Well, you are supposed to start with a raw yolk in a bowl of soup but I knew that wouldn't fly so I went for the next step which is soft-boiled. Only I don't know how to do that very well and accidentally medium-boiled them. It still worked and they ate them with gusto.
I had leftover beef soup from yesterday with 1 clove of crushed garlic and a raw egg yolk.
Lunch (Stage 1)
Chicken w/acorn squash and peas
To heat the cooked chicken I boiled it in salted broth.
The acorn squash was cut in half then deseeded. Place upside down on a shallow pan with about 1/4 inch water and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until soft. I added a touch of ghee and some salt to each portion.
Boiled frozen peas until mushy.
Dinner (Stage 1)
Broccoli Meatball Soup
Since the meatballs were such a big hit last night we decided to repeat.
I started with a pot of chicken stock and added 1 cooked acorn squash (I cooked extra at lunch) and about 1/2 cup leftover cooked peas. Boiled with 1/2 an onion, chunked, and 1 summer squash, also chunked. When it was soft I pureed with an immersion blender. I brought it back to a boil and shaped the meatballs and dropped them into the broth. They dropped to the bottom then after a minute or two they'd pop back up. They simmered, covered, for 20 minutes or so then I added some frozen broccoli (I defrosted first and cut off all the stalks). I didn't mean to let it cook until the broccoli turned to mush, but I got distracted. It was basically pureed when we served it...I would have preferred the broccoli to be a bit firmer and greener! The meatballs weren't as flavorful as last night - I think it makes a difference to boil them in well-salted broth as opposed to pureed squash soup, but they still ate quite a bit.
Reactions:
Everyone did well today. We're still letting them have a bit of juice now and then, but I got sneaky today and added chicken broth to the juice. I used a ratio of half and half room temperature, unsalted broth and they never knew.
I'm feeling a bit achy, but I can't tell if it's the diet or that I've been on my feet cooking non-stop for the last 3 days or that I'm training for a 5K. Maybe I'm just old.
Breakfast (late Stage 2)
Soft-boiled eggs mashed with ghee
Well, you are supposed to start with a raw yolk in a bowl of soup but I knew that wouldn't fly so I went for the next step which is soft-boiled. Only I don't know how to do that very well and accidentally medium-boiled them. It still worked and they ate them with gusto.
I had leftover beef soup from yesterday with 1 clove of crushed garlic and a raw egg yolk.
Lunch (Stage 1)
Chicken w/acorn squash and peas
To heat the cooked chicken I boiled it in salted broth.
The acorn squash was cut in half then deseeded. Place upside down on a shallow pan with about 1/4 inch water and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until soft. I added a touch of ghee and some salt to each portion.
Boiled frozen peas until mushy.
Dinner (Stage 1)
Broccoli Meatball Soup
Since the meatballs were such a big hit last night we decided to repeat.
I started with a pot of chicken stock and added 1 cooked acorn squash (I cooked extra at lunch) and about 1/2 cup leftover cooked peas. Boiled with 1/2 an onion, chunked, and 1 summer squash, also chunked. When it was soft I pureed with an immersion blender. I brought it back to a boil and shaped the meatballs and dropped them into the broth. They dropped to the bottom then after a minute or two they'd pop back up. They simmered, covered, for 20 minutes or so then I added some frozen broccoli (I defrosted first and cut off all the stalks). I didn't mean to let it cook until the broccoli turned to mush, but I got distracted. It was basically pureed when we served it...I would have preferred the broccoli to be a bit firmer and greener! The meatballs weren't as flavorful as last night - I think it makes a difference to boil them in well-salted broth as opposed to pureed squash soup, but they still ate quite a bit.
Reactions:
Everyone did well today. We're still letting them have a bit of juice now and then, but I got sneaky today and added chicken broth to the juice. I used a ratio of half and half room temperature, unsalted broth and they never knew.
I'm feeling a bit achy, but I can't tell if it's the diet or that I've been on my feet cooking non-stop for the last 3 days or that I'm training for a 5K. Maybe I'm just old.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Day 2
Our last puke of the day was around 8:30 am. The 11-yr-old and 5-yr-old didn't eat breakfast - they woke up, used the bathroom (or puked) then went right back to bed and didn't wake up until 1:00 pm. The 7-yr-old ended up taking a two-hour nap this afternoon.
Breakfast
Beef soup consisting of:
a large steak w/bone (about 2 pounds)
3 large carrots, grated
1 turnip, diced
1/2 a head of cauliflower, stalks removed
1 onion, diced
a few handfuls of cubed butternut squash
I put the beef in the crockpot (raw) with all the veggies and let it cook overnight. To serve I ladled soup into the bowl then broke off a hunk of meat and shredded it. One of the boys said it tasted like grass and the other only picked the beef chunks out. My husband and I both thought it tasted great.
Lunch
Leftovers
Husband and I ate the soup from the morning. The boys that were awake ate the beef soup from yesterday afternoon. I also boiled up some broccoli and peas.
Dinner
Meatballs on top of Red Mountain
My boys all looked at it funny, but it was seriously yummy. We even invented a song for it -
On top of Red Mountain
All covered with broth
I lost my poor meatball
When somebody coughed.....
Meatballs
1 large carrot, peeled then pureed
1/2 onion, pureed
1 to 2 pound ground beef
1 to 2 tsp. sea salt (pepper would be good too, but only one of my kids likes it)
1 to 2 cups beef broth
Mix carrots, onion and salt with the ground beef. Bring the broth to a boil in a large pan. Once it's boiling, form the beef mixture into meatballs and gently place into pan. Reduce heat, cover with the lid and let simmer for 30 minutes or so. I took the lid off after that and let some of the broth evaporate (reduce) so it wasn't quite so soupy.
For the Red Mountain -
I brought a large pot of water to a boil, added a bit of salt and then the following:
1 beet, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
several handfuls butternut squash
1/2 head cauliflower, stalks removed
1 zucchini - big chunks
I added the beets, carrots and squash first. After they had softened up a bit I added the cauliflower and after 5 to 10 minutes added the zucchini. When they had all been boiled into submission I drained the pot and added a bit of chicken broth. I attacked them with my immersion blender until they were totally pureed. The result was a deep red pile of mushy veggies (with a green fleck here and there - I should have peeled the zucchini).
To serve I put a pile of Red in a bowl then scooped a few meatballs on top with some broth.
They devoured the meatballs. I could have easily doubled the batch and they would have eaten them too. It was more work to get them to eat the Red Mountain.
Everyone seems to be feeling better now. We did get some juice and have been giving tiny, tiny amounts of it. And making them drink lots of water. We also (gulp) bribed them to eat more veggies by saying, "If you eat 5 bites of broccoli you can have more juice" and so on. It was seriously just a swallow or two but it was enough to get more food in them today. I have a slight headache, but that could be due to little sleep last night and cooking all day today.
Breakfast
Beef soup consisting of:
a large steak w/bone (about 2 pounds)
3 large carrots, grated
1 turnip, diced
1/2 a head of cauliflower, stalks removed
1 onion, diced
a few handfuls of cubed butternut squash
I put the beef in the crockpot (raw) with all the veggies and let it cook overnight. To serve I ladled soup into the bowl then broke off a hunk of meat and shredded it. One of the boys said it tasted like grass and the other only picked the beef chunks out. My husband and I both thought it tasted great.
Lunch
Leftovers
Husband and I ate the soup from the morning. The boys that were awake ate the beef soup from yesterday afternoon. I also boiled up some broccoli and peas.
Dinner
Meatballs on top of Red Mountain
My boys all looked at it funny, but it was seriously yummy. We even invented a song for it -
On top of Red Mountain
All covered with broth
I lost my poor meatball
When somebody coughed.....
Meatballs
1 large carrot, peeled then pureed
1/2 onion, pureed
1 to 2 pound ground beef
1 to 2 tsp. sea salt (pepper would be good too, but only one of my kids likes it)
1 to 2 cups beef broth
Mix carrots, onion and salt with the ground beef. Bring the broth to a boil in a large pan. Once it's boiling, form the beef mixture into meatballs and gently place into pan. Reduce heat, cover with the lid and let simmer for 30 minutes or so. I took the lid off after that and let some of the broth evaporate (reduce) so it wasn't quite so soupy.
For the Red Mountain -
I brought a large pot of water to a boil, added a bit of salt and then the following:
1 beet, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
several handfuls butternut squash
1/2 head cauliflower, stalks removed
1 zucchini - big chunks
I added the beets, carrots and squash first. After they had softened up a bit I added the cauliflower and after 5 to 10 minutes added the zucchini. When they had all been boiled into submission I drained the pot and added a bit of chicken broth. I attacked them with my immersion blender until they were totally pureed. The result was a deep red pile of mushy veggies (with a green fleck here and there - I should have peeled the zucchini).
To serve I put a pile of Red in a bowl then scooped a few meatballs on top with some broth.
They devoured the meatballs. I could have easily doubled the batch and they would have eaten them too. It was more work to get them to eat the Red Mountain.
Everyone seems to be feeling better now. We did get some juice and have been giving tiny, tiny amounts of it. And making them drink lots of water. We also (gulp) bribed them to eat more veggies by saying, "If you eat 5 bites of broccoli you can have more juice" and so on. It was seriously just a swallow or two but it was enough to get more food in them today. I have a slight headache, but that could be due to little sleep last night and cooking all day today.
Day 1
You'd think since I have posted so much that we've been through the diet. Well, we haven't. All my postings thus far have been my attempt to organize what I've learned so Intro won't be so hard. Yesterday, June 30, was Day 1 for us.
Breakfast -
Beef Soup consisting of:
beef broth
beef chunks picked from the soup bones
1 onion, diced super small
1 turnip, diced
several handfuls of baby carrots, cut to bite size
Everyone ate it more or less cheerfully. I added a clove of garlic to my bowl, but not the kids'. Also, I made the soup the night before and put it in the crockpot on low. It was ready when we woke up!
Lunch
Butternut Squash Soup and boiled broccoli
The soup was pretty basic - some chicken stock with some water and butternut squash chunks all boiled until I could puree the squash. I put some boiled, shredded chicken in the bottom of each bowl and ladled the soup on top. We added salt at the table.
For the boiled broccoli I added a few cups of filtered water to a pan with the chopped broccoli (stalks removed) and some sea salt. I boiled until very tender, then drained and served. It was surprisingly good. One son had 3 helpings!
Snack
boiled, salted meat
One of the kids (5-yr-old) wanted a snack so I took some already cooked/boiled beef from the freezer and simmered it in salted water until they were warmed through. He ate it in a bowl with a fork. Several of the other kids picked at some pieces as they walked through the kitchen.
Dinner
Chicken "noodle" soup with green peas on the side
chicken stock
1/2 an onion, diced
a few handfuls of baby carrots, cut bite size
1/2 a spaghetti squash, peeled, de-seeded and then cut into chunks
the leftover soup from lunch (about 2 cups or so)
I put the squash in uncooked and let the soup come to a boil, then reduced heat to a simmer. Once the squash was tender I mashed it with the backside of the spoon to make it separate into "noodles. You could also bake the spaghetti squash in advance, but I didn't plan ahead. I put boiled, shredded chicken in the bottom of the bowls then ladled the soup on top.
The peas were frozen and I just boiled them in salt water. Some of the kids added extra salt at the table, others didn't.
Reactions:
Husband said the soups were good and it was "much easier than he thought". The kids kept asking when we'd move to the next Stage. I put a list of foods we could eat now and that seemed to help them.
I had a massive headache by bedtime so I took an epsom salt bath. The headache didn't go away so I used my essential oils and that did the trick.
5-yr-old woke up during the night, puking. He threw up 6 or 7 times throughout the night. It COULD be because I let him eat some raw carrots after dinner. He was sobbing that he was "so hungry" and I caved.
7-yr-old threw up this morning. And 11-yr-old is threatening to do so.
I read up a bit on vomiting during Intro, especially with kids. It could be a 'shock' to their system to go to such healthy foods. It could be a reaction to a specific food. It could be a stomach bug. It could be that their blood sugar dropped because they aren't eating as many carbs as they are used to. Dr. Campbell-McBride* says to try apple or orange juice in very small quantities if blood sugar is suspected so we'll be giving that a go today. And we're going to try REALLY hard to make sure they eat more of the veggies in the soup and not let them just pick out the meat.
*this is her full statement from http://gaps.me "Vomiting can be a sign of hypoglycaemia: as we cut out many carbohydrates in a person with an overgrowth of yeast, it is easy for the blood sugar to drop too low. In that case give your child some apple or orange juice and see if it helps. Freshly pressed juice from apple or orange with carrot is best, but if the situation is urgent use a commercial juice. If this measure helps, then use this juice in as small an amount as possible to remedy the nausea and vomiting, when it happens (ice lollies or ice cubes, made in advance from freshly pressed juice, may provide immediate help). In the long run stick to the diet and make sure that your child has plenty of animal fats: they will regulate the blood sugar level. Allow your child to eat often and in small amounts (to graze) to keep the blood sugar steady, rather than insisting on set meal times. As the die-off subsides, so will the nausea and vomiting. Ginger tea is a known remedy for nausea; use it as a drink between meals."
Breakfast -
Beef Soup consisting of:
beef broth
beef chunks picked from the soup bones
1 onion, diced super small
1 turnip, diced
several handfuls of baby carrots, cut to bite size
Everyone ate it more or less cheerfully. I added a clove of garlic to my bowl, but not the kids'. Also, I made the soup the night before and put it in the crockpot on low. It was ready when we woke up!
Lunch
Butternut Squash Soup and boiled broccoli
The soup was pretty basic - some chicken stock with some water and butternut squash chunks all boiled until I could puree the squash. I put some boiled, shredded chicken in the bottom of each bowl and ladled the soup on top. We added salt at the table.
For the boiled broccoli I added a few cups of filtered water to a pan with the chopped broccoli (stalks removed) and some sea salt. I boiled until very tender, then drained and served. It was surprisingly good. One son had 3 helpings!
Snack
boiled, salted meat
One of the kids (5-yr-old) wanted a snack so I took some already cooked/boiled beef from the freezer and simmered it in salted water until they were warmed through. He ate it in a bowl with a fork. Several of the other kids picked at some pieces as they walked through the kitchen.
Dinner
Chicken "noodle" soup with green peas on the side
chicken stock
1/2 an onion, diced
a few handfuls of baby carrots, cut bite size
1/2 a spaghetti squash, peeled, de-seeded and then cut into chunks
the leftover soup from lunch (about 2 cups or so)
I put the squash in uncooked and let the soup come to a boil, then reduced heat to a simmer. Once the squash was tender I mashed it with the backside of the spoon to make it separate into "noodles. You could also bake the spaghetti squash in advance, but I didn't plan ahead. I put boiled, shredded chicken in the bottom of the bowls then ladled the soup on top.
The peas were frozen and I just boiled them in salt water. Some of the kids added extra salt at the table, others didn't.
Reactions:
Husband said the soups were good and it was "much easier than he thought". The kids kept asking when we'd move to the next Stage. I put a list of foods we could eat now and that seemed to help them.
I had a massive headache by bedtime so I took an epsom salt bath. The headache didn't go away so I used my essential oils and that did the trick.
5-yr-old woke up during the night, puking. He threw up 6 or 7 times throughout the night. It COULD be because I let him eat some raw carrots after dinner. He was sobbing that he was "so hungry" and I caved.
7-yr-old threw up this morning. And 11-yr-old is threatening to do so.
I read up a bit on vomiting during Intro, especially with kids. It could be a 'shock' to their system to go to such healthy foods. It could be a reaction to a specific food. It could be a stomach bug. It could be that their blood sugar dropped because they aren't eating as many carbs as they are used to. Dr. Campbell-McBride* says to try apple or orange juice in very small quantities if blood sugar is suspected so we'll be giving that a go today. And we're going to try REALLY hard to make sure they eat more of the veggies in the soup and not let them just pick out the meat.
*this is her full statement from http://gaps.me "Vomiting can be a sign of hypoglycaemia: as we cut out many carbohydrates in a person with an overgrowth of yeast, it is easy for the blood sugar to drop too low. In that case give your child some apple or orange juice and see if it helps. Freshly pressed juice from apple or orange with carrot is best, but if the situation is urgent use a commercial juice. If this measure helps, then use this juice in as small an amount as possible to remedy the nausea and vomiting, when it happens (ice lollies or ice cubes, made in advance from freshly pressed juice, may provide immediate help). In the long run stick to the diet and make sure that your child has plenty of animal fats: they will regulate the blood sugar level. Allow your child to eat often and in small amounts (to graze) to keep the blood sugar steady, rather than insisting on set meal times. As the die-off subsides, so will the nausea and vomiting. Ginger tea is a known remedy for nausea; use it as a drink between meals."
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Stage 6 - Recipe Index
Here are some recipes that will work for Stage 6. I have not tried them all, but as we do I'll post reviews. I have done my best to make sure that everything works for this stage, however, I may have made mistakes. Let me know if you find any!
Some of the recipes come from the Reversing Food Allergies (RFA) class, but you can find similar recipes online. I have linked to alternatives when possible. Other recipes come from an ebook I purchased from Home, Health and Happiness (HHH) which gives you recipes and lists and such for the GAPS intro diet.
Be sure to read the comments when looking at recipes - there are often great tips and ideas for variations.
Please let me know if you have any recipes or ideas to contribute to this stage.
Remember that all the recipes from Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 can still be used.
Some of the recipes come from the Reversing Food Allergies (RFA) class, but you can find similar recipes online. I have linked to alternatives when possible. Other recipes come from an ebook I purchased from Home, Health and Happiness (HHH) which gives you recipes and lists and such for the GAPS intro diet.
Be sure to read the comments when looking at recipes - there are often great tips and ideas for variations.
Please let me know if you have any recipes or ideas to contribute to this stage.
Remember that all the recipes from Stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 can still be used.
Chicken Coconut Soup (RFA)
Honduran Seafood Tapado (RFA)
Southwestern Cobb Salad
Smoothies – start w/1 fruit at a time, gradually add 2 or more...add raw yolks, coconut oil, yogurt or kefir if tolerated and so on and so forth
Honey Mustard Chicken (HHH)
Main dish salad
Peach Chutney - there are many other fruit chutneys you could make as well
Blueberry muffins – could make muffins without berries in earlier stages
Tacos (in lettuce leaves)
Russian Custard
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
No Potato Salad - use homemade mayonnaise, GAPS legal mustard
Strawberry ice cream - use homemade coconut milk, vanilla may or may not be legal...can sub other fruits
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
No Potato Salad - use homemade mayonnaise, GAPS legal mustard
Strawberry ice cream - use homemade coconut milk, vanilla may or may not be legal...can sub other fruits
Stage 5 - Recipe Index
Here are some recipes that will work for Stage 5. I have not tried them all, but as we do I'll post reviews. I have done my best to make sure that everything works for this stage, however, I may have made mistakes. Let me know if you find any!
Some of the recipes come from the Reversing Food Allergies (RFA) class, but you can find similar recipes online. I have linked to alternatives when possible. Other recipes come from an ebook I purchased from Home, Health and Happiness (HHH) which gives you recipes and lists and such for the GAPS intro diet.
Please let me know if you have any recipes or ideas to contribute to this stage. Be sure to read the comments when looking at recipes - there are often great tips and ideas for variations.
Remember that all the recipes from Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 can still be used.
Hungarian Goulash (RFA)
Hamburger Soup (RFA)
Gazpacho (RFA)
Israeli Eggs (RFA)
Tandoori Chicken (RFA) - limes should wait until Full?
Chicken, tuna or egg salad - gradually add raw and/or fermented veggies
BBQ Chicken (RFA) - bbq sauce needs to be homemade w/only honey to sweeten
Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce (RFA)
Chinese Beef and Broccoli (RFA)
Beef Chili - use homemade chili
Mustard (RFA)
Apple butter (RFA)
Guacamole Burger – without cheese, unless dairy intro is at that point
Goulash - sub beef broth for wine
Butternut Chili - without beans until Full, and then you'd need GAPS legal beans
Spicy Burgers w/basil mayo – gradually add the raw veggies
Chicken Stir-fry – veggies should be well cooked, some slightly less so - you are gradually adding raw veggies in Stage 5
Taco Salad – serve this towards the end of 5, after you've had raw lettuce and cucumber for a while
Pizza Crust - could use in Stage 3 if use fresh herbs, you may or may not be able to use cheese at this point)
Cinnamon Nut Cookies - can use in Stage 4 w/out cinnamon
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Paleo fruit crumble - no stevia, no arrowroot
Pumpkin (or other squash) pancakes - vanilla may or may not be legal
Turkey Sausage
Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup - don't discard fat, honey instead of sugar, GAPS fat instead of vegetable oil
Albondigas Soup - use broth instead of water, homemade salsa, GAPS fat instead of olive oil
Curried Cauliflower - don't use olive oil for baking
Paleo fruit crumble - no stevia, no arrowroot
Pumpkin (or other squash) pancakes - vanilla may or may not be legal
Turkey Sausage
Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup - don't discard fat, honey instead of sugar, GAPS fat instead of vegetable oil
Albondigas Soup - use broth instead of water, homemade salsa, GAPS fat instead of olive oil
Curried Cauliflower - don't use olive oil for baking
Start adding in raw veggies - soft parts of lettuce and cucumbers (peeled and deseeded).
You will also start on fruits - apple first, cooked (peeled and cored) and a bit of honey and ghee if desired. You can also add fruits to your freshly pressed juices now.
Remember to keep eating/drinking soup and broth. You need them every day.
Stage 4 - Recipe Index
Here are some recipes that will work for Stage 4. I have not tried them all, but as we do I'll post reviews. I have done my best to make sure that everything works for this stage, however, I may have made mistakes. Let me know if you find any!
Some of the recipes come from the Reversing Food Allergies (RFA) class, but you can find similar recipes online. I have linked to alternatives when possible. Other recipes come from an ebook I purchased from Home, Health and Happiness (HHH) which gives you recipes and lists and such for the GAPS intro diet.
Please let me know if you have any recipes or ideas to contribute to this stage. Be sure to read the comments when looking at recipes - there are often great tips and ideas for variations.
Remember that all the recipes from Stages 1, 2 and 3 can still be used.
New Recipes for Stage 4
Beef & Veggie Stew
Homemade Breakfast Sausage – (RFA) beef, pork or poultry - need to use fresh herbs and no spices
Mexican Eggs (RFA)
Omelettes
Italian Roast Chicken (RFA)
Chicken Salad (no raw veggies)
Chicken Nuggets (baked, nut flour only)
Roast Chicken with Reduction Sauce (RFA)
Pan-Fried Steak w/Bearnaise Sauce (RFA)
Egg Salad (no raw veggies)
Tuna Salad (no raw veggies) - wild-caught tuna, no other ingredients, packed in water
Pickles – (HHH), can eat plain or put into chicken/tuna/egg salads
Mayonnaise (RFA, GAPS book, HHH)
Salsa - there are TONS of recipes, just look for lacto-fermented or other traditional fermenting process
Fresh pressed juices
Roasted Carrot Soup (HHH), no paprika until Stage 5
Nut flour bread (HHH, GAPS book)
Stock and onion gravy (HHH)
Baked meatballs with onion gravy (HHH), maybe baked chicken w/gravy?
Pot roast with veggies
Chicken Salad in Steamed Cabbage
Fish patties
Ketchup (RFA, GAPS book)
Butternut Squash fries
Pumpkin Sausage Soup - no mushrooms or coconut milk until Full
Chicken nuggets - baked only
Rosemary Squash Faux-tatoes
Fluffy pancakes
Chicken Fingers
Cashew Cookies
Muffins
Quiche muffins
Almond Crackers or these
Basic biscuits or these – (may need to use ghee/other fat if you're not eating butter yet)
Jim’s Fluffy Pancakes
Albondigas Soup
Shredded Beef Soup with Kimchi
Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise)
Fermented Carrots and Daikon Radish
Fermented Cucumber Pickles
Zucchini Muffins
Drop Biscuits
Stuffed Acorn Squash - there are many variations of this...just make sure you're only eating what's appropriate for the Stage you're on
Almond Flour Shortbread - use coconut oil or ghee if not eating butter yet
Italian Meatball Soup - use homemade bread crumbs, zucchini or spaghetti squash pasta - could use on Stage 1 if omit eggs and bread crumbs as binder
Butternut Squash Latkes - use GAPS legal fats for frying
Cauliflower Rice - use coconut oil, ghee or tallow for sautéing
You can now roast or grill your meats. Try not to eat the overly-browned or burnt bits.
You can also start to use dried herbs as well as fresh. You need to wait until Stage 5 for 'spices'. If you're making your own sausage you can use dried herbs (which will probably make it easier).
Begin to add cold-pressed olive oil to your meals. Start with a few drops per meal and increase until you have 1 to 2 tablespoons per meal. I'm thinking you can have mayonnaise now because you make it with olive oil.
Don't go crazy with the nut breads! Start slowly and gradually increase. There are many recipes out there for nut bread, GAPS bread, etc (see page 151 of the GAPS book for one). To start with it should be simple - nut flour, eggs, squash and some sort of natural fat. Save the 'spices' for Stage 5.
You should continue to eat fermented veggies and I've added recipes for a few that you might not have been eating in previous stages - who wants pickle juice in their soup??? But I sure want them in my egg salad!
Some of the recipes come from the Reversing Food Allergies (RFA) class, but you can find similar recipes online. I have linked to alternatives when possible. Other recipes come from an ebook I purchased from Home, Health and Happiness (HHH) which gives you recipes and lists and such for the GAPS intro diet.
Please let me know if you have any recipes or ideas to contribute to this stage. Be sure to read the comments when looking at recipes - there are often great tips and ideas for variations.
Remember that all the recipes from Stages 1, 2 and 3 can still be used.
New Recipes for Stage 4
Beef & Veggie Stew
Homemade Breakfast Sausage – (RFA) beef, pork or poultry - need to use fresh herbs and no spices
Mexican Eggs (RFA)
Omelettes
Italian Roast Chicken (RFA)
Chicken Salad (no raw veggies)
Chicken Nuggets (baked, nut flour only)
Roast Chicken with Reduction Sauce (RFA)
Pan-Fried Steak w/Bearnaise Sauce (RFA)
Egg Salad (no raw veggies)
Tuna Salad (no raw veggies) - wild-caught tuna, no other ingredients, packed in water
Pickles – (HHH), can eat plain or put into chicken/tuna/egg salads
Mayonnaise (RFA, GAPS book, HHH)
Salsa - there are TONS of recipes, just look for lacto-fermented or other traditional fermenting process
Fresh pressed juices
Roasted Carrot Soup (HHH), no paprika until Stage 5
Nut flour bread (HHH, GAPS book)
Stock and onion gravy (HHH)
Baked meatballs with onion gravy (HHH), maybe baked chicken w/gravy?
Pot roast with veggies
Chicken Salad in Steamed Cabbage
Fish patties
Ketchup (RFA, GAPS book)
Butternut Squash fries
Pumpkin Sausage Soup - no mushrooms or coconut milk until Full
Chicken nuggets - baked only
Rosemary Squash Faux-tatoes
Fluffy pancakes
Chicken Fingers
Cashew Cookies
Muffins
Quiche muffins
Almond Crackers or these
Basic biscuits or these – (may need to use ghee/other fat if you're not eating butter yet)
Jim’s Fluffy Pancakes
Albondigas Soup
Shredded Beef Soup with Kimchi
Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise)
Fermented Carrots and Daikon Radish
Fermented Cucumber Pickles
Zucchini Muffins
Drop Biscuits
Stuffed Acorn Squash - there are many variations of this...just make sure you're only eating what's appropriate for the Stage you're on
Almond Flour Shortbread - use coconut oil or ghee if not eating butter yet
Italian Meatball Soup - use homemade bread crumbs, zucchini or spaghetti squash pasta - could use on Stage 1 if omit eggs and bread crumbs as binder
Butternut Squash Latkes - use GAPS legal fats for frying
Cauliflower Rice - use coconut oil, ghee or tallow for sautéing
You can now roast or grill your meats. Try not to eat the overly-browned or burnt bits.
You can also start to use dried herbs as well as fresh. You need to wait until Stage 5 for 'spices'. If you're making your own sausage you can use dried herbs (which will probably make it easier).
Begin to add cold-pressed olive oil to your meals. Start with a few drops per meal and increase until you have 1 to 2 tablespoons per meal. I'm thinking you can have mayonnaise now because you make it with olive oil.
Don't go crazy with the nut breads! Start slowly and gradually increase. There are many recipes out there for nut bread, GAPS bread, etc (see page 151 of the GAPS book for one). To start with it should be simple - nut flour, eggs, squash and some sort of natural fat. Save the 'spices' for Stage 5.
You should continue to eat fermented veggies and I've added recipes for a few that you might not have been eating in previous stages - who wants pickle juice in their soup??? But I sure want them in my egg salad!
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