Meal Ideas - Breakfast

I have made the personal choice to not bake for breakfast.  I find, that if I do so, breakfast will take an hour or more to prepare, eat and clean up after.  As a homeschooling family I prefer our days to start more quickly than that!  So, the most time I plan on spending for breakfast is cooking eggs.  If we include baked goods like breads, energy bars and such it will because I made them at a different time.


I have many great "breakfast" ideas listed under Snacks and Lunch in case you want to spend more time on your morning meal.


As I find new recipes I will be adding to the list.  And as we try each of these recipes I will post reviews as well as any modifications we made.


Fruit & smoothies - good add-ins include coconut oil, raw egg yolks, flax seed oil, yogurt, kefir

Yogurt - homemade 24-hour fermented

Juice - freshly pressed

Granola or this or this - there are many variations of grain-free granola if you care to search

Milkshakes 

Cashew vanilla banana shake - vanilla may or may not be legal on GAPS

Pumpkin coconut smoothie - vanilla may or may not be legal on GAPS 

Russian custard – alone or with fruit

Any leftover baked good

Fruit cereal - various fruits cut up into bite-sized pieces, served with Russian Custard or nut milk

Eggs of any sort
Paleo fruit crumble - no stevia, no arrowroot
Raw butternut squash cookies - honey only to sweeten
Granola bars....maybe chunk it for "cereal"


All of these recipes can be eaten on the Full Stage.  Some of them can be eaten in earlier Stages as well.

Meal Ideas - Soup

All of these soups are appropriate for Full GAPS.  Some of them will require modifications, but I've tried to list what those changes would be.  Not all soups are Stage 1 legal so please look through the ingredients to determine which Stage you could add it.  I have a recipe index for each of the Stages which lists the various recipes (and soups) which would be appropriate, if you need help.

I have not made all these soups yet.  As I make a recipe I will post a review with any modifications I made.

Please let me know if you have any recipes to add.  You can never have too many soup recipes for GAPS!!!

Thai Coconut Soup or this - homemade coconut milk & fish sauce, honey instead of agave, no grapeseed oil for sautéing
Thai Lemongrass Soup
Lentil Soup - you can modify any lentil soup recipe
Kale and Veggie Soup
Curried Lentil Soup
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Tuscan Wedding Soup - GAPS legal beans, homemade breadcrumbs, sub broth for wine
Easy Chicken "Noodle" Soup

Chicken Coconut Soup or this - use homemade coconut milk, honey instead of agave

Thai Vegetable Soup - use GAPS legal fat for cooking onions, homemade broth (chicken would work best), homemade coconut milk

Butternut Squash Soup 

Carrot Ginger Soup 

Meatball Veggie soup (GAPS book)

Broccoli and Garlic Soup 

Chicken noodle soup   

Pink Soup 

Fish Soup (GAPS book)

Egg Drop Soup

Roasted Eggplant Soup - use a healthy fat instead of vegetable oil

Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Soup

Creamy Chicken Peanut Soup - use homemade broth, ghee/butter instead of margarine

Nigerian Peanut Soup - homemade peanut butter 

Meatball Soup with Greens - not sure on psyllium husks

Albondigas Soup - homemade broth, no potatoes (add other veggies instead)

Albondigas Soup - use broth instead of water, homemade salsa, GAPS fat instead of olive oil 

Albondigas Soup

Cabbage Soup - use 2 quart chicken broth instead of water and bouillon, use GAPS fat for sautéing

Zucchini Avocado Soup 

Roasted Carrot Soup 

Pumpkin Sausage Soup 

Shredded Beef Soup with Kimchi

Easy Intro Beef Soup

Beef Soup with Squash

Italian Meatball Soup - use homemade bread crumbs, zucchini or spaghetti squash pasta

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup - don't discard fat, honey instead of sugar, GAPS fat instead of vegetable oil

Borscht - omit the sugar

Olive Garden Soup (with cauliflower instead of potatoes)

Hamburger soup
Ground beef soup

Full GAPS - Recipe Index

Here are some recipes that will work for Full.  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 all the Stages can still be used.

Thai Coconut Soup or this (RFA) - homemade coconut milk & fish sauce, honey instead of agave, no grapeseed oil for sautéing

Thai Lemongrass Soup (RFA)

Minestrone Soup (RFA) - you could take any minestrone recipe & adapt to GAPS

Lentil Soup (RFA) - as w/above, you can modify any lentil soup recipe

White Bean Chicken Chili (RFA)

Coconut flour pancakes  or these (RFA)

Coconut flour blueberry muffins (RFA) - baking soda is not allowed, try baking w/out

Coconut Flour Waffles  or these or these (RFA)

Easy Eggs Benedict (RFA)

Grain-free Granola or this (RFA) - there are a lot of grain-free granola recipes if you search

Chinese Orange Chicken (RFA)

Chicken Nuggets - any recipe you like can now be baked or fried w/nut or coconut flour

Sweet or Savory Roll-ups

Soaked nuts and seeds   

Grain-free crackers or these

Sprouted lentil burgers 

Banana Nut muffins or these - omit baking soda and stevia

Peanut Butter Brownies

Milkshakes  

Zucchini lasagna or try egg noodles

Salmon patties  

Chicken pancakes - could try in an earlier Stage if you used squash, not bananas 

Crunchy Coconut crackers 

Lara Nut Bars - there are many variations of these 

Welsh Cakes 

Kale and Veggie Soup – with beans now 

Butternut Chili - w/GAPS friendly beans 

Cashew Vanilla Banana Shake 

Chili  

Spanish Carrot Stew 

Sesame Honey Candy  

Navy Bean Squash Stew  

Indian flatbread 

Hamburger/Hot Dog buns - use honey if you want to sweeten, not stevia

Banana fritters  - homemade coconut milk, honey not stevia

Thai Custard pudding - use homemade coconut milk, honey for the sweetener

Honey Bread - do not use baking powder or stevia, vanilla may or may not be legal?

Curried Lentil Soup  

Sandwich Bread – could be used in Stage 4 if  you are using yogurt 

Peanut Butter Fudge  

Cheese sauce/crackers 

Pecan-glazed butternut squash pudding  

Lentil Stew with Greens 

Hungarian Mushroom Soup  

Fried Fish and Tartar Sauce or this - use only GAPS legal fats for frying

Bread 

Rhubarb Clafoutis 

Crockpot Chicken Curry - use homemade coconut milk
Raw butternut squash cookies - only honey to sweeten

Raw carrot cake
Raw granola or granola bars
Blueberry muffin cake - no baking soda

Shepherd's pie - use cauliflower instead of potatoes
Caveman Carrot Cookies - use coconut oil for baking
Caveman Apple Cookies - use coconut oil for baking
Primal Peach Patties - use coconut oil for baking
Primal Enchiladas - make your own fermented salsa and sour cream
Banana Nut Bites - use soaked and dried nuts
Peanut Butter Ice Box Truffles - use soaked and dried nuts
Granola bars.
Fauxato Skins - can use lots of other toppings and dips
Chocolate Cake
Vegetable Pancakes - omit baking powder
Veggie Egg Nests - could use at Stage 4 if don't use coconut flour
Primal tortillas/tostadas - omit baking powder, use healthy fat for recipe and for frying (not olive oil)
Breakfast in a Muffin
Tuscan Wedding Soup - GAPS legal beans, homemade breadcrumbs, sub broth for wine
Banana Ice Cream
Lima Bean Hummus
Pumpkin Seed Bread
Sesame Seed Crackers
Banana Caramel Sticky Buns
Cinnamon Cupcakes
Spinach Meatballs - could boil these in Stage 1 and bake in Stage 4 - cheese only in Full
Protein Bars - use honey, skip the chocolate
Bran Muffins - omit baking soda
Carrot Banana Muffins - omit baking soda
Cinnamon Bun Muffins - use honey instead of agave, use coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil, omit baking soda
"Wheat" Thins - use coconut oil for grapeseed oil, sub honey for agave
Multi "Grain" Crackers - sub coconut oil/tallow for shortening - soak and dehydrate all nuts and seeds beforehand
Chicken Coconut Soup - use homemade coconut milk, honey instead of agave
Thai Vegetable Soup - use GAPS legal fat for cooking onions, homemade broth (chicken would work best), homemade coconut milk
Thai Chicken Wraps
Nutty Cookies - omit baking soda
Baked Breaded Chicken

You can now eat all GAPS legal foods, but go slowly in introducing them.

Keep drinking broth and eating soups.

I haven't been able to find if vanilla is legal or not.  If anyone can site a reference for me, please let me know!

A word about coconut flour.  I know a lot of GAPS people use coconut flour often, but it's not specifically listed (dried coconut is on the list).  The only information I can find was from Gaps Guide online which reads "Caution: Coconut flour, a post-intro food, is extremely fibrous and suitable only for those who’ve experienced sufficient healing." 

I have a similar problem with coconut oil.  It's listed as approved and Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride talks about it frequently, but there are no guidelines as to when to bring it into the diet.

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.

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

Banana crepes

Summer Chowder  

Pumpkin Coconut Smoothie

Squash mini muffins 

Blueberry muffins – could make muffins without berries in earlier stages 

Banana muffins - 

San Antonio Tacos 

Jam 

Pancake Bread  

Hamburgers 

Nut Butter Bread

Thai Cucumber Noodles

Tacos (in lettuce leaves) 

Cucumber Mango Salsa  

Banana pancakes 

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

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 

Beef Sausage 

Meat and Veggie "Sausages" 

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 

Pumpkin pie carrots 

Taco Salad – serve this towards the end of 5, after you've had raw lettuce and cucumber for a while 

Cilantro Lime Chicken 

Pumpkin bars 

Apple cobbler 

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 

Mexican Caprese Salad
Zucchini Noodle Chicken Salad

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

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!

Stage 3 - Recipe Index

Here are some recipes that will work for Stage 3.  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 recipes from Stages 1 and 2  can still be eaten at Stage 3.

Butternut Squash Pancakes (HHH, RFA) - no spices added 

Fried eggs w/runny yolks 

Poached eggs 

Scrambled eggs with lots of ghee.  Add avocado if tolerated.

Sausage and Egg Scramble (RFA) -  sausage must be made w/fresh herbs only

Chunky Chicken Soup (HHH) 

Kale and Veggie Soup – no beans until Full

Ground Chicken Patties  

Fluffy pancakes - need to use homemade nut butter from nuts that have been soaked and then dried, no spices

Eggplant casserole  -no mushrooms until Full, meat needs to be boiled? 

Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Soup
Butternut Squash Risotto
Almond flour tortillas - not sure on flax seeds
Turkey meatballs  - use zucchini noodles, honey instead of agave, use fish sauce 
Creamy Chicken Peanut Soup - leave out coconut milk until Full, use homemade broth, ghee instead of margarine...only use cream when you've reached that stage of dairy
Nigerian Peanut Soup - homemade peanut butter 
Meatballs w/Indian Spiced Yogurt - only use the yogurt if you've reached that stage, otherwise just have the meatballs
Meatball Soup with Greens - not sure on psyllium husks - no cheese until Full
Fermented Carrots and Daikon Radish
Pickles
Kimchi
Albondigas Soup - homemade broth, no potatoes (add other veggies instead)
Cabbage Soup - use 2 quart chicken broth instead of water and bouillon, use GAPS fat for sautéing
Zucchini Avocado Soup - can eat in Stage 1 if omit the avocado
Easy Chicken "Noodle" Soup - can eat in Stage 1 & 2 if omit celery
Beefy Squash Bake

One of my favorite ways to eat eggs is to cook up onions until they are very soft (with ghee or butter when tolerated), then crack some eggs on top and cook until the whites are firm, but the yolks are runny.  I slide it out of the pan and it's a sort of onion pancake with a creamy egg sauce on top.  You could add other veggies to the onions - squash, carrots, etc.

You can now eat the fermented veggies.  Eat them on the side or in the soup or on top of your meal.  As always, start small and increase to 1 to 4 teaspoons with every meal.  

Start adding ripe avocado, mashed, into your soups.  Start with 1 to 3 tsp. a day and work your way up.

Make pancakes!  The GAPS book explains how on page 150, and there are several versions online.  They will be made with eggs, nut butter and squash.  Fry them in ghee or some other healthy animal fat.  Start with one a day and gradually increase.

You can now add celery and a few other things to your soups/meals so be sure to check the list for foods allowed on Stage 3.

Stage 2 - Recipe Index

Here are some recipes that will work for Stage 2.  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 recipes from Stage 1 can still be used.


Fermented Fish Sauce (RFA)

Egg Drop Soup (HHH)

Spaghetti squash hashbrowns  

Fauxtatoes  

Swedish Gravlax (RFA, GAPS book)

Fermented fish (GAPS book)

You can now use fresh herbs in your recipes.

You are also adding a raw egg yolk to the soups.  Start with one per day (either a spoonful or two or the whole yolk, depends on your sensitivity) and move up to one in each bowl of soup.  Once the yolks are well-tolerated (and after you've checked for sensitivity to egg whites) you can have soft-boiled eggs.  This sounds like a lovely way to eat them.

Use ghee!  Start with 1 tsp. a day and gradually increase.  

Make a casserole - there is a good description of how to do this in the GAPS book, page 186 (revised edition). 

Stage 1 - Recipe Index

Here are some recipes that will work for Stage 1.  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.

Aside from the following, I'm sure I'll be throwing together all sorts of random soups, just making it up as I go.  Please let me know if you have any recipes or ideas to contribute to this stage.

Butternut Squash Soup (RFA, HHH) – no butter, no cream, no spices

Carrot Ginger Soup (RFA) - no butter/ghee, not sure on lemon zest, no cream

Chicken Soup (RFA) - no celery 

Kimchi – (RFA, HHH) as juice only 

Sauerkraut – (RFA, HHH) as juice only 

Cortido – (RFA, HHH) as juice only

Beet Kvass – as juice only

Meat Patties or Meatballs (HHH, GAPS book) - only salt & pepper, no binder, just meat or veggies

Summer Squash Soup (HHH)

Carrot Soup with Squash (HHH)

Meatball Veggie soup (GAPS book)

Broccoli and Garlic Soup 

Chicken noodle soup (no celery)  

Fermented beets – juice only 

Pink Soup - no celery, parsley or mustard powder
Fish Soup (GAPS book)
Roasted Eggplant Soup - use a healthy fat instead of vegetable oil, no cream or cheese
Ground Beef Soup

Here is another idea for serving food during Stage 1 that does not involve soup.