CHLOE BRECZINSKI

DISCLAIMER
All the information provided within this book is for informational purposes only
and is not to be construed as medical advice. Any statements or claims within
this book have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and
are not intended to prevent, diagnose, cure, or treat any medical condition.
Please consult a qualified health professional with questions or concerns as to
your personal health situation. By reading this guide, you agree that neither my
company nor I are responsible for the actions or consequential results of any
action taken by the reader.

No part of this publication shall be reproduced, transmitted, or sold in whole or in

part in any form without the prior written consent from Chloe Breczinski, the author.

Gut and Psychology Syndrome GAPS is an international trademark of

Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride.

Copyright 2015, Chloe Breczinski. All Rights Reserved.

Heal Your Gut Without
Losing Your Mind

by CHLOE BRECZINSKI
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. My Story.......................................................................................... 7

2. What Is GAPS Intro?........................................................................ 12

3. Why Go Slow?............................................................................... 14

4. Getting Started with GAPS Intro.......................................................... 17

5. Cultivating the Right Mindset.............................................................. 22

6. Dealing with Going Slowly................................................................ 29

MEAL PLANNING................................................. 38
7. How to Use This Section................................................................... 39

8. GAPS Batch Cooking....................................................................... 45

9. Stage One..................................................................................... 50

10. Stage Two...................................................................................... 53

11. Stage Three.................................................................................... 56

12. Stage Four...................................................................................... 60

13. Stage Five...................................................................................... 64

14. Stage Six....................................................................................... 67

15. Conclusion..................................................................................... 69

RECIPES............................................................... 70

RESOURCES......................................................... 92

GAPS SPREADSHEETS........................................... 92
CHAPTER one
MY STORY

It does not matter how slowly you go

as long as you do not stop.
confucius

I first heard about the GAPS Diet years ago. When

I began my transition to using natural, homemade
products back in 2012, the second blogger I ever
started following was going through the GAPS
Introduction Diet with her family. As I tried various
elimination diets to address my health concerns, it
was always in the back of my mind. However, I
usually considered it for my husband, who has ADD,
rather than for myself.

In the winter of 2013, I developed a horrible case of eczema. After months of

nothing working, I embarked on my first elimination diet. I learned a lot about myself
and discovered that a combination of nightshades, dry weather, and strenuous
exercise were not allowing me to heal. By removing nightshades from my diet,
I was able to completely avoid my eczema the next winter. This elimination diet
opened up for me a whole new world of healing through food to me. I soon began
to recognize a large number of issues that I had always considered to be normal.

Since going off hormonal birth control, my cycles were missing, anovulatory,
and/or irregular. This was the most obvious. But it turns out that my anxiety, mild
depression, low energy, lack of libido, and acne were not simply the way things
were. I also began to recognize the very unhealthy relationship with food that I had
developed. These were not symptoms I just had to learn to live with. They were
indications of deeper health problems that I needed to address.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
As I came to this understanding, I decided to go on the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)
in an effort to heal these issues. My body was clearly damaged, and autoimmune
disease runs in my family. But the diet was not sustainable for me: after one month,
on the verge of a mental breakdown, I completely scrapped the diet by eating
everything I could afford at the State Fair. Around this time, my hair started
falling out. My symptoms, research, and finally test results revealed subclinical
hypothyroidism. This explained everything.

My disease was not far enough along to supplement with thyroid hormone, and
I hoped that I could heal my thyroid and reverse the damage. Thankfully I do not
have Hashimotos (autoimmune hypothyroid). I saw a lot of improvement with a
protocol my health coach put me on, but the diet portion was once again not
sustainable for me. Although I did not have obvious digestive symptoms, my
gut was badly damaged. It expressed itself through acne and unstable moods,
which made every slip up devastating. I often found myself spiraling deeper into
unhealthy eating with each one.

At this time, my husband was uncovering health problems of his own. I revisited the
idea of GAPS to heal his body. He agreed, and I decided I would go on it as well
to support him. I secretly hoped it would also help me.

On January 3, 2015, we began GAPS Intro. Jumping in cold was too much for
my husband, but with multiple elimination diets under my belt, my body knew the
drill. I have always done better with the cold turkey mentality anyway. Soon we
both had more energy and were feeling significantly clearer mentally. My skin
cleared up and my hypothyroidism protocol finally started working enough that my
hair stopped falling out. My moods stabilized. I was amazed by the gains I saw in
just a few weeks.

At the same time, I had to move through the diet slowly. My struggling relationships
with food could easily lead me astray. My reactions often came 3 days late in the
form of acne. By taking the diet slowly, I was able to discover unexpected food
sensitivities, and finally heal my body more completely than I ever could before. I
have GAPS to thank for this. I am so blessed to have found this diet.

I did struggle at times, however, as I looked hopelessly at the list of foods I could
not eat. It seems that all the online GAPS journals and all the GAPS books have

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CHAPTER one: MY STORY
people completing Intro in the blink of an eye. Yet I could not move past Stage
Four with the exception of coconut and spices. I couldnt eat any dairy, nuts, honey,
or pork: Despite seeing amazing mental healing, eating nuts was still enough to
send me into a weeklong, gut destroying binge, while all the other foods, even
butter, triggered my acne. One round of these binges was so severe, that I had
to completely restart GAPS Intro in order to recover. This second round, without
nuts or dairy, thankfully brought even more intense healing than the first. As of this
writing, I can tolerate pork and butter again! While before I couldnt get off the
couch most days, I am now able to work a full time job. I am happier and have
more energy than I have had since my honeymoon.

During this process, I developed a wonderful community on Instagram. But I longed

for a resource that could help me through these hard times as I moved slowly
through the GAPS Diet in an effort to truly heal my body.

That is why I am writing this book. This book is for everyone out there who is
seeking healing and is scared of the long road ahead. I am here to tell you that
you can do this, and I am going to help make it as sustainable as possible for you.

YOU MAKE GAPS LOOK EASY!

As I posted pictures of all of my GAPS meals on Instagram, I frequently got
comments about how I made Intro look easy. Easy? Really? All Im doing is posting
pictures of soup. Im also posting journals like this one from a month into the GAPS
Introduction Diet (before I had discovered any confirmed food sensitivities):

Have you heard of dysthymia? Most people havent. It is a mild form

of chronic depression. I have not been formally diagnosed, but when I
was seeing a counselor last year she thought I may have it. If you read
the diagnostic criteria, that is me to a T.

I dont think about it much, though. I had the idea that I have all of these
symptoms that collectively are defined as dysthymia. Either they are who I
am, or they are caused by other people or hormone imbalances. But the
reality is that this is a mental illness that causes these symptoms. I need
to heal that just as much as I need to heal my cycles, acne, or thyroid.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
Since starting the GAPS diet, which I did without thinking much about
dysthymia, I have been generally happier, more energetic, and more
emotionally engaged. This makes days like today that much harder.
I worry that Ill never fully overcome this. That it was the pistachios
from last night, that nuts are my emotional trigger and I can never
eat them again. That I have an issue with dairy, which has yet to be
demonstrated. Oh yeah, anxiety is one of my emotional issues, too,
that is coming out today.

Its called Gut and Psychology Syndrome for a reason, and Im getting
hit hard by the psychology part today. So Im loading up on the fats
and the broth my body is craving and reminding myself that this is a
healing diet. I will heal. The road may be long, but I will get there and
that is something to rejoice about, rather than lamenting the length of
the journey.

I did my best to be open about my process and my struggles throughout GAPS.

When I made the decision to restart Intro, 3 months into my GAPS journey, I
especially made an effort to bare my soul to the Instagram world. I wanted people
to know what Intro is really like.

But I guess in a way Intro was easy for me, and I can see how that showed
through in my food posts. I didnt complain about my food or what I could not
eat. Instead I posted (rather poor quality, which I guess made my life seem more
realistic) pictures of soups that sounded delicious and they were! Because I
wasnt going to suffer while on Intro. I was in this for the long haul, and it needed
to be sustainable.

I started by batch cooking. If I had the energy and ingredients, I cooked up

a storm. I filled the fridge and freezer with meals for me to eat. Most days,
cooking was heating up a pan of soup and adding a few extras. Even after I had
reintroduced roasted and baked meats, I rarely ate them. Soup just required so
much less work and planning. Intro was easy for me because I didnt expect much
out of my food, yet I took time to enjoy the stages.

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CHAPTER one: MY STORY
Sure, I longed for those pancakes or a hamburger, but I didnt need them. In fact,
taking the pancakes back out of my diet when I discovered an issue with nuts
didnt bother me much and I think I only ate a hamburger once during my first
month on Stage 4. Yes I had cravings and I missed chocolate and toast, but I tried
to savor the meals I could have. I love soup, so lets make it tasty and enjoy it!

Intro was easy for me because Ive done this before. Not GAPS Intro, but other
elimination diets. My body and my mind knew the drill and were ready to handle
it. Not everyone has this luxury, so be prepared for a fight if you do not ease
into Intro through paleo or Full GAPS. GAPS Intro was by far the strictest and the
hardest elimination diet I have done, and yet it was the most sustainable for me.
It was what was right for my body, and that right there is the key to sustainability.

And honestly, I think Intro was easy for me because I chose to take it slow, rather
than rush through. I wasnt hurrying to add in new things or keep track of where an
entire family was. When I had an issue, I didnt have to try to stress over what it
was; I usually had a pretty good idea. I didnt have to strategically plan my meals;
I ate what I wanted from a yes list that I knew well. If I noticed it was around
time to add something in, I did (okay, Ill be honest, there were a few foods where
I was counting the days). But I didnt stress about moving on. Like I said, I love
soup. Why would I rush leaving Intro when I am so happy eating these foods
every day? Again, it goes back to enjoying where you are, rather than wishing
you were somewhere else.

I think the most important thing to realize is that GAPS wasnt always easy for me,
and when it was, it wasnt just because of my mindset (although that played a
large role). A big part of it is simply where I am in life. I dont have children that I
have to deal with (just a husband). I work from home, so I could take a personal
health day...or week. I didnt deal with awful die-off or reactions to everything
single thing I ate. GAPS was very healing for me, and while I had some bad days,
in general I was very lucky.

Maybe when people said I made GAPS look easy, they meant doable. And it is
that. You can do GAPS. And Im going to show you how.

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 CHAPTER two
WHAT IS GAPS INTRO?

GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome, a protocol created and designed
by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The diet is designed to heal leaky gut syndrome
and the wide range of health conditions associated by eliminating toxins, processed
foods, and foods that can be difficult to digest. It emphasizes detoxification and
nutrient dense foods to promote healing of the gut and the entire body.

GAPS is intended to be a temporary diet. Once a person achieves the healing

they desire, they can transition to the traditional foods diet, such as Paleo or WAPF,
which works best for their body and their lifestyle. Depending on the level of healing
needed, this can take 6 months to several years. It is recommended to look at it as
a two year commitment that is how long the average persons healing takes.

There are two parts to the GAPS Diet: Full GAPS and the GAPS Introduction Diet
(Intro for short). Full GAPS is similar to the Paleo diet, except that it excludes starches
(sweet potatoes, yuca, tapioca, arrowroot, etc.) and includes certain legumes and
high quality dairy (particularly fermented dairy). Many people choose to go on
Full GAPS before starting Intro in order to ease the transition, and this is the diet
you work towards after completing the GAPS Intro Diet. Many people experience
quite a bit of healing on the Full GAPS diet. With mild health concerns, this may be
enough. However, for most people, GAPS Intro is essential to achieve full healing.

GAPS Intro is an intense healing protocol. By eliminating potentially problematic

foods and only eating easy to digest and incredibly healing foods (boiled meats
and vegetables, broth, animal fats and tissues), many people experience rapid
and intense healing of the gut lining. Throughout the 6 stages of Intro, nutrient
dense foods are gradually added back in until you can transition to Full GAPS.

IS GAPS RIGHT FOR ME?

Honestly, I have no idea. GAPS has helped so many people with so many
different health concerns. Some people flourish on the diet, while others struggle
their way through. The only way to know if GAPS is what your body needs is to
do it. Commit 100% and understand that healing is a slow process. You should

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CHAPTER two: WHAT IS GAPS INTRO?
see improvements within a few weeks, but it can take years to fully heal. This is
true with any healing protocol, not just GAPS. So make sure you find one that you
can stick to long term.

Over 2000 years ago, Hippocrates said all disease begins in the gut. GAPS
is designed to heal the gut, and thus heal these diseases. The following health
conditions, and more, can be caused by leaky gut. If you have any of them, you
may experience tremendous healing through the GAPS protocol.

ADD, ADHD, Allergies, Anxiety, Asthma, Autism, Autoimmune Disease,

Behavioral, Mental, or Learning Problems, Constipation, Crohns Disease,
Depression, Diarrhea, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Eating Disorders, Eczema,
Hormone Imbalances, Menstrual Problems, Mood Swings, Ulcerative Colitis

GAPS RESOURCES
Before beginning on the GAPS Diet, it is essential that you read Gut and Psychology
Syndrome, the original book by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. This should
always be the go-to resource with any questions about the diet. The FAQ
document on her website will also help answer many questions about certain
foods and what to do with certain conditions. If you find any information that
conflicts between Dr. Campbell-McBrides writings and other resources, always
defer to Dr. Campbell-McBride.

There are a few other supplementary resources that you may find very helpful as
you go through GAPS. I love the GAPS Guide by Baden Lashkov. This guide gives
a thorough overview of the GAPS Diet, offers suggestions for dealing with various
symptoms, concerns, and setbacks, and it also walks you through transitioning slowly
into GAPS Intro. I find it to be a great companion to Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
It expands greatly in some areas and organizes the information differently, which can
be incredibly helpful at times.

Both Gut and Psychology Syndrome and GAPS Guide contain a few basic recipes.
For more ideas and inspiration, plus the added benefit of the recipes being organized
by stage, What Can I Eat Now by Cara Comini and Heal Your Gut by Hilary Boynton
are great books. I hope you also enjoy the basic recipes at the end of this book.

Visit the Healing Patiently resource page for links to these books and many great
GAPS blogs.

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 CHAPTER three
WHY GO SLOW?

Its a marathon, not a sprint.

One of my biggest struggles when I started GAPS was how quickly people
seemed to move through Intro. Most resources seemed to suggest a week or less
on each stage. When I read through the GAPS journals online, people were
blowing through Intro in less than a month. They were adding multiple new foods
in the same day in order to accomplish this.

I also frequently see people saying that Intro didnt work for them. I see people
having to go back on Intro multiple times to address lingering problems. I see
people extremely discouraged because they have to go back a couple stages
when they discover a reaction they didnt catch when the food was first added.

I believe these two things are closely related. I believe that simply by moving
slowly through GAPS Intro, much of this could be avoided.

Now, GAPS Intro is not meant to be a long term thing. It is a very restrictive diet,
and you will want to reach Stage Four and beyond to enjoy a diet with a good
diversity of food. If you are relatively healthy, you likely can go through Intro
quickly as a gut reset.

For those battling serious health concerns and/or food sensitivities, however, GAPS
Intro should be taken slowly. For some, it may take several months to work through.
Be aware of this possibility up front, so you arent discouraged if it does take this long.

BENEFITS OF GOING SLOWLY

When you move through GAPS Intro slowly, not only does it give your body more
time to heal from any damage it has suffered, but it also allows Intro to function as
an elimination diet. For those with food sensitivities, or who believe they may have
some, this is extremely important.

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CHAPTER three: WHY GO SLOW?
The GAPS diet allows immense healing of the gut. Therefore, quite a bit of
healing can be accomplished from Full GAPS alone. But it still takes time to flush
out old junk, reset the gut, find sensitivities, and reframe your relationship with
food. By taking Intro slowly, you give your body time to adjust and teach it to
love nourishing GAPS foods, rather than relying on fruit and nut-based baking
technically GAPS legal, but will cause problems when relied on, especially in
cases of Candida or undiscovered sensitivities. I truly believe that this process will
help make Full GAPS more healing and sustainable when you get there.

The most important benefit of going slowly, in my opinion, is the elimination diet
aspect. I was so sure I could tolerate dairy. Thanks to moving through GAPS Intro
slowly, I learned that it was an acne trigger. This saved me a lot of time and heart
ache from trying to find a solution. During an elimination diet, irritating foods are
removed from the diet, and then slowly added back in, testing for a reaction. This
sure sounds a lot like GAPS Intro! However, if the foods are not added back in
slowly, there is no way to gauge which foods are causing any reactions seen. This
just leads to frustration.

This is why it is best to take at least three days per food added. Food reactions
can take awhile to show up (for example, if my acne breaks out, it is because of
something I ate 23 days prior). Adding too many new foods at once turns this
into a guessing game. Going slow and knowing which food caused the reaction
is much easier than moving fast and having to start over because you dont know
which food caused the problem. It not only is easier in the more empirical terms
of planning and determining which food you are sensitive to, but it is also easier
on your mental health. Remove the frustrations of not knowing what the problem
is. Reduce the risk of needing to move backwards. Move slowly through GAPS,
and your chances of recognizing a problem food right away are much higher. This
results in less stress for you and less stress on your body (on account of continuing
to eat a reactive food).

I dont always follow my own advice, and this contributed to a lot of

my struggles the first time around with GAPS Intro. I did not recognize
that dairy was causing my acne, so I ate butter and yogurt for a month,
wondering why things were not improving. This harmed both my body
and my mental health.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
How long the GAPS Intro Diet lasts will depend entirely on the individual. You may
wait three days between every food and food preparation added in. You may
choose to only wait three days between new foods, but give less time for new
preparations. You may need to take a week or more to thoroughly evaluate given
foods. You may skip over foods you have reacted to in the past and dont want to
test yet. If you have a reaction, you will have to wait until it starts to clear before
continuing to move forward. Both the plan you make and your bodys reactions
will determine how long GAPS Intro takes you to work through.

The main way to know how quickly to move through the GAPS Diet is based on
your reactions and the severity of your symptoms. You do not need to be symptom
free to move forward, but you should be seeing progress. If you add in a food and
notice a reaction to it, take it out and wait until the reaction begins to clear before
moving forward again. Wait at least two weeks before testing that food again.

Here is an example of how you will make GAPS Intro your own experience and
timeline: I added in a couple Full GAPS foods after a month and a half on Intro.
However, I continued to eat almost exclusively Stage 3 and 4 legal meals for
months. I still had a lot of healing to do and knew I was sensitive to quite a few
Stage 5 and 6 foods. I have never enjoyed eating raw vegetables in the winter
anyway, so I didnt even add those until summer came around 45 months into my
GAPS journey. Everyones journey through GAPS will look different.

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CHAPTER four
GETTING STARTED
WITH GAPS INTRO

When beginning any healing diet, preparation is essential. The more preparation
you can do, the easier the transition will go. It will help keep your diet sustainable;
after all, you are in this for the long haul. Do research, get the right tools, batch
cook, and mentally prepare yourself for the journey ahead. This prep work will go
a long way!

PLANNING AND PREP WORK

READING AND RESEARCH
Read Gut and Psychology Syndrome. This should be your starting point. From here,
check out the other books listed in Chapter Two that you feel may be helpful for
you. The resource page for this book will also list a variety of GAPS blogs. Look
through the recipes and read through the journals. The more you educate yourself
about both what you will be doing and how it may affect you and your family, the
better prepared you will be.

PICKING A START DATE

Pick a date to start GAPS Intro. Keep it away from vacations and holidays and try
to do it at a time when you will be able to take some time off if needed. Starting
with the New Year works well for many people. They are motivated to get the year
off to the right start, many other people in their life may also be trying to clean up
their eating, the next holiday is a month and a half away, and soup is an amazing
comfort food in the dead of winter. Others prefer to start in the summer or over
spring break so that their kids do not have to be in school during the adjustment
period. If you go this route, make sure there are no family vacations planned that
could blow the diet. However you make the decision, you should be able to look
at the calendar and not see anything that will test your ability to stick to GAPS until
you are settled into the diet.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
BATCH COOKING
Batch cooking is, in my opinion, the Holy Grail of keeping things sustainable. With
batch cooking, there is always something prepared. If you are tired, you dont
have to think about what to eat, do extensive cooking, wait a long time for food
to be prepared, or run out to the grocery store at the last minute. Batch cooking
allows you to just heat up some soup and eat! Without batch cooking, I would not
have made it through the first week of Intro, and it continues to help keep GAPS
sustainable for me to this day. With batch cooking, sticking to Intro was easier
than eating healthy ever was before GAPS. There was no need to meal plan or
wonder what to eat. I made large batches of GAPS legal soups, and then I ate
them. Not much thought required! See Chapter Eight to learn how to batch cook.

While were on the topic of batch cooking, make sure that you are also taking
time before starting GAPS to make up and freeze extra broth, as well as begin
fermenting vegetables. Broth is a staple of GAPS; it is incredibly healing and you
do not want to run out. You will go through a lot of broth on Intro between making
soups and even drinking it, so make up a good amount before starting and keep
making it whenever you can. Fermented foods, another important part of the diet,
take quite a bit of time to reach completion and wont go bad once you refrigerate
them. Make up a few jars ahead of time, and always keep an eye on how much
is left. As soon as I finish one jar, I wash it and start fermenting more food in it so
that I know I will always have some ready.

PURCHASE NEEDED EQUIPMENT

See the next section for a list of recommended kitchen supplies and tools, as well
as explanations of why you will need them. Figure out what you have in your
kitchen and what you still need. You dont necessarily need a top of the line piece
of equipment most of our kitchen tools are second hand. Do what works with
your budget.

FIGURE OUT FOOD SOURCING

Ideally, we would all eat exclusively local, organic produce and local, organic,
grass-fed or pastured animal products. Look at your budget and determine what
is feasible for you. What can you (or will you, by nature of starting GAPS) cut out
to make more room for high quality food (eating out, coffee, new clothes, cable,
etc.)? Look into local farms, animal shares, CSAs, and farmers markets to find

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CHAPTER four: GETTING STARTED WITH GAPS INTRO
these high quality products for the best prices. Check out your local grocery stores
you might be surprised by what you find! We get most of our food from Costco
and Aldi, as these have amazing prices on high quality foods. Finally, look online
for anything you need that you cannot find locally. Try to narrow down to just
34 sources where you can get the best quality foods for the best prices for your
budget. You will want to do all of this before you start GAPS so that when you are
running low on food, you know exactly where to go. The resource page will link to
more information for sourcing high quality food on a budget.

MAKE PRODUCTS
An important part of GAPS is reducing the toxic load on the body. This means not
only getting rid of the junk in your food, but also the junk in your personal care
and cleaning products. Do this, and you will likely see much better results on your
healing journey. Not only that, but I have found that making my own products
simplifies my life and saves me a ton of money money that I use to purchase
high quality animal products. If you, too, choose to make your own cleaning and
personal care products, take care of this before starting GAPS. Find recipes that
you like and work for you. My resource page links to some of my favorite books
and blogs for just this thing.

STARTING WITH FULL GAPS

Above all, the hardest part of GAPS will be the first few weeks as your body
adjusts and detoxifies. If you are still eating a standard American diet, this period
will be especially difficult. Your body will be detoxing and you will likely be craving
quite a few foods that you will not be able to even have on the Full GAPS diet.
Consider easing into Intro. First go gluten free, then dairy free. Drop processed
foods and sugar. Transition to the paleo or Full GAPS diet. How long you take to
do this, and how long you stay on paleo or Full GAPS, is up to you. Making this
transition first will help your body slowly unload toxins and adjust to a new, whole
foods style of eating. While Intro will still be difficult, priming your body for healing
can help the process go much more smoothly. This is critical, as the transition period
can make or break how sustainable this healing journey is for you. GAPS Guide
gives a walkthrough of a slow transition into GAPS that you can follow.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
ESSENTIAL RESOURCES AND TOOLS
Books, resources, and food sources for completing GAPS Intro: Being comfortable
with the information and your food choices will help you feel confident in the kitchen.

Food processor: Batch chop and shred vegetables for soups and fermenting,
make nut flours and butters from scratch, and more. My food processor is my baby,
and one of the only new items in our kitchen.

Large Stainless Steel Stock Pot (or two): You will be making a lot of stocks and
broths. Make sure you always have something to cook large batches in.

Smaller Glass or Stainless Steel Pans: For heating up individual servings of soups
and boiling eggs.

Cast Iron Skillet: For making ghee, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and pan-fried
meats. Cast iron is the only type of frying pan we use. All our pans come from flea
markets and garage sales my father-in-law is a stickler for cast iron quality and
always gets the highest quality for very low prices this way.

Slow Cooker: Make bone broth when you are farther in your healing, render lard
and tallow, make soups and stews while running errands, and more.

Good Knife: You will be doing a lot of vegetable chopping. Make it easier on
yourself with a high quality nice.

Vegetable Peeler: For peeling non-organic fruits and vegetables, as well as

making vegetable fettuccine.

Blender and/or Stick Blender: Create soup purees, make juice without a juicer,
and blend up less palatable foods (for me, this is chicken skins and organs). Any
blender will do the job for the more basic functions.

Dehydrator: Make crispy nuts and homemade, healthy snacks. An Excalibur

can even be used to make yogurt. While many of the tasks of a dehydrator can
be done in an oven, I find that putting in the money for a cheap dehydrator
was 100% worth it to have the optimal temperature and so that I didnt have to
constantly watch what I was dehydrating.

Mesh Strainer: For straining broth, ghee, etc.

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CHAPTER four: GETTING STARTED WITH GAPS INTRO
Measuring cups and spoons: This is self explanatory.

Lots of bowls and spoons: Youre eating soup 3 times a day or more; its amazing
how many bowls and spoons you go through.

Thermoses: Keep soups and broths warm while on the road, and even use them
to make yogurt. I use a large one for soup purees, yogurt, and tea/broth, and a
small one for meals.

Compost bucket: Dont waste your food scraps turn them into soil! Whether you
use a pile in the backyard, or a more sophisticated system, this is a must have
for me. We use the Bokashi system because it can be used indoors and you can
compost meat/bones in it (no throwing out chicken carcasses!).

Lots of glass storage (mason jars [both pint and quart sized], storage
containers, etc.): Glass is ideal to prevent chemicals leeching into your food. The
more storage containers you have, the more you can batch cook. Look for freezer
safe jars.

Water filter: Remove harmful chemicals, like chlorine and fluoride, from your water.
Look into doing this for both drinking and bathing water.

Non-Toxic Personal Care and Cleaning Products: Decide what you will be using
to eliminate the toxic load of your products. Either purchase these or make them up
ahead of time.

Juicer (optional): Making juice is much easier with an actual juicer.

Yogurt Maker (optional): There are many frugal ways to make yogurt, but using a
designed yogurt maker may be preferable for some.

Garlic Press (optional): We just use a knife, but a garlic press is much faster and
prevents you from biting into a chunk of garlic (if youre not into that).

Spiralizer (optional): For noodle soup.

Fermentation Caps (optional): After a massive fermentation failure, I broke down

and bought these. Instead of getting a whole jar, I got 6 caps that turn any mason
jar into a fermentation jar. I fermented things for quite some time without these, but
now that I am relying on my ferments for my probiotic intake, I like the extra security.

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 CHAPTER five
CULTIVATING THE
RIGHT MINDSET

Much of your success with any healing diet will depend on planning, as described
in Chapter Four. There are a few resources available that will help you plan
and stock your home for GAPS, which I link to in the resource section. The Meal
Planning section in this book will also help you prepare and stay on track.

However, when embarking on a rigorous healing journey, it takes more than a

well stocked kitchen and a meal plan. GAPS is not just practically tough, but it
is emotionally tough. This is especially true if you need to be in it for the long
haul. By cultivating the right mindset and learning to handle the emotions that this
diet will bring up, your ability to succeed will be that much greater. The next two
chapters will help you do this.

BE PREPARED FOR DIE OFF AND TO FEEL DEPRIVED

GAPS food is incredibly satisfying, nourishing, and healing. But this doesnt mean
that it wont bring up some negative emotions. Some of these will be caused by
the die-off of bad bacteria, and some will be caused by your own mindset. Being
prepared for these situations and having a game plan to work through them will
greatly help you in these difficult times.

In the first couple weeks of GAPS Intro, you will encounter both of these, perhaps
frequently and with great strength. As your healing diet kills off the bad bacteria
in your gut and detoxifies your body, you may experience some toxic emotions.
This is normal by the end of the first week of my husband and I doing GAPS,
I wanted to break up with him! Many people report anxiety, irritability, cranky
children, and more. Knowing this doesnt make it any easier at the time, but know
that you will get past this stage.

Die-off also takes many physical forms such as headaches, vomiting, diarrhea,
brain fog, rashes, and more. How severe this is will depend on the individual.
Detoxing can be minimized by easing into GAPS Intro, as discussed in the GAPS

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CHAPTER five: CULTIVATING THE RIGHT MINDSET
Guide. Chapter Six will discuss how to deal with individual symptoms, but the best
way to deal with die off is to cut back on strongly reactive foods (like probiotics)
and take detox baths.

Relaxing detox baths will not only help draw out the toxins polluting both your
physical and emotional state, but the bath itself will also help calm your body and
your mind. Add a few drops of lavender essential to the bath, and bring a book,
music, or simply meditate. Make this therapeutic practice your me time to release
the negative emotions and relax. In lieu of a bath, essential oils such as lavender
or mood blends (see resource page) can help stabilize emotional reactions.

Depending on your personality, you may prefer to curl up in bed and mope until
die-off passes, or your may prefer to be active and take your mind off things. If
moping is your thing, right now I am giving you full permission to do it. As long as
you do not neglect taking care of yourself and any dependants, there is no reason
why you should not be allowed to curl up with some ginger tea, a blanket, and a
book or movie during the first few days. If you are the later type, plan out activities
ahead of time so you know what your options are.

During these first few days, you will also likely feel deprived. This feeling will creep
up later on, too, but Ill be discussing that more in Chapter Six. In these first few
days, this is a completely different type of deprivation you are feeling. Some of it
may be caused by the bad critters in your body dying off and crying out for food.
Some of it may be caused by your mindset eating soup for all of your meals is a
big change and can make one feel very deprived if they are used to grains and
sugar for breakfast, salads for lunch, and meat with a starch for dinner. Deprivation
and cravings caused by die-off are something that you simply must work through
with perseverance, will power, and detox baths. It is not easy if you have never
done an elimination diet or a detox before. But you can do it.

Make sure that you always have food available, and make sure that you have a
variety of soups made up so that you can pick what sounds good to you. Having
those choices will help the feelings of deprivation. If you really need a snack, some
lard mixed with a little honey or ginger gummies will give you a little something.
Vegetables or meat boiled in broth and drained (save the broth of course) is also
an option if you literally cannot eat another soup.

Above all, simply be aware that these feelings will happen, and its okay.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
BE PREPARED TO BE IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL
Some people can go through Intro very quickly. If you are reading this book, you are
probably not one of these people. Even if you can go through Intro in a month, the
Full GAPS diet must be adhered to for a long time. The average is about 2 years.
Some people can transition off after six months, while some need to be on GAPS
for several years before transitioning to a Paleo or traditional foods diet.

You may be able to guess if you are a short term or a long haul GAPSter (the
nickname that people on GAPS have for ourselves) before beginning, but dont
bank on it. GAPS Intro allows for rapid healing. But it can also uncover problems
that you did not know you have as you peel back the layers of leaky gut, toxic
load, inflammation, and more. If you go into Intro thinking youll breeze through it
and be eating wheat by the summer, you will likely be disappointed. Be optimistic
and hopeful about your health, but dont set yourself up for disappointment.

Cultivate the long haul mindset going into GAPS Intro. If you are prepared to stick to
this healing protocol 100% for as long as it takes, you will fare much better than if
you think you will fly through it and then experience a setback. Dont set a time limit
on your healing; allow yourself to go slow, take your time, and listen to your body.

Keep a list of the order you will add back in foods, but try not to schedule out
additions more than a stage in advance. I have seen too many people face
incredible discouragement by telling themselves that they would be at Stage
Four or Full GAPS by a certain time, only to encounter setbacks. This kind of
discouragement can make or break GAPS Intro for some people, and can easily
be avoided by simply deciding to not force a timetable on your healing.

If you expect a certain result by a certain time, in your rush you may neglect signs
from your body telling you that it is not ready. This will leave you with lingering
problems and a need to go back on Intro to resolve them.

You may have setbacks in this process to. You may get sick, or have a stressful
week, or react to a food that you were so sure your body tolerated. Allow yourself
to slow down in these cases. Press pause, or even go back a stage if you need to.
Allow yourself to fully recover before pressing on forward. You will be healthier for
it in the long run.

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CHAPTER five: CULTIVATING THE RIGHT MINDSET
It is easier to just do Intro thoroughly and slowly once and experience rapid
healing than to have to keep repeating it due to lingering problems. You likely
wont experience complete healing and relief from symptoms during Intro (that
is what Full GAPS is for), but you can make a lot of progress and set the tone for
the rest of your GAPS journey by going slow.

So in short: dont set a timer, and dont expect more than your body can give.
Mentally prepare yourself to take as long as you need, and it will go a long way
in helping keep GAPS sustainable for you.

DEALING WITH OTHER PEOPLE

One of the hardest parts of GAPS, or any restricted diet, has got to be dealing
with people who are not on the same diet. When it comes to food, Out of sight,
out of mind is a pretty effective strategy. One you get over the hump of the initial
cravings, if you keep foods you cannot eat out of the house, you will find that it is
much easier to stick to the diet without feeling deprived.

That is, of course, until you try to hang out with friends, visit family, or explain to
someone what you are doing. The degree to which our society revolves around
food is truly amazing. The easiest way to work around this is to schedule visits
at non-meal times or to invite people to your home, where you can prepare food
everyone can eat.

I do not try to explain my GAPS diet to others. It is more complex that simply a yes
and no list, especially in the early stages, and I do not want to put that burden on
anyone else. I did not let anyone else prepare a meal for me until I was into Stage
Four, and could request plain, baked meat and steamed vegetables. Instead, I
brought my own meals in a thermos. Most restaurants are very accommodating of
this, and hopefully your friends and family will understand as well. They may look at
you funny or make snarky comments, but your health is more important than fitting in!

So what do you say when someone asks or comments about your new style of
eating? Here, know your audience. With certain family members, I leave it at I
have some health issues, so right now I am on a strict, temporary diet for healing.
Others are more interested and accepting, and they encourage me to go into
detail. It will also depend on your comfort level with sharing. Try to decide what
your will say before you encounter these people.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
Most importantly, enlist some support if you know you will be entering a difficult
social situation, such as a spouse or a trusted friend. Someone who will stand by
your side, support your decisions, and help you stay strong in the face of SAD
foods and potentially unaccepting opinions. For me, this was my husband. While
he was not always perfect, he kept me sane and stood up for me against skeptical
in-laws and family vacations.

Every situation is unique. Try to start GAPS Intro when you have minimal plans for
the next week or so, allowing you to adjust and strengthen within the diet. From
there, prepare yourself for each situation with food and emotional support to keep
you from feeling like that weirdo. You are in this long term, and you cant just
lock yourself away for the whole thing. (P.S. You are not weird; you are healing
your body. That is the most natural thing you could do.)

APPRECIATE THAT EVERYONES BODY IS DIFFERENT

This is probably the most important mindset that you can cultivate when beginning
your GAPS journey. You may go through GAPS faster or slower than other
members of your family or people you know who have done GAPS. You will
experience symptoms other people dont, and you may find food sensitivities that
other people dont have. It can be incredibly frustrating to react to nuts or eggs or
avocado when everyone else gets to have them.

But you must remember: every body is different. Everyone has their own healing
to accomplish and their own set of problems. While you are mourning that you
cannot eat nuts, someone else may be insanely jealous that you can eat avocados.
You may feel like you are moving so slowly through Intro, but someone else is likely
moving slower. We all move at our own pace and it is important to remember why
we are doing this: to achieve healing. Channel that intention, and remember that
we all heal at our own pace.

Another frustrating aspect of comparison is found in resolving symptoms. When

something comes up, like diarrhea or constipation, you will want so badly to have
a quick fix that you know will work. Thats not what GAPS is about. Its about
healing your body by giving it what it needs, and all of our bodies are craving
something different.

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CHAPTER five: CULTIVATING THE RIGHT MINDSET
For example, one day I was having a conversation with some GAPSters about
constipation. One person found that probiotics instantly cleared it up for her, but
carrot juice did nothing. Another had been increasing her probiotics, to no avail,
but a single juiced carrot gave her relief. You can choose to be discouraged that
a certain remedy doesnt work for you, or you can choose to be glad that there
are so many options available for finding what works best for you.

Appreciate the uniqueness in all of us, and hold onto that as you move through
GAPS and find what is best for your unique body.

ENLIST SUPPORT
This could be a family member, a spouse, a friend, or a group of strangers.
Whoever you choose, having someone supportive in your life will make the process
much easier. The best option, in my opinion, is to have the whole household going
through GAPS, including a spouse that is incredibly supportive and helpful. From
what Ive seen, only the really lucky ones get this. I considered myself lucky enough
to have a husband who was fully supportive of what I was doing, and willing to
keep foods I couldnt eat out of the house, even if he did not follow GAPS himself.

The next best is to have a friend or a local support group who are also going
through GAPS Intro. You can swap recipes and resources, help each other
with batch cooking, provide advice and support through the difficult times, and
celebrate victories others would not understand. They can act as accountability
partners, too, to keep you on your healing path even in the hardest of times.

If nothing else, seek out community online. There are a few different GAPS groups
on Facebook that you can use to get your questions answered and talk with people
who know exactly what you are going through. Personally, I found an amazing
support community on Instagram. Through our pictures and comments, we share
encouragement and knowledge. We are all going through this and troubleshooting
it together. We are all moving at different paces, and I love watching everyone
find healing. During my darkest moments on GAPS Intro, thinking of my Instagram
community was the only thing that kept me from abandoning GAPS. So many
people had told me how much my posts helped them, and I didnt want to
disappoint anyone. I am unbelievable thankful that I had something outside of
myself, giving me the strength to keep going and continue healing my body.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
While finding your own strength is necessary to succeed in any healing diet, no
one is able to be that strong all the time. Finding a supportive person or community
can make all the difference.

DAILY GRATITUDE
Beginning a practice of daily gratitude will do amazing things for your mental
health, and therefore your physical health as well. Stress is very damaging to the
body, while those who take just 5 minutes a day to think about what they are
grateful for have been shown to be in better health.

Moreover, these daily practices of gratitude will help you stick with your healing diet.
It is not easy, and you will likely experience setbacks at least once. By looking for the
good in each day as you heal your body, you are more likely to see the good that
you are doing for your body, rather than focusing on what is difficult about it.

Most importantly, try your best to look at things as learning experiences. It is so easy
to be discouraged by setbacks, reactions, or anything negative that happens along
the way, especially if you were doing extremely well up to that point. Choose
instead the mindset of a learning experience.

Nuts are a trigger food for me, and when I eat them I usually end up binging until I
am sick. This used to cause a lot of guilt, which would just make me want to further
drown my sorrows in almonds. I mean, I was already damaging my body, eating
too much, and making myself sick. What would it matter if I kept doing it?

But instead, I chose to view a binge as I learning experience. I learned that my

body and mind had not healed enough yet to tolerate nuts. I learned that there
isnt only a mental issue, but my body isnt even able to fully digest nuts. This also
taught me that my transit time is a bit sluggish. I had to actively make the decision
to view these events without guilt, but it goes a long way in preserving your mental
health throughout this process.

In this chapter we have talked a lot about how to cultivate the right mindset to move
slowly through GAPS Intro, or any healing diet. It is a lot to take on, and having the
right mindset going in can make or break its sustainability and effect on both your
mental and physical health. If anything, keeping a proper mindset is more difficult
than sticking to the food rules. This is why it is so important to prepare yourself for this
journey you are about to undertake, and make an effort to see the positive in things.

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CHAPTER six
DEALING WITH GOING SLOWLY

Preparing your kitchen and your mindset for embarking on the GAPS diet will go
a long way to helping keep the diet sustainable. However, beginning any sort of
healing diet is a whole new ball game. There will always be surprises and things
you didnt account for. You cant put your life on hold for the months and years you
will be healing. In short, it will still be hard and you can never prepare everything
ahead of time. In this chapter, Ill offer tips for helping to navigate stress, setbacks,
and general life.

PATIENCE
I dont know if I can emphasize patience enough, but so many people lose sight of
this. They want to be at a certain stage by a trip or a birthday. They think that it is
far enough in the future, that it is a safe bet. I myself am guilty of this. Unfortunately,
when people set these time limits on their healing, they often try to stick with it even
if their body is crying out for them to move slower. Best case scenario, this slows or
delays healing. Worst case scenario, this causes damage to the body.

I can preach patience all day, but how does one put this into practice? Its not
easy. You can have the best intentions, but there will always be something coming
up where you want to be able to eat certain foods. You might feel like you are
doing everything perfectly and still run into a setback. You might have a reaction to
a food that you love and were really looking forward to.

Im not going to pretend that patience is easy in these situations, but it is possible.
Begin by intentionally giving yourself time to work through GAPS Intro slowly in an
effort to minimize expecting too much from your body. Remind yourself that it took
you a long time to get this sick, and it is going to take time to heal. The sections
throughout the rest of this chapter can help you deal with feelings of impatience by
helping you work through the situations most likely to trigger it.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
FEELINGS OF DEPRIVATION
Feelings of deprivation will be the hardest thing you face, and how you handle
them will make or break this diet. Im not trying to scare you; thats just what it
comes down to: if you are struggling to stay committed to GAPS, it is going to
trace back to feeling deprived of some sort of food or experience.

You may feel like you cant travel or hang out with friends because of GAPS (see
the section later in this chapter). You will most certainly be missing some of your
favorite old foods. Unlike other elimination diets, early GAPS intro does not lend
itself well to recreations. Look at this with a positive light: if you arent able to
recreate your favorite treats, you will be forced to focus solely on eating incredible
nutrient dense and healing foods. In the long run, this is much better than seeing
how many different ways you can make a GAPS cookie. You will heal much faster,
and you will soon find that those cravings and feelings of longing die down.

This of course does not help when you are just starting out, and even after months
on the protocol, there are still things you will miss. I find that out of sight, out of
mind is the best strategy the majority of the time: if you arent seeing foods you
cant have everywhere, you truly will forget about them. So purge the pantry, dont
watch TV commercials, and limit going out to food-based events as much as you
can at the beginning.

But once again, these feelings will come up anyway, and you cant avoid the real
world forever. So have a game plan. Find a GAPS Intro food that you really like
that you can eat if you just really need something to chew on boiled meatballs,
carrots cooked in broth, etc. Remind yourself of why you are doing this what are
you hoping to gain? What improvements have you seen? Work on mental health
hygiene to help get through these moments. Journal how you are feeling, meditate,
read a book, distract yourself with an activity; whatever is going to help you.
Oddly enough, I find that the best way to distract myself from cravings for food
is to start batch cooking! Two birds, one stone.

Feelings of deprivation will happen on any elimination or healing diet. But they
do not need to have power over you. You give them power by feeding them
either with negativity or the foods you crave. Below I give tips on how to cultivate
positivity and good mental hygiene, all of which will help you handle feelings of
deprivation.

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CHAPTER six: DEALING WITH GOING SLOWLY
DEALING WITH SETBACKS
Life happens. Setbacks happen. Maybe you reacted to a food and had a flare.
Maybe you ate something off-diet and are now paying for it. Maybe you are
regressing for no apparent reason. This last will be the hardest at least with the
others you have something to point to.

When you do have something to point to, the course of action is easy: remove
the offending food, work through the symptoms, and then move forward. You can
even do a day on stage one if the damage is bad enough and you wish to speed
up healing. Make note of what caused your reaction, and make an effort to avoid
it in the future. If it was a GAPS Intro food you were testing, particularly from the
early stages, you may retest it in a few weeks if you desire. Remember, Intro is very
healing and the foods on it are very nourishing if tolerated.

If you dont have something to point to, the setback could be caused by any
number of things. A reaction from a food you are consuming regularly, from
exposure to a toxin, from something in your lifestyle, etc. It could be caused by
one thing you werent aware of, or by the slow accumulation of something else.
This is why keeping journals of what you eat, what you do, and how you feel is
so important. Looking back, you may find a correlation you didnt notice before.

But sometimes, setbacks, reactions, and problems have no explanation. Whether

caused by die-off, an environmental reaction, or simply a disease flare unrelated
to lifestyle, you still have to deal with the symptoms that you are now experiencing.
Once again, mental hygiene, as described below, will help deal with the
emotional aspects of a setback.

To deal with immediate symptoms, a day on stage one may help if the symptoms
are strong enough. Or if you are struggling emotionally, depriving yourself further
may make things worse: you will be the judge of that.

Above all, you will have to manage symptoms as they come in a way that is legal
for your stage. Search Gut and Psychology Syndrome, GAPS Guide, and the FAQ
document for suggestions on dealing with many common problems. If these still
dont help, try searching or asking on one of the GAPS forums. Be careful here
some people will suggest natural remedies that are not okay for GAPS Intro or
even Full GAPS.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
I like to turn to essential oils for support beyond real food and detox baths. Be
sure to use only the highest quality, dilute well, and only use them topically or
aromatically to avoid upsetting the fragile gut. When these three guidelines are
followed, essential oils can be used safely for a variety of symptoms. Using mood-
balancing oils got me through quite a few rough days. Digestive supporting oils
helped me through gut discomfort.

Finally, if you are working with a GAPS practitioner, always consult them when
setbacks occur, particularly if you are looking for a remedy to use. They are most
familiar with your situation and therefore should be able to best offer you a GAPS-
friendly solution.

TRAVELING AND EATING OUT

Im going to be straight with you: dont try to travel or eat out early on GAPS Intro.
Traveling by car isnt too bad, since you can pack everything you need in coolers.
But it is still a very stressful experience when you are already going through a huge
change. Eating out is simply impossible until you have reached Stage Four (good
luck finding a GAPS Intro soup on the menu!), and even then you have to be very
careful about how your dish is prepared.

If you want to go out to eat early on, pack your own food. It will feel weird at
first, but you get used to it. Restaurants dont care that you do this as long as
other people at the table are ordering it makes it easier for them to not have to
accommodate GAPS! Simply fill a thermos with whatever you want and take it
out when everyone else gets there food. Before you do this, however, be sure to
evaluate not only the practical considerations, but also the impact this will have on
your mental health. Dont do anything that will overly stress you or lead you to go
off your healing diet.

When farther along, you may decide that you want to try ordering something
at a restaurant. Know that you do this at your own risk: without making the food
yourself, you cannot guarantee that it is prepared only with foods you can tolerate,
in a way you can tolerate, and with no cross-contamination. An organic or paleo-
friendly restaurant will be your best bet. Ask for plain meat, pan-fried in a fat you
can tolerate (no processed GMO oils, please!) with a side of steamed vegetables.
Top these with fat, salt, and pepper. Depending on the restaurant, what you
tolerate, and your comfort level, you may be able to branch out a bit farther. Just

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CHAPTER six: DEALING WITH GOING SLOWLY
make sure to always be very clear about what you can and cannot eat. Some
restaurants will be more tolerant of this than others. Ask other GAPSters or people
on traditional diets in your area for recommendations of restaurants they have
found to be accommodating.

Finally, travel. Both easier and more difficult than eating out. If you can travel by
car, batch cook, load up a cooler, drive to where you are staying, and you will be
fine. If possible, stay somewhere with a kitchen. In nothing else, it should have a
mini fridge for all your food. Bringing along a slow cooker or an Instapot will give
you a way to heat up meals without a stove. Batch cooking beforehand will help
save time so you arent slaving over a stove on your vacation, but you can also
find a grocery store there to pick up ingredients.

If you must fly, this will be much trickier. Take as much with as you can, being wary
of airline restrictions. You could even freeze meals ahead of time, put them in an
insulated bag, and put that in your checked luggage. Do your best to stay somewhere
with at least a kitchenette, and pick up ingredients at the local grocery store.

If nothing else, find a way to bring broth on your travels. That will be the hardest to
procure once at your destination. By simmering broth until it is highly concentrated,
you will be able to bring more in less space. Reconstitute it later with filtered water.

WHAT IF I CHEAT?
There is no cheating with GAPS. When on an elimination diet, whether GAPS,
the Autoimmune Protocol, or any other, you must stick to it 100% in order to be
successful and learn about any food sensitivities. Furthermore, with a healing
protocol, it must be adhered to 100%, both in diet and lifestyle, in order to see
results. Im sorry if that sounds harsh, but the truth is that if you do not follow GAPS
Intro 100%, you cannot blame GAPS for any lack of healing.

Some people thrive with this kind of strict declaration. I am one of them. I
completely failed in my attempts to ease into GAPS. I had decided to eat Full
GAPS for at least one week before starting Intro. If you had seen all the grains,
gluten, and sugar I ate....The night before starting Intro, I had a hot chocolate
with Baileys Irish cream in it! But once I hit my start date, I was 100% committed.
I made mistakes the first few months, but I never ate anything that wouldnt be
considered Full GAPS.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
If you decide that cheating is not an option, it wont be.

However, I understand that some people need to ease in and they need flexibility.
I understand that they struggle with the 100% mentality. I understand that you may
have a slip, intentional or not. Proper planning and mindset, as described in this
book, should help reduce your chances of this. But sometimes things happen.
Heres what to do if you go off the protocol:

Get back on as soon as possible. This is the most important piece. Dont say,
Well, Ive already eaten something I shouldnt. May as well bag the whole
day and start over tomorrow. I am very susceptible to this mind set, and it will
devastate your body if you give into it. Start over right away. The fewer damaging
foods you eat, the less damage you will do to your body. You do not have to
start back over at Stage One unless whatever happened did severe damage.
Simply go back to where you left off for three days, or until any reactions subside
(whichever comes last), before adding in more foods.

Release your guilt. Feeling guilty about whatever happened will slow your healing
and may drive you to eat more of some non-GAPS food. You cannot change what
happened, so dont dwell on it and wish you could. Move forward and focus your
emotional energy on healing, not regretting.

Be prepared with natural remedies. Take a detox bath, drink lots of healing
broth, and drink ginger tea to help support the digestive system and detoxification
pathways. If you know that you can expect a certain reaction from non-GAPS
foods, such as GI pain or explosive moods, keep GAPS-legal remedies that have
helped you in the past nearby.

Make a plan for the future. Why did you stray from GAPS? Was it a strong
craving, a lack of food at a party, an act of rebellion against yourself? Reflect on
why this happened and make a plan to prevent it from happening in the future.

You can do this. You really can! Just take it one day at a time and keep
moving forward.

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CHAPTER six: DEALING WITH GOING SLOWLY
DAILY JOURNALING
Keeping some sort of journal is necessary for GAPS Intro, or any elimination diet.
Here you will keep track of what you eat, your bowel movements, your sleep, your
stress, any exercise, how you feel, and any other pertinent information. You should
also use this journal to record any symptoms and health problems you have before
beginning GAPS. Sound like a lot? With the right system, it is easy enough to keep
track of everything.

By keeping this sort of journal, you can see at a glance what you have been doing
and how the diet is going. It is great to look back and see how far I have come
since beginning the diet a very helpful tool for those days when you wonder
if it is worth it. A detailed journal will also help you make connections to foods or
activities and any reactions. Sometimes a reaction is obvious, like a rash a few
hours after eating a given food. Other times, it is not. Without my food journal, I
would never have discovered that dairy and pork gave me acne.

At this end of this book, I have charts that you can edit, print, and use for your own
journal. You may decide you want to create your own type of chart, or a narrative
journal may be best for you. Just as long as it includes all foods, symptoms, and
information relevant to your health concerns, whatever helps you maintain the
journal is a good format.

MENTAL HYGIENE
As you move through GAPS Intro, or any healing or restrictive diet, having what I
call good mental hygiene is absolutely essential. By cultivating a healthy mindset,
as described in Chapter 5, and doing some of these self care practices, you will
find yourself much more able to deal with setbacks and stressors. In fact, practicing
good mental hygiene can have a huge impact on the speed of your healing.

MEDITATION AND YOGA

Destress your mind and your whole body with meditation and yoga. Yin yoga is
my personal favorite it provides healing movement to my body and calming for
the mind, without over working me. Yoga nidra is also a great guided meditation
practice that activates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the entire
body; it is good for mid-afternoon fatigue as well as getting to sleep at night. Any
other form of meditation or yoga that feels good for you and helps you relax will
do wonders for your mental health.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
Not into that scene? Other mindless activities such as simple knitting, coloring,
doodling, or spending time in nature can also give a similar effect.

GET OUTSIDE
Speaking of...get outside if you can. I started GAPS Intro in January in Minnesota
so I know this isnt always possible. But if you can, go outside. Take a walk,
breathe fresh air, feel the sun on your face (and absorb that vitamin D!), and
ground yourself. All of these will do wonders for calming your mind and body,
and supporting good mental and physical health.

If you cant get outside, look into earthing products, lay in a sunbeam (yes, like a
cat), and open the windows for a short while. Germans are obsessed with doing
this, and for good reason! It recirculates the air in your home and replaces it with
fresh air from outside, which is much preferable to breathing the same stale air day
in and day out during the winter. Filling your home with plants will also help keep
the air clean and the environment friendly.

TAKE A BATH
Detox baths are a critical part of the GAPS diet. They help cleanse the body of
toxins and can help relieve die-off symptoms. They are also the perfect time for
some self care. Make at least one or two of your detox baths each week a spa
night for yourself. Make sure the kids are taken care of, draw yourself a bath, add
Epsom salts and a few drops of lavender essential oil, and relax. Dim the lights
and light candles if you wish. Enjoy a book or some music. Allow yourself to relax
and let go of the worries of the day.

SLEEP
If there is one thing on this list that you do, it should be sleep. Your body is healing,
and it needs all the time to rest and repair that it can get. Dont skate by with a
few hours of sleep a night or shoot for 78 hours. Take as much as you need.
I know in many living situations, this isnt always possible, so take what you can
get. Focus on quality fewer hours of high quality sleep can be better than more
hours of low quality sleep.

Turn off the electronics and begin to wind down for the night a couple hours before
your bedtime. Sleep in as dark of a room as possible. Allow yourself to wake

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CHAPTER six: DEALING WITH GOING SLOWLY
naturally if possible. There are many resources available on good sleep hygiene
and its importance, which I have linked to on my resource page. And dont forget
to take naps if you need them.

FOCUS ON THE GOOD

It comes back to gratitude. If you focus on the negative, you will never have good
mental hygiene. If you can spend just 5 minutes at the end of the day thinking
about what went well, you will begin to see a shift. Make a point of doing this
practice every night. During the day, try to see the good in things. What went
right? What is something valuable that you can learn from the negatives? Instead
of thinking about the ways you dont feel good today, think about how much you
have improved so far.

When I had a string of bad days, my husband was very concerned for me and
thought GAPS was doing more harm than good. But because of my effort to focus
on the good, all I could do was tell him the ways it had blessed my life, and all
the improvements I was still experiencing despite the setback I was in. This gave
me strength to keep moving, get out of that slump, and I am now in better health
that I have ever been in before.

Do not underestimate the power of positive thinking. The setbacks and deprivation
will be hard, but they will not beat you if you make a conscious effort to focus on the
good. Even if you have to set a reminder on your phone to journal 3 things you are
grateful for, do it. You will see it gradually change your mental health and your life.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS....

You just gotta stick with it. You can do everything perfectly. You can prepare
yourself and take care of yourself to the best of your ability. And sometimes you
will still hit hard times. You may feel stuck, hopeless, or impatient. You may
desperately want out. I get it! Ive been there. Burnout happens. It is never easy,
no matter what the reason or how well you are doing in other areas.

So find your why. Why are you doing GAPS? Are you willing to give up on that
at this time? Or do you want to keep moving forward so that you can conquer this
thing and say you have done it and you have healed yourself? Keep your why
close to your heart, write it down if you have to, and dont forget it. It alone will
pull you out of the darkness and keep you on your path of healing patiently.

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MENU PLANNING
CHAPTER seven
HOW TO USE THIS SECTION

This section of meal plans actually does not contain any. How you move through
GAPS will be individual to your family and even to each family member. In the first
few days of Intro, you may be ravenous and eat 6 full bowls of soup, or you may
feel repulsed by the idea of food and just eat to keep your strength up. You will
require different lengths of time on each stage than I, or anyone else, did. You may
have to move backwards and you may find sensitivities. So instead of creating
meal plans, I instead created templates. Each stage has a list of foods that are
allowed, some recipe suggestions, suggestions on how to assemble a stage-legal
meal, and a chart that can be used as a guideline for adding food. Use these,
plus Chapter Eight on batch cooking, to plan your own menus and prepare meals
based on where you are.

HOW TO READ THE FOOD CHARTS

When you first add in a food, you want to start with a small amount and gradually
increase, looking for reactions along the way. As I discussed in Chapter Four,
I recommend taking at least three days to add one food in order to isolate a
reaction not only to the food, but to also increased amounts of the food. In the first
few days that a food can be added, I will list the amount you can test. For some,
you may want to try even less at a time. The night before a food is added, you
may also want to perform a sensitivity test. Do this by placing a small amount of
that food, mashed up, on your wrist and allowing it to dry. Leave it on overnight
and check for some sort of reaction the next morning.

If there is just an x in a box on the chart, it means you may eat as much as your
body tolerates of that food. If a food is listed in the What Can I Eat? list and not
in the chart, assume that you can eat as much as your body tolerates. Although in
the charts, I give a new food every 3 days in a certain order, you are welcome
to take longer or change up the order. Just make sure you maintain a progression:
for example, egg yolks and soft boiled eggs are both Stage Two, but you need
to add the raw egg yolks first. Although it is meant for reintroductions on the

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
Autoimmune Protocol, Eileen Laird has a wonderful book, called Reintroducing
Foods on the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol, detailing how to introduce foods if you
feel you should move very slowly.

The charts give a time line that I consider to be the fastest you should go. To see
deep healing and confidently identify food sensitivities, you need to very slowly
add new foods back in. Therefore, each stage begins with Day 1. This will allow
you to keep track of where you are within a stage, rather that forcing you to keep
pace with me for all of intro. You may look at these charts and find them daunting
That many days to get through intro?! And the idea that it might take even longer
if there are setbacks?! I get it. So remember that this is your healing journey, and
no one elses. Move at a pace that feels good to you and your body. With these
charts I am simply providing a guideline to help you visualize what foods can be
added when.

WHEN TO MOVE ON FROM EACH STAGE

Remember that Stage One, and Intro in general, will not make you symptom free.
Healing is a long process. It is okay to move on despite lingering symptoms.

Stage One can last anywhere from 1 to 7 days, but should not last longer. I
feel 23 days is probably good for most people; it jump starts the healing and
detoxing, without keeping yourself deprived for too long. Because it is so restrictive
and stage two foods are so nourishing, try not to stay on Stage One longer
than 35 days unless you are experiencing severe symptoms such as cramping,
bleeding, or diarrhea. Move to Stage Two either after these have cleared up,
or after 7 days, whichever comes first.

Only you can make the best call for what your body needs. Listen to it. In the
Stage One table I include 3 days, but do whatever feels good for your body.
For example, the first time I did Intro, I needed to move on after 3 days. The
second time, my body asked me to stay for 5 days.

For Stages Two Six, simply move on once you have added in all the foods from
that stage successfully. If you have a reaction to a certain food, feel free to move
on to the next stage without adding it back in. Just remember to revisit that food
after a few weeks or so to see if you are still reacting.

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CHAPTER seven: HOW TO USE THIS SECTION
IS IT OKAY TO SKIP ADDING FOODS?
In the first few stages, avoid skipping foods if you can. All the allowed foods
are incredibly nourishing and lovely additions to the diet if they can be tolerated.
However, in the case of a known allergy, it is okay to skip over a food until more
healing has been achieved.

Regarding the foods in later stages, you may find that you do well without them.
Many people struggle with baked goods, fruit, and increased amounts of honey.
If you already know this is the case for you, feel free to skip over these foods until
more healing is accomplished.

Do not let yourself be frightened of certain foods because you think you dont
like them or you are scared there might be a reaction. You may be surprised by
what your body can handle. A good rule of thumb for my body is to incorporate
as many Stage Four foods as my body can tolerate, and then only eat the Stage
Five and Six foods that sound good and nourishing to me. Your body may ask for
something different. After some time on Intro, your body should have experienced
enough healing to help you recognize this.

A NOTE ON PROBIOTICS
Probiotic foods (brine from fermented vegetables, sauerkraut, fermented vegetables,
yogurt, kefir, sour cream, etc.) can be added during Stage One of GAPS Intro.
Some people include them from Day 1, while others have to hold off for a bit due
to intense die off. In the plans, I include it starting on Day 1 and then increase the
amount of probiotic foods every 3 days. Please adjust this as your body requires.
If you experience strong die off from increasing probiotics, go back to your old
dose and wait a bit before adding in more. You may find that you need to add
more time in between when you increase your probiotic foods. Since everyone
goes through Intro at their own pace, I will list how I added in probiotics for myself
here. Remember to serve these separate from hot foods, or allow your soup/broth
to cool before adding, to prevent killing the good bacteria. You may also choose
to take one of your probiotic servings in the morning with your water.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
Begin 1 tsp added to 1 meal

Increase 1 1 tsp added to 2 meals

Increase 2 1 tsp added to 3 meals

Increase 3 2 tsp added to 1 meal; 1 tsp added to 2 meals

Increase 4 2 tsp added to 2 meals; 1 tsp added to 1 meal

Increase 5 2 tsp added to 3 meals

Increase 6 1 tbsp added to 1 meal; 2 tsp added to 2 meals

Increase 7 1 tbsp added to 2 meals; 2 tsp added to 1 meal

Increase 8 1 tbsp added to 3 meals

Increase 9 2 tbsp added to 1 meal; 1 tbsp added to 2 meals

Increase 10 2 tbsp added to 2 meals; 1 tbsp added to 1 meal

Increase 11 2 tbsp added to 3 meals

Increase 12 3 tbsp added to 1 meal; 2 tbsp added to 2 meals

Increase 13 3 tbsp added to 2 meals; 2 tbsp added to 1 meal

Increase 14 3 tbsp added to 3 meals

Increase 15 cup added to 3 meals

A quarter cup of probiotic foods per meal is a good goal to reach. It may take you
a long time to get here, or you may find that your body is very happy at a lower
amount of probiotic food. Maybe you will find your body wants more, in which
case feel free to keep increasing. If you choose to take a commercial probiotic,
it is recommend to still consume fermented foods, but it is not required to take
as much. While many find commercial probiotics beneficial, it is not necessary.
Fermented foods have large quantities and varieties of beneficial bacteria without
the fillers in most commercial probiotics. On the other hand, some people may
struggle with fermented foods, not want to make them (it is actually very easy), or
struggle to reach a therapeutic dose. If you choose to use a commercial probiotic,
it is important to find one that is GAPS-legal and these can be quite expensive
compared to home-fermented foods. As always, find what works for your body
and your wallet and keeps the diet sustainable.

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CHAPTER seven: HOW TO USE THIS SECTION
WHERE ARE THE NIGHTSHADES?
Tomatoes, eggplant and bell peppers are technically allowed on GAPS Intro
from Stage One. Nightshade spices are allowed in Stage Five. Potatoes are not
allowed even on Full GAPS. However, I have a nightshade sensitivity, and I feel
this may be true for more people than would be expected. After all, I am not
diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and I have no joint issues, yet they are
still a problem for me. If you have an autoimmune disease, nightshades should
especially be eliminated for a period of time before testing.

Personally I believe that anyone with inflammation issues could be benefited by

cutting out nightshades for a short period of time. However, this is not required
for GAPS, so you can make your own decision on that front. I do not cook with
nightshades, so I cant provide recipes with them. If you know you tolerate them,
feel free to add them into your soups.

WHERE IS THE COCONUT OIL?

Coconut oil is technically allowed from Stage One of GAPS Intro. However, coconut
oil causes strong die off in many people. Some can tolerate it just fine from Stage
One, while others choose to not add it until Full GAPS. If you love coconut oil, feel
free to try it during Stage One, and cut back if it causes die off. Just remember that
animal fats should be the priority at this point in your healing process.

WHAT ABOUT DAIRY?

Dairy is a tricky one. Many people cannot digest lactose and/or casein. Casein
can also be a cross-reactor for gluten. However, the GAPS Intro Diet also provides
substantial healing. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride recommends fermented dairy
from the very beginning for those who can tolerate it, especially those with diarrhea.

But how to you know if you tolerate dairy? You may think you tolerate dairy just
fine, but get a surprise! I didnt anticipate any dairy troubles, but ended up having
to cut everything except ghee out for quite some time. If you are at all concerned,
cut everything out at first. Begin testing dairy in Stage Two with ghee. From here,
nothing else in the Intro structure addresses dairy. Since Intro heals the gut quickly,
you may be able to follow a compressed version of the Dairy Introduction Structure.
If you succeed with ghee and feel comfortable adding more dairy, add other dairy

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
products in the order Dr. Campbell-McBride suggests. This may look like butter at
Stage Three and yogurt at Stage Four, etc. You may also choose take longer.

I do not include it in the charts since this will be a very individual choice and is not
explicitly defined by Dr. Campbell-McBride. The recipe section includes tutorials on
making ghee and yogurt, but no other recipes require dairy. When in doubt, do a
sensitivity test for dairy before an oral test.

44 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

CHAPTER eight
GAPS BATCH COOKING

As you work your way through GAPS Intro, batch cooking will go a long way
towards keeping you on track. When things are hard and stressful, when you are
short on time, or when you are experiencing die-off and are exhausted, batch
cooking will be there for you. By preparing large batches of soups at a time,
you will always have something available for a quick meal, keeping you from
unhealthy convenience foods.

Batch cooking is especially recommended for the first week of GAPS, if nothing
else. This is when you will be the most tired and have the strongest cravings, all
without the habit or positive feedback that comes with having been on the diet for
longer. I know that if I hadnt batch cooked before beginning Intro, my husband
and I would not have made it through those first few days.

Begin with some planning: What soups do you want, what do you need to make
them, and how much do you need? Plan on each person eating about 34 pints
of soup per day. Depending on the person, they may eat more or less. Some are
famished the first few days of GAPS Intro, while others battle an aversion to food and
lack of appetite. Making 812 quarts of soup per person will give you a good start
and cover enough days for you to build up your strength for another batch of cooking.

After figuring out what you need and getting your ingredients, you will need to
plan a batch cooking day. Depending on your energy levels and schedules, you
may need to break this up over a few days. Start to finish (including packaging),

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
my first batch cook took about 10 hours. Each subsequent session takes me less
time as I refine my system. For this first one, make sure that you are feeling good
and wont be overworking yourself.

The following is a step by step guide to my first batch cooking session. This made
about 20 quarts of soup and lasted two people 6 days. (Note that we both
reacted to Intro with food aversions, but still made an effort to get enough calories)

RECIPES
I made 6 different soups so that we would have plenty of variety. When you feel
restricted, the more choices you have the better:

Pureed Squash (page 74)

Cauliflower Mash (page 74)
Beef Soup (page 74)
Creamy Meatball Soup (page 75)
Ginger Carrot Soup (page 74)
Chicken Soup (page 73)

MY SHOPPING LIST:
2 lbs broccoli
4 lbs cauliflower
2 cups frozen peas
2 whole chickens
2 lbs ground beef
3 lbs beef bones
6 onions
2 inches fresh ginger
14 cups cubed squash and carrots (2 butternut squash and at least
2 pounds of carrots)
about 10 quarts stock (you will make about 3 quarts on prep day)
4 tablespoons pastured lard (previously rendered)
To be added later: salt, 1 clove garlic, and 1 tablespoon fat to
each pint of soup

THE DAY BEFORE CHOPPING AND CHICKENS

(time = 34 hours)

Prepare your vegetables, chickens, and make some stock to prepare for the big
day of cooking. Depending on how you are feeling, you can even prepare a

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CHAPTER eight: GAPS BATCH COOKING
couple soups. This doesnt have to be the day before you can do all of these
preparations and freeze the results until the main batch cooking day.

STEP ONE START THE CHICKEN

(time = 5 minutes)

If you have two stock pots, do both chickens at the same time.

1. Take one chicken, remove the packaging, rinse, and place in a large
stock pot with giblets.
2. Fill with filtered water until the chicken is covered.
3. Just barely bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for an hour.

STEP TWO PREPARING THE VEGETABLES

(time = varies, up to 60 minutes)

I bought my broccoli and cauliflower pre-chopped. This is a totally valid way to

save time!

1. While the chicken is cooking, wash and chop the vegetables. Be sure
to remove any peels, seeds, and fibrous parts. If chopping broccoli or
cauliflower, remove the stems. Take advantage of the food processor to
speed up chopping. I recommend using the S blade for the onions.
2. Store the vegetables however you can bowls, jars, gallon sized bags,
etc. Make sure to double bag/wrap the onions to prevent the smell from
penetrating the entire refrigerator.

STEP THREE MAKING CHICKEN SOUP

(time = 3045 minutes)

1. When the chicken is cooked, remove it and all the organs onto a plate.
2. If desired, add a pound of broccoli, one onion, and 4 cups of carrots/
squash to the broth (or any other combination of vegetables you wish). (If you
cooked both chickens at the same time, only do this with one of the pots).
3. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, and once the chicken is cool enough,
separate it into 3 categories: soft bits (skin and connective tissue), hard bits
(bones and cartilage), and meat.
5. Add some broth from the soup pot along with the soft bits to a blender and
blend on medium until smooth. When the vegetables are done, add it back
into the soup with the meat.
6. If this is your only stock pot, transfer the soup to another pot/container/bowl
and let cool.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
STEP FOUR MAKING BROTH
(time = about 120 minutes)

This step will depend on how many pots you have. If you were able to cook both
chickens at the same time, you now have one chicken soup, one pot of broth, one
whole chicken, and one chicken carcass. If you had to do your chickens one at a
time, repeat Step One until you have everything listed.

1. Dismantle the second chicken. Set the meat and soft bits aside.
2. Add both chicken carcasses to a (empty) stock pot. If you have them, chicken
feet also make a great addition. Add filtered water to cover the bones.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for an hour and a half.
4. While making the stock, transfer the chicken soup and the broth from the
second chicken into storage containers. Refrigerate overnight before freezing.
5. Begin cleaning up with the extra time before the stock is done.
6. After an hour and a half, remove the carcasses and let cool before
refrigerating. After cooling, freeze the carcasses to make bone broth
later on in Full GAPS.

Congrats! You now have one soup, extra chicken and skin, and at least
23 quarts of broth!

BATCH COOKING DAY

Today you will be cooking 5 different soups, so it is important to be strategic about
your order. It is important that you are able to have two pots going at the same
time, and that you also have bowls and containers to store prepared ingredients,
cooling soups, and finished soups. The beef soup takes the longest, and the
cauliflower puree is needed later, so start with these.

STEP ONE BEEF SOUP

(time = 3 hours)

This step can also be done the day before while the chickens are cooking if you
have enough pots.

1. Place the beef bones in a pot; add two quarts of filtered water, or enough
to cover.
2. Bring to just barely a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook covered for
23 hours. Check periodically that there is enough water.
3. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the water and add vegetables (see
Step Three) to the broth. Continue simmering until the vegetables are soft.

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CHAPTER eight: GAPS BATCH COOKING
4. Once the meat cools, remove it from the bones, shred the meat, and puree
the connective tissues with some broth. Add all of this back in with the
vegetables and save the bones for broth.

STEP TWO CAULIFLOWER PUREE

(time = 40 minutes)

1. Add all the cauliflower (4 pounds), one onion, and 1.5 quarts of broth to a pot.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 30 minutes.
3. When the cauliflower is fully cooked, puree until smooth.
4. Divide the soup in half; add 4 tablespoons of lard to half to make a creamy
soup/sauce. Reserve the other half.

STEP THREE MEANWHILE PREPARATIONS

While the cauliflower soup is cooking, begin preparing for your next soups:

1. Portion vegetables out as follows:

a. 2 lbs of carrots, one onion, and 2 inches of ginger for the
Ginger Carrot Soup
b. 4 cups of butternut squash and one onion for the Squash Puree
c. 1 pound of broccoli, one onion, and the remaining squash/carrots for
the Beef Soup
d. 2 cups frozen peas, half the cauliflower puree, and one onion for the
Creamy Meatball Soup
2. Form 32 meatballs from the 2 pounds of ground beef

STEP FOUR MORE SOUPS

(time = up to 2 3 hours)

1. When a soup is finished, transfer it to a bowl or glass jars to cool. Once at

room temperature, move it into the refrigerator. If you need to store in plastic,
now is when you can do that. Soups should be at refrigerator temperature
before freezing.
2. As soon as a pot opens up, begin the next soup. The squash and carrot
purees and the meatball soup take about 40 minutes each. Their recipes can
be found in the recipe section.
3. Dont worry about washing dishes in between soups. This is a waste of time
and water. Most dishes have similar ingredients and you shouldnt have to
worry about cross contamination. Simply rinse out the pot and move on!

Batch cooking can be done with any combination of soups and foods! The above
outline should give you an idea for how to structure you batch cooking session for
whatever you are making.

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 CHAPTER nine
STAGE ONE

Stage One removes all the problematic foods and replaces them with extremely
nourishing ones: broths, meats, vegetables, animal fats and tissues, and probiotic
foods. Everything is well cooked via boiling to make it as digestible as possible.
Stage One foods will bring on tremendous healing, but can also bring on
tremendous die-off as the junk is released and bad bacteria fight to survive.
Stick with it, care for yourself, and continue to nourish your body.

When meal time comes, dont worry about what you have eaten earlier; eat
what sounds good to your body. I dont want to dictate what I think you should
eat, especially not in a stage that can be so stressful on the body and the mind.
Prepare a variety of soups ahead of time (see Chapter Eight) and eat when and
what sounds good to you. I dont care if you have had 3 bowls of chicken soup
already today. If thats what makes you happy, while the thought of eating butternut
squash puree makes you want to throw in the towel, do what makes it sustainable
for you. All Stage One soups are incredibly nourishing, so it is certainly not
something to be concerned about.

WHAT CAN I EAT?

Homemade stock
Boiled meats, especially meats from the bone and soft tissues; organ meats
Boiled vegetables non-fibrous, like broccoli and cauliflower (no stalks),
carrots, onions, garlic, squash, etc.
Animal fats tallow, lard, goose, chicken, duck
Sea salt and whole peppercorns
Brine from fermented vegetables and sauerkraut do not eat the actual
vegetables themselves!
Ginger, mint, or chamomile tea (loose leaf)
Small amounts of honey, (completely optional)
Yogurt, sour cream, kefir if you tolerate dairy

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CHAPTER nine: STAGE ONE
RECIPE IDEAS:
Chicken Soup (page 73)
Beef Soup (page 74)
Butternut Squash Puree (page 74)
Ginger Carrot Soup (page 74)
Cauliflower Puree (page 74)
Meatball Soup (page 75)
Creamy Meatball Soup (page 75)
Ginger Tea (page 75)
Fermented Vegetables (brine only) (page 76)
Sauerkraut (brine only) (page 77)
Homemade Yogurt (page 78)
Fat and Honey Bombs (page 78)

A DAY ON STAGE ONE:

Upon waking: Drink a glass of mineral water, still filtered water, or ginger tea.

When hungry: Eat your meals. Dont worry about the time of day or how many
meals youve had. Eat when you are hungry, and dont eat if you are not. You
may not be hungry until after 10am. You may be repulsed by the idea of food.
You may be ravenous 24/7. Eat what your body asks for these first few days.
Drink broth between meals if desired (consider keeping some warm in a crock pot,
on the stove, or in a thermos). If you are not hungry, but feeling weak, try to eat
something. Broths and animal fats are ideal, but whatever Stage One food sounds
appealing is fine.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
If you desperately need a treat, fat and honey bombs can be a huge help. Be
careful to not rely on them, though. Meat, soups, and vegetables with lots of fat
are much more nourishing and will be better for healing the digestive system than
eating treats with honey, especially with cases of Candida. Certainly do not have
more than a tablespoon of honey a day. Ideally you will have less, if any.

Preparing Stage One Meals: Your soups and broths should be premade if at all
possible. Simply chop up a clove of garlic per serving and add it to the soup. Add
additional animal fats if desired (this is especially important if your body takes the
aversion to food path; the extra fats will help you get enough calories). Bring to a
boil and serve. Salt to taste. (See? Thats much easier than making up a new soup
every day)

Throughout the day: Keep busy to help take your mind off food. I recommend
starting GAPS Intro when you do not have plans in order to keep things simple.
Play games, write, go for a walk, read a book, do anything that helps you and
your family make it through these first, hardest days. Cook more soup and broth if
it makes you happy; you can never have too much stored up!

Evening: Meditate. Take a detox bath (Epsom salts, baking soda, apple cider
vinegar, or seaweed powder). Turn off electronics by 9pm. Go to bed early if you
are tired. Allow your body to rest and heal. Diet changes can be stressful on the
body and the spirit, and stress can be just as harmful to the gut as bad food. Take
care of yourself.

STAGE ONE DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3

Boiled Meats x x x

Boiled Vegetables x x x

Broth x x x

Animal Fats and Tissues x x x

Small amounts of honey (optional) 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp

Ginger Tea x x x

Probiotic Food 1 tsp

52 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

CHAPTER ten
STAGE TWO

Stage Two is amazing for two reasons: eggs and ghee. These are both incredibly
nourishing foods and add a lot of creaminess and depth to your soups. Do not
underestimate the power of the yolk! Once you tolerate yolks well, you can test
the whites with soft boiled eggs. Stage Two also allows for stews (which are just
soups with less liquid), fresh herbs, and (towards the end of stage two) dried herbs,
which add further variety. Fermented fish is also added during this phase.

In the chart, I allow you to test egg yolks and whites with an entire egg. If you are
concerned at all about reactions, especially if you have reacted to eggs before,
start with an even smaller amount just a teaspoon of the yolk or white. Build up to
a yolk in every bowl of soup before testing whites.

When adding a new preparation of food, such as stews, you may decide that
you are not concerned about a reaction. You can choose to add them in as you
do all other foods you test, or you can take less than 3 days to add in the new
preparation.

WHAT CAN I EAT?

Foods from Stage One
Raw Egg Yolks
Soft Boiled Eggs
Homemade Ghee
Fermented Fish
Stews and Casseroles
Fresh Herbs
Dried Herbs

RECIPES IDEAS
Stage One Soups (page 72) with egg yolk, ghee, and/or herbs added
Soft Boiled Eggs (page 79)
How to Make Ghee (page 79)

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
A DAY ON STAGE TWO
Upon waking: Drink a glass of mineral or still filtered water.

When hungry: Eat your meals. Like with Stage One, dont worry about the time
of day or how many meals youve had. Eat when you are hungry, and dont eat
if you are not. As you get farther along in Stage Two, your body will adjust to the
new, nourishing foods and should level out. Drink broth between meals if desired.
Work up to adding an egg yolk to every bowl of soup and broth.

Preparing Stage Two Meals: Prepare soups as you did in Stage One.
If consuming, add ghee and/or herbs during the cooking process. While your soup
is heating, separate an egg and place the yolk in your bowl (see page 79 for tips
on separating an egg). Break the yolk. When you pour your soup into the bowl,
immediately whisk the yolk into the broth until it is smooth and creamy. Soft boiled
eggs can be consumed on the side of a bowl of soup, or broken up in the soup.

To make a stew: Prepare as you would a Stage One soup, except only just cover
the meat and vegetables with broth. Simmer as normal.

Throughout the day: Continue to keep busy to help take your mind off food until
you have adjusted. Rest when needed. When you have the time and energy, cook
up more soups to store for later.

Evening: Meditate. Take a detox bath (Epsom salts, baking soda, apple cider
vinegar, or seaweed powder). Turn off electronics by 9pm. Go to bed early if you
are tired. Allow your body to rest and heal. Take care of yourself and your family.

54 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

CHAPTER ten: STAGE TWO
STAGE TWO FOODS:

STAGE TWO DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9

Raw Egg Yolk 1 yolk 2 yolks 3 yolks x x x x x x

Soft boiled eggs 1 2 3 x x x

eggs eggs eggs

Fermented fish 1 2 3
piece pieces pieces
Increase Increase Increase
Probiotic Food
1 2 3

STAGE TWO DAY 10 DAY 11 DAY 12 DAY 13 DAY 14 DAY 15 DAY 16 DAY 17 DAY 18

Raw Egg Yolk x x x x x x x x x

Soft boiled eggs x x x x x x x x x

Fermented fish x x x x x x x x x

Homemade Ghee 1 tsp 2 tsp 3 tsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp x x x x

Stews with fresh 1 2

serving servings x x x x
herbs

Dried Herbs 1 2 3
serving servings servings
Increase Increase Increase
Probiotic Food
4 5 6

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 CHAPTER eleven
STAGE THREE

Stage Three is wonderful. Avocados continue to add deliciousness to soups,

while nut butter pancakes are a huge quality of life addition. Caution must be
taken, however! It is easy to overindulge in the pancakes, or ignore symptoms
because you enjoy them so much. After a successful reintroduction, I still do
not recommend eating more than 23 pancakes in a day except for special
occasions. Scrambled eggs can also be added. If eggs have been well tolerated
up to this point, poached eggs and lightly fried eggs should also be well tolerated.
Towards the end of Stage Three, sauted onions and vegetables cooked for
shorter periods of time can be tested.

In preparation for Stage Three, make sure that your avocados are ripe and your
nuts are crispy. I find that the ripening of avocados slows to almost nothing in the
refrigerator. Let them ripen a few days early, then store them until you are ready.
Nuts must be soaked and dehydrated to maximize their digestibility. This process
takes about two days, so be sure to plan ahead.

If you are adding in GAPS supplements (fermented cod liver oil, fish oil, commercial
probiotics, HCL), Stage Three is about the time to do that. Take your time to add in
and test each supplement, as you would any food you are adding in.

WHAT CAN I EAT?

Foods from Stage One and Two
Avocado
Almond Butter
Scrambled eggs, plus other preparations
Fully Cooked Fibrous Vegetables (simmer 30 minutes) cabbage,
celery, asparagus
Fermented vegetables and sauerkraut
Onions sauted in fat
Vegetables, simmered for 20 minutes

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CHAPTER eleven: STAGE THREE
RECIPES IDEAS
Stage One Soups (page 72) with avocado added
Egg Drop Soup (page 82)
Celeriac and Leek Soup (page 83)
GAPS Intro Pancakes (page 81)
Scrambled Eggs (page 82)
Poached Eggs (page 81)
Fried Eggs (page 83)
Sauted Onions (page 83)
Sauerkraut (page 77)
Fermented Vegetables (page 76)
Crispy Nuts (page 80)

A DAY ON STAGE THREE

Upon waking: Drink a glass of mineral or still filtered water.

Breakfast Ideas: GAPS Intro Pancakes with a side

of eggs, topped with fat, and served with a mug
of broth; Mashed avocado with melted ghee, soft
boiled eggs, sauerkraut, and a mug of broth; Soup!

Lunch and Dinner: Any of your favorite soups with

eggs and avocados added in. Serve fermented
vegetables on the side.

Preparing Stage Three Meals: Prepare soups

as you did in Stage Two. Add slices of avocado
when serving. If eating a meal without soup, ensure
that broth and a large amount of healthy fats are
consumed with the meal.

Throughout the day: By now you are likely feeling

much better and feeling more at home in your body
and with your new lifestyle. If you tolerate avocados
and nuts, these will bring welcome variety, as well
as more portable snacks. On the other hand, if you

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
struggle with Stage Three, now it will be more important than ever to keep yourself
from dwelling too much on what you can and cant eat. Go back and read
the first section of this book to remember the importance of moving slowly and
honoring your body.

If you notice more energy, try adding some movement in. Gentle movement, like
yoga or walking, is best for now. Listen to your body for what it wants and do not
overexert yourself.

Evening: Meditate. Take a detox bath (Epsom salts, baking soda, apple cider
vinegar, or seaweed powder). Turn off electronics by 9pm. Go to bed early if you
are tired. Allow your body to rest and heal. Take care of yourself and your family.

58 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

CHAPTER eleven: STAGE THREE
STAGE THREE FOODS:

STAGE THREE DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9

Ripe Avocado 1 tsp 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 1 x x x

avocado avocado avocado
Nut Butter 1 small 2 small 3 small
pancake pancakes pancakes x x x
Pancakes
Eggs, scrambled
1 tbsp 2 tbsp 1 egg
in lots of fat
Increase Increase Increase
Probiotic Foods
7 8 9

STAGE THREE DAY 10 DAY 11 DAY 12 DAY 13 DAY 14 DAY 15 DAY 16 DAY 17 DAY 18

Ripe Avocado x x x x x x x x x

Nut Butter
x x x x x x x x x
Pancakes
Eggs, scrambled
2 eggs x x x x x x x x
in lots of fat
Fermented
vegetables and 1 tsp 2 tsp 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp cup x x x
sauerkraut
Onions, cooked
1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp x x x
for 20 minutes
Vegetables,
simmered for 2 tbsp cup cup
20 minutes
Increase Increase Increase
Probiotic Foods
10 11 12

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 CHAPTER twelve
STAGE FOUR

Stage Four is when you really start feeling good about your new lifestyle. You can
branch out from soups and stews, add more fat sources, and even try vegetables
juices. For people who are very sensitive to sugar, are struggling with Candida, or
even those who are just very happy with how they are feeling and dont want to
worry about adding foods may be happy to stay here for awhile. This can also be
a good stage to hang out at while testing foods from earlier stages you may have
reacted to. You are eating a very well rounded diet at this point, and may not find
the almond flour bread, raw veggies, fruit, and treats of later stages necessary.
Even more than with the pancakes, be very slow and mindful with the GAPS bread.

WHAT CAN I EAT?

Foods from Stages One, Two, and Three
Roasted/Baked Meats
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Pressed Vegetable Juice
GAPS Bread made with nut flours
Shortened vegetable cooking times (10 minutes)

RECIPES IDEAS
Stage OneThree soups (page 72) with olive oil added
Carrot Juice (page 88)
GAPS Bread (page 89)
Easy Chicken Thighs (page 85)
Perfect Burgers (page 86)
How to Roast a Chicken (with giblet gravy) (page 84)
Pan Fried Fish (page 87)

A DAY ON STAGE FOUR

Upon waking: Drink a glass of mineral or still filtered water or a glass of fresh-
pressed vegetable juice.

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CHAPTER twelve: STAGE FOUR
Breakfast Ideas: GAPS Intro Pancakes with a side of eggs, topped with fat;
Mashed avocado with melted ghee, soft boiled eggs, and sauerkraut; GAPS
Bread toasted and topped with avocado and poached eggs; Leftovers; Soup!
Be sure to consume broth with your meals.

Lunch and Dinner: Any of your favorite soups; Roasted or baked meats with
steamed vegetables, probiotic foods, and a mug of broth. The Perfect Burgers
topped with sauted onions and garlic are divine!

Preparing Stage Four Meals: Prepare soups as you did in Stage Three. Use olive
oil as your added fat if desired. More meal planning will be required at this stage,
unless you want to continue eating batched cooked soups. All meals should contain
a protein, vegetable, lots of healthy fats, probiotic foods, and a cup of broth. Try to
have soup at least once or twice a day.

Throughout the day: By now you probably have your GAPS routine down.
Stick with what is working for you, and consider tweaking anything that doesnt.

Evening: Meditate. Take a detox bath (Epsom salts, baking soda, apple cider
vinegar, or seaweed powder). Turn off electronics by 9pm. Go to bed early if you
are tired. Allow your body to rest and heal. Take care of yourself and your family.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
STAGE FOUR FOODS:

STAGE FOUR DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9

Roasted/grilled/ 1 2
serving servings x x x x x x x
baked meats
Extra Virgin
1 tsp 2 tsp 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp x
Olive Oil
Fresh pressed
cup cup cup
carrot juice
Increase Increase Increase
Probiotic Foods
13 14 15

STAGE FOUR DAY 10 DAY 11 DAY 12 DAY 13 DAY 14 DAY 15 DAY 16 DAY 17 DAY 18

Roasted/grilled/
x x x x x x x x x
baked meats
Extra Virgin
x x x x x x x x x
Olive Oil
Fresh pressed
1 cup x x x x x x x x
carrot juice
Onions/garlic
cooked for 10 1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp x x x x x x
minutes
Juice with lettuce,
celery, cabbage, cup cup 1 cup x x x
mint
Vegetables
simmered for 10 2 tbsp cup cup
minutes

Probiotic Foods x x x x x x x x x

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CHAPTER twelve: STAGE FOUR

STAGE FOUR DAY 19 DAY 20 DAY 21

Roasted/grilled/baked meats x x x

Extra Virgin Olive Oil x x x

Fresh pressed carrot juice x x x

Onions/garlic cooked for 10 minutes x x x

Juice with lettuce, celery, cabbage, mint x x x

Vegetables simmered for 10 minutes x x x

GAPS Bread 1 small 2 small x

piece pieces

Probiotic Foods x x x

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 CHAPTER thirteen
STAGE FIVE

Raw vegetables and fruits can be added in Stage Five. How you want to manage
this is up to you. The safest way is to add in each raw vegetable individually,
which can sure seem tedious! Go slow, and feel free to break things up. You dont
need to add every raw vegetable under the sun before moving to Stage Six or
even Full GAPS. Add the ones that will improve your quality of life, and get the
others when you want them.

WHAT CAN I EAT?

Foods from Stages OneFour
Spices
Cooked Apples
Raw Vegetables (start with lettuce and peeled cucumber)
Fruit in Juice
Short Cooked Omelet

RECIPES IDEAS
Keep eating your early stage soups!
Cooked apples (page 90)
Short Cooked Omelet (page 90)
A Basic Salad

A DAY ON STAGE FIVE

Upon waking: Drink a glass of mineral or still filtered water or a glass of fresh-
pressed juice.

Breakfast Ideas: Your favorite Stage OneFour breakfasts; An omelet made with
pre-cooked meats and vegetables; Leftovers; Soup!

Lunch and Dinner: Any of your favorite soups; Roasted or baked meats with
vegetables or a salad, probiotic foods, and a mug of broth.

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CHAPTER thirteen: STAGE FIVE
Preparing Stage Five Meals: Continue to eat soup, broth, and animal fats
daily using the techniques from earlier stages. Add spices to your soups for even
more variety. All meals should contain a protein, vegetables, lots of healthy fats,
probiotic foods, and some broth.

Evening: Meditate. Take a detox bath (Epsom salts, baking soda, apple cider
vinegar, or seaweed powder). Turn off electronics by 9pm. Go to bed early if you
are tired. Allow your body to rest and heal. Take care of yourself and your family.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
STAGE FIVE FOODS:

STAGE FIVE DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9

Cooked
1 tbsp 2 tbsp 3 tbsp cup cup x x x x
apple puree
Soft lettuce and 12 34 56
pieces pieces pieces x x x
peeled cucumbers
Short cooked
1 egg 2 eggs 3 eggs
omelets
Increase Increase Increase
Probiotic Foods
13 14 15

STAGE FIVE DAY 10 DAY 11 DAY 12 DAY 13 DAY 14 DAY 15 DAY 16 DAY 17 DAY 18

Cooked apple
x x x x x x x x x
puree
Soft lettuce and
x x x x x x x x x
peeled cucumbers
Short cooked
x x x x x x x x x
omelets

Raw Vegetable 1 bite 2 bites 3 bites (continue based on size of vegetable) x x

Juice made with

cup cup 1 cup x x x
fruit (no citrus)

Spices 1 2 3
serving servings servings

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CHAPTER fourteen
STAGE SIX

Like Stage Five, go slowly and individually test the large number of foods that may
be added in this stage. Dont worry about adding everything at one, and focus on
what will make you feel good.

Many people, like myself, even choose to skip this stage if they know they do not
tolerate fruit and sweets well. Because I never added in Stage Six treats, I do not
have any simple treat recipes. You can find many online, however. Be careful,
listen to your body, and remember that the majority of your meals should be meat,
vegetables, and animal fats. The sweets of Stage Six should be an occasional
indulgence as you continue to heal. At this point, the chart is just there as a visual
to remind you of how to introduce foods.

WHAT CAN I EAT?

All previous foods
Raw fruits (starting with peeled apples), including coconut and coconut milk
Honey increased amounts if tolerated
Sweets and baked goods

RECIPES IDEAS
Coconut Milk (page 91)
Coconut Butter (page 91)

A DAY ON STAGE SIX

Upon waking: Drink a glass of mineral or still filtered water or a glass of fresh-
pressed juice.

Breakfast Ideas: Your favorite Stage OneFive breakfasts; Toasted nuts with
coconut milk or yogurt (think granola); Leftovers; Soup!

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
Lunch and Dinner: Any of your favorite soups; Roasted or baked meats with
vegetables or a salad, probiotic foods, and a mug of broth.

Treats: Should be limited, but will be a welcome indulgence. Some of my favorite

low-sugar treats are: Berries or toasted nuts and cream (in coconut milk or yogurt);
apple slices with nut butter

Preparing Stage Six Meals: Continue to eat soup, broth, and animal fats daily
using the techniques from earlier stages. All meals should contain a protein,
vegetable, lots of healthy fats, probiotic foods, and some broth. Fruit should be
eaten away from meals.

Evening: Meditate. Take a detox bath (Epsom salts, baking soda, apple cider
vinegar, or seaweed powder). Turn off electronics by 9pm. Go to bed early if you
are tired. Allow your body to rest and heal. Take care of yourself and your family.

STAGE SIX FOODS:

STAGE FIVE DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 DAY 7 DAY 8 DAY 9

Peeled Raw 12
slices apple apple 1 apple x x x x x
Apple
1/
8 1
Other Raw Fruit serving serving serving X X X

GAPS-legal
1 bite 2 bites 3 bites
Sweets

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CHAPTER fifteen
CONCLUSION

Congratulations! You have completed the GAPS Introductory Diet! How are you
feeling? Check in with yourself. Youve been doing this for awhile and may have
gotten lax with some of your healing habits. Is there anything you would like to
change or tweak? Are there foods from Intro that you skipped over and would like
to try? Where you go from here is up to you. Add in foods as you have learned to
do over the course of Intro as you move to the Full GAPS Diet. Full GAPS will need
to be adhered to for an extended period of time as you continue to heal. Over this
long process of GAPS Intro, you have found a way to make GAPS sustainable for
you. You have learned the tips and tricks to get the most out of your meals. You
have learned to appreciate the little things and every food that you can tolerate.
Full GAPS will continue to open things up for you. So enjoy it, and continue to use
what you have learned to make the most of the rest of your healing journey.

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RECIPES
Recipes
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STAGE ONE AND BASICS........ 72 STAGE FOUR........................... 84
How to Make Stock (chicken and beef)............ 72 How to Roast a Chicken................................ 84
How to Render Lard/Tallow........................... 72 Easy Chicken Thighs..................................... 85
How to Create a Soup.................................. 73 Perfect Burgers............................................. 86
Chicken Soup.............................................. 73 Pan Fried Fish.............................................. 87
Beef Soup................................................... 74 Carrot Juice................................................. 88
Vegetable Puree........................................... 74 GAPS Milkshake.......................................... 88
Meatball Soup............................................. 75 How to Make Nut Flour................................. 89
Ginger Tea.................................................. 75 GAPS Bread................................................ 89
Fermented Vegetables................................... 76
Sauerkraut (+how to make brine)..................... 77 STAGE FIVE............................. 90
How to Make Yogurt/Sour Cream................... 78 Short Cooked Omelets.................................. 90
Fat and Honey Bombs................................... 78 Cooked Apples............................................ 90

STAGE TWO............................ 79 STAGE SIX.............................. 91

How to Separate an Egg............................... 79 Coconut Milk............................................... 91
Soft Boiled Eggs........................................... 79 Coconut Butter............................................. 91
How to Make Ghee..................................... 79

STAGE THREE.......................... 80
How to Prepare Nuts.................................... 80
How to Make Nut Butter................................ 80
GAPS Intro Pancakes.................................... 81
How to Poach an Egg................................... 81
How to Fry an Egg....................................... 82
How to Scramble an Egg.............................. 82
Egg Drop Soup............................................ 82
Celeriac and Leek soup................................. 83
Sauted Onions........................................... 83

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 Recipes
STAGE ONE AND BASICS
HOW TO MAKE STOCK (CHICKEN AND BEEF)
INGREDIENTS:
One whole chicken or 23 pounds beef bones
Filtered water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (optional, helps draw out minerals)
Vegetables such as onions, garlic, celery, etc. (optional, for flavor)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Place the meaty bones and any other ingredients in a large pot. Fill with
water to cover.
2. Simmer for 13 hours (less time for chicken, longer for beef). The meat should
be falling off the bone.
3. Use immediately for a soup, or poor through a mesh strainer.
4. Store in the refrigerator for up to week or in the freezer for several months.
5. Save the bones to make more broth (for example, through it into the pot when
making a soup with ground meat), or freeze to make bone broth later on in
the diet.

HOW TO RENDER LARD/TALLOW

INGREDIENTS:
Pastured, unrendered lard/tallow

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut fat into cubes or grind up in a food processor.
2. Place fat into a crock pot or in a heavy bottomed pot.
3. Heat on low to gently melt the fat, stir occasionally.
4. When all the fat has melted, remove from heat and let cool slightly.
5. Pour through a mesh strainer or cheese cloth to remove impurities and
pork cracklings.
6. Store in the fridge for months.
7. Toss the cracklings in salt and roast in the oven at 350 until golden and
slightly crispy for a delicious late-stage snack.

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Recipes: STAGE ONE AND BASICS
HOW TO CREATE A SOUP
Following are a variety of soup recipes chicken, beef, meatball, vegetable
puree, etc. Intro soups can be made with any combination of meat and GAPS
Intro vegetables. Simply cover the meat with broth or filtered water and add the
vegetables half an hour before the meat is done cooking. I always add onions to
my soups for flavor and detoxifying properties, and I further season my soups with
sea salt and fresh garlic just before serving. Use the recipes below to get an idea
for the process of preparing different types of soup, and then get creative!

CHICKEN SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole organic chicken
Broth/Filtered water
8 cups vegetables, chopped (ideas: squash, carrots,
broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
1 onion
(optional) Herbs (stage two) and spices (stage five)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Rinse out the chicken. Place the whole chicken and its organs into a large
stock pot.
2. Fill the pot with enough water or broth to cover the chicken.
3. Bring to a boil on the stove. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for one
hour.
4. When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it and all the organs from the stock
pot. I usually use two sets on tongs to accomplish this you need to reserve
all the cooking liquid. Put these on a plate and set aside.
5. Add all the vegetables, plus herbs and spices if using, to the cooking liquid.
6. Return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for 30 minutes or
until vegetables are soft.
7. As the vegetables are cooking and once the chicken has cooled enough to
handle, begin to dismantle it. Place all of the skin, soft parts, and desired
organs in a blender. Set the bones and cartilage aside to make bone broth.
Add the meat to the soup.
8. Add a few ladle-fulls of broth to the blender with the soft parts. Blend on
medium until smooth.
9. Add the gravy to the soup pot. Stir everything together.
10. Serve with garlic, added fat (if desired), and salt to taste.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
BEEF SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
23 pounds beef on the bones
1 onion, chopped
Tolerated vegetables (as much
as you want and your pot
holds), vegetables
Filtered water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Place the meaty bones in a pot and cover with water (at least a quart or two,
depending on size and stage). Simmer for 2 hours.
2. Add the vegetables and simmer for another half an hour, or until vegetables
are soft.
3. Add extra fat and garlic before serving.

VEGETABLE PUREE
My favorite purees are butternut squash and carrot to help keep carbs up, and
cauliflower as a creamy soup base or a mashed potato substitute. Use more or less
broth depending on desired thickness

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs vegetables, chopped
46 cups broth
1 onion, chopped
2 inches fresh ginger, chopped (optional, makes a lovely Ginger Carrot Soup)
cup tolerated fat (lard makes an amazing cauliflower mash)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine vegetables and broth in a pot. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until
vegetables are soft.
2. Turn off heat and add fat.
3. Using a stick blender, blend the vegetables until smooth.
4. If the soup is too thin, simmer to reduce it. If it is too thick, stir in more broth.
5. Add garlic and salt to taste. Serve plain, add cooked meat to create a soup,
or serve as a sauce to pour over meats.

74 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE ONE AND BASICS
MEATBALL SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cups chopped vegetables
2 quarts broth
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp salt
(optional) 1 tbsp fresh herbs (stage 2 of GAPS intro)
or 1 tsp dried herbs (stage 5 of GAPS Intro)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Place vegetables and broth in a medium sized pot. The broth should cover the
vegetables; add more if necessary.
2. Bring broth to a boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are mostly
soft.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the meatballs.
5. Chop the onion into quarters and run through the food processor until finely
minced.
6. Combine the ground beef, onion, salt, and spices (if using) in a bowl. Divide
into 16 meatballs.
7. When the 20 minutes are up, add meatballs to the soup. Return to a boil,
then simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Serve with garlic, added fat (if needed), and salt to taste.
9. To make a creamy meatball soup, stir in or replace some of the broth with
cauliflower puree to desired consistency.

GINGER TEA
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Filtered water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add water and ginger to a tea pot, cover, and let steep for 1020 minutes.
3. Pour through a sieve and enjoy!

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
FERMENTED VEGETABLES
INGREDIENTS:
Chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
Filtered water
Non-iodized salt
Cabbage leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Chop or shred vegetables using a food processor.
2. Fill a clean mason jar (quart sized or larger) with vegetables, leaving at least
an inch of space at the top of the jar.
3. Cover the vegetables with a brine made from 1 tablespoon salt per 2 cups
water, leaving a inch to one inch from the top.
4. Press a small, folded cabbage leaf into the top, ensuring that the vegetables
are fully submerged beneath the leaf and the brine.
5. Top with a plastic lid or fermentation lid (see resource page) and set in a
warm place for 710 days. If you do not use a fermentation lid, burp your
jars starting on the 2nd or 3rd day by loosening the lid enough for the gasses
to escape.

76 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE ONE AND BASICS
SAUERKRAUT
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds cabbage, washed and cored
1 tsp non-iodized salt
1 cabbage leaf

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Shred the cabbage. The shredding blade of your food processor is the fastest
way to do this.
2. Place in a large bowl with the salt and knead the salt into the cabbage.
Work the cabbage for about 2 minutes, until it starts to wilt and release liquid.
3. Transfer the cabbage and liquid into a quart sized jar. Pack tightly.
4. Cover with a clean dish towel and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours.
5. Press the cabbage down firmly to condense it. Ensure that it is fully submerged
until its brine. Use a cabbage leaf to weight it down.
6. Top with a plastic lid or fermentation lid.
7. Let stand at room temperature for 710 days. Burp the jar as needed.
8. The sauerkraut can be eaten immediately, or left to ferment for 4 more weeks
at room temperature, or 2 months in the refrigerator.

PROBIOTIC BRINE
INGREDIENTS:
Jar of fermented vegetables or sauerkraut (half full or so)
1 tsp salt
1 cup filtered water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Fill jar of fermented vegetables with brine.
2. Top with a plastic lid or fermentation lid.
3. Let fermented at room temperature for 23 days.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
HOW TO MAKE YOGURT/SOUR CREAM
INGREDIENTS:
Just under 1 quart whole milk (highest
quality possible)
cup yogurt with active cultures, at
room temp (or yogurt starter)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat the milk over low heat, stirring
occasionally until almost boiling.
2. Remove from heat and cool to
113 degrees Fahrenheit. Place in
a cold water bath to speed this up.
3. Stir in yogurt.
4. Pour mixture into a thermos and
cap tightly.
5. Let sit in a warm spot for 24 hours.
6. Transfer into a quart sized jar and refrigerate.

To make sour cream, simply follow these steps with cream instead of milk.

FAT AND HONEY BOMBS

INGREDIENTS:
Tolerated fat
Honey

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine fat and honey to taste. Do not use more than 50% honey.
2. Pour into silicone molds to make treats that are easy to travel and portion.
Let harden in the refrigerator.

78 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes
STAGE TWO
HOW TO SEPARATE AN EGG
There are multiple ways to do this. The most basic way to do this is to crack the
egg and slowly let the white pour out. Keep the egg shell holding the yolk mostly
horizontal so that is doesnt fall out. Gently transfer the egg yolk back and forth
between the two shell halves, allowing the egg white to fall out into a dish. Eventually
you may be left with a bit of attached white that needs to be picked off. Finally,
rinse the yolk off with a gentle flow of water to very thoroughly remove the white.

SOFT BOILED EGGS

Cover the bottle of a pot with about an inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil.
Add eggs (as many as you want and fit in the bottom of the pot) and cover.
Cook the eggs for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and run under cold water for
30 seconds. You now should have perfectly soft boiled eggs that are easy to peel!

HOW TO MAKE GHEE

Place 1 pound of butter in a glass dish or cast iron pan.
Heat at 250F or on the stove on low for 4060 minutes.
Do not stir. If cooking on the stove, make sure that the
temperature is low enough that it is not burning. 3 layers
should form, with the middle layer being your golden
ghee. Let cool. Pour through a fine mesh strainer or a
cheesecloth. Store ghee in the fridge for several months.

I have found that by letting our ghee cool long enough

for the top layer to harden, pouring through the strainer is
enough to separate the milk solids. If you find that some
still finds its way through, skim the top layer off before
carefully pouring out the ghee.

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 79

 Recipes
STAGE THREE
HOW TO PREPARE NUTS
Place nuts in a large bowl. Cover with a brine of 1 tbsp salt per quart of filtered
water. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and allow to sit for 1224 hours.
Check back after 612 hours to ensure that the nuts are still submerged. Drain and
rinse thoroughly.

Nuts can be refrigerated and used as is, or they can be dehydrated to create the
most delicious crispy nuts you have ever tasted! Follow the instructions on your
dehydrator and dehydrate nuts for about 24 hours, until dry and crispy.

If you have questions about the preparations of certain nuts or seeds, there are
many resources available online to address this.

HOW TO MAKE NUT BUTTER

Place nuts into food processor. Process until nut butter is formed! This will take
awhile and go through many stages: First it will resemble nut flour. Then it will
begin to form a large, solid ball. Then this ball will dissolve into a thick paste.
Then, finally, you will finally get a lovely textured nut butter. Take breaks to scrap
down the sides and let your motor rest. Store the butter in the fridge.

80 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE THREE
GAPS INTRO PANCAKES
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup squash, cooked
cup homemade almond butter, or other nut butter
4 pastured eggs
Fat for cooking (lard, ghee, coconut oil, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Warm a cast iron pan on low heat. Melt a
generous amount of fat and make sure that
the pan warms back up.
2. Place cooked squash and almond butter in a food processor. Process until
well combined.
3. Add eggs. Pulse to combine.
4. When the pan and fat are warm, spoon a small amount of batter into the pan
about 23 spoonfuls.
5. Cook until top firms up a bit and bottom is golden. Be patient.
6. Flip and cook until the other side is golden.
7. Serve with extra fat and honey (if tolerated).

Nut free option the almond butter can be omitted to create pancakes for the
nut-sensitive

HOW TO POACH AN EGG

Tip: poach the egg in broth! The broth may take on a bit of
an eggy taste, but it isnt too bad and saves water if you
were planning on drinking broth with that meal.

1. Fill a medium sized pot with a few inches of filtered

water or broth. Bring to a boil.
2. While the water is heating, crack an egg or two into a
bowl be careful not to break the yolks.
3. When the water is boiling, stir the water with a spoon
to create a mini whirlpool. Pour the eggs in. They will
look feathery at first.
4. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 2 minutes.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs from the water. You
may want to place
it on paper towels or a clean dish towel to soak up
some of the water.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
HOW TO FRY AN EGG
1. Melt copious amounts of tolerated fat (ghee is my favorite for cooking eggs)
in a cast iron pan over medium heat.
2. Crack an egg into the pan and let cook for a few minutes.
3. Either cover the pan to steam-cook the top of the egg (sunny side up) or flip
the egg (over easy).
4. When the whites are set, remove and enjoy!

HOW TO SCRAMBLE AN EGG

1. Melt copious amounts of tolerated fat (ghee is my favorite for cooking eggs)
in a cast iron pan over medium-low heat.
2. While pan is heating, crack desired number of eggs into a bowl and whisk
until combined.
3. Pour eggs into the pan and let the bottom begin to cook.
4. When the bottom layer has firmed up, use a metal or silicone spatula to
gently stir up the eggs
5. Repeat this until the eggs are fully cooked (so extremely runny bits).

EGG DROP SOUP

INGREDIENTS:
1 quart broth
4 cups vegetables, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons fat (lard, tallow,
ghee, butter, coconut oil, etc.)
4 eggs, separated
Herbs and spices (optional,
to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Bring broth, vegetables, and onion to a boil in a medium sized pot.
2. Reduce to a simmer, add fat, and cook for 25 minutes, or until vegetables
are soft.
3. Add egg whites. Stir continuously until they are cooked; they should
look feathery.

4. Serve with garlic, raw egg yolk, extra fat, and salt to taste.

82 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE THREE
CREAMY CELERIAC AND LEEK SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
2 celery roots, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, rinsed and copped
bunch of celery, chopped
46 cups broth
cup tolerated fat
2 lbs chicken or other meat

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine all ingredients except the meat and fat in a large pot.
2. Cook for 3060 minutes, until vegetables are very soft.
3. Add fat and puree with a stick blender until smooth.
4. Add meat. If raw, cook until meat is done. If cooked, heat until warm.
5. Add salt and garlic to taste. Add a raw egg yolk for extra creaminess.

SAUTED ONIONS
INGREDIENTS:
or more of tolerated fat
1 onion, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Melt fat in a cast iron past over low heat.
2. Added chopped onion.
3. Cover and cook for 2030 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve in soup ,over meat, or with vegetables for a wonderful
flavor enhancement.

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 83

 Recipes
STAGE FOUR
HOW TO ROAST A CHICKEN
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Remove the giblets, rinse chicken, and pat dry.
3. Rub the chicken fat of choice.
4. Sprinkle generously with salt and dried herbs/spices of choice.
5. Place the chicken, breast-side up, in oven-safe dish (dutch oven, casserole
dish, etc.).
6. Roast the chicken for 50 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165F
at the thickest part of the chicken.
7. Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 1015 minutes.
8. Serve with a gravy made from pureed giblets and bone broth.
9. Save the carcass for making broth.

84 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE FOUR
EASY CHICKEN THIGHS
Roasting a whole chicken is the most frugal way to cook chicken. The next best
option is skin-on, bone-on chicken parts. I use thighs in this recipe, but any cut
of the chicken should work.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Fully thawed, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Salt
Herbs or spices (spices not until stage 5)
Tolerated fat

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Melt desired fat in an over-safe dish so that it generously coats the bottom.
3. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Lay the chicken thighs in the dish, meaty
side up. It is okay if they are touching, but do not crowd them too much.
4. Sprinkle the salt and herbs/spices over the thighs. Dont worry about exact
measurements. Just coat the chicken evenly. If you like heavy seasoning, put a
lot on! If you arent sure, start small and you can add more when its done.
5. Bake chicken until skin in crispy, juices run clear, and a meat thermometer
reads 165F, about an hour.
6. Serve with whatever sides and veggies you want! I enjoyed mine with
homemade sauerkraut and broccoli.

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 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
PERFECT BURGERS
Stage Four means burgers, which will be delicious no matter how you cook them!
They can simply be fried in a pan with some ghee, lard, or tallow if you want!
However, this is the recipe that my husband always uses to make his burgers, and
they truly are amazing!

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs ground beef or pork
4 tbsp ghee or tolerated fat, melted, plus more for cooking
Salt and (in stage 5) pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Place meat in a bowl and drizzle melted fat over the top. Add 1 tsp pepper
if tolerated.
3. Combine fat and meat gently do not overwork.
4. Gently form into patties 4 to 8 depending on desired size.
5. Season both sides of the burger with salt and pepper.
6. Heat a small amount of cooking fat in a large cast iron skillet on high heat.
7. Transfer burgers to skillet and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Flip burgers and cook for two more minutes.
9. Transfer the burgers onto a baking sheet (with a rim!) and place in the over
for 36 minutes, until it reaches your desired temperature (130F for medium).
10. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

86 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE FOUR
PAN FRIED FISH
1. Heat your favorite cooking fat in a cast iron pan over medium-low heat
2. Place fish fillets into the pan and sprinkle with salt, herbs, and spices
(if tolerated)
3. Flip when the white begins to climb up the side of the fish. Season the
second side.

4. Cook until the meat is flaky

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 87

 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
CARROT JUICE
(WITHOUT A JUICER)
INGREDIENTS:
Ingredients for Juice
Filtered Water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Wash and chop your
juicing ingredients.
2. Add them to the blender.
3. Add a small amount of filtered water.
With more watery vegetables, you
may not need any. If you like your
juices more dilute, add more. For my
carrot juice, I usually add enough
water to come slightly less than halfway up the carrots. It just needs to be
enough to help get things moving.
4. Blend on medium until the ingredients are well pulverized.
5. Place a nut milk bag in your desired cup/contained and pour the blended
ingredients in.
6. Squeeze as much liquid out of the nut milk bag as possible. Save the
leftover pulp.

GAPS MILKSHAKE
The GAPS Milkshake is a great option for those who struggle with constipation
or for whom plain juice spikes blood sugar. It is typically made with coconut oil
or sour cream. If you do not tolerate either of these yet or have not tested, ghee
or butter could be used as well.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup juice
12 raw egg yolks (or a whole egg for extra protein)
12 tbsp coconut oil or sour cream (full GAPS), or tolerated fat

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Blend the juice, egg, and (if using) sour cream in a blender.
2. If not using sour cream, melt fat until just liquid.
3. Turn the blender on low and slowly drizzle the fat into the blender to emulsify
the fat with the juice.

88 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes: STAGE FOUR
HOW TO MAKE NUT FLOUR
1. Place nuts in a food processor or high powered blender.
2. Process until it reaches a fine meal. Be careful not to let it go too long or it will
turn into butter. Soaked and dehydrated nuts will make more of a meal, while
blanched almonds will give a finer flour.
3. How much flour yielded per cup of almonds will depend on the almonds and
how finely you process it.

GAPS BREAD
If you tolerate nut butters better than nut flours, you can try using the GAPS
pancake recipe to make muffins or cake/bread

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups nut flour
cup softened ghee or other fat
3 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well mixed.
3. Pour into a greased baking pan.
4. Bake for about one hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

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 Recipes
STAGE FIVE
SHORT COOKED OMELETS
INGREDIENTS:
Eggs
Tolerated cooking fat
Filling (pre-cooked to tolerance)
Salt and other seasonings

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Crack eggs into a bowl and beat until well combined.
2. Melt fat in a cast iron pan over medium heat (use an 8 pan for 2 eggs,
and larger for more eggs).
3. Add the eggs to pan and move around to coat the entire pan.
4. Gently shake to loosen the egg as the bottom firms up.
5. When the egg is set on the outside and soft on the inside, add fillings to
the center of the omelet.
6. Fold one side of the omelet in with a rubber spatula. Tilt the skillet to fold
the final third over and turn the omelet onto a plate.

COOKED APPLES
1. Peel, core, and chop an apple.
2. Stew in a small amount of water until soft.
3. Add a generous amount of fat (ghee, butter, and coconut oil are good flavors)
and mash well.

90 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Recipes
STAGE SIX
COCONUT MILK
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of water
1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat water to almost a boil.
2. Put coconut and water in a food processor or blender.
3. Blend on high for several minutes until thick and creamy.
4. Pour through a nut milk bag. Save the coconut pulp to make homemade
coconut flour when on Full GAPS.
5. Store in the refrigerator.

COCONUT BUTTER
1. Place shredded coconut in a food processor or high powered blender.
2. Process until smooth. Add a small amount of coconut oil if necessary to get it
moving, but I have never needed to do this with my food processor.
3. Depending on what you are using, this can take awhile. You may need to
give the food processor a break and scrape down the sides.
4. 4 cups of shredded coconut usually uses about 1 cup of coconut butter for me.

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 91

 RESOURCES

For recommended books, blogs, products, and more, visit the Healing Patiently
resource page.

GAPS SPREADSHEETS

Below are two different charts for tracking your progress through the GAPS diet. The
first one is for daily, detailed tracking. Here you can record your starting symptoms,
then use the remainder of the chart to record what you eat, any supplements you
take, any exercise, your detox baths, stress, sleep, bowel movements, symptoms,
and foods added. I like to use the time slots to record when I do certain activities in
addition to eating, like my baths. Here is an example of a filled out day:

Print out the first page for your initial symptoms and first two days on the diet, then
use the second page to continue recording for as long as you wish. You may want
to re-print the first page once in awhile to check in on your overall symptoms.

92 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

GAPS SPREADSHEETS

I personally like printing my sheets double sided, so I included two pages of the
4-day charts to make this easy. Simply select page 95 and 96 to print duplex.

The next set of charts are spreadsheets that give you an at-a-glace view of what
you have been eating and adding in. Each chart can be used for 15 days. It
also has room to record daily tasks, like drinking broth, taking a detox bath, etc.
It is color code by stage. To use them, write in the day of Intro across the top and
place an X in the box for any foods you consume.

The first spreadsheet, on page 97, can be used for Stages OneThree. The
second, on page 98, can be used for Stage Four and early Stage Five. The third,
on page 99, can be used for all of Stage Five, and the fourth, on page 100, can
be used for Stage Six.

Print out the sheets for your given stage as needed. You can print an individual
sheet for each family member on GAPS, or use some sort of marking system to
distinguish what different people are eating. This will help you keep track of where
everyone is!

If you would like to customize these charts, you can do so by downloading

editable versions from the Resource Page.

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 93

 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
SYMPTOMS FREQUENCY SEVERITY
Almost 34 per 12 per
Date: Daily Daily week week Rarely Mild Moderate Severe

Bloating
Abdominal Pain
Gas
Acid Reflux
Fatigue
Depression
Brain Fog
Acne
Body Odor
Other (weight,
Frequency: measurements, etc.):
Bowel Movements
Rating on Bristol Scale:

DATE TIME FOOD /SUPPLEMENTS HEALTH

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

94 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

GAPS SPREADSHEETS

DATE TIME FOOD /SUPPLEMENTS HEALTH

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 95

 HEALING patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND
DATE TIME FOOD /SUPPLEMENTS HEALTH
Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

Symptoms:

# of BMs:_____ Times(s):_____
Type:_____ Ease:____/5
Sleep:____ hours Stress:____/10
Foods added: Serving size: Notes:

96 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

 GAPS Intro
Broth/Soups
Boiled meats
Boiled veggies
Garlic (add at end of cooking)
Lots of animal fat
Ginger Tea
GAPS SPREADSHEETS

Probiotic Brine
Homemade Yogurt
Egg yolks
Soft boiled eggs
Stews and casseroles
Fresh Herbs
Ghee
Fermented fish/FCLO
Dried Herbs
Avocado
Nut butter pancakes
Butter
Scrambled eggs
Cooked Fiberous Veggies
Fermented Vegetables
Onions Cooked in Fat

Daily:
Probiotics ^ ^ ^ ^
Soup for at least 1 meal
Detox Baths
Glass of water first thing
Drink broth w/ meals
Other
Key: Stage One Stage Two Stage Three
^ - Increase amount of probiotic every 3 days or so, as your body allows
Intro veggies: onions, carrots, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, squash, pumpkin, etc.

CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com 97

patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND

GAPS Intro
Stage One Basics
Ginger Tea
Homemade Yogurt
Egg Yolks
Soft Boiled Eggs
Ghee
FCLO
Avocado
Nut butter pancakes
Butter
Scrambled Eggs
Cooked Fiberous Veggies
Fermented Vegetables
Onions Cooked in Fat
Roasted/grilled meats
Olive oil
Carrot Juice
Reduced Veggie Cooking Time
Celery, Lettuce, Mint in Juice

98 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

GAPS Bread
Raw Lettuce
Raw, Peeled Cucumber
Spcies
HEALING

Daily:
Probiotics ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Soup for at least 1 meal
Detox Baths
Glass of water first thing
Drink broth w/ meals
Other
Key: Stage One Stage Two Stage Three Stage Four Stage Five
Remember: Low and Slow! ^ - Increase amount of probiotic every 3 days or so, as your body allows
 GAPS Intro
Stage One Basics
Ginger Tea
Homemade Yogurt
Stage Two Eggs
Ghee
FCLO
GAPS SPREADSHEETS

Avocado
Nut butter pancakes
Butter
Scrambled Eggs
Cooked Fiberous Veggies
Fermented Vegetables
Roasted/grilled meats
Olive oil
Vegetable Juice
Reduced Veggie Cooking Time
GAPS Bread
Raw Lettuce
Raw, Peeled Cucumber
Raw Veggies (list)
Spcies
Fruit in Juice
Cooked Apple

Daily:
Probiotics
Soup for at least 1 meal
Detox Baths
Glass of water first thing
Drink broth w/ meals
Other
Key: Stage One Stage Two Stage Three Stage Four Stage Five
Remember: Low and Slow!

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patiently: HEAL YOUR GUT WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND

GAPS Intro
Stage One Basics
Homemade Yogurt
Stage Two Eggs
Ghee
FCLO
Avocado
Nut butter pancakes
Butter
Scrambled Eggs
Roasted/grilled meats
Olive oil
Vegetable Juice
GAPS Bread
Raw Lettuce
Raw, Peeled Cucumber
Raw Veggies (list)
Spcies
Fruit in Juice
Cooked Apple

100 CHLOE BRECZINSKI www.howweflourish.com

Peeled, Raw Apple
Other Fruits (list)
Coconut
Baked Goods
HEALING

Daily:
Probiotics
Soup for at least 1 meal
Detox Baths
Glass of water first thing
Drink broth w/ meals
Other
Key: Stage One Stage Two Stage Three Stage Four Stage Five Stage Six
Remember: Low and Slow!