Gut Healthy Meals!
The month of March at the clinic is all about gut healthy meals!
This is something we are obviously very passionate about and are very excited to share with you some of our favourite healing recipes GAPS style! So get ready to have your belly feeling fantastic!
Within the clinic we have our foundational gut healing foods that we recommend everyone to include into their diet, and yes you can get creative! Here are our favourite nutrient dense foods that will provide you the building blocks for you to repair and heal your gut.
1. Meat Stocks - Meat stocks (not bone broths) are the key to healing on GAPS. Meat stocks are what heals and seals ulcerations in a leaky gut lining by providing the building blocks for the rapidly growing cells of the gut lining
2. Natural Fats - When water is taken away from the body, our dry weight is
50% fat, and our brain is 60% fat. Fat is needed for the production of many neurotransmitters, hormones, and other substances within our body, making it very important for the structure and function of our bodies. Fats derived from animal products are the primary source of fat on GAPS, such as tallow, lard, dripping, duck fat, goose fat, butter and ghee. Raw coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil (freshly harvested within the last 12 months- think local) can also be used in cooking, whilst plant oils such as flaxseed oil, borage oil, evening primrose oil and avocado oil can be used raw and cold pressed.
3. Organ Meats - Organs are the most nutrient dense part of an animal, and ideally something we would be eating at least once per week. Organ meats are rich in folate, zinc, iron, B vitamins, and vitamin A just to name a few, and liver is the most nutrient dense organ meat. Many people with GAPS issues suffer from anaemia (low iron and/or B12 levels). These people will particularly benefit from regular consumption of liver.
4. Fermented Foods - Fermented foods contain enzymes to aid in the digestion of our food, plus most importantly, they are packed with good bacteria to help fight the 'bad' guys and restore our good bacteria. They each have their own specific benefits, for example kombucha is packed with amino acids and B vitamins, and kefir contains saccromyces boullardii (fantastic for yeast overgrowth).
5. Egg Yolks - Egg yolks are nature’s powerhouse when it comes to providing dense, easy to digest nutrition. Yolks contain essential amino acids and vitamins (B1, B2, B6, B12, A, D, choline & biotin) essential fatty acids, zinc, magnesium and other nutrients. B12 is essential in normal development of the nervous system and immunity, and something GAPS people are often deficient in. Choline provides the body with acetylcholine, a nutrient which is prescribed for learning difficulties and liver problems, two things that are commonly seen amongst GAPS conditions. The fact the yolks are a rich source of b vitamins including biotin (B7) and choline, makes them the perfect food for adrenal health due to their mechanism of calming the nervous system.
6. Cod Liver Oil - Cod liver oil is a fantastic source of omega 3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) and also contains high concentrations of Vitamin A and Vitamin D. It is valuable for its anti-inflammatory benefits, it is great for skin, hair and oral health, and for many people is the turning point in healing. Cod liver oil need only be supplemented for a short period when beginning the GAPS protocol. Use of cod liver oil is to just begin restoring some of the nutrients, which the diet will then provide. When supplementing on GAPS it is advised to follow the recommendations of a Certified GAPS Practitioner.
Let’s touch on meat stocks a little further as this is really where we like to start our clients on their gut healing journey. So why meat stocks and not bone broths?
Meat stocks are very different to bone broths. Meat stocks use bones with meat and connective tissue on them (think joints and marrow bones with gelatinous meat close to the bone). We need the amino acids from soft tissues in order to rebuild our own soft tissue, and over-cooking destroys these sensitive amino acids. When we have a new client who had only been making bones broths in the past switch to meat stocks, the difference is astounding.
Another benefit is that they are quicker to cook and taste much better! (in our opinion.) Meat stocks (depending on the cut of meat) cook for 1-4 hours, whereas bone broths need to cook for 12-24. The meat stocks are also lower in histamine which is often an issue GAPS clients tend to deal with at first, and easier to digest making them essentially directly absorbed into the body for supercharged healing!
Removal of inflammatory foods-
For people simply beginning their health journey or starting GAPS intro there will usually be an overlap of similarities within their daily meals. An obvious starting point would be to remove all inflammatory foods, examples of these are:
Grains + gluten (rye, barley, oats, wheat etc.)
GAPS protocols also doesn’t allow the consumption of pseudo grains and GF grains such as quinoa, rice, buckwheat etc. as these can be hard to digest on a damaged gut.
Industrial seed oils (canola/cotton seed oil, rice bran oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, soybean oil, safflower oil) These oils are devoid of any nutrients, dense in calories and incredibly inflammatory for the body as they oxidise very easily.
Processed Sugars and carbs (store bought breads, biscuits, cakes, dextrose, maltodextrin, glucose syrup, high fructose corn syrup, breakfast cereals, sodas and store bought juices - the list goes on and on!)
Alcohol should be avoided when actively healing the gut and limited when maintaining your gut health.
Starches when the gut is damaged can be inflammatory (potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, cereals)
Commercial refined dairy (store bought milk, sugary yoghurts and ice creams)
So what does a gut healing meal look like?
Your options may seem grim at first, but do not fear! There are plenty of delicious, nutritious meals to enjoy on your healing journey. Here are some ideas of what a day on full GAPS may look like!
Start your day with hydration -
Start your day with a glass of filtered water with a slice of lemon.
Then have a cup of freshly pressed juice or a GAPS milkshake.
A good juice to start the day will be apple/pineapples + carrot + small amount of beetroot (all raw of course and preferably organic). You can make all sorts of juice mixes, but generally try to have 50% of therapeutic ingredients: mostly carrot, small amount of beetroot (no more then 5% of the juice mixture), small amounts of celery, cabbage, lettuce, greens (spinach, parsley, dill, basil, fresh nettle leaves, beet tops, carrot tops), white and red cabbage, and 50% of some tasty ingredients to disguise the taste of therapeutic ingredients: pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, mango, etc. You can have these juices as they are or diluted with water.
Breakfast ideas -
A variation of English breakfast: eggs cooked to personal liking and served with sausages or meat & liver sausage. The yolks are best uncooked (runny) and the whites cooked.
ADD cooked vegetables or fresh vegetables as a salad (tomato, cucumber, onions, celery, and fresh salad greens, etc.) with avocado and/or meat AND plenty of fats as a dressing.
Pancakes made with ground nuts. These pancakes are delicious with some butter with honey, or as a savoury snack. If you blend some fresh or defrosted berries with honey, it will make a delicious jam to have with pancakes. Any other home baked GAPS goods: muffins and bread made with ground nuts instead of flour.
Homemade Baked Beans (depending on how far into Full GAPS you are)
Drink weak tea with lemon, ginger tea or mint tea and / or a cup of warm meat stock.
Lunch + dinner ideas-
Get creative - take any recipes you have and give them your own GAPS update!
Leftovers from Dinner for lunch.
Homemade vegetable soup / stew with meat and fermented foods.
Meat/Fish with Vegetables and fat (olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, tallow etc..)
Soups, stocks or slow cooked meals (based on stock).
Try adding pre-soaked or sprouted sunflower and/or sesame and/or pumpkin seeds to a salad.
Drink weak tea with lemon, ginger tea or mint tea and / or a cup of warm meat stock.
Snacks + dessert ideas (if you really feel the need to!)
GAPS baked food - cakes, pancakes, muffins & bread (use the simple formula of nut/seed meal with eggs & fats) to create sweet treats. If, for any reason, you do not tolerate ground almonds well, try to grind pecan nuts or walnuts and use them as flour in your baking.
Eat Ripe fruit, raw vegetables, nuts and seeds (just shelled, not roasted or salted).
You can make a guacamole to have as a dip with raw vegetables (carrot sticks, celery and cucumber sticks, rosettes of raw cauliflower and broccoli). You can use guacamole as a spread on your homemade bread and pancakes.
Have a GAPS milkshake or a cup of broth
A cup of yoghurt or kefir after dinner.
Russian custard can be used instead of cream on fruit or you can serve it on its own with some chopped nuts on the top or pieces of fruit.
Baked apple or other fruits with Russian custard/yoghurt/kefir.
GAPS bliss balls or GAPS ice-cream
And most importantly is it crucial to remember that consistency is what is really important when it comes to healing your gut health. Don’t put pressure or stress on yourself to achieve all of these things at once, gradually add in steps that are achievable and that you are able to stick to long term. This isn’t a fad diet and shouldn’t cause any extra stress!
This month (the 13th of March) we are also running another one of our 10 days to gut healing course! If you don’t know where to begin this is a perfect option for you. Learn how to make the most nutrient dense foods and how to get any picky eaters in your family to eat them too! Head to the link below to register.
Join us on a gut healing journey this month!
Are you needing that loving kickstart on your health journey…
Learn how to make the most gut healing food on the planet, as well as how to get your family to eat it!!
If you feel like you are ready to start your GAPS journey, feel free to book a free 20 minute consultation with one of our experienced practitioners here.