We have started

We officially started the GAPS diet yesterday. It went a bit easier then expected. We were able to get broth down Taylor and he ate well the rest of the day.

The kids loved the tomato soup for lunch and for snack I added Italian herbs and meatballs. We all ate it up. For dinner we had broth and chicken. We will be going through a lot of chicken this week. I added lemon juice and sage to the chicken and it was wonderful.
Today I will be making chicken veggie soup. I have some broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and summer squash mixture in the freezer. I am going to roast these veggies with some coconut oil fresh herbs, and salt.

No spices are used right now, but we can use fresh herbs.

Mom and I went to the Garden Center on Friday and bought herb plants. The men who work there are so very nice and helpful. I will go there from now on to get my gardening needs.

Attitudes seem good. We have had a few meltdowns, but for the most part the kids are dong better than they have for a long time.

Addi had the stomach flu yesterday and Edy had it today. I do have to say that usually the stomach flu takes Edy out for a good 2 days. It only lasted a few hours. I am waiting to see if it blows through the rest of the family. That is the fastest that we have ever gotten over the stomach flu.

My stomach looks flatter today and I am not as bloated as I have been in the past. So far I am down 4 lbs. I know that a lot of it is water weight and I do need to eat more today because I am still nursing the baby.

Connor ate more meat yesterday then he has any other day of his little life. This is encouraging. He was still a bit whiny yesterday, but not nearly so much as in the past.

Here are the recipes for the things I have made so far and what is for lunch/dinner today.

Stock:
For an average stock pot size:
3 lbs of chicken or beef bones and meat.
1 onion
5 carrots
2 cups of diced celery
salt
pepper corns
Filtered water to top of pan

Brown your bones and place them in the bottom of your stock pot. Add the veggies. fill with your water. Let this come to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let this cook for 24 hrs. The longer you cook your stock the more good stuff you will get out of your bones and meat.


Tomato soup:
1 stick of butter, or 1/2 c of coconut oil
One onion
1 quart of tomatoes
1quart of chicken stock
salt to taste

Saute your onions in your fat until they caramelize. add your tomatoes, chicken broth and salt. Let this simmer for about 20 minutes.

Put the soup in the blender and blend til smooth.

I add oregano and basil for an Italian taste.

To this I added meatballs. We are not doing eggs this week so these are eggless.
3 lbs of organic ground meat
2T oregano
2T basil (I will use fresh herbs when my plants get a bit bigger.)
3 cloves crushed garlic.

Make into 1 inch balls and line them on a jellyroll pan.
Bake in the oven for 20 min at 400.
Put into soup base.

Chicken veggie:
3lbs Chicken
2 bags of vegetable medley mix
3 quarts of chicken stock

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees
Mix your veggies with coconut oil, salt and fresh rosemary
Put them in a dish so that the bottom is covered. do not crowd the veggies
Roast for about 30 min.

While the veggies are roasting saute your chicken in coconut oil. When the chicken is about done add 1/3 cup of lemon juice and a few leaves of fresh sage. Salt to taste.

Add the roasted veggies and stock to the chicken. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
Salt to taste.

I have purchased natural hot dogs that are going over well for a snack. We are encouraged that we are already seeing some small improvements in the kids, not to mention that by the time we have our family reunion I will be one hot mama! :)