Breakfast
Smoothie, Meat and Veggie Sausages, fruit, nuts
(Full for smoothie, Stage 5 for sausages unless using only salt & pepper, Stage 5/6 for fruit, Full for nuts)
Today's smoothie had bananas, strawberries, blueberries, coconut oil, flax seed oil, raw egg yolks, prunes, a drizzle of honey and YOGURT. Our first day trying yogurt, fermented 24 hours in my dehydrator.
Lunch
Meatballs, pumpkin pie carrots, sauerkraut, kimchi, more Meat and Veggie Sausages
(Stage 1 for meatballs, Stage 5 for pumpkin pie carrots, Stage 3 for sauerkraut and kimchi)
Instead of meatballs or meat patties, I made mini-meat patties. Basically a meatball flattened. They liked this variation in size even though it was the same taste they had yesterday.
Lunch Part II
Lara Balls, smoothie, fruit
(Full for Lara Balls and smoothie, Stage 5/6 for fruit)
Dinner
Chicken Stir Fry, kimchi
(Stage 4 for stir fry, Stage 3 for kimchi)
The stir fry had broccoli, carrots and yellow squash. Normally I would "fry"it in broth until the veggies were soft, but I was out so I used water.
The boys have turned into kimchi monsters. They love it and keep asking for it, saying "My body just really craves it." Even the 7-year-old got in on the fun and ate a small helping then ran around the table yelling that his mouth was on fire. And then sat down and ate more. Kids are weird.
Reactions:
No pukes today. No complaints of hurting stomachs. Fairly normal day for everyone.
Thoughts:
I need to keep a constant supply of ferments going in the pantry because we're going through them faster than I anticipated. And I never really expected my boys to like them...but they do!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Day 24
Breakfast
Eggs, Meat and Veggie Sausages, Smoothie, Juice
(Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 5 for Meat and Veggie Sausages unless using only salt and pepper, Full for smoothies)
Lunch
Meatballs, Peas, sauerkraut
(Stage 1 for meatballs, Stage 1 for peas, Stage 3 for sauerkraut)
Today's meatballs had one onion, 4 cloves garlic, a giant carrot, a handful of parsley and a monster leaf of nearly indestructible kale.
Dinner
Mexican Chicken Soup, avocado, olive oil (drizzled in the soup), cilantro, sauerkraut, watermelon
(Stage 1 for soup w/out extras, Stage 3 avocado, sauerkraut, cilantro & olive oil, Full for watermelon)
The soup was lovely with all the add-ins. And yes, we put sauerkraut in the soup and it was GREAT.
Reactions:
I woke up to find my 5-year-old sprawled in the floor, dry heaving. I got him to the bathroom and he emptied his stomach. He immediately asked for food, which I gave him as I suspected it was "diet" related and not stomach bug. He ate a heaping plate of scrambled eggs, a peach, an apple and then got up and played all day. We let him eat all day long and he was fine. Most likely it was another dip in blood sugar. Or that he hadn't eaten well the day before. My husband and I are currently discussing what we can do to avoid this and to make sure this child doesn't develop digestion/food issues that he didn't have before we started GAPS.
In other news, we have some mildly constipated kids and the darn eczema just isn't budging. He told me that it's so bad now that he can't lay his legs on the sheets at night without it hurting. Diet? Laundry soap? Fabric? It's a puzzle I can't seem to solve.
Thoughts:
I'm still brainstorming on snacks...trying to find healthy, inexpensive snacks that don't take a ton of prep work. It's discouraging to spend an hour in the kitchen making a "batch" of snacks and watch them eat it all in one sitting! We've pretty much lifted the fruit ban and are letting them eat it when they want, as snacks, with meals, whenever. Their morale has improved a lot and I think they feel more relaxed knowing that they have instant access to food if they are hungry instead of me saying, "Just give me 30 minutes or so and I'll have a snack ready."
Eggs, Meat and Veggie Sausages, Smoothie, Juice
(Stage 2/3 for eggs, Stage 5 for Meat and Veggie Sausages unless using only salt and pepper, Full for smoothies)
Lunch
Meatballs, Peas, sauerkraut
(Stage 1 for meatballs, Stage 1 for peas, Stage 3 for sauerkraut)
Today's meatballs had one onion, 4 cloves garlic, a giant carrot, a handful of parsley and a monster leaf of nearly indestructible kale.
Dinner
Mexican Chicken Soup, avocado, olive oil (drizzled in the soup), cilantro, sauerkraut, watermelon
(Stage 1 for soup w/out extras, Stage 3 avocado, sauerkraut, cilantro & olive oil, Full for watermelon)
The soup was lovely with all the add-ins. And yes, we put sauerkraut in the soup and it was GREAT.
Reactions:
I woke up to find my 5-year-old sprawled in the floor, dry heaving. I got him to the bathroom and he emptied his stomach. He immediately asked for food, which I gave him as I suspected it was "diet" related and not stomach bug. He ate a heaping plate of scrambled eggs, a peach, an apple and then got up and played all day. We let him eat all day long and he was fine. Most likely it was another dip in blood sugar. Or that he hadn't eaten well the day before. My husband and I are currently discussing what we can do to avoid this and to make sure this child doesn't develop digestion/food issues that he didn't have before we started GAPS.
In other news, we have some mildly constipated kids and the darn eczema just isn't budging. He told me that it's so bad now that he can't lay his legs on the sheets at night without it hurting. Diet? Laundry soap? Fabric? It's a puzzle I can't seem to solve.
Thoughts:
I'm still brainstorming on snacks...trying to find healthy, inexpensive snacks that don't take a ton of prep work. It's discouraging to spend an hour in the kitchen making a "batch" of snacks and watch them eat it all in one sitting! We've pretty much lifted the fruit ban and are letting them eat it when they want, as snacks, with meals, whenever. Their morale has improved a lot and I think they feel more relaxed knowing that they have instant access to food if they are hungry instead of me saying, "Just give me 30 minutes or so and I'll have a snack ready."
Kimchi
I made our first batch and it finished fermenting today so we tried it for lunch. Talk about hot and spicy! One of my sons (11-yr-old) said "It feels like some of the hot salsa we used to eat at restaurants". Another son (10-yr-old) tried a bit then pushed it away, only to ask for the jar a few minutes later saying, "I'm starting to really crave it." They both ate 2 helpings! So did I. My mouth is still watering just thinking about it.
The next time I make it I'll cut the amount of peppers because it was just a tad too hot, even though we ate it happily. I used the recipe from Home, Health and Happiness, and would also like to try this version once I find the right kind of pepper powder and figure out how to make fish sauce.
1 Napa cabbage, washed and sliced thinly
1 bunch green onions, sliced (use both green and white parts)
3 carrots, grated
1 bunch radishes (didn't have, but would like to try it next time)
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 chili peppers (I used serrano and they were HOT...need to decrease the amount or switch peppers)
4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. whey per mason jar
Mix it all together and pound for about 10 minutes to release the juices. I prefer to stir it around with a big wooden spoon or my hands for a minute or two then let it sit for an hour or so. Then come back and stir/squish with my hands and let it sit again. After two or three times there is a lot of liquid at the bottom of the bowl and my hands aren't sore! Pack it tightly into the jars and add the whey on top. You want the vegetables to be submerged in their own juices...add some water if need be but leave at least an inch at the top. Cover with a clean cloth or loose lid and allow to ferment at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. You can taste it periodically to see when it reaches the flavor you like or when there are lots of bubbles up at the top and in the liquid on the sides. Transfer to the fridge or cold storage. It will last for several months, unopened. Once you open it, use within a week or so.
This made about one quart, but I put it in two one-quart jars as it's easier for me to work with and then we're only opening one smaller amount at a time so it won't go bad.
The juice for this can be used in Stage 1. In Stage 3 you can start eating the vegetables.
The next time I make it I'll cut the amount of peppers because it was just a tad too hot, even though we ate it happily. I used the recipe from Home, Health and Happiness, and would also like to try this version once I find the right kind of pepper powder and figure out how to make fish sauce.
1 Napa cabbage, washed and sliced thinly
1 bunch green onions, sliced (use both green and white parts)
3 carrots, grated
1 bunch radishes (didn't have, but would like to try it next time)
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 chili peppers (I used serrano and they were HOT...need to decrease the amount or switch peppers)
4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. whey per mason jar
Mix it all together and pound for about 10 minutes to release the juices. I prefer to stir it around with a big wooden spoon or my hands for a minute or two then let it sit for an hour or so. Then come back and stir/squish with my hands and let it sit again. After two or three times there is a lot of liquid at the bottom of the bowl and my hands aren't sore! Pack it tightly into the jars and add the whey on top. You want the vegetables to be submerged in their own juices...add some water if need be but leave at least an inch at the top. Cover with a clean cloth or loose lid and allow to ferment at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. You can taste it periodically to see when it reaches the flavor you like or when there are lots of bubbles up at the top and in the liquid on the sides. Transfer to the fridge or cold storage. It will last for several months, unopened. Once you open it, use within a week or so.
This made about one quart, but I put it in two one-quart jars as it's easier for me to work with and then we're only opening one smaller amount at a time so it won't go bad.
The juice for this can be used in Stage 1. In Stage 3 you can start eating the vegetables.
Cortido
This is a Latin American version of sauerkraut...kind of. We love the taste and even my kids will eat it.
1 head cabbage - green or red, or half of each
2 onions, white or yellow - thinly sliced
3 carrots, grated
1 tbsp. dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. sea salt
1/4 c. whey OR an additional 1 tbsp. sea salt
Wash all the veggies as needed. Cut and core cabbage then thinly slice or coarsely chop. Place in a large bowl and add other ingredients. Some directions say to pound/squeeze/smash for about 10 minutes. I've had best results by spending a minute or two squeezing/stirring with my hands, then letting it sit for an hour or so. Squish/squeeze/stir with clean hands again for one to two minutes, then let sit another hour or two. Repeat as many times as necessary until you have a nice puddle of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Pack the cortido into clean quart or other sized glass jars. Push it down hard. Leave at least an inch at the top. You want the vegetables submerged so add water if the veggie liquid isn't enough. Cover with a clean cloth or a loose lid and let ferment in a warm (think cupboard or basement shelf) for 3 days. You'll start to see bubbles and the liquid may rise up (or spill over). Taste every day or so until it reaches the taste you want. Once done, transfer to the fridge (or cold storage) where it will last several months. Once it's opened and you're digging into it every day, it's best to use within a week or so.
This makes between one and two quarts - it depends on how big your cabbage and carrots are. The juice can be used starting in Stage 1 and the vegetables can be eaten in Stage 3.
1 head cabbage - green or red, or half of each
2 onions, white or yellow - thinly sliced
3 carrots, grated
1 tbsp. dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. sea salt
1/4 c. whey OR an additional 1 tbsp. sea salt
Wash all the veggies as needed. Cut and core cabbage then thinly slice or coarsely chop. Place in a large bowl and add other ingredients. Some directions say to pound/squeeze/smash for about 10 minutes. I've had best results by spending a minute or two squeezing/stirring with my hands, then letting it sit for an hour or so. Squish/squeeze/stir with clean hands again for one to two minutes, then let sit another hour or two. Repeat as many times as necessary until you have a nice puddle of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. Pack the cortido into clean quart or other sized glass jars. Push it down hard. Leave at least an inch at the top. You want the vegetables submerged so add water if the veggie liquid isn't enough. Cover with a clean cloth or a loose lid and let ferment in a warm (think cupboard or basement shelf) for 3 days. You'll start to see bubbles and the liquid may rise up (or spill over). Taste every day or so until it reaches the taste you want. Once done, transfer to the fridge (or cold storage) where it will last several months. Once it's opened and you're digging into it every day, it's best to use within a week or so.
This makes between one and two quarts - it depends on how big your cabbage and carrots are. The juice can be used starting in Stage 1 and the vegetables can be eaten in Stage 3.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Roll-Ups
This recipe comes from Keeper of the Home. I made it exactly as listed.
12 eggs (oh the pain...oh the cost...)
4 tbsp. coconut flour
1/8 tsp. sea salt
coconut oil or tallow for cooking
Blend the heck out of the eggs, flour and salt. Use an immersion blender or a blender as coconut flour needs help playing nicely with the other ingredients. Let it sit a few minutes then blend it again. Heat your skillet/griddle and melt a small amount of coconut oil or tallow. Add a small amount of the batter and cook until the edges are dryish. Flip and cook a minute or to longer.
These darn rolls were not uniformly lovely. They came out all different weird shapes. They were a little dry and tasted "eggy" according to one kid. They held together without ripping and worked just fine for what I needed them to. It made 15 or so oddly-shaped rolls.
We used these for tuna rolls. You could also use chicken, eggs (yes more eggs!), fruit, veggies (raw or cooked), etc.
This is Full recipe due to the coconut flour.
12 eggs (oh the pain...oh the cost...)
4 tbsp. coconut flour
1/8 tsp. sea salt
coconut oil or tallow for cooking
Blend the heck out of the eggs, flour and salt. Use an immersion blender or a blender as coconut flour needs help playing nicely with the other ingredients. Let it sit a few minutes then blend it again. Heat your skillet/griddle and melt a small amount of coconut oil or tallow. Add a small amount of the batter and cook until the edges are dryish. Flip and cook a minute or to longer.
These darn rolls were not uniformly lovely. They came out all different weird shapes. They were a little dry and tasted "eggy" according to one kid. They held together without ripping and worked just fine for what I needed them to. It made 15 or so oddly-shaped rolls.
We used these for tuna rolls. You could also use chicken, eggs (yes more eggs!), fruit, veggies (raw or cooked), etc.
This is Full recipe due to the coconut flour.
Honey Mustard Chicken
Chicken - enough to feed your family
mustard
honey
ghee (optional)
salt
In a small bowl I mixed about 2 or 3 tsp. of mustard, a few spoonfuls of honey and a big spoonful of ghee. Drizzled over the chicken (in a 13x9) pan and baked at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. It was a little bland and needed salt desperately. The kids snarfed it down though so it's a recipe I'll tinker with in the future. Most likely I'll just salt it before adding the honey/mustard mixture.
This is good served with a green veggies (peas, green beans, zucchini, etc) and an orange veggie (carrots, squash, etc). Also good with avocado (drizzled with olive oil) and a fermented food like sauerkraut or cortido.
This is a Stage 5 recipe because of the mustard. Some people will want to wait until Full for honey.
mustard
honey
ghee (optional)
salt
In a small bowl I mixed about 2 or 3 tsp. of mustard, a few spoonfuls of honey and a big spoonful of ghee. Drizzled over the chicken (in a 13x9) pan and baked at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. It was a little bland and needed salt desperately. The kids snarfed it down though so it's a recipe I'll tinker with in the future. Most likely I'll just salt it before adding the honey/mustard mixture.
This is good served with a green veggies (peas, green beans, zucchini, etc) and an orange veggie (carrots, squash, etc). Also good with avocado (drizzled with olive oil) and a fermented food like sauerkraut or cortido.
This is a Stage 5 recipe because of the mustard. Some people will want to wait until Full for honey.
Day 23
We're just going to pretend that Day 22 didn't happen. It was a Murphy's Law day and pretty much everything I made didn't work, didn't taste good, had blenders fall apart in it and other such awful things. I even called my husband and told him to pick up pizza and then cried and told him not to.
So, for Day 23....
Breakfast
Smoothie, Apple Pie Lara Balls, fruit
(Full for smoothie and Lara Balls)
The kids found out that I put raw egg yolks in their smoothies today. The 7-year-old politely requested that he have a smoothie without egg yolks. I told him he'd been drinking them for the past 2 weeks so he "manned up" and drank his cup. Then had another!
We're adding fruit (fresh or frozen), whey, coconut oil, raw egg yolks, flax seed oil and water to the smoothies.
Lunch
Tuna roll-ups, sauerkraut
(Full for the "rolls", Stage 3/4 for tuna w/mayo, Stage 3 for sauerkraut)
These darn rolls were not uniformly lovely. They came out all different weird shapes. They were a little dry and tasted "eggy" according to one kid. They held together without ripping and worked just fine for what I needed them to.
I mixed some tuna with homemade mayo (I'm not posting the recipe until it's perfected). Some of us added sauerkraut to the roll. I added some diced raw onion and celery to mine as well.
Dinner
Honey Mustard chicken, green beans, raw carrots, avocado, sauerkraut, olive oil
(Stage 5 for chicken unless waiting until Full for honey, Stage 1 for green beans, Stage 6 for raw carrots, Stage 3 for avocado, sauerkraut and olive oil)
In a small bowl I mixed about 2 or 3 tsp. of mustard, a few spoonfuls of honey and a big spoonful of ghee. Drizzled over the chicken (in a 13x9) pan and baked at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. It was a little bland and needed salt desperately. The kids snarfed it down though so it's a recipe I'll tinker with in the future.
Reactions:
We're having some constipation issues with some of the kids...and me. I gave them some of our old probiotics (with some GAPS illegal ingredients) and they pooped sometime that day. 5-year-old is complaining that his stomach hurts, all day. I had a MASSIVE headache as did the 11-yr-old. Maybe we didn't eat enough for lunch? The two oldest and I were out 'school' shopping until almost 3 and then ate lunch.
Thoughts:
I need to do better about having portable snacks for when a meal will be late. I also need to find a child friendly probiotic that isn't uber expensive and still GAPS legal (or mostly). Chewable or powder works best since 3 of them can't swallow pills!
So, for Day 23....
Breakfast
Smoothie, Apple Pie Lara Balls, fruit
(Full for smoothie and Lara Balls)
The kids found out that I put raw egg yolks in their smoothies today. The 7-year-old politely requested that he have a smoothie without egg yolks. I told him he'd been drinking them for the past 2 weeks so he "manned up" and drank his cup. Then had another!
We're adding fruit (fresh or frozen), whey, coconut oil, raw egg yolks, flax seed oil and water to the smoothies.
Lunch
Tuna roll-ups, sauerkraut
(Full for the "rolls", Stage 3/4 for tuna w/mayo, Stage 3 for sauerkraut)
These darn rolls were not uniformly lovely. They came out all different weird shapes. They were a little dry and tasted "eggy" according to one kid. They held together without ripping and worked just fine for what I needed them to.
I mixed some tuna with homemade mayo (I'm not posting the recipe until it's perfected). Some of us added sauerkraut to the roll. I added some diced raw onion and celery to mine as well.
Dinner
Honey Mustard chicken, green beans, raw carrots, avocado, sauerkraut, olive oil
(Stage 5 for chicken unless waiting until Full for honey, Stage 1 for green beans, Stage 6 for raw carrots, Stage 3 for avocado, sauerkraut and olive oil)
In a small bowl I mixed about 2 or 3 tsp. of mustard, a few spoonfuls of honey and a big spoonful of ghee. Drizzled over the chicken (in a 13x9) pan and baked at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. It was a little bland and needed salt desperately. The kids snarfed it down though so it's a recipe I'll tinker with in the future.
Reactions:
We're having some constipation issues with some of the kids...and me. I gave them some of our old probiotics (with some GAPS illegal ingredients) and they pooped sometime that day. 5-year-old is complaining that his stomach hurts, all day. I had a MASSIVE headache as did the 11-yr-old. Maybe we didn't eat enough for lunch? The two oldest and I were out 'school' shopping until almost 3 and then ate lunch.
Thoughts:
I need to do better about having portable snacks for when a meal will be late. I also need to find a child friendly probiotic that isn't uber expensive and still GAPS legal (or mostly). Chewable or powder works best since 3 of them can't swallow pills!
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