GAPS Diet, Stage 1 & 2

The GAPS diet is supposed to be a really good diet for healing and sealing your digestive system, especially if you have (or have developed) problems like I have.  I believe that I have leaky gut, which has led to an inability to eat anything dairy-related (a good description of leaky gut can be found here).  I needed to heal my dairy allergy and prevent new ones from developing, so we started the Intro Diet on January 1.  I have to say, I thought I was somewhat prepared, but I knew that it was going to be a lot of work.

That was the understatement of the year (so far).

Meatball soup

The first stage might be considered the hardest; however, there's little difference between the first and second stages, so maybe they should just all be one looong stage.  But it seems to be the foundation for healing, so I won't complain.  We spent a total of 3 days on the first stage, and then four days on the second stage, which consists of eating lots of homemade broth, soups made from the broth, meat, certain veggies, and a lot of fat.  In the second stage you can also add egg yolk to the soups for more protein and nutrients.  I ended up ordering leaf lard online from Tendergrass Farms, and have been using it faithfully to add fat to the already fatty soup stocks--you're supposed to have a large amount of animal fat along with the homemade broth, as both are supposed to contain a lot of healing minerals and nutrients essential for the intestinal lining.  The high fat content also helps to keep you feeling full after you've eaten, and it really did seem to do that for both of us.  In fact, we really had little appetite when we started!  We've come up with several recipes for soup, all of which contain meat, carrots, zucchini, squash, yellow squash, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and leeks.  Soups do get old when you have to use the same ingredients over and over again, but we did come up with one that we really liked: meatball soup!  Recipe at the bottom.

We experienced some die-off symptoms over the first three days, but they seem to have leveled out.  We're both ready for "real food" instead of soup for every meal, but it's so important to remember that this is good for us.  I've had success making sauerkraut, and will be adding the juice to our diet to up the probiotics.  Thanks to my sister for an Amazon gift card and to a friend for recommending the Picklemeister (left)!  It's a great invention, and I had sauerkraut on my first attempt using it.

My summary of Stage 1 & 2:
It's very tough.  It's especially hard when you are completely changing your eating to reflect this healing mindset.  I don't know how families do it together, because it's also incredibly expensive (and we've only been doing what we can, so not 100% following the guidelines), it's time consuming, and the food really isn't that great.  However, my hubby and I have already lost some weight, and and I think I've felt a little better.  Dairy still doesn't agree with me, though, as I found out when I thought it'd be fun to try and add some clarified butter to a bowl of soup one morning.  Oh well.  I think that if you can make it through the first and second stage, you'll be okay. 

Okay, running out of time.  Here's the recipe for the meatball soup:

GAPS-friendly Meatball Soup (still good if you're not on GAPS)
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

2 qts. beef stock

1 qt. water

1 C (8 oz) broccoli florets

1 C (8 oz) cauliflower

1 medium onion, cut into large chunks

2-3 TBSP lard

Salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, thyme, dill to taste

4 cloves chopped garlic

Combine stock, water, broccoli, cauliflower, and onion in a large (7 qt) pot and cook veggies until soft.  While veggies cook, combine ground beef and pork in a bowl with plenty of salt and pepper.  Form into one inch balls and set on a plate.  When veggies are semi-soft, add meatballs, one at a time, to boiling stock.  Allow to continue to cook for another 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.  Add salt, pepper, herbs and garlic and cook for another 10-15 minutes.  Yields approximately 6 servings (approximately 12 cups).

Dairy Free Pizza...It Can Be Done

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I recently discovered that I can't tolerate dairy anymore without having health problems.  Because of this, I've had to cut out dairy, including cheese, butter, milk, cream, etc., etc.  One thing that I really miss is pizza.  I miss the gooey, stringy cheese, and there is just no substitution for it.  However, I think I might have found a way around it!

In honor of Sunday afternoon football, which is on TV now, here is the play-by-play of my new recipe for dairy-free pizza.  This recipe makes one pizza and breadsticks.

Here's the lineup!
Playing offense:
#1, Olive oil (QB)--Cal Tech

#2, Refrigerated pizza dough (or use your favorite recipe) (C)--University of Iowa

(At the time of writing this post, the Pillsbury pizza crust is dairy-free)

#3, Hummus (G)--Purdue University

#4, Pizza sauce -- store bought or homemade (T)--University of Tennesee

#5, Earth Balance spread (RB)--Indiana State University

#6, Garlic salt (WR)--University of Michigan

#7, Garlic powder (TE)--University of Michigan

#8, Nutritional yeast flakes (optional) (T)--University of Phoenix

#9, Toppings of your choice (second string)--I used arugula, spinach and diced tomatoes

Here are the plays:
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Drizzle olive oil onto a large baking sheet with shallow sides.  Use your fingers or a paper towel to spread the olive oil around to coat the pan completely.

Next, tear a small chunk of dough off of the roll.  Set it on one side of the pan.  Press the larger chunk of remaining dough into a round or rectangular shape, to your desired thickness.  Do the same for the smaller piece of dough--these will be your breadsticks.

Now, drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto both pieces of dough, and spread evenly.

Spread hummus onto the larger piece of dough--use as much or little as you'd like.  It's your taste.
Dab pizza sauce on and spread it evenly.

Drop small dollops of Earth Balance spread onto the top of the pizza sauce.  Drop small dollops of EB onto the breadstick dough and spread to create an even layer.

Sprinkle both doughs with garlic salt to your taste.  Dust the breadstick dough with a layer of garlic powder.

Sprinkle nutritional flakes onto the pizza dough.

If using meats like pepperoni, etc. (or anything that needs to be baked), add them now.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the dough turns golden brown on the edges.

While the dough is baking, prep your toppings.  I washed and tore the greens into bite-sized pieces, then blotted them dry on paper towels.

Once the pizza is baked, remove from the oven and add the rest of your toppings.  Eat right away!

A side note--my crust was a bit soggy in the middle, presumably from the liquid in the hummus and sauce.  To solve that problem, pre-bake your crust for 8-10 minutes to give the center a chance to cook before adding the other ingredients.  I used a refrigerated dough because I didn't have time to make my own dough, but I think it would be even better with a homemade crust.

Final score: Andrea, 7; pizza with cheese, 0!

If you try this, let me know what you think!

Dairy Free By Necessity

I love you, milk.  I love you, ice cream.  I love you, cheese.  I love you, butter.  But it turns out that you guys do not love me anymore.

It's not you, guys, it's me.  I'm sorry, but it seems as though my intestines have decided it's time to break up.  I have no say in the matter.  If it was up to me, we'd continue our dysfunctional love affair.

After thousands of dollars in doctor visits, medical procedures, and test results that yielded no answers, I've come to the conclusion through the process of elimination that I believe I'm dairy intolerant, and that it has been a main cause of of my stomach and digestive problems for over a year now (although, I believe that there's still more going on).  However, I don't believe that I'm lactose intolerant.  I believe that it may be more than that, and that one or both of the proteins found in dairy products may be to blame--casein and whey. 

Why do I believe this?  Well, there are a few reasons.  First, my lactose breath test came back normal.  Second, I can't drink lactose-free milk without problems.  Third, yogurt (which I don't like anyway) and cheese still make me feel ill, and in theory, they shouldn't if I had just a simple lactose intolerance.  Even butter in large quantities, like using it to saute food, causes me problems and discomfort, and butter has almost no lactose.  All of these products, though, still have milk proteins in them.  So, by process of elimination, it seems more likely and logical that the intolerance would be a result of an inability to tolerate the proteins as opposed to the lactose.

I've noticed that eliminating these foods have made me feel better (although still not completely normal), and that makes me sad.  Who wants to voluntarily give up pizza?  Because, let me tell you, pizza with no cheese is not pizza.  Not to me, anyway.

Image from the Internet.

While this type of intolerance is lesser-known than its brother lactose intolerance, it's becoming more known and talked about.  Thankfully, we live in a day and age where so many special recipes can be found online, or adapted to include non-dairy alternatives for their dairy counterparts.  Because of this, I'm starting a page here for recipes that are dairy-free.  This does not include egg-free; that's usually in a category of its own.  It is also important to note that this is not a milk allergy--food allergies are much more serious and can result in a hospital visit.  People with milk allergies cannot have any milk products.

It's fairly common to become lactose intolerant as we age, but other than a mild intolerance to milk for my husband, I know very few people who have this problem.  This is a huge lifestyle change, and I'll admit, it's been a struggle.  Removing dairy has frustrated me in ways I can't even describe, not only in cooking at home, but also in grocery shopping and eating out or at the homes of others.  Plus, it's been very difficult to give up foods that I love cold-turkey, like ice cream and cheese.  I can only sit by and drool longingly as my husband eats his Talenti gelato or cheesy pizza, knowing that for as long as I live, I won't be able to eat some of the things I loved anymore.  But not all is lost--I've discovered some ways around my intolerance.  Below is a small list of things I've discovered.

Some good alternatives to using butter in baking and cooking:

• Lard (if you can find it)
• Olive oil (plain or infused)
• Coconut oil (solid up to 78 degrees) 
• Clarified butter or ghee (often sold at health food stores) or you can make your own (coming soon!!)
• Earth Balance spreads (made of various vegetable oils--they do offer a soy-free flavor)
• Cooking sprays, like Pam
• Almond, rice, oat, or coconut milk (I use unsweetened coconut milk for most baking recipes, sweet breads, pancakes, etc.)

Foods that I like:

• A decent dairy-free ice cream I've found: So Delicious brand Peanut Butter Zig Zag, but this is a soy-based ice cream, and some people are adamantly opposed to soy products.  It's been the best substitute for real ice cream that I've found.  Coconut and almond-based ice creams tend to have a coconut or almond flavor to them, regardless of the overall flavor of the product.  It's a bit pricey for what you get, though.  I can usually find this at Kroger.
• I've tried some imitation cheeses, and am sad to report that they are just not good, especially the Daiya brand.  Don't waste your money.
• Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips and mega chunks--these are great!  I think they have better flavor than the regular chips.  The only drawback is the price, around $4.50 a bag.  However, they are easily found in most large chain grocery stores--Meijer carries them in their gluten-free section in my town.  I just pick up a bag whenever I go grocery shopping to try and stock up slowly.

I've scoured Pinterest for recipes and ideas for dairy-free living, and have had some success.  I haven't tried many of the recipes on there, but I have tried some.  Feel free to visit my Dairy Free Pinterest page for substitutions, ideas and recipes that I've found so far.  Another great website for all things dairy free is the Go Dairy Free site.  They have a wealth of dairy free information, including recipes, substitutions, and Q&A forums.

Here's a helpful printable with some great non-dairy conversion suggestions (I have not tried these yet, but I do keep this in my kitchen):

And just a little picture of a puppy to make your day a little more fun: