Fine Herb Broth

Throw the following in the slow cooker overnight.  Strain, bottle, and freeze.

Thyme
Rosemary
Bay leaves
Roughly chopped shallots
Crushed garlic cloves
Sea salt
Pepper
Chicken bones

GAPS diet Roast Beef Sandwich Wrap

I love a roast beef sandwich.  While they doesn't make up for the lack of a nice nutty bread, these sushi-inspired wraps satiated my Sunday afternoon craving for a roast beef sandwich.

Dab some horseradish on some roast beef.  Add a slice of tomato, red onion, matchstick carrot...whatever, this just gets some color in.  Roll up with a slice of romaine and spear with a toothpick.  Throw some worster on the side for dipping.

Airplane friendly GAPS

So I've recently blogged about travelling on GAPS but I thought I'd dedicate a post to plane food - this was a quagmire for me, because I had two five hour flights over the dinner hour, and as yet have not found a good resource on GAPS food for a plane.  So here goes:

On the flight to my destination:

This is the easy part, because in theory you're food shopping in your home town and are thus perhaps more aware of where amenable food can be bought. 

Meal - Dry Chicken Salad

Grilled chicken breast, patted dry (sadly...all that fat gone) and grated parmesan  over a dry premade salad - green mix, cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, carrot matchsticks...you get the idea.  I picked up the salad at my local grocery store.  I was a bit nervous going through security with this, but I had no problem.

Snack - Cranberries and pumpkin seeds

Filling, sweet and nourishing.  Also, pumpkin seeds contain tryptophan, which, for me, is great on an evening flight.  Cranberries are purported to fight infection ...can't hurt right?

On the flight home from my destination

Meal - Salmon-do salad from a local restaurant

Salmon, greens, spring onions.  Hold the dressing and the rice.  

Snack

Local organic chocolate made with date sugar, coconut almond bar made with rice syrup (bad, I know), and a few complimentary apples from my hotel. 

Grilled chicken with creamed sundried tomato goat cheese

For when you're craving pasta...

Sometimes I crave the texture of pasta, sometimes I just want that olive oil, oregano, garlic, tomato italian taste.  As I write I'm dining on a delicious creation I came up with this evening.

Grilled chicken with creamed sundried tomato goat cheese

• Marinate a chicken breast in some oil from the sundried tomatoes and garlic overnight.  Grill the chicken in the marinade with some oregano, sea salt, and red wine vinegar. 
• Cream some goat cheese with more sundried tomato oil and oregano.  Mix in chopped sundried tomatoes.  
• Top chicken with creamed goat cheese and plate over some raw baby spinach.  Season to taste.

Travelling on GAPS

I'm planning two, possibly three, trips in the next few months, and I'm still going full swing on the GAPS protocol.  In a previous eating life, I read a very funny diet book that talked about the distinction between travelling for business, vacationing, and visiting.  I will be doing all three, and in all cases, travelling solo.  I'll talk about my plans for each trip on the blog, focusing on the travel part of the trip.  I'll talk about dining out on GAPS in another post.

I'll be on a five hour flight with colleagues to the west coast.  I was initially freaking out about what to eat...planning on winging into an airport restaurant, solo if necessary, as soon as we landed to get some dinner.   I decided against this however, thinking I would bring a series of snacks on the plane, nuts, seeds, fruits, etc.  I realized then that while this may leave me full it would not be terribly nourishing.  I needed a better source of protein. 

Finally I arrived upon the solution of buying a premade salad from the grocery store and topping it with grilled chicken.  I marinated the chicken in sundried tomato oil overnight (see next post) so despite having patted off the (liquid) grease it should be pretty flavorful, if somewhat dry.  I also picked up some organic pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries for a healthy snack.  It was a little expensive, but likely less expensive than plane food and/or airport food.  I hope my colleagues aren't jealous.  :)

As for the plane ride back, I have no idea as yet what I will do.  I usually look up a local grocery store or market when travelling, so hopefully I can pick something up that will suit.  I'll keep posting on the experience.

GAPS diet Valentine's treat - Strawberries with chocolate ganache

So this blog is GAPS for one, and whether it's clear from my posts or not, I'm single.  I can still enjoy a pretty dessert in the middle of February. 

Combine one part coconut milk, one part coconut oil, and one part honey with two parts melted butter.  Stir in cocoa powder to taste.  Drizzle over strawberries or use as a dip.

Why I stayed on the GAPS diet

I've never seen dietary changes have an impact so quickly.  I expected to have to follow GAPS for six months to a year to see results.  Within days of starting my arthritis pain was gone and my energy levels were soaring.  I could stay up till 10 or 11 o'clock, and be active in the early evening.  I could get out of bed in the morning.  Within three weeks of starting I had just about dropped a pants size and my acne was almost gone.

I should describe the rather strange experience I had with my thyroid.  Just days into the GAPS diet, just after going to bed, I felt a strange popping sensation in my throat, right where the thyroid is.  After the popping sensation I felt an intense wave of pain that subsided very quickly.  That was very close to when my symptoms started going away.  This has happened three or four times since,  when I cycle through the Intro diet, always just after I go to bed.  I have no idea what's going on when this happens.  My naturopath recommended detoxification of the thyroid using special drops (which I did not do).  I wonder if in fact my thyroid is detoxifying via GAPS.

This is a timely post because I've inexplicably had symptoms come flooding back today.  I couldn't focus at work, I have severe pain in the joints of my left arm and right knee, I'm exhausted, and I'm breaking out.  I'm thinking back for the last few days, trying to figure out if I've eaten something I shouldn't.  Here are my guesses:

-too much dairy (cheese and yogurt)
-not enough probiotic (I ran out of capsules and kefir.  I've been relying on yogurt.)
-two plates of thai food last thursday (gluten, grains, bad oils...)
-no broth for awhile
-too much cheese
-ate some kidney beans on the weekend (I'm not sure if they are legal...my guess is no.)

In short, too many foods that are just ok, and not enough that will help me heal.  Now that I've reminded myself of my initial experience, it's time to cycle through the Intro again.