It's icky and raining today, so I thought I would share with you the fabulous soup I cooked last night. It sounds so good, smells so good, looks so good and tastes so good. So is it still GAPS Diet approved for me? ABSOLUTELY! (Side Note: this is a version of Dr. Campbell-McBride's "Pumpkin Apple Macadamia Soup)
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 sm onion, minced
- 3 cups fresh or pureed, cubed pumpkin
- 1 sm apple chopped
- 3 cups homemade vegetable stock OR chicken stock (Side Note: YES, I absolutely use my own, homemade stock! There are too many additives and sodium in store bought broth! It's also cheaper to make your own!)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
- Cover bottom of a heavy pan with olive oil. Add the ginger and onion.
- Saute for 3 minutes until browned.
- Add the pumpkin and apple, and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in the stock.
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the pumpkin and apple are soft.
- Add cinnamon.
- Transfer ingredients to a blender and process until smooth.
- Serve in bowls and top with extra cinnamon, if desired!
Enjoy!
Day #2 of P90X and Plyometrics kicked my butt! Again, thought I was in good shape, but was quickly brought back down to earth.
First let me rewind to the middle of the night. I woke up, muscles sore already. As the day has gone on today, so much muscle soreness from yesterdays Chest/Back and Ab Ripper X workout. I am feeling muscles in places I didn't know existed. I am having a hard time maneuvering around tonight!
The Plyometrics workout burned the legs! It's about 50 minutes of constant moving, jumping, sliding, lunging, squating and shaking every which way. Towards the end I could hardly keep up, but I pushed myself as hard as I could.
I felt great again today! I was a little too hungry, so I'll be looking to add more food and (hopefully) carbs via vegetables and fruit very soon! Today I added in one banana, some avocado, yellow miso and one egg yolk (partially raw).
Tomorrow I can move onto Stage 4, where I will be able to add meats that have been roasted or grilled (though I'm sure I won't have time for that until next weekend), cooked vegetables, cold pressed olive oil, ghee and the special "baked bread" (made with ground almonds or any other nut and seeds ground into flour). I will probably not have much time to spend on any of that, but I will do what I can to get more calories!
I will wake up and do the Shoulders & Arms workout prior to work. That should be interesting. I'll have a 4:45am wakeup call, get a little coffee in and be ready and focused around 5:30am. Sound crazy? Nope! Sounds exciting! Cheers!
Happy New Year!
I spent most of my first day of the Brand New Year and Brand New Decade resting, relaxing and detoxing. I needed to after the fun last night!
I have completely dived back into the GAPS Diet. Today I gave my system a much needed "break" from digestion. I ate very little (chicken and turkey) but focused more on broth and water. Now that Day 1 is over, I can move on. This week, though, I will remain completely carb free, except for maybe 1/2 a ripe banana and/or well-cooked allowed vegetables. I will be back on all Probiotics, Enzymes and Probiotic Foods. I can guarantee that come Wednesday or before I will be feeling amazing!
I am so excited for this Brand New Year, 2010 and the Brand New Decade! There are so many things I'm looking forward to and so many goals I have put out there for myself.
I want this year to be another year of change! Change is good! We need to keep "shaking it up!" I find that it's the moment I let myself become complacent that I am not as happy. Each day I reinvent myself, my thoughts and my attitude is just one step closer to another goal accomplished!
I am reminded, yet again, of my Power Quote from the Curly Girl Designs,
"I am fairly certain that given a Cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world."
I believe it's as simple as that and as simple as this: Positive attitude. Quirky thoughts. Random-ness. A good laugh, smile or cry. And Passion. LOTS OF PASSION!
Goals are waiting and ready to be achieved....CHEERS!
In my last post I discussed, "Treatment for the GAPS Patient - Part I - Diet I."
Today is, "Treatment for the GAPS Patient - Part II - Diet II - I'm Hungry: What's For Dinner."
JUST because I can't really eat things "most people" eat, doesn't mean that I don't still need to eat! So, what will I eat?
The GAPS Diet is basically an "advanced" or "extension" version of the popular Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Dr. Natasha states (about the SCD), "There is a diet already invented, a very effective diet with a more than 60-year excellent record of helping people with all sorts of digestive disorders, including such devastating ones as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis."
The difference lies in the fact that the SCD allows lactose-free dairy products, GAPS Diet does not allow. Dr. Natasha says that "whether it is lactose or casein or allergies or a combination of factors, the clinical experience shows that GAPS children and adults should not consume dairy products until their digestive system is well enough to handle them. The only exception is for the milk fat, which contains virtually no milk proteins or lactose and is generally well tolerated. Pure milk fat is called ghee or clarified butter."
Recommended Food List
- Meats and Fish (Fresh or frozen, but not preserved)
- Eggs (Especially raw egg yolk; I am actually very intolerant to the egg white, so I will stay away from that completely)
- Non-starch fresh vegetables (Fresh or frozen, but not preserved or with any additives)
- All fruit, including berries (Fresh, cooked or raw, dried and frozen, as long as there are no preservatives. They also need to be well-cooked in the beginning)
- Nuts and seeds (Raw only. Not until stomach has completely settled)
- Beans and pulses (Dried white, lima, string, lentils and split peas; must be soaked for several hours prior to cooking)
- Honey (All natural honey, the only sweetener/sugar allowed)
- Beverages (Water, freshly pressed juices and meat/fish stock. Weak tea and coffee without milk. Red win, gin, Scotch, bourbon and vodka on rare occasions)
- Natural fats and oils
This is what I live off of. And beginning Friday, January 1st, I'm getting extremely strict with it! I'm going back to the beginning; back to Phase 1. The GAPS Diet worked miracles for me. I've been off it and I've been on it; I know what is best for my body!
