How a Family-of-8 Moves Across the Country While Still Doing GAPS

When we announced we were moving across the country to Colorado, more than one person (including one of our older children) asked if we were going to continue doing GAPS during this time.

My answer:  "We can't NOT do GAPS."  It's just not worth it.  Between the skin issues that immediately show up on some children, the congestion/sinus issues that crop up on some, and the behavioral issues that manifest in some....it is just. not. worth it.  Not to mention how I feel with my hypothyroid (which is an autoimmune issue) when I eat stuff that doesn't like me.  The inflammation and pain in my body becomes quite unbearable, enough to make me cry.  (You can read more about GAPS here, or here and here)

Mind you, I did not know *how* we would go about eating GAPS-legal during this whole time...but I just knew it had to be done.  No if, ands or buts about it.

So, for the past several weeks, this is the two-fold plan of attack I've come up with:

1.  I cook extra when I am cooking, freezing the extra

2.  I've bought some "convenience" foods (that are still GAPS-legal) that we don't normally keep around (because they are more expensive)....now is the perfect time to take advantage of those kinds of products!





I have frozen (so far) 9 gallon bags of various soups that we've had over the past several weeks:



We will use these during the last day or two here and during the first few days in Colorado.



For the actual, factual drive to Colorado....


Elisabeth prepared Fudgy Muffins for us (6x the recipe):

This seems like such an indulgent treat, and it is totally healthy: just bananas, peanut butter, cocoa and honey

I have been preparing many pounds of Turkey Sausage Patties (9 pounds this past Saturday alone)...and freezing what we didn't eat for breakfast:

I cannot find any packages of sausage at our grocery store that don't contain Corn Syrup or MSG, or both!  I was thrilled to find this sausage recipe several months ago.

Sausage: for every pound of ground turkey, add

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt (we use Redmond's Real Salt)

Combine all, and shape into patties, bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes

I made lots of meatballs a few days ago, some went in the soup we had that night, and then I froze the rest of them:

These are just ground beef, garlic powder, salt and pepper...baked

We made beef jerky in our dehydrator (using Wellness Mama's recipe):

this is so yummy, I had to freeze it right away, before we gobbled it all up!

I have been stocking up the past several weeks as I go grocery shopping, and run by TJ Maxx...good deals on nuts and dried fruit.  (I have more bags than shown here, like, ummm, 6 of the dried mangoes!)

I like this particular bag of nuts because they only contain "Almonds, salt"...no weird (inflammatory) oils!

All the dried fruits only have one ingredient each.  No added sugar...no sulfur dioxide.  (Hint:  dried apricots should NOT be bright orange!  That is the sulfur dioxide keeping it that color!)

We never buy these because we can make them easily at home, but Elisabeth knew that our Kroger has good deals on Larabars.  It sure was easy to just buy these...and having them on hand will eliminate us buying them at gas stations along the way, when they'll cost twice as much!

Jas went yesterday and brought all these home.  It's a good thing he did that shopping (during his lunch hour) because I wouldn't have bought this many.  The only ingredients in these:  nuts, fruit

In addition to the above items, we will also have on hand in the van:

Cheese (for those of us who can have dairy right now, which is only 4 of us)

Raisins

Apples

Carrots

Celery

Peanut Butter

Boiled Eggs  (for those who can eat eggs right now, which is 4 of us)

Right now it seems like a good plan to me....but ask me how it all went down a week from now when we have actually arrived in Colorado - We'll see!

New Favorite Eats Around Here

These are our new, favorite, fresh-off-the-presses treat around here.  Like, We-just-found-this-Saturday-and-we've-already-made-four-batches treat.  I love/Love/LOVE carrot cake (which is why I love these muffins we make), so when I came across this recipe on Saturday morning (on Pinterest?  FB? Can't remember), I showed it to Elisabeth and said, "We should totally try this...I think they would be great!"  

And then I went out and mowed. 

And when I came back inside - voila, presto - E had made them!  (It is very handy (and dangerous) to have a 12-year old that loves to piddle in the kitchen!)

And they were gone before we went to bed Saturday night.  

So Sunday afternoon she made a double batch.  I took some to our Community Group on Sunday evening...which shows you how much we love those people.  

(Modifications: Elisabeth used 1/2 dates and 1/2 raisins instead of all dates, because....$$$.  And she subbed chia seeds for hemp hearts because we had them and they are super healthy for us.  Oh, and the second time we made them we (ok, I) sprinkled a little nutmeg and cloves in there along with the cinnamon because...YUM!)

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I don't have and photos of this recipe which is totally lame...but here goes...

We love the Chia Energy balls (we shape them into balls instead of bars) from Wellness Mama.  I originally found them in her cookbook I bought (LOVE her and wanted to support her), but HERE is a link to the recipe on her blog.

It is great to have something we can nibble on quick when it is mid-morning and we are plugging away at school.  And these little treats only have 4 ingredients...win/win!

(Modifications: We sub raisins for the dates to save money (and we just didn't have any dates on hand when we first tried this).  Out of the optional add-ins we only use shredded coconut.)

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Our two youngest still can't have eggs right now (I am taking the bumps that appear on G's face and the bumps that appear on A's belly as signs!).  So when I came across this egg-free "cookie" recipe I really wanted to give it a try for the babies.  

Coconut Banana Cookies

Just three ingredients - coconut, banana, raisins (we could add walnuts, but usually don't)

We shape them like big, thick cookies...and the babies LOVE these!  In fact, everyone loves these...and I have to tell them "Hands OFF!" so there are some left for G and A!!  

She was hoping that if she smiled big I wouldn't notice how much banana she snuck

G was very serious about his mixing...

...but also had a great time!

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And finally, here is our new favorite hearty meal...Sausage and White Bean Soup.  

We all (every. single. one. of the 8 of us) love this soup. Win!

And...I love how everyone is able to get in on the fun of making this soup.  

Here LK is prepping the garlic:

Noah is getting the sausage ready: 

We use venison sausage from the deer Jas got this winter

The onions on the counter (above Noah's left shoulder) in the background of this pic show Elisabeth's work station. I don't know how I missed a pic of her!)

Daniel washed and cut off the stem end of the carrots, and G fed them into the processor:

Daniel was very happy with me for some reason that I cannot recall now:

And here is how Abigail contributed:

She loves it!

This might not look like a happy face, but this is one of her current "camera smiles"...
she is going through an awkward phase

(Modifications: We use navy beans that I cook, not canned.  We use coconut oil to sauté the veggies at first, instead of olive oil...because olive oil has a lower smoke point and can burn and is best left for cold applications, like dressing. We use kale for our "green" in this recipe.  We omit the lemon juice...because I am lazy.)

Cinnamon Yummy Healthy Tea

Jason and his coworkers exchange presents every year at Christmas.  Most of the presents passed around are of the homemade variety (I love that!), everything from cookies, to candies, to BBQ sauces, to jellies.

We're always on the lookout for something yummy and healthy that we can share with Jason's work peeps.  Two different years now we've filled (many!) little amber bottles with homemade vanilla.

This past Christmas we decided on a treat that has become a favorite with our family this past year.

I labeled it Cinnamon Hibiscus Nettles Reship Tea on the gift tags...but around here we call it "That Yummy Cinnamon Tea."  Very specific and original, I know...but we all know what we're referring to.

I like to keep a gallon pitcher of this in the fridge at all times, so that we can grab a yummy and healthy, refreshing option when we're thirsty.  We've never actually tried this tea warm, but I am sure it would taste great that way also.

Everyone got in on the Tea gift-making action (except Jas...hmmmmm), with a big assembly line on the dining room table.  

We put the ingredients into the jars in pretty layers...and included tea balls with the jar, in case the recipient didn't already have one.  (And in case they wanted to make the tea in very small batches, which does not happen here.)

I can totally see by the set of my jaw that I was working hard to be patient with Gabriel's "helping"...but I did so good and let him continue!  (Spoiler: It does not come naturally to me to be as nice and patient as I would like. I have to work real hard at it.)

And...because I am totally anal...I included a very verbose gift tag, that had directions on one side...

...and educational info on the other side.  (read:  "Why-you-do-want-to-drink-this-stuff, because-not-only-is-it-totally-yummy, it-is-very-good-for-you-also!"):

I normally keep a jar of the tea ingredients already mixed in our cabinet...but ours is not in pretty layers:

I fell in love with both of these tea recipes (here and here) over the past couple years...and then once when I was premixing a batch to keep in the cabinet, I accidentally switched around/combined the recipes in my head...and a new favorite was born:  Cinnamon Yummy Healthy Tea!

This Cinnamon Tea has four ingredients:

Nettles are high in iron, Hibiscus and Rosehips are high in Vitamin C...and your body needs Vit. C in order to absorb the iron. Cinnamon is healthy...and just downright yummy also!

I buy the ingredients in one-pound bulk bags from our co-op.  

I go ahead and make a gallon at a time (too much for a tea ball), so I just dump the ingredients in my 8-cup measuring cup...

...pour boiling water to cover it...

...and then let it sit, covered:

I cover it to keep all the healthy goodness of the herbs in the tea

Then I pour the tea through a large strainer into a one gallon container, and add 1/4-1/3 cup (raw, local) honey.  (I let it steep for differing amounts of time: sometimes I make it just before bed and let it sit overnight, sometimes for just an hour or so.  It takes a bit more arm power to incorporate the honey when it has cooled down...but you don't want to add the honey when it is still hot, or it will kill the live goodies in raw honey.)

Wow, who took this totally lop-sided shot?!?  

To pre-mix a batch of the ingredients to keep on hand, combine:

Cinnamon Yummy Healthy Tea

2 parts Nettles

1 part Hibiscus

1 part Rosehips

1/2 part Cinnamon Chips

To make one serving of the tea, use 1 tbsp of mix.  Or, if making a gallon at a time, use one cup of the mix.  

Delicious Brownies...That Just So Happen To Be Grain-Free (Guest Post by Elisabeth)

I begged talked Elisabeth into doing another guest post for me. (HERE is her first one.)



















She has been making some brownies lately that are out. of. this. world!

For the past 2-3 months whenever we need anything sweet, this has been the go-to dessert.  I have taken meals to friends three times in the past couple of months (new babies, and a knee surgery) and we've had other families over to eat several times...and this is what we serve every time.  And we keep getting requests for the recipe.

But Elisabeth adapted these brownies from a cookie recipe, and I don't even know how to make them myself.  So I wanted her to get the directions down in black and white, once and for all!

So, without further ado....

Hey guys, my name is Elisabeth.

I going to show y’all how to make this YUMMY brownie recipe!

Here’s how the cookie recipe became a brownie recipe…

I needed to make a sweet something for a party we were going to, so I started to make the cookies, then I realized I didn’t have any coconut sugar.  So I decided to use cane sugar instead.  (Big mistake!)  I put the cookies in the oven to bake.  When the timer rang I took them out and saw that it had spread out into one big cookie.  No big deal, right?  Wrong!  The cookies would not come up off the baking stones, they were hard, and too crunchy for our liking.  (We ended up picking up something for the party)

So the next time I made the cookie recipe, I did the same thing, except I used cane sugar.  Then I just put the batter in a pan.  It worked, and they were SO good!

So now I make it into brownies. It’s really easy to make double, triple, or quadruple.

Coconut sugar is very expensive, so I just use cane sugar and it doesn’t affect it in any way. The recipe was originally called Double Chocolate Chunk Paleo Cookies.  Now I call them Double Chocolate Chunk Paleo Brownies. Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe…

1/3 c. coconut oil (melted, but not hot)
2/3 c. cane sugar
2 large eggs (farm fresh, if you can)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 unsweetened cacao powder (or cocoa)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/ 4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. coconut flour (sifted)
1/3 c. chocolate chips (we use soy-free chips)

(The recipe as written fits in a bread pan size glass dish.  Double recipe fits in an 8x8 or 7x11 pan, Triple recipe fits in a 9x11, and Quadruple recipe fits in a 11x14)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Add oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla cocoa powder, baking soda and salt to a bowl.  Mix to combine.  (We use a hand mixer.)
2. Add the sifted coconut flour and mix again until combined well.
3. Line the chosen dish with parchment paper, and spread batter into pan.
4. Sprinkle chips on top
5. Bake brownies - we normally quadruple the recipe and I start checking the brownies at 20-25 minutes.

A First

I caught a "last" a few days ago, and I also captured a "first":  Miss Abigail's first popsicle!


Does she look happy, or what?

And here, she looks downright smug:

I do believe she liked it.

This situation definitely called for a full-body bib.

After we discovered that Abigail was reacting to dairy (like "it messed her skin UP" reacting) we knew we needed to pull out the recipe for our popsicles made with homemade coconut milk.


We originally used these with Gabriel, whose skin also used to react horribly to dairy.(I can't handle how little and cute he is in the pictures in that link!)  (BTW - GAPS healed him of this..he now has multiple cups of Chelsea's milk daily.)

To prove how very much Abigail loves her big sissy Lily Kay, she even shared her popsicle.

This popsicle-eating thing took quite a while.  Abigail savored it.

If you are squeamish about food sharing, you wouldn't last long at our house.

Back and forth.  Back and Forth...it went from A to LK.  And back again.

Proof I am not the only one who opens my mouth while I am feeding someone else:

So glad we can not only nourish our sweet girl...but provide her food that just plain makes her smile also.