Nutrition Days: Easing into GAPS, plus Ground Beef Stew

Since my last post I have continued to search the Internet for information about the GAPS diet and how to go about doing it for the family, excluding myself. I am most interested in knowing when to move to a new stage, as well as what foods I can and cannot permit during which stages. I think I have the basics down, so now it is just planning enough to be prepared for the food switches. I think it will be another week or two before I run the introduction with the family, so that I can get into the groove of making broth and stage-friendly foods before diving in headlong. So far, though, I have eliminated all grains and starches, for the most part, from both my and Zachary's diet, and he is doing great! I can already see a difference in his balance and coordination...much better than 2 days ago. I personally feel fine overall, though occasionally have some tiredness, but I suppose this is common in the first trimester :). I also just started giving the family some of the juice from the fermented vegetables I made last year and have kept in the fridge. They still taste delicious! Zack LOVES the juice, but I think the others will take some prompting....

 

I have had to get creative with Zack's breakfasts, since eggs and dairy are a no-go so far for him, and now grains are out, which eliminates oatmeal (the old standby). This morning was a successful endeavor though! I gave him half a diced apple, half a sliced banana, a few soaked almonds, a tablespoon or so worth of pumpkin seeds, a tablespoon of almond flour, about a tablespoon of ground flax and the sprinkled desiccated coconut on top. I then poured maybe a quarter cup of homemade almond milk over it. It was a hit! He enjoyed it plenty! VICTORY!!!!

 

Tonight's dinner is blog-worthy as it was a hit all around! Even Taliya went nuts for it! It is a medley of a soup I have made plenty which is usually a lentil vegetable stew, but tonight it became Ground Beef and Vegetable Stew. Technically it is not GAPS, because it has corn, peas, and sweet potato, but I had to work with what we had in the house right now, and this was it. Delicious and nutritious!

 

Ground Beef and Vegetable Stew

1 package ground beef (1 - 1 1/2 lbs)

14 oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (Organic is best for corn containing ones)

1 extra large sweet potato, diced

6 cups homemade chicken stock, plus 2 cups water if needed

2 tbsp dried onion

2 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

 

1. Heat large saucepan on the stove on med-high heat. Add a tbsp of oil of choice, and brown ground beef.

 

2. Add tomatoes, vegetables, sweet potato, stock, spices, and water if needed to cover effectively. Bring soup to a boil and then let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of cheese or a dollop of yogurt and Enjoy!

 

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