Organic & Thrifty

Well, the past 2 weeks have been a total paradigm shift for me and my cooking, but since I posted a few weeks ago that I felt “God was leading us to Gaps” I have felt totally confirmed in that! It’s so hard to believe that I was so blind to what I needed to be doing for my family for so long. I’m not going to be hard on myself, but gerr. I think it was the lazy factor that kept me from delving into this sooner. It’s not an easy diet.

A quote from _Breaking the Viscious Cycle_by Elaine Gottschall:

“The strictness of this diet cannot be overemphasized nor should the difficulty
of adhering to it be minimized. Faithful observance requires intelligence and
vigilance on the part of those taking care of the individual or on the part of
the person who cooks for himself or herself. It is surprising how many times a
child will manage, despite the best supervision, to get hold of forbidden food.
It is equally surprising how may parents will decide, despite all warnings, that
“just a taste” of ice cream, cookie, or candy will do no harm. Such
infringements will seriously delay recovery and it is unwise to underake this
regimen unless you are willing to follow it with fanatical adherence.” Consider an infringement the ‘miracle grow’ of pathogenic gut bacteria.

This couldn’t be more true for us! I know people around me must think I’m crazy for what I’m putting my daughter through. I can’t even let her eat and apple right now! But I’ve totally noticed that when we keep to the diet, things are good, and if we slip up (like last week I gave her a banana) and all hell broke loose; literally!

My family have been such troopers. And they haven’t exactly been deprived. We’ve been feasting on delicious soups and roasts and tons of fresh veggies sauteed in butter and coconut oil.

It was so sweet to see how excited my two kids were that they could eat unlimited “zucchini chips”. I made these using my dehydrator and I marinated the zukes with a fresh herb vinaigrette I’d made from thyme, rosemary, and chives growing in my garden. I got this awesome Herb N Serve

for my birthday which I used to make the marinade! Anyway, after baking the chips in the oven until crispy, I transferred them into my dehydrator

overnight and they totally satisfied my children’s need for something “crispy and crunchy”. It was great to have something “snacky” again, since I’ve pulled back on nuts for the time being.

Kirsten’s digestive system just needs time to heal. There are days when she’s really low on energy and just wants to drink lots of water. I think this is because her body needs to flush out the yeast that are dying. Other days she just wants to eat and eat and eat…actually, this is most days. I need to be prepared basically at any time of day (including 5 am!) to feed her something nourishing. Her blood sugar is still so erratic and I just know that I need to feed her when she’s hungry.

My husband and I often remark that she still has the metabolism of a newborn and needs to “eat on demand”. Some of the other things that have been a hit during the “phase one” of Gaps diet are:

* Hard boiled eggs (very portable too)
* My sunflower seed crakers
* Coconut Macaroons
* Zucchini chips from this book
* Soup, any and every kind

One thing is for certain, though. One little “indulgence” of extra sugar (even “good” sugar) has serious consequences. I can feel them myself, and it becomes very obvious for Kirsten as well. Hopefully all who know us will understand that I’m not trying to be a food nazi or control freak; I’m just wanting to do what’s best for my daughter’s health.