I have some weird spots popping up the last few days that are small, red, and painful. They are also clear inside where a whitehead would be. I have them mostly on my palms and the underside of my fingers and have about seven of them on my hands today. Nuts? Dairy? Regular die off? They’ve gotten much better since washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen for two hours, but they’re still there. Yes, I cleaned for two hours and am still not done, but I’m channeling the FlyLady today so I’m hopeful to get all of this week’s chores caught up. I now have what will henceforth be known as ‘GAPS Kitchen Syndrome’.
I just gained another foot of counter space! Hubby put the toaster oven in the basement as it just takes up space and is a big hulking reminder of the toast we can’t have (though strangely enough, the cravings for it are fleeting and mostly for the convenience). Now I have more room for the dirty dishes that accumulate so rapidly lately. :eye roll:
I was just reading a new GAPS blog and had a blinding revelation. I need to do a lot of prep and get a boatload of stock made up and in the fridge and freezer. Yes, I did read about doing this before I started but it didn’t penetrate my hard head well enough. I can’t make it as I need it, otherwise we don’t have the bone stocks and soup as often. I need ready made food. I need a good variety of soup recipes – that exclude allergens – with our limited ingredients, and I think if we can juice and start out with avocados it will help with my need for raw foods. Hmm. It sounds like I’m moving back towards intro. Everyone is so inspiring that I’m constantly wavering. Am I doing things right? Do I just need to make smaller modifications to get in raw until we can get off of it for a few days/weeks? I really want Katie to at least be able to have egg yolks before we move on but that’s a long haul of stage one, since I’ll need to move soooooo slow with her allergy/intolerance. I’d like to give her four days on stage one before we start it, then start with 1/4 teaspoon per day again. She got cranky the last time we tried, but I don’t know if it was from the yolks or something else. We did two days of 1/4 teaspoon in soup. That may have been tolerated though I think I should try with 1/8 teaspoon if doing it daily. If I wait four days on 1/8 teaspoon, then we’ll have been on just soups for 8 days. Way too long for me. I hate to jump ahead of her though. I know the bit of yolk from my medium-boiled egg without broth was a HUGE no-no on day 3 of egg. She had a very quick reaction and needed a good dose of Colic Calm to settle her belly. Skin bumps followed the next day so it was definitely a reaction for her. Maybe hiccups too; I don’t remember now. We have been doing probiotics for a few days (Katie’s first time on them since she reacts to the Shaklee brand and store bought all have dairy/soy) and been off grains for a couple of weeks, so this time might be better. Grrarrargh. So frustrating! Full GAPS is pretty easy for me. The roller coater that is intro? Not so much. There is a reason I’m hovering around it though. Any others on such a meandering path to GAPS? 🙂
My throat’s been hurting all morning, increasingly so. I have energy and a super long laundry list of things to do, but maybe I should just curl up with my trashy romance novel and rest while Katie naps. …later on…Well, I have a cold. I don’t feel too bad but, as my sinuses slowly clog up and my head fills with cotton, the whining in my head increases. I made a fresh batch of ginger tea earlier and have been adding raw honey to it plus took my elderberry syrup. A mug of chicken broth – as soon as it’s done bubbling – with a clove of raw garlic in my belly and a bit of probiotic on my tongue before bed (forgotten last night), and I hope to be right as rain tomorrow.
Are you ready for this? Are you ready for it? There are CHICKEN FEET in the broth bubbling away on my stove. I did it! Justine is my new food muse, because I’m about to order oxtail for the first time and am excited to continue expanding my horizons. Unfortunately, the farm I buy from is out of stock right now. U.S. Wellness Meats come highly recommended by these local doctors and moms who order from them, and I don’t feel like calling local farms to see who has any in stock. I’m not a huge fan of beef stock, but I think some oxtails and beef knuckles are in order so I can make a nice one. We’ve been relying on chicken too much lately. I feel the need for a better balance of nutrients.
I think I’ll call off a bit early and work on evicting the unwelcome tenants in my nasal cavities.
first meal: turkey with peas for Katie in pea broth; I find I’m not hungry in the morning so only had my probiotic in water
second meal: frozen blueberries for Katie; two soft-boiled eggs with butter and spinach for me (still craving spinach) with a cup of roasted dandelion root tea (I think I’ll start pulling some from the yard this week!)
2 glasses of milk for me – I need to quit milk!!!
third meal(lunch): hamburgers with sour cream and Cholula hot sauce with celery salad (celery, salt, olive oil) sans Cholula and sour cream for Katie
snack: apple – bite for me but not appealing so most of it went to Katie
fourth meal(dinner and super late again): Boiled chicken in butter lettuce leaves as a wrap and olives for miss Katie; daikon radish slices in olive oil and poached salmon filets for hubby and I since he’s Catholic and it’s Good Friday; yes, ignore the hamburgers for lunch. Whoops.
This post is part GAPS Friendly Fridays.
6 Responses
Ugh! I have been researching and gearing up for GAPS for a few months now. Trying to decide when is the best time to start. Now? We'll be traveling in June so I tell myself I'll start in July… Really I think I'm just a great big CHICKEN! My kids have dairy sensitivity and my 4yo also has a list of 20-something sensitivities.So it's much needed. It's reassuring and encouraging to read your posts!
Thanks so much for the shout out…I am happy to be inspiration, especially if it helps you and your family. If you really want to intro eggs with Katie, do the Intro progression very slowly–sticking to the way Dr. Natasha describes it–because that will give you you best chance at no/few reactions. Baden describes a method-taking a tiny bit, skipping a day, taking another small amt, skip a day…etc. that has been successful for many people. You could try that…Good luck! You can do it.Justine
Megan, It really is helpful to have others in the same boat. I notice every time an issue pops up for me, someone else in the community has something similar happen even if we're in a different place in the diet. I would definitely encourage you to keep an eye on the online community. It's really been key for me, and I wish you much luck for your start date! I would start freezing broth now. Many of us did not and we're regretting it. 🙂 Can't wait to hear more from you!
Justine,I poured over the allergy foods sections both from NCM and Baden before we started, so thanks for that reminder! It's encouraging to know that a knife tipful in broth of an offending food can be tolerated by some. With no anaphylaxis here, I have faith that we can both fully heal. I think I will use both methods depending on the food. It's harder to go slow in the beginning, so eggs and fish are going to be rough to crawl through, but it's worth it!
It is great to have online support! It's also nice to talk with others who want to heal their kids' food sensitivities – after years of people thinking I'm off my rocker, even doctors! I'm SO thankful for all this info and for trusted sources of info (ie, NCM). Thanks for the responses! BTW, I cancelled our travel plans, and I'm going to ease into GAPS starting pretty soon!
Yay for chicken feet! They make the best broth. Thanks for sharing this day in your life on GAPS Friendly Fridays!