Getting Started

I suppose that I probably should have posted this post *before* the post on fermented vegetables.. but, I did not. Regardless, for what it's worth, I'm doing it now. X)

When starting GAPS, I rapidly found that there are a number of things (equipment, supplements, etc.) that you simply must have to get started.

So this post is dedicated to all... that... various and sundry ... stuff.

The picture (left) is of the absolute bare-bones basics. I'll try to group them into categories and explain their uses as I come to them.

The first and foremost things when starting the GAPS protocol are 1) probiotics and good fats and related supplements 2) broths /boiled meats and non starchy vegetables and 3) fermented vegetables/ fermented vegetable juice.


The supplements.
As far as the supplements go, the probiotics are the most absolutely crucial. The one I started with ( pictured below second to left with the green label.) was Nature's Sunshine Probiotic Eleven. It is a lower dose ( approximate 10billion CFU in total) of 11 different cultures. This was just a personal preference. I had already been taking this pro-biotic and knew that it settled well with my body. Also, it contains 11 different cultures instead of just 1 to 4 kinds like a lot of the others. Doctor Cambell-Mcbride eventually wants you to work your way up to a therapeutic dose of probiotics (20+ CFU such as Bio-kult) when you do GAPS, but she wants you to do it slowly so you can see where exactly the dose is that your body starts cleansing out the bad bacteria at. For me, it was easier to start taking a few smaller doses than to try and divide a big dose into smaller portions.

The other supplements that you start out on early in are (right to left) HCL with pepsin ( to help your body process and digest the nutrients you are putting in it!) the ProEFA, and the fermented fish oil ( yuuuum yum!). The fermented fish oil and ProEFA are your " good fats" (Omega 3s and 6s) in a form that is partially broken down already so your body can make use of it easier when your digestion is still messed up. Sadly.. I'm allergic to fish. So, (happily for my taste buds, sadly for my progress) I won't be starting either of those two for a while. X)

One other supplement ( furthest left) that she did suggest on start up was a specific pro-biotic called Saccharomyces Boulardii (gotta love crazy-long Latin names for bacteria, or S. Boulardii). From what I can understand, it is not one of the bacteria that actually lives in your gut with the other " good guys" but instead while it is there after you take it.. it simply attacks the bad guys and absorbs any toxins and such that are being released when they die. All I know for sure is that my body really seems to like the stuff! But I'll get to that later on.

A note on the supplements; Nutrivene.com is the only site that I have found that has all of the ones she really likes you to have all together. ( the ProEFA, Fermented fish oil, bio-kult etc.) on a page specifically for people on GAPS. If you are having a hard time finding them, you may want to start there.


The equipment.
The equipment that you need to make the broth/soup is fairly simple but VERY important! It involves your kettle ( or crockpot) a strainer ( and either another large pot or a very large glass/metal bowl to strain the broth into), your sea salt and peppercorns... and way to smash your peppercorns. ( we found a plastic baggy and meat mallet works dandily. X)
( It also involves your meat/bones, of course, ... but I'm sticking mostly with equipment and ... bottled things, mostly on this post. X) Oh, and you'll probably need a stove... just in case that wasn't obvious. =p


The other things I would say you absolutely need need to start off mostly pertain to fermenting vegetables. To do that you need two large jars with sealing lids ( any kind works really, I pictured a few different ones that we like to use.) Large canning jars work nicely, wide mouth is nice ; a cutting board; some sharp knives; good quality sea salt, and a (very large) mixing bowl. Vegetable culture starter is optional.



Again, these are the very basic ones. Some other things that I personally found VERY helpful were such things as a food processor; a dehydrator; kombucha tea (the pure kind without sugar and such), a skillet for sauteing, a few smaller sauce-pan-sized pans to warm up a serving of something, (microwaves are forbidden) mint tea, ginger, and... a food processor! (I'm using the daylights out of that silly thing!) Like I said, they're NOT entirely necessary.. But they sure make life a bit easier. (You'll find out why I said this once I actually post the next several days worth of experiences. X)

There are a few other things that you will eventually need later on ( a Juicer, some other crazy-fun foods, baking soda etc. A dehydrator is wonderful but not crucial) But as I have not gotten there yet.. I'm not exactly worried about those at the moment. =p

So speaking of posts about the next several days... Shall we?

Fermented vegetables (Days i through xxvi)

Two weeks before we officially started the GAPS diet, it came to my attention that we were going to be fermenting vegetables.

Fermenting... Vegetables.

Ok, soooo I'm not sure what your initial reaction to this may be, but for me personally, even though I KNEW that this was standard practice for pretty much every existing culture in the world for several thousand years up until... very very recently I still had a bit of the " Um.. Ew." and "Wait... Is that... Safe?" reactions to work my way through. X)

In our western world, fermenting food is just something that we don't really think of much. We are so used to everything being sterilized, sanitized and otherwise "ized". That even though we may technically *know* that beer and wine and yogurt are fermented, and maybe we even know that sauerkraut or sour cream literally originally meant "soured kraut (cabbage)" and " cream that has been allowed to sour" respectively... Still, these things come to us in little sanitized bottles with pretty printed labels and we don't really have to think much about the fact that it was once something that was a food substance, that has now had it's properties altered by the presence of some or other bacteria or yeast that was ALLOWED to grow in it *intentionally* and.. yes.. it is fermented.

The essence of the GAPS diet is obtaining proper, easily digestible nutrition, and obtaining and keeping the proper gut flora. (So that your gut/immune system heals properly.) Since in sauerkraut, yogurt, cultured butter, kifer etc. those self-same bacteria that ferment your food, are actually the kind of bacteria your gut needs, and since they are also foods that are easily digestible with highly available nutrients, eating fermented foods is part and parcel to the GAPS diet.

Aaaaaaand since the easiest to digest and least allergy-causing one of those things is the juice ( not even the actual vegetables yet) from vegetables that have been fermented. You guessed it, you start there. You make your own. So, we made our own.
A note that I personally would add to anyone with access to major health food stores such as WholeFoods. Some of these stores actually carry fermented vegetables (such as sauerkraut) with the live cultures still in them. So, if you want to start asap, or you suddenly run out unexpectedly. You could probably use these just fine for a little while. (so long as they don't contain any chemicals or preservatives. =)
My mother and I... do not have any such luck. So, like I said we have made every scrap of our own so far. The recipe that we used/made can be found at this link on my other blog. Pretty much every recipe that we found was...quite frankly... a bit confusing! So, that is our simplified and " bettered" version for easy use. ^_^

At any rate, with bit of realization, a package or two of living bacteria, and a smidgen of mental adjusting, I have now drunk the juice from said fermented vegetables..(and eaten a few as well) and not only that, I ... survived! =p
They're admittedly *not* the tastiest things in the world...being .. rather (extremely) SOUR but hey, they're actually not as bad as I expected. I found it kinda nifty that they didn't... you know... rot. They actually just ferment and bubble away on the counter there for a couple of weeks. There is a top layer "seal leaf" (of cabbage) on the top that actually may rot a bit.. but everything underneath is just.. fine. I'll admit, I was probably pretty pathetic in how amazing I found that to be. haha!

So, yes. They are now fermented, and I have eaten them... and the happy little bugs they contain are inside me; helping, heal my gut, kill off bad bugs, be happy, live a long joyous life, you know... all that jazz. ^_^ Here's hoping!