Another reason GAPS is what I need right now

Remember how I said we'd made progress just in the 7 or so weeks we did GAPS before Christmas? We were able to eat things over Christmas and at Disney that usually give us problems, but with fewer problems.

Something else happened too. My cycle regulated enough for this to happen:

Super crazy, right? After all this time (almost 6 years since my last pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage), I'd pretty much given up hope of getting pregnant again. Though I knew in the back of my mind it was possible my body could heal enough for this to happen, I certainly wasn't expecting it or counting on it. And definitely not this soon.

I had my first appointment this morning (after waiting impatiently for 3 weeks) and so far everything looks good. They did an ultrasound to see how far along I am (which I already knew, based on when Mr M was home) and I got to see the heartbeat. I hadn't realized just how important that was to me till I was looking up at the screen and saw that tiny movement. Because of the timing of doctor visits over the years, I've been able to see the heartbeat of each of our babies, even the two that didn't make it. That is something I treasure.

I am still concerned about miscarrying, but praying about it has calmed my fears significantly. And I didn't have the symptoms I'm experiencing now with either previous miscarriage, so I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm 8 1/2 weeks along, so I have a few more weeks before I'll feel like I'm out of the woods. My due date is Sept 29, which means I get to experience the hot and humid summers here while in my 3rd trimester (not looking forward to that one- good thing we have AC!).

Staying on GAPS should ensure my intestines continue to heal and that I get the nutrients I need. Unfortunately, the constant nausea and severe aversion to smells that I'm currently experiencing is making it impossible to stay on GAPS.  I experienced this when I was pregnant with LMS, but it's worse this time around. Mr M took over all cooking duties when I was pregnant with LMS, but unfortunately he's out of the country again (only for a few more months, thankfully).

So I'm reduced to eating as little as I can get away with (things that I can't smell) and letting LMS nuke various gluten free convenience foods for herself. I'm very grateful she's able to do this, and she's loving the independence. It's not great for "family meal time" since I have to leave the room while she's warming up her food and eating it, but it should only be for a few more weeks. The resulting intestinal issues and meltdowns (from eating things she shouldn't) were expected, but not welcome.

The nausea cleared up around the end of the first trimester with LMS, and I'm praying that's the case this time. As soon as the nausea clears up I plan on getting both of us back on the GAPS wagon.

GAPS Full Diet

View from the upstairs loft in a log cabin we looked at while visiting my sister. It's a model home for a company we've had our eye on for years. Since it wasn't far from my sister, we went for a little drive to check it out.

Read why we're doing GAPS here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 1 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 2 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 3 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 4 here.

Read about our GAPS Intro Week 5 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 6 here.

I should have posted this before Christmas, but that obviously didn't happen, so I'll ramble on about our food for the last month.

Since completing 6 weeks of GAPS Intro, I have to say that I'm not really sure that the Intro phase was necessary for us. Our diet was already pretty close to it, and just adding broth and probiotics probably would have been enough for us.

On the other hand, we are eating a lot more veggies, which is good, and I've gotten over my aversion to veggies for breakfast (my old excuse for still eating GF rice crispies for breakfast).

We didn't do a whole lot with food our first week off the Intro phase. We finished up that first week of full GAPS just before we headed to my sister's house for Christmas, and I didn't want to worry too much about adding anything new in right then. We did cheat a bit while on that trip- partly to see how we'd react (mostly better than we have in the past) and partly because I just wasn't ready to figure out how to eat GAPS legal food while driving in the middle of winter (suggestions anyone?).

After returning from my sister's we went back to our full GAPS diet for a week or so before heading to Disney. While we were at Disney we did some more cheating, but I really don't see how it's possible to eat GAPS-legal food without a kitchen. Or at least a hotplate/camp stove. If we hadn't been on a tight schedule, we would have driven the trailer to Florida and stayed at the Disney Fort Wilderness Campground. That is why we bought the trailer, after all: so we'd be able to prepare our food when we traveled.

It was encouraging to note that while we reacted to some of the foods we ate (dairy, potatoes, and corn were the biggest offenders), the reactions were not as severe as they have been in the past. In addition, I didn't get glutened, despite multiple opportunities. Part of me hopes that my system is already less sensitive to gluten, and maybe I was exposed to it but I didn't react because of the healing that has taken place. At this point, it's hard to know for sure without going and eating something with gluten in it, but I'm not willing to do that.

We're now back on our version of full GAPS, with no trips planned for the next few months, and we're committed for the long haul. We haven't been able to add back in any of our problem foods, but we'll try them again in awhile, and one of these days our bodies will have healed enough to add things like nuts and dairy back into our diet. Looking forward to that day....

GAPS Intro Week 6

LMS during her Irish music class recital back in December

Read why we're doing GAPS here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 1 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 2 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 3 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 4 here.

Read about our GAPS Intro Week 5 here.

So, we finished Week 6 more than a month ago, but with Christmas travels and our Disney trip I didn't get this written and posted.

I'm trying to remember what exactly we added the 6th week: I think it was just fruit- apples and oranges.

We could have added in ghee and cultured dairy products, but I'm holding off a while longer before we add them in. I also held off on the beans (there's a few beans that are GAPS legal) that we could have added in.

We didn't do a lot of juicing- I don't really love the flavor, and the sugar content is a bit high for me. I've realized I react to fruit sugars more strongly than I react to some other sugars, which I find interesting. Given how much fruit LMS has consumed, I'm thinking she reacts in a similar way, unfortunately. It triggers the urge to keep eating and a sense of being hungry, even when we've already eaten a good size meal.

I also spent some time experimenting with cooking down and dehydrating broth to take with us on our Disney trip. 

GAPS/Gluten Free Disney World & Universal Studios Trip

we saw lots of princesses and other characters, but LMS only got a pic with Ariel- she had a really short line because it was the end of her shift

We finished the 6 phases of the GAPS Intro Diet back before Christmas (I still need to finish that post), but since we went to my sister’s house for Christmas, I took advantage of that time to do some judicious cheating. I knew our Disney trip was coming up and I wanted to gauge how we would react to eating non-GAPS approved foods. We still reacted, but it wasn’t as bad as it used to be, which shows that we have made progress- YAY!

Since we wouldn't have access to a kitchen, we couldn't just cook all our meals. I thought about our options and made a plan. GAPS foods for breakfast, gluten free park food for lunch, miscellaneous gluten free restaurants for dinner.

Breakfast

I cooked down and dehydrated 10 quarts of chicken broth (following directions I found here) to make homemade chicken bouillon that we could take with us. I prepared butternut squash, divided it into baggies, and froze it. I blanched some broccoli, lightly sautéed some zucchini and summer squash, then froze baggies of them and some green peas. I also chopped up and divided some roast chicken.

For breakfast, I walked up two flights of stairs to the nearest microwave, where I heated up some squash, some chicken, and some veg, and made some broth using the bouillon. Not ideal, and I could have sworn there was an in-room microwave, but it all worked out.

The last two nights we were in a different hotel (more on that in another post), and there was no microwave available.  We ended up using a one cup coffee maker to make cups of broth, and ate fruit for breakfast. The coffee maker worked surprisingly well, especially compared to microwaving it.

The dried broth turned out great, though I didn't double check the instructions before starting to cook it down. I should have scooped all the fat off, but only remembered after the fact. I kept the bouillon in the fridge just to make sure it didn't go rancid, and it was fine.

The zucchini and summer squash ended up kind of soggy when reheated, so I think I'll stick with broccoli and peas in the future.

We didn't end up eating all the food we brought, but I'd rather have too much than too little.

Lunch

For lunches we ate at counter service restaurants in the parks. I tracked down the updated gluten free lists beforehand, which was helpful. Unfortunately, they made some changes in the last year, and they don’t have dedicated fryers for gluten free fries anymore L They’ll bake them for you, but they take forever, and everyone else’s food is getting cold and the little one is getting impatient….

Monday we ate at Pizzafari in the Animal Kingdom. LMS and I ordered the gluten free pizza. I don't remember the brand, maybe OMG It's Gluten Free? Whatever brand, it was disgusting. The pizzas were very small and tasted like pasty cardboard. Gross! They came with caesar salads minus the croutons and dressing, but we didn't eat them- I found multiple bread crumbs in the salads. I don't think they picked croutons off, I think the cheese or lettuce bin was contaminated with bread crumbs. Not worth the hassle to get them replaced, so we gave them to the guys. Our meals cost the same as the guys' pizzas and salads, despite the drastic difference in amount of food, and were grossly overpriced.

Tuesday we ate at Liberty Inn in Epcot. LMS and I ordered gluten free hamburgers and grapes for her and an OMG It's Gluten Free brownie for me. The wait was long, but the food tasted pretty good, though I had to save my brownie for later since it was still frozen. It tasted pretty good once it defrosted.

Wednesday we ate at Fairfax Fare in Hollywood Studios. LMS got a kids meal turkey sandwich, applesauce, and Enjoy Life gluten free chocolate chip cookies. They used a gluten free bun for the sandwich, but it was still frozen and very stale. Yuck. I ordered a half rack of ribs with slaw and baked beans. They weren't on the gluten free list because of the potential for cross-contamination, but I decided to risk it. The flavor of the sauce was good, but the cut of meat was substandard- very gristly and not at all fall-off-the-bone tender. I didn't get glutened, so I was happy.

Thursday morning we picked up our race packets, and weren’t actually in one of the parks yet, so we went to 5 Guys for burgers and fries.

Friday we went to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios, but I hadn’t been able to find any gluten free info ahead of time, and nothing looked promising while we were there. So we made do with some snacks (Butterbeer is quite tasty!) and ate a late lunch/early dinner at PF Changs. I’ve heard good things about PF Changs in general, as well as their gluten free options. I’ve never eaten there because we don’t have one nearby, so when I found one in the Orlando area, we decided to give it a try. It was quite yummy, and a nice change from our other dinner choices.

Dinner

We ate at Outback one night- we’ve always had good luck with their gluten free menu, though it does get pricey. We also ate at Chili’s several times, but that started getting old. We ate at 5 Guys a couple times, and we did Chipotle for lunch Saturday after the races.

End result
13 meals not prepared by me, but no gluten! Unlike last year, when I got glutened two days in a row. Whether this was because there was truly no contamination or because my intestines have made progress, I don’t know, but I’m not complaining. While LMS and I did react a bit to what we ate (dairy, rice, and potatoes were the major offenders we ate), it was a lot less pronounced than I was afraid it was going to be.

Overall, our experience eating gluten free at Disney World was quite a let down after last year, when we had a much better experience. I know suppliers and options available are always changing, but having a wider variety of options that taste good would be nice.

I’m really glad I brought the broth. Before we left, we were getting sick, so I did some research and found a suggestion here to add kudzu root starch to our broth to help us get over our colds quicker. I actually had a bag of kudzu root starch in the cupboard, so I added it to our broth all week. I really think it helped LMS recover quickly and shortened my symptoms. Though running a half marathon and fighting a cold was a bit too much for my body to handle at the same time, so I did relapse a bit.

GAPS Intro Week 5

Read why we're doing GAPS here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 1 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 2 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 3 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 4 here.

I still struggled with eating enough, but since I didn't realize what was going on till the end of week 4/beginning of week 5 this wasn't surprising.

We added homemade applesauce (so yummy!), cucumbers, Boston lettuce, raw apples, and honey.

We did more juicing, adding beets, apples, pears, and celery to our carrot juice. I only add small amounts of beet though. I learned my lesson when we were newlyweds years ago and I was doing some juicing. I don't remember what else I put in, but I do know there was an entire beet in the mix. I drank the juice then got in my car to go to class. A few blocks later, I had to pull over and I puked all over the fence surrounding the soccer fields. Needless to say, I was scarred for life by that experience. I think I may have stopped juicing after that? Can't quite remember, but I wouldn't be surprised.

I've been roasting an organic pastured chicken each week, and it's so easy. Rinse the chicken, then sprinkle sea salt, pepper, and Herbamare on all sides. I cook it for about 2 hours at 350. I start it breast side down for half an hour, turn it over and cover with foil for another half hour, then uncover and cook for about 1 more hour (till the internal temperature is at 180. The skin gets nice and crispy and brown and tastes sooo good. Healthy fats, right? It's a big change from before, when just the thought of eating the skin was a bit icky. Even LMS, who has never liked skin and such before likes it.

After roasting, I deglaze the roasting pan and add the juices to the crockpot with the carcass, which makes the best tasting broth. Yum!

GAPS Intro Week 4

Read why we're doing GAPS here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 1 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 2 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 3 here.

This week we started juicing- carrot juice to begin with. We also added olive oil back in. Nut flour bread was on the list, but since we're not eating nuts or eggs, we skipped it. LMS loves the carrot juice, my reaction is more "meh". The earthy sweetness isn't really my thing. Once we tone it down with other juices, it'll be more acceptable.

All week I had bad cravings, which made life difficult. After a lot of thought, I decided I wasn't eating enough.

• I've increased my level of physical activity since I'm training for a half marathon in January.
• Taste bud fatigue. Or is it appetite fatigue?  Basically I'm getting tired of eating the same thing over and over, and I'm not fond of the taste of beef fat, which ends up in a lot of our food. As a result, I'm eating less overall, which isn't a good thing at this point in time. Adding more foods back in so we have a wider variety to choose from should help with this though.

Random thing:
I usually wash my hair every other day, only blow dry it on Sundays, and let it air dry the rest of the time. The last couple weeks I've noticed my hair isn't nearly as greasy as usual. Usually the morning I'm due to wash my hair, I can tell it needs it and there's no way to let it go another day.  Lately, I've been going 3 or 4 days in between washings, and my hair doesn't feel gross. I washed my hair Sunday morning, and it wasn't till Friday that I felt like it needed to be washed again. Now if I could get my face to clear up a bit more, I'd be happy. It's never been really bad, but I do have a problem with blackheads and blemishes on certain parts of my face.

GAPS Intro Week 3

Read why we're doing GAPS here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 1 here.
Read about our GAPS Intro Week 2 here.

Since we're doing one stage each week, Week 3 = Stage 3.

This week we introduced egg whites, soaked and dehydrated pecans (crispy nuts), avocado, and cilantro.

The egg whites were a massive, but not unexpected, failure. Apparently the whites are the ones that usually cause problems for people, rather than the yolks. So, no egg whites. We tried some pancakes made of egg yolks, summer squash, and crispy pecans all blended together, but they were problematic. I'd eaten the nuts by themselves without too many problems, but after the pancakes I decided we needed to hold off on the eggs and nuts till after we've had more time to heal. Disappointing, but on par with where we were before.

Thankfully we were able to eat the avocado without problems, and LMS is liking avocados a lot more than she used to. She will actually eat them as a snack and ask for some at meals. I'm still not super-fond of the texture, but they're good for us, so I'll eat them.

Surprisingly, the cilantro did seem to give me a few problems. I'll need to try it again in a few days to make sure whether it's ok or not.

Thanksgiving was less than festive for us, but it wasn't terrible. It was nice to have a low-key holiday, even if we weren't able to eat traditional Thanksgiving foods.

Other thoughts:

1. During the healing process, symptoms sometimes get worse before they get better. This is certainly true for LMS, who has had more meltdowns than usual. I'm not at all surprised by this, though, given all that's going on.
2. It took several meltdowns and several conversations where I tried to figure out the reason for that specific meltdown, for me to finally realize a few things. LMS really likes the independence of being able to get her own breakfast together or her own snacks. She is really, really struggling with that right now. She doesn't like that I have to heat things up for her to eat and that there's nothing ready to grab out of the pantry.
3. We've found a couple solutions though. She now knows how to heat up a small dish of mashed butternut squash and some leftover meat from dinner in the microwave (we've always had over the stove models, which she can't reach, so she hasn't had any practice using one), so as long as there's a container with food in the frig, she can get that herself. We've had multiple discussions about snacks and what we can and can't eat, and she's decided that a Bubbie's pickle is an acceptable snack option. Right now I have to get them out of the jar for her, but I will be putting some into individual, reusable containers so she can get one herself.
4. I think I've decided to hold off on introducing foods that we've had problems with in the past. Rather than experience frustration at not being able to eat them yet, we'll just wait and let our intestines heal more. So even though GAPS says to introduce eggs, nuts, dairy, and so on at certain points, I think we'll just try to be patient.