Gaps Intro Week 2

Read why we're doing GAPS here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 1 here.

For now, we're taking a week to go through each stage of Intro. It's very tempting to zoom through them all, but since we know we have significant damage to our intestines, it's going to take a while for them to heal. It's not going to happen overnight.

So, since last week was our second week, we worked on stage 2.

On day 7 of the first week we each had a ridiculously expensive organic pastured duck egg yolk mixed into our bowl of soup. There wasn't significant problems, so we continued to do the same each day.

However, I wasn't sure about the eggs- there were no digestive issues, but LMS has been super cranky lately. I haven't been able to pinpoint whether it's because of die-off, feelings of deprivation, or something else. She really wants her usual snacks and is having a hard time with the restrictions on food she can easily eat.

LMS couldn't stand not having a "snack", and Wednesday she managed to find an almost empty jar of sunbutter in the frig while I was doing some yardwork outside. Later that day she had some intestinal issues, and I couldn't figure out why. The next day, I discovered sunbutter smears on the drawers in the frig, and put two and two together. Needless to say, we had a long discussion about why we couldn't eat sunbutter yet, and we stopped eating eggs for a few days to give her intestines a chance to recover.

I had ordered fermented cod liver oil the previous week, so when it arrived, we started taking the FCLO. We're currently taking it in capsule form, but may switch to a flavored liquid form. There's no aftertaste with the capsules, but I think it's more cost-effective to do the liquid (need to double-check that).

I had read that GAPS cures kids of being picky eaters, and LMS is already less of a picky eater than she used to be. She's never liked pickles before, but now I have to stop her from eating too many at once since we're still adjusting to the probiotics in the fermented pickles. She now asks for a "healthy snack" when she wants a pickle.

LMS has decided she really likes mashed butternut squash, preferably with some duck fat and sea salt on top. I don't mind the duck fat, it seems to have a fairly neutral flavor, but neither of us likes the flavor of lamb or beef lard on our veggies. Hopefully the flavor will blend better with meat when we can cook our meat in other ways besides boiled in broth. Gotta come up with some way to use the tubs of tallow I purchased.....

Other thoughts:

1. We're currently alternating Bubbies pickles with Bubbies sauerkraut. I've ordered a Pickl-It jar and will start some sauerkraut when it arrives.
2. **Over-share coming up**  My period was way less painful than usual. I had some cramps, but nowhere near as bad as usual, and I was able to function without painkillers or curling up around my heating pad. Considering I've been taking a prescription pain killer specifically for menstrual cramps for the last year or so, that's saying a lot. I also wasn't as cranky and irrational as I usually am leading up to my period. I really hope this continues :)